22. Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Milo
I loved my job. My clients were cool and my boss at Saved in Ink, was so fucking talented and always happy to help me. Most of my clients came to me with designs in mind, which gave me the opportunity to work with them to perfect what they were looking for. The money was okay, I got by and though I didn’t have loads of extra cash to spare after rent and bills, it was worth it to not rely on my father. You couldn’t put a price tag on being able to do what you loved without constant criticism.
The only shit part though, was that, as the most recent one to join the team, I got all the jobs no one else wanted - that included emptying the trash from the break room. The general waste dumpster for the studio was located around the back of the brick building, down a small alleyway. When it rained, it flooded and when it was warm like it was today, it smelled like rot and piss.
Holding the trash bag in one hand, I walked steadily towards the large dumpster set aside for our property, when a faint squeak reached my ears. The sound was foreign in the dingy alley and I stopped, standing still while waiting to hear it again. When I did, I abandoned the bag against a wall and followed the sound until I was parallel to the dumpster, in front of a closed cardboard box.
Bending down and slowly opening the box, I peeked inside to find a tiny, mangy looking grey and white kitten, all alone and mewling fiercely as though it was a tiger and not a fragile little thing the size of my hand.
“Woah there little tiger,” I said, reaching in and scooping it up. I cradled it against my chest and patted its head with light taps so as not to startle it. The kitten swiped at me, and I laughed. “You’re feisty, that’s good. What's a teeny thing like you doing out here all alone?” I looked around, not sure what I was expecting to find but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Just the bins that lined the one wall and the usual rubbish which floated around them.
There was not a chance I was leaving the defenceless creature to fend for itself, so, after throwing the bag into the trash, I took the cat into the studio through the back door.
“Zach,” I called out to my boss as I entered, “do you have a towel I could have?” Zach came around the corner then, his eyebrow raised in question. He was a large man, bald, and stocky, with huge muscles and tattoos covering almost all available skin. He had the kindest green eyes and a killer smile that made you feel welcome from the moment he aimed it your way.
“Whatcha got there, bud?” Zach asked as he came closer to me, studying the bundle of fur in my arms.
“Found it in the alley.”
Zach frowned. “Poor thing, being left outside in this heat. Let me see.” I passed it over to him and he lifted it up, inspecting its rear, then in its ears and mouth before handing it back to me.
“Little girl, probably eight, maybe a bit more weeks old,” he said with a shrug.
I stared at him speechless for a moment. “How did you work all that out?”
He grinned. “Mom’s a vet. Sister is now too. We had plenty of kittens growing up. Rabbits and puppies as well. Even hand reared a few when I was a teen. She looks healthy enough, like maybe someone was caring for her at some point. An unwanted gift maybe. So hard to tell.”
Grinding my teeth, I inwardly cursed the kind of person who would throw a kitten away like a piece of trash. “I’m going to keep her,” I blurted out, surprising myself, but Zach only smiled, looking between the little thing and me.
“Figures. She likes you. Cats pick their person and I’d say she’s picked you.” I looked down at the kitten, now sleeping in the crook of my elbow and had to agree with him.
“Looks like she has.” So what if my lease said no pets. I’d make it work.
“Why don’t you head off for the day and get that little girl home? Some food and water and a litter tray is all you need to get started, but get her to a vet soon, alright?”
Zach walked back to the front of the store and I carried the kitten to the break room where I placed her in a clean empty box that I found in the storage closet, then gathered up the rest of my things.
“Come on sweet girl, let's get you home so you can meet your other daddies.”
Home.
It was no longer just a place. No longer the apartment I paid rent on. Or the location of my bed. It was wherever Branson and Noel were.
That was home.
Being theirs was better than I could have dreamed, had I even had the forethought to dream a relationship so comforting. And though a niggle of doubt crept in from time to time - the thought that I wasn’t good enough for them - they constantly reminded me how much they needed and wanted me. Though I doubted myself, I never doubted Noel and Branson or their feelings for me.
Tonight, home was Noel’s suite at The Starlight and as I reached the front door of the plush hotel, I hoped they didn’t have a no pet policy or Juliet and I would be sneaking in around the back. Juliet, my feisty, furry tiger-kitten who’d meowed the entire subway ride here.
Clutching the box tightly against my chest, I waved hello to Michael, the porter, and walked briskly through the lobby to the back elevator, which I opened using the key Noel had given me, swiping it again to enter the floor to the suite. Why Noel insisted on keeping a place here and at the New Manor Hotel, I don’t know. A person really didn’t need so many places to live in the same city.
Opening the door to the suite, I was greeted by a beautiful sight - my two sexy as fuck boyfriends together on the sofa, watching a film. Branson's head was resting on Noel's lap and I could see from my position at the door that he was holding our boyfriend's cock in his mouth. This was something he did for Noel, often when I was with them but we'd also agreed it was fine when I wasn't too. It wasn't sexual to them, but rather an act that brought them both comfort.
By the way Noel was wrinkling his nose at the screen, I was going to guess they were watching something Branson had selected and not something my nature documentary loving boyfriend would have preferred.
“You’re home,” Branson said, Noel falling from his lips. He untangled himself, paused the television and jumped up to greet me with a soft, tender kiss. His attention was drawn to the box when Juliet loudly announced her presence.
“Milo, what do you have in that box?” Noel asked, adjusting his sweats and making his way to where I was standing. Branson was now slowly lifting Juliet from the box.
“This is the most adorable thing I have ever seen. Hello little kitty-witty,” Branson said in a sing-song baby voice, while he rocked the kitten from side to side. Moving my eyes from him to the tall man in front of me, my lips tipped up at the stern expression on his face.
“Um, a cat?”
“I can see that, but why exactly have you brought a cat home with you?”
Branson made his way back to the sofa and sat with her on his lap while she clawed at the drawstring on his track pants.
“I found her in an alley, in a cardboard box. What else could I do? I couldn't leave her there, she’s so little.”
Noel stepped forward, crowding me until I stepped back, knocking into the wall. He pressed closer, and my pulse sped up at the intensity of his glare and the firm set of his lips. Just as I started to think I’d made a huge mistake, his lips twitched and the fucker smiled. “You have a kind heart, Milo.” He kissed me and I sank into him, enjoying the feel of his hard body, momentarily losing myself in him and forgetting the conversation at hand. That was the problem with these two. They had the power to sidetrack me very easily.
Pushing Noel back a step, I broke the kiss but he wasn't about to let me go. “About the cat, I don’t think Branson and I can keep her at ours because of our lease. I could give her to Mia, I guess. As long as we find her a good family, I’ll be happy.”
“Keep her if you want.” Noel nuzzled his nose up the curve of my neck before he continued speaking, his breath tickling my skin. “She can stay here.” With one final kiss, he pulled upright and turned to face Branson. “We actually do allow pets in this hotel. You’d be surprised how many celebs like to travel with their furry companions.”
I smiled at Noel and his easy going nature where we were concerned. I knew in business he was different - more demanding and critical - but this Noel was all ours. Our caretaker and protector. Our sun that kept us warm, chasing away the dark and cold. He glowed in a way only something precious could and my blood burned a little hotter in his presence.
“You hear that, little thing? You have a new family,” Branson said and my heart tripped over itself, stumbling over the word he’d just used to describe us. Family. I marvelled at the ease at which it had fallen from his lips. No one had a bigger, more welcoming heart than Branson.
I sat next to him, then gestured for Noel to join us. He took up the other side of me and I rested my head on his shoulder while he snuck a hand under my shirt and danced his fingers along my bare skin, closing my eyes and focusing on the sensations and the scent of their combined colognes in the air.
Branson continued to chatter to Juliet, muttering, “I'm ticking you off my list.” Noel trembled beneath me, suppressing a laugh and I wondered which one of his many lists included a stray cat, but I was too happy listening to him to interrupt, making a note to ask him later.
This moment, this comfortable, quiet moment was the most content I had ever felt and I owed it all to the two men surrounding me. There were still days I didn’t feel worthy of being in this with them - days when I didn’t see what I had to offer but never once did they make me feel those feelings were justified. So I did the only thing I could and placed my trust in them both. I just hoped that nothing would ruin what we were building together.