Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
Laird packed up the last of his stuff and looked around the place he’d been renting, grinning at how sad it looked now that his homier touches were gone.
He wasn’t much of a decorator, but he had gussied up some of the rental furniture with blankets and pillows his mom had bought him and that kind of thing.
Now it just looked empty and a little worn.
“Is that the last of it?” Nick asked, coming back in from taking a load out to the truck. His partner was there helping him do the heavy lifting, and Devon was waiting for him at the house, cleaning out space, closets, and bathroom cabinets for his stuff.
“That should be it. I’ll come back tomorrow, clean, and do the walk-through so I can turn in the keys.”
“You think you’re ready for this?” Nick asked, shooting him a wicked grin. “I mean, this is a big deal. You’re living with your baby daddy. Being all official and shit.”
“I’m ready.” He hadn’t even told Nick yet about the idea that he was going to work until the baby was born and then go back to school.
That way he could take care of their little one.
By the time their boy—or girl—went to school he’d have graduated with his degree, and he could go to work while their child was out of the house. It sounded like a great idea to him.
He hadn’t told everyone he needed to about all of this yet, but he would. They’d get it.
His parents loved the idea of him having a baby, of Mhairi’s little one having a cousin close in age.
“Cool. I’m glad. I mean, it’s about time you found somebody you liked, right?” If he was honest, Nick looked a little confused and maybe a little worried, but it didn’t matter because he didn’t have to deal with this right now.
“Trust me, I’ve got this, and so does Devon. It’s going to be fine. I’m really looking forward to actually learning how to live with someone else. I never have as an adult.”
He guessed that was weird. Was that weird? Maybe it was.
“Fuckin’ A. I mean, good for you! I’ve done it—not successfully, mind you—but I have done it.
It’s challenging, but there are times when it’s great, especially if you want to cook for somebody or you want to watch a movie together.
Those times.” There was a sadness in Nick’s expression, and he didn’t love how that was working out.
But there wasn’t anything that Laird could do about it in a practical sense.
He would keep supporting his buddy any way he could.
But Laird also really needed to make some married friends. Raven and Ben—they could start there.
“Hey, anytime you wanna come over and watch a movie you know you’re welcome.” He realized he hadn’t said anything for a moment, and he didn’t want to look like a jerk. Nick was clearly feeling some kind of way about him moving in with Devon and he needed to be decent about it. He wasn’t a dick.
“Yeah, I know. It’s not the same as cuddling up with someone on the couch with a blanket and some smooches.”
“True enough. Come on. Let’s get this box in the truck, and then we can head on over to Devon’s house.”
Nick arched a brow. “It’s your house now, too.”
Laird chuckled, hoisting the box in his hands. “Well, that is the idea, sure, but I know I’m there on a trial basis. It may be that it doesn’t work out.” He hoped to God it did. But it was never a one hundred percent sure thing.
“I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to start a new living with someone relationship with ‘it may not work out’ being the big thing. I mean, just saying—”
Laird winced, feeling his cheeks get hot. “Okay, so maybe you have a point. I mean, maybe I’m a little nervous. I’ve never lived with somebody before like this, and Devon’s got this whole house. It’s his, not mine. You know?”
“Hey, listen. You are allowed to be excited. It’s going to be great.”
He met Nick’s eyes. “You think so?”
Nick nodded, the motion confident, no hesitation. “I really do. It’s going to be amazing. You’re going to have fun. You’re going to learn so much about each other. Get ready for this baby. You’ve got the holidays coming up. It’s going to be fabulous. Trust me.”
Laird blew out a hard breath. “I want it to be fabulous. I want this to be a kind of love story my kid will tell their first crush.”
“Yeah, it’s gonna happen, man. This is just nerves.”
“Well, I am a grumpy bastard.” He laughed, feeling better. “I keep thinking, what if he is like, damn, no. This guy is a nut.”
“No way. He’s going to be all over you. He’s such a sweetheart, and you love him so much, I can tell.” Nick was being a higher-level cheerleader, and he really appreciated it. So he gave the guy a one-arm hug as soon as the box was in the car.
“Thanks, man, I needed the pep talk.”
“No worries. Now I’ve got you all ramped up so when you get there, you won’t be so much of a downer for Devon.”
“And there he goes bringing me right back down to earth with a thump.” He had to laugh because Nick was such an asshole, but he adored the guy.
“What can I say, man? I’m a realist.” Nick winked at him. “Here, give me your keys.”
“What?”
“Give me your fucking keys. I’ll clean up for you and turn your keys in. You go. Be in love and shit.”
Whoa. That was…incredibly cool. “Are you sure, man? That’s a lot of work.”
Nick held out his hand with a growl. “Just do it. I got nothing better to do. I’ll go get a beer after.”
“You going to the Badger?” He could call and start a tab for Nick to say thanks.
“Yeah. I think so. Should be someone there to hang with while you’re all oooh, uuuuuh.” Nick made kissing sounds and rolled his eyes.
“You shit.” He did laugh though, and handed over the rental key. “Thank you. Seriously.”
“Not a problem man. I hope you have a good evening. Have fun, be gross, be sugary sweet and stuff. I will talk to you when it’s time to go back to work.”
“Yeah, sounds like a plan.” He was going to miss Nick when he was half-time, but that was still months away. They’d figure it out.
Laird got in the truck and drove across to where Devon’s house sat, pulling up in front of the pretty, neat home.
Their house.
Nick was right.
Laird nodded to himself. He needed to consider it their house.
It was a good place, three stories, plenty of room. There was a basement that Devon said he could do whatever he wanted to with. Even a little wood shop in the back.
Pumpkins and mums and a few little fall decorations from some craft store, probably, prettied up the porch.
It was as if all of a sudden he’d been dumped into becoming a grown-up.
He pulled into the driveway, parked, and grabbed the most important things first. His TV and the bag that had his gaming system in it.
The rest of it could come in on the second trip.
Mostly it was clothes, a few pieces of framed art from his family and some small decorative stuff he’d gotten from the Crapitorium.
When he got to the door, Devon opened it to let him in. “Hi, need any help with anything?”
Look at that smile. That was all for him.
“I brought some clothes and a couple of things. You want to go grab that picture in the cab of the truck? That would be great. Where did you want the TV?”
Devon glanced at it. “I took mine down off of the hanger because yours is much nicer. We can move mine to the bedroom or to the game room if you want. Whatever you’d like, but yours will look better in the family room.”
Devon’s house had a number of little rooms. There was a formal parlor, a family room, a dining room, and a game room—lots of little rooms.
Devon had already cleared him out an office on the second floor.
Devon’s knitting room was on the third floor, and was this kind of terrifying magical place that he was very unsure that he should even look at.
Devon insisted it was for both of them to share.
He’d even put a trashcan for his wood shavings and a little cabinet for his wood and supplies.
There was even a second chair in there, but it was covered in fur.
In fact, the Three Musketeers met him at the door staring at him. They were a set of triplets—one black, one white, one yellow, all three fuzzy, and particularly crazy. One minute they loved him. One they didn’t trust him at all.
Laird wasn’t sure he trusted them either, but he was going to make an effort. He had been for a while, but maybe moving in would warm them up for good.
Maybe the little beasts were just trying to get more catnip mouses.
It certainly seemed to be working on Devon, who he thought looked happier than Laird had ever seen him. Which made him feel ten feet tall and bulletproof.
“Boys, be nice to Laird. He is not going to hurt you, and you are not going to hurt him.” Devon talked to them like they could understand. He also talked to them like they cared, neither of which were true.
At least Laird didn’t think so. If those cats could understand human, then he was probably in trouble.
Then again, he’d know, then, why they were so fickle. Hot and cold. Some days they loved him just as much as they hated him now.
His future, though?
It was all sunshine and singing of the praises of the cats—until the baby came. Then, if he caught them stealing his baby’s breath, he was going to lock them in the basement.
“Don’t worry. They’ll get used to you. They’ve never lived with someone else, so they’re a little worried.
They’re good kitties, though. I swear, they’re solid as rocks and funny.
Tonight we’ll get the laser light out and let you play with them.
That’ll go a long way toward them accepting you.
” Devon smiled at him, and winked. “They’re sort of like toddlers—mean apex predator toddlers with claws and attitudes who shit in boxes. ”
He blinked at Devon and then started to laugh. Every so often, his lover would say something that was just so damn funny and unexpected. He loved that.
He loved Devon.
And it was damn time he started telling Devon that more regularly. So he snagged his lover and yanked him close, giving him a kiss. “I love you so much.”
Devon blinked at him, his lips gone slack, his eyes wide once the blinking stopped. “I love you too.”
His heart expanded, and he felt like the Grinch. It grew three times its size, or something like that.
God.
He dropped another kiss on the end of Devon’s nose. “I’m going to go get more stuff. You make sure the cats don’t follow me out.”
“I will. I’ll make sure they don’t get out when you’re bringing it in, too. I’ll door-wrangle for you.”
“Thanks, babe.” All in all, this was going way better than he had expected.
And he was grateful to Nick for helping out with everything and giving them this time alone.
Laird grabbed his phone on the way out to the truck and called the Bad Badger Brewery, setting up a tab for Nick so that he could have food and drink on them. That was the least he could do.
And he had to remember that while his buddy wasn’t married, they still needed to hang out. Even if they became old, settled-in people who only saw other couples.