Chapter 18
Noah
I’d made a decision.
So I texted Alice.
Me : Is DJ still at the shelter?
We were on downtime and didn’t have a Tin Gods show until tomorrow, but with all her other obligations—the shelter, her band—there was no telling how long it would take her to answer. Regardless, I still paced like an anxious father-to-be.
Two minutes later, my phone vibrated in my hand.
Alice : He is. Why?
Me : I want to adopt him
Alice : Fantastic! Congrats! I’m sure he’ll love your pool
Me : Any chance I could talk you into going with me? Help me with the paperwork and settling DJ into my home, assuming I get to take him home today?
Alice : Throw in lunch and you have yourself a deal
Me : Play your cards right and I’ll buy you dinner too
I wanted to take the text back the second I sent it. So imagine my surprise when Alice immediately texted back:
Alice : Deal. I’ll meet you there
Me : Nah, I’ll pick you up. It’ll be faster
It took a few minutes for her to reply, but eventually she texted back agreeing and attaching her address.
Thirty minutes later, I was grinning like a fool as I drove down Lake Mead Parkway. But my smile quickly fell off my face as I turned onto her street. Tiny houses with peeling siding and dead trees lined the street, and at the end, her apartment block loomed like a decaying monolith. The facade was clearly from the sixties with an old cedar shake roof that’d definitely seen better days.
I drove past the falling down chain link fence lining the parking lot as anger slowly built inside me. Whatever we were paying Alice, it definitely wasn’t enough. I’d be damn if she—or any of our employees—had to live in a place like this. What the hell? I needed to have another talk about this with Harper.
I mean, what the hell?
I pulled into a spot, clear of the rickety looking shade structure and pulled out my phone to text her.
Me : here
It was all I was capable of typing at the moment. I didn’t want to embarrass her, but seriously, what the fuck? Lark could afford to rent a house in a nicer area of Henderson—I’d been there to unload their kit. I’d heard Bailey talk about the amenities at her building when she’d tried to get Alice to go to her complex’s pool with her. The only amenity this place could offer was free tetanus shots. Maybe.
Why was Alice living here?
But when she rounded the side of the building and I saw the set look on her face, I knew now wasn’t the time to probe her about it.
I popped out of my Escalade and walked around the front to open her door for her. My mom didn’t raise no asshole.
“Hey.” I smiled when she got close. “Do you think I’ll be able to take him home today?”
Alice blinked a few times and shook her head before climbing inside the SUV. Once I closed the door behind her and got in on my side, she turned to me and loosened up a little and smiled. “Yeah. There’s an application to fill out and a nominal fee, but since you don’t have a landlord, it’ll be a pretty straightforward process. There’s a slim chance they’ll want a yard inspection first, but I bet once they see your address they’ll waive that.”
“And you still think DJ is a good call?”
“We can look at any dog you like in the facility. But you and DJ seemed to hit it off. Like you saw, he’s pretty calm once he’s away from the chaos of the shelter. And he’s leash trained so you can take him on walks.”
“Okay, okay. You don’t have to sell me on him. DJ is the dog for me.”
“Good.” She sat back in her seat with a grunt of satisfaction, and it was all I could do not to grin at how fucking cute she was.
I tipped my head at her as I turned at the intersection. “And you can come visit him anytime you want.”
My eyes were on the road, so I didn’t see her face, but judging by the little gasp followed by the hitch in her breath, she wasn’t opposed to the thought.
“Anyone giving you shit online yet?” I asked.
“Nope.” She laughed. “No one has outed the band or me last I checked.”
“Thank god,” I muttered. After Kylie’s social media post and that stupid Babbler article, we’d all held our collective breath that an angry mob would come after Alice and the Monarchs.
And then Chase and Shay had come to our rescue by posting pics and doing interviews about their baby shower. It had appeared to calm our rabid fan base.
For now.
But all that was forgotten as I pulled into the shelter’s parking lot and a sense of excitement thrummed in my veins. I couldn’t wait to see DJ again.
When we got inside the building, an older woman behind the reception desk greeted us. Kinda. “Hey Alice. You didn’t mention you were volunteering today. And bringing your…boyfriend?”
Her eyes shined behind her glasses as her gaze bounced between me and Alice.
I stepped toward her and put my arm around Alice’s shoulder. “I wanted to adopt a dog. DJ, if he’s still here.”
A huge grin swept across the woman’s face. “Do you want to see him again? We can let you guys have the side yard and play while I gather your paperwork.”
“Yes. Please.” I grinned.
“Alice can show you the way.” She waggled her eyebrows and Alice gave a muffled groan beside me.
“Right this way, boyfriend .” Judging by her scowl, Alice didn’t find this nearly as entertaining as I did.
I grinned at the receptionist one more time then bounced after my retreating ‘girlfriend.’ The mix of excitement over adopting DJ and needling Alice had me giddy like I hadn’t been…since I was using.
The thought should’ve been sobering, a reminder of what was at stake, but it just felt good to feel good for a chance. Like my old self.
Alice grabbed a leash and in seconds was leading DJ out of his pen and down the alley of enclosures. This time it took me a second to even register the cacophony of barks, yelps, and howls. I was too focused on the sway of Alice’s hips as she telegraphed her anger with her every stomp.
It was the sexiest—and funniest—fucking sight.
I was hypnotized.
“What the hell?” Alice shrieked after the door closed behind me.
Then I had to dance away as she whaled on my shoulder.
“What the hell?” I repeated as I jumped and feigned injury, clutching my shoulder.
“Girlfriend? Why’d you let her think—”
“Wha-ho, that’s not on me.” I raised my palms. “I never confirmed or denied what she said. You’re the one who called me boyfriend.”
“I… shit. You’re right.”
“What do you think, DJ?” I bent down in front of the dog she still held on to by the leash. “Does she owe me an apology?”
DJ’s tail thumped against the ground.
“See?” I gestured at the eager dog. “DJ agrees with me. Say you’re sorry.”
She rolled her eyes. “He’d agree with anything if he thought it meant he was getting off the leash.” She bent down in front of DJ. “Isn’t Noah the biggest tool bag you’ve ever met?”
Her all bent over like that in front of me talking about my bag had me shifting to hide my boner.
Fuck, I was sick.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at me and grinned when DJ’s tail wagged.
Fuck. Me.
Then the door behind me opened, the receptionist standing there with a clipboard full of paperwork.
“Aren’t you two the cutest thing ever?” She walked across the turf and handed me the clipboard. “Reminds me of me and Edmund when we were your age. So much love.”
She shook her head as her eyes bounced between my grin and Alice’s strained smile.
“Well, I’ll leave you two to it. I’m sure Alice can go over any questions you might have. But remember, there are cameras all over this stretch of yard, so no funny business.”
Her cackle warred with the barking dogs as she opened the door and walked back inside the shelter.
I turned wide eyes to Alice and mouthed what the hell .
Alice’s cackle put the receptionist’s to shame.
And after a second, my laughter joined hers.
An hour later, we were walking through a pet store with DJ at my side as Alice pushed our shopping cart. It felt pretty damned domestic, and I didn’t mind in the least.
“Okay, so we got food.” I nodded at the fifty-pound bag in the cart. “What else?”
“You need treats, toys, a dog bed, unless…” She gave me a look.
“What?”
“Are you going to let him sleep with you?”
“Nah, too much drama when I have a woman over. I don’t need to be fighting the dog off the bed when I’m trying to get my woman on it.”
Alice rolled her eyes. “Sure, sure.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I was maybe a little wary of all the born-again-virgin jokes that’d been flying my way lately.
Alice snorted. “You’re too big a softy to kick DJ out of your bed. I guarantee he’ll be sleeping with you in less than a week.”
“Well I am irresistible.” I brushed invisible dust off my shoulder.
Alice scoffed. “I’m not sure that’s the argument to be made against bestiality.”
“What the fuck?” I had to stop walking because I was laughing so hard. Bending at the waist, I got myself under control and wiped at my wet eyes. “You’re deranged, you know that?”
She shook her head with a pout. “I learned it from watching you.”
As we continued down the aisle, her hip bumped compatibly against mine, and I smiled.
When we got back to the house, Alice fussed over our In-N-Out dinner, taking the burgers and fries out of the cardboard tray and setting up our plates I’d pointed out to her between panting breaths as I carried the huge bag of dog food and supplies over my shoulder.
The toys scattered—to DJ’s delight—as I dropped the dog bed and the bag holding the toys and treats when the food shifted on my other shoulder. But I bent down and carefully set the food bag down on the ground without breaking it. “See? Told you I could make it in one trip.”
“I didn’t say you couldn’t.” Alice raised her eyebrows. “I said you shouldn’t. There’s a difference. As evidenced by the mess you just made.”
DJ bounded over and grabbed a plush rabbit, and soon squeaks filled the previously silent house. I grinned. Hell, he looked so happy. I was worried he’d be wary and maybe pee everywhere, but we’d only been here a few minutes, and he already looked like he belonged.
“DJ doesn’t look like he minds.”
Alice’s expression softened as she took in the doggy joy prancing all over the place, clearly proud of his little toy. “No, he doesn’t. But you might want to pick up those treats before he finds them. He’ll eat until he makes himself sick if you let him.”
“Gotcha.” I nabbed the treats off the floor then stashed them in a cabinet. Walking over to the counter, I picked up my plate and tipped my head toward the living room. “What do you feel like watching? Chick flick? Comedy? TV show? Your call.”
Alice followed behind me and settled on the other end of the couch a whole mile away from me. Or at least that was how it felt. She picked up a floppy fry and studied it. “Whatever you want is fine.”
“Who are you and what have you done with my Alice?”
Alice sucked in a breath like I surprised her. “What do you mean?”
“My Alice is a kickass, take no prisoners woman who knows what she wants. So what do you want?”
“Come on, like that’s even a real question.”
“What do you mean?” I repeated her question with a grin. Then when she turned her glare on me, it might’ve morphed into a smirk. I loved riling her up. So much fun.
“No guy wants to watch a chick flick. That’s just something you do to get laid.”
“So you’re saying that’s on the table…?”
Judging by the fry she flung at me, I guessed not.
“Be serious.” She rolled her eyes and pouted in that cute way of hers. I hadn’t always found it cute. Back when we were at each other’s throats, it drove me nuts.
Now it drove me nuts in a whole new way.
I shrugged, trying to look unaffected. “Hey, I watched rom-coms. No shame here.”
“You watched rom-coms when you weren’t trying to get laid?” She raised her eyebrows as she took a huge bite of her burger. Her bulging cheeks made her look like a cute squirrel.
Fuck, there was something wrong with me.
“One, I’m a rock star. I’m offended you think I have to watch a rom-com to get laid. Back in the day, all I had to do was curl my finger and the girls came running.”
“Excuse me.” Alice’s shoulders heaved dramatically as she held a hand over her lips. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
It was my turn to roll my eyes. “And second, I watched rom-coms all the time when I got baked.”
It was true. I was kinda known for getting blissed out and grinning my way through rom-coms when we were on the road.
“Oh.” Her hand fell from her face, and she sent me a concerned look. “We can watch something else. It doesn’t have to be a rom-com. I like comedies. And I’ll watch some action movies. Just not those shoot ‘em ups where there’s so much blood and gore. Not into that.”
“No, it’s fine. I don’t have to be baked to enjoy a movie. Probably.” If she made me watch a boring romance like Pride & Prejudice, I might just zone out and spend my time thinking about doing other fun stuff with Alice instead. Mostly naked stuff. With some drums in there too.
“How about we split the difference and watch The Lost City ?”
“I love that movie!” My burger landed on my plate with a plop as I picked up the remote and pulled up the movie which I’d bought the second it was possible. “I’ve watched it like twenty times. It’s one of my favorites.”
Alice smirked and took another huge bite of her burger.
And that was how I found myself sitting on my couch with my new dog at my feet, eating a burger and watching a rom-com with a girl who, until recently, I thought hated everything about me.
And it was nice.
Comfortable even.
Aside from my hard-on.