20. Chapter 20
Chapter 20
GRIFF
“Baby girl, you have got to stop squirming so I can make you look beautiful,” Ledger huffs.
“Need a hand?” I ask, coming around the corner into the kitchen after putting the finishing touches on the bathroom with the final light fixture in place. Talk about running down the clock; people are going to be here for his official housewarming party in twenty minutes and I know he’s going to want to show off all the renovations I’ve been putting blood and sweat into over the last few months.
“Yes, please.” He passes the squirming raccoon off to me and I cradle her the way I’ve seen him do a thousand times, like a baby or a football, right in the crook of my arm. She chitters and squirms, apparently not a fan of the pink bow Ledger bought to put around her neck.
“Maybe she’d prefer a different color?” I suggest with bland amusement.
He huffs. “Well, it’s either a pink bow or the tiny cowboy hat I just couldn’t resist.”
He tosses the bow dramatically aside and disappears from the kitchen, returning a minute later with the aforementioned tiny cowboy hat. It’s clearly made for pets, with a pair of holes for the ears and a strap to go around the chin and hold it in place. No way is TP going to keep that on for more than two minutes. I hold her while he slips it into place and tightens it under her chin. Surprisingly, she makes her toothy smile and then scrambles out of my arms, leaving the hat in place as she scampers into the living room.
“Huh, guess you were right. I’ll make a note that she doesn’t like to wear pink.” He tosses the bow into the trash then turns back to me with a smile, leaning into me and tilting his lips towards mine for a kiss.
I’m more than happy to give him what he wants, growling quietly with satisfaction as we sink into a heated kiss for just a minute before a frantic pounding at the front door pulls us apart.
“No one is supposed to be here for another twenty minutes still,” I grumble.
“Very rude. Maybe we should make them wait outside while we fuck on the kitchen floor,” he teases, nipping at my lips one more time before slipping out of my grip and heading to answer the front door.
While he does that, I pull the marinating steaks out of the refrigerator to check them and then lean against the counter and take in the kitchen. It’s the only room he told me not to bother renovating since TP has made the walls and cupboards her own personal jungle gym. I have ideas though, and maybe if I design it specifically for TP there’s a way to make it work and still look a little nicer.
Jericho’s voice filters down the hallway, pulling me out of my HGTV daydreams.
“So now I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do. Hey, Griff,” he says as they enter the kitchen and he sets a big bowl of pasta salad on the counter.
I grunt and nod at him in return. Ever since I pulled my head out of my ass and made things official with Ledger, Jericho has slowly warmed up to me. Thank fuck for that.
“Jer’s lease is up and the landlord is raising the price by five hundred bucks,” Ledger fills me in.
I grunt again, this time sympathetically, then go to the refrigerator and pull out a few beers, handing one to Jericho, another to Ledger, and keeping the third for myself. The nice thing about the two of them together is that I don’t have to worry about trying to get a word in edgewise, I can just lean against the counter and drink my beer while they fill up the silence for hours.
Jericho sips his beer, grabs a handful of the chips Ledger put out for our cookout, and tells us all about the lack of decent apartments in Fall Crosse that don’t cost an arm and a leg to rent. I’ve owned my house for so long that I really can’t relate, but it makes sense. Prices are up everywhere and there are only a couple of apartment complexes in town, so supply and demand I guess, right? As they start to trade horror stories about the worst places they’ve settled for renting, an idea starts to form.
“Why don’t you rent Ledger’s house?” I blurt.
They both fall silent and turn to look at me. Ledger cocks his head, a curious smile forming on his lips.
“And where would I live, big bear?”
Heat creeps into my cheeks and I take a sip of my beer. Maybe I should have let the idea fully form before I started running my mouth, but on some level, I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of months now. I clear my throat and meet his eyes, gathering my courage.
“With me?”
He makes a strangled, excited noise and flings his unopened beer bottle in excitement. Jericho’s eyes go wide, and he dives to catch it before it hits the floor while I focus on catching the man launching himself into my arms.
I laugh and stumble back into the counter as Ledger’s body weight hits me full force.
“Yes, yes, yes, I want to live with you.” He kisses me sloppily all over my face before he finally realizes he’s way too heavy for me to hold for long and puts his feet back on the floor. “But wait, what about TP? She’s not exactly an easy house pet.” He gestures to the holes in the drywall.
I give him a lopsided smile and run my thumb along the sandpaper edge of his jaw. “I have some ideas about how to TP proof the house. And if it doesn’t work, that’s fine. Drywall can be patched. I don’t know if you know this, but I’m pretty handy.”
He snorts a laugh and then kisses me again.
“In that case, I think I’ll start packing now.”
I chuckle. “Or maybe wait until after your housewarming party?”
Ledger looks around at the food and supplies out on the counters—the reminder that a dozen or so of our friends are going to be here any minute.
“Right, good call.”
Maybe I didn’t take much time to put a lot of thought into it before making the offer, but this feels right. Having Ledger live twenty feet away is great, but having him in my bed every single night is even better. Preferably forever.
LEDGER
It feels a little silly now to have a housewarming party at a house I won’t be living in much longer, but at least it’s an excuse to show off all the hard work Griff put into it. And either way, I’m definitely in a celebratory mood now.
Griff heads outside to start warming up the grill while I sigh and giggle to myself as I finish getting everything set up for the party. Jericho chuckles at me every so often, but he hasn’t said a negative word about Griff since we made things official, so I think even he can finally see that this time is different.
Instead of coming to the door, I start to spot the guys filtering into the backyard. It’s been ages since I’ve had an excuse to press my nose up against the window and watch my gorgeous bear, but apparently being a window-peeping stalker is like riding a bike; you never forget how it’s done. I nudge Jericho as we watch the guys gather around Griff at the grill, slapping him on the back and trying to drag him into conversation.
“Isn’t his ‘I feel out of place’ scowl so cute?” I swoon.
Jericho just shakes his head at me. “You’re such a freak. But I guess you’re the one about to move in with his adoring boyfriend and I’m the single loser now, so what do I know?”
“You’re not a loser.” I put my head on his shoulder and give him a side hug.
“Sure.” He doesn’t seem at all convinced. “Any of those guys happen to be single?” He nods towards the backyard slowly filling with Griff’s coworkers plus the mechanics, followed by some guys in leather jackets I don’t think I’ve met before.
“None of the ones I know, but it seems like there are more of them every time I turn around, so anything is possible.” I chuckle and squeeze his shoulder. “Come on, let’s go save my man from having to be too social all on his own.”
I give him a little shove towards the door and grab the cooler full of drinks on my way out.
“You hear that flutey, sharp whistle? That’s the Eastern meadowlark. Ledger says they migrate through Wisconsin in the fall,” I hear Griff saying as I step outside.
Oh my god, could that man be any damn cuter?
“Hey, strangers in my yard,” I call to greet the newcomers.
One of the guys, a silver fox in a leather jacket with an adorable twink under his arm, laughs and extends his free hand.
“Sorry to crash the party. Gates invited us and we didn’t realize it was a housewarming. I’m Arrow, owner of Ink Slingers. And these are my co-owners: Piston, Jag, Hero, and Tex.” He points out each of the other guys in their adorable little matching jackets.
“No worries. The more, the merrier.” I shake his hand and nod in greeting to the rest of them.
“Lewis,” the twink tucked under Arrow’s arm says next. “I own Little Shop of Flowers.”
“Oh my god,” I gasp. “You’re partially responsible for my epic love story.” I ignore his outstretched hand and pull him in for a hug.
He laughs and doesn’t resist my affection. “So you’re Ledger, I take it? The secret admirer?”
“That’s me.” I let him go and keep smiling.
“It was only secret because it took Griff an embarrassingly long time to realize that the guy who wouldn’t stay off his dick actually liked him,” Stone points out.
Griff huffs and shakes his head, but I see the ghost of a smile on his lips.
“We need some music,” Jag, the twink in one of the leather jackets and neon pink pants declares.
“Jag, I’m begging you not to,” Lewis says, somehow sounding both panicked and resigned.
“What?” Jag manages to sound innocent even as a wicked smile curls his lips, and seconds later, “Dance the Night Away” by Dua Lipa is blaring from a small portable speaker that he seemingly pulled out of nowhere.
“Can you get PTSD from a song? Because I feel like I’m having war flashbacks.” Lewis shudders.
Tex, the big guy wearing a cowboy hat, snatches the speaker out of Jag’s hand and a game of keep-away ensues between him and Hero, a.k.a. Leather Jacket Bear with a bushy beard and pink unicorn socks sticking out from his shit-kicking boots. Jag doesn’t play into their friendly bullying though. Instead of running between them trying to get the speaker back, he glares for a second, cracks his neck, and the next time Hero catches the speaker he moves in a flash to sweep his legs out from under him. The big guy hits the ground with a muttered “fuck.” Jag stands over him with the most saccharine smile I’ve ever seen, puts a boot in the middle of his chest, then leans down to take the speaker from him.
“Next time, I’ll hurt you,” he says, patting Hero’s cheek before letting him up.
“Kinda looked like that already hurt,” Jericho whispers, and I nod in agreement.
“Yeah, let’s not piss Jag off.”
“Who’s the guy in the hat?” Jericho asks quietly, licking his lips and eyeing Tex. “And do you think he’s single?”
I shrug. “Maybe you should go introduce yourself.” I waggle my eyebrows and leave my bestie to shoot his shot while I go wrap my arms around my big snuggly bear.
“Is it too soon to kick everyone out?” Griff grumbles quietly.
“They just got here.” I snicker, nuzzling my face into the side of his neck just to enjoy the way he melts into my touch immediately.
“Fine, they can stay an hour, but that’s it.”
I cackle again. Such a grumpy bear. There’s a little twinkle in his eyes that gives away the truth though. No matter how much he complains, he likes the noise and chaos, he just prefers it with me at his side to buffer it a little. And that’s a role I’m more than happy to play.