Chapter 1 #2
“Ah!” he gasped when he tried to sit up.
He hadn’t taken his pain meds before going outside, only to fall asleep in his less than supportive beach chair, and now his hip was killing him.
“Teddy?”
Oh no.
“Hey, I didn’t realize you were still out here.
I was just coming to knock on your door.
” Finn appeared from around the umbrella, without the dog or volleyball but still in trunks with a loose button-up beach shirt covered in palm fronds.
“We can turn the music down if— Are you okay?” His gaze darted to where Teddy clutched his hip and one arm of the beach chair.
Teddy could drop dead any time now. But he also couldn’t get up. “I forgot to take my pain medication, and now it hurts too much to move.”
“How long have you been there?” Finn’s eyebrows shot up. “That chair’s not at all conducive for—”
“—hip issues, especially after surgery, I know. I… fell asleep.” Because Teddy was an old man compared to this kid.
A warm smile lit up Finn’s face. “Surgery, huh? I was going to offer you a drink, see if you wanted to join us, but I guess I have to offer something else.” He came around the side of Teddy’s chair and squatted down.
“What are you doing?” Teddy leaned away from him.
“Getting you out of that chair. Now hang on to your book.”
“Wait—”
But Finn’s arms were already scooping underneath him, giving an impressive heft of strength considering they weren’t that different in size, and lifting Teddy without causing a spike of pain, only a mild hiss.
“I got you. Is the door unlocked?” Finn asked as he started for the house. Teddy’s chair was set up close to the porch, but there was no way Finn’s friends weren’t seeing this if they were looking.
“Yes,” Teddy said, feeling utterly humiliated—and a little turned on by Finn’s proximity and firmness and beachy smell, which was just insult to injury when he had to pee. Why did Finn have to be so… all of this?
It was a sliding door, but only the screen door was closed, easy enough for Finn to push aside while carrying Teddy. “Sofa or bedroom?”
“Sofa,” Teddy said without hesitation. He drew the line at letting this gorgeous man into his bedroom the first day they met.
Thankfully, the sofa was close, large, and comfortable, and Teddy felt instantly at ease once Finn set him down.
“Are those your pills?” Finn walked to the kitchen island.
“Yes, but—”
“I’ll get you some water. You should wait ten or fifteen minutes before you move, let them kick in, and take it slow. I can wait around if you—”
“No,” Teddy said, a little harried. He didn’t like being taken care of, especially by a beautiful stranger who only reminded him of what he’d lost. “I appreciate the offer and the… lift, but I’ll be fine.”
“What are neighbors for?” Finn said as he came back with a glass of water from the tap and the bottle of pills. “Though I guess I can’t offer you that drink anymore.”
Teddy downed the maximum dose with a thick swallow. “Not much of a drinker anyway.” His father had been a drinker, one of the many reasons his mother kicked him out years ago. “And the music is fine. I’ll be up for a while now. My own fault.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” Finn crouched to his level, such ease to the movement like it was no effort at all. Teddy missed that. “How long ago was the surgery?”
“Less than a week.”
“You’re a rock star, then. Nothing to be ashamed of. But try to remember to take your pills and—”
“A new chair is already on its way. Geriatric approved,” Teddy said with a sneer.
Finn laughed. “I hardly think you qualify. What are you, thirty-five?”
Oh, he was a flatterer. Teddy could add about a decade to that. “And are you the baby-faced thirty-five-year-old type yourself or a bearded twenty-three?” Please don’t actually be college age, not that Teddy should care.
“More somewhere in between,” Finn said cryptically.
Late twenties, then, which wasn’t terribly young. Still too young for Teddy.
Finn grabbed a vibrating cell phone out of his pocket. His face flushed when he read the text.
“Something funny?” Teddy asked.
“Oh, uhh… one of my friends making a bad joke, wondering where I went.”
“How bad a joke?”
Finn’s smile turned embarrassed after he shot a text back. “He asked if I’d decided to role-play Florence Nightingale and sleep here tonight.”
Teddy laughed before he could stop himself. “And how’d you respond?”
“I said, yep, so if you could take care of breakfast for everyone tomorrow, that would be great.”
A fuller laugh left Teddy, and Finn joined him, so Teddy didn’t try to squelch it. “It was a rather dramatic exit we made. When you regale your friends with the tale, please make the injury something cooler than years of dance.”
“Black ops, got it.” Finn nodded. “But the details are classified.”
Dammit, why did he have to be so charming?
“I should…. But hey, do you have your cell phone on you?” Finn asked as he stood.
“Yes.” Teddy pulled it from his pocket, confused, and Finn plucked it from his fingers. He entered a number.
“There, now you can call me if you ever….“
“Fall down and can’t get up?”
That dimpled grin was the kind Teddy could get lost in. “If that’s the only reason you can think of.”
Fuck, why was he flirting? Teddy went entirely blank for what to say, which prompted Finn to look away with a bashful glance at the floor, then back at Teddy far too attractively.
“See you later, Teddy.”
“Y-yeah. Thanks.”
Once Finn was out the door, Teddy fell back into the cushions with a groan. At least he had his book, because as much as he still had to pee, he wasn’t getting up from the sofa anytime soon.
He also had no idea what page he’d left off on.
The next morning, Teddy decided he would not call Finn unless there was an emergency. He didn’t need complications. He was terrible company anyway. He’d only end up alienating Finn, and he didn’t want his neighbor to hate him.
Besides, it wasn’t like they could do anything fun, not full-range types of fun, if that’s what Finn was interested in, until Teddy had undergone at least a few months of physical therapy.
He could still attend to himself for the most part, though having that pretty face between his thighs wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
Nope. Teddy wasn’t going to think about it. Fun aside, if Finn was looking for more, Teddy would be an even bigger disappointment, like he’d been with every other relationship in his life.
A cat wouldn’t judge him, at least. A cat would just be there to snuggle and keep him company while requiring minimal effort. He’d only need to feed it, give it water, and get one of those automatic litter pans so he didn’t have to bend over to clean it. Easy.
His sister’s email about getting a pet was far too chipper, though.
Erina wasn’t chipper. It meant she was trying too hard and assumed he was miserable.
He was, but he couldn’t admit that. So, although he did click the link to the adoption agency, his response to her email was that he was only doing it so she would have someone to talk to when she visited.
The middle finger emoji she replied with was much more her style.
Teddy spent a good portion of the next few days on the website scouring for cats that were being boarded near him and had traits he could relate to.
He didn’t want one that was best with multiple pets.
He didn’t want a kitten. He didn’t want one too fluffy that would infest his home with hair and require constant brushing.
Just a calm single-pet family adult cat.
Then he found him, and he was beautiful. Unique as a snowshoe breed, thick fur but not overly long like a Persian, big blue eyes, three years old, as calm and docile as an old man. Perfect.
Except for his name—Smudge. Teddy would change that the second he got him.
Quickly selecting the cat and filling out the form before anyone else could snatch him, Teddy noticed that the boarder address was very similar to his own. It had to be someone on his same block; he’d just never figured out how the numbers lined up out here.
He paid the fees, set a time for delivery, and waited for a response.
This is great, Teddy! I’ll bring Smudge by this afternoon.
A little informal in Teddy’s mind—his personal information always said Edmund, after all—but what did he care. It wasn’t like he’d have to spend time with the boarder.
When the knock came hours later, he almost slammed his head against the front door after looking through the peephole.
“Finn?” he said, at first surprised—and then he saw the pet carrier.
Seriously?
“I am so glad you’re taking Smudge.” Finn glowed, looking even more striking in jeans and a maroon Henley than he had the day they met. “He’s a great sleeping buddy, just the sweetest. Even Nora adores him, but everyone always wants kittens.”
Why was this happening? Finn must think Teddy did this on purpose to see him again.
“Teddy?”
Right. Normal human interaction required. Teddy opened the door wider to let Finn in. “So, this is what you do? Board cats and dogs? How many more do you have over there?”
“Only Nora right now,” Finn said with a chuckle, “and she’s mine. I started out fostering her but couldn’t let her go. I try to have only one or two other animals at any given time. But that’s on the side. By day, I’m—”
His cell phone went off, a call with the ringtone “Miss Independent,” which made his cheeks flush as he set down the carrier.
“Uh, I did not choose that ringtone. It’s my sister, sorry.”
“I can relate.” Teddy waved him away.
“This is Smudge’s current food and treats.” He set down a plastic bag. “Just open the carrier and let him come out in his own time. I’ll stop by later to see how you two are getting along.” Before Teddy could refute that, Finn answered the call and turned to exit. “Hey, Rose, what’s up?”