Chapter 2 Ragout for Two #2
As the door into the foyer opened silently on its well-oiled hinges, Aspen’s sensitive ears twitched forward and he caught the tail end of the other person’s conversation. The snow cat paused behind the half-open door, unsure of how to proceed. An agitated male’s voice reaching him sharply,
“A brEAK?! YOU’RE brEAKING UP WITH ME BECAUSE YOU WANT TO GO TO IBIZA?!”
And then a moment later,
“No. NO, Evan! Don’t you DARE ask me for any of your shit back! I’ll leave it in a box on trash day and you can come get it before the trucks do, IF YOU’RE LUCKY! DON’T FUCKING CALL ME AGAIN!”
Yikes, Aspen thought. That didn’t sound like a pleasant conversation at all.
A pause and a small clatter, as though someone had mostly dropped their phone on the check-in counter. An almost inaudible sob reached Aspen where he stood hidden behind the door.
Should he even make his presence apparent, or should he wait until the other man had taken a moment to compose himself?
Aspen swallowed, all of his earlier tension about dealing with a customer leaving him in a flooding rush of guilt.
He was supposed to be the inn’s host, for crying out loud!
That meant welcoming everyone, at all times!
Within reason, he reminded himself. You promised not to be a complete work-a-holic, remember?
Aspen let out a tiny breath of exhasperation at himself before stepping through the gap in the doorway. He must not have moved as quietly as he thought because the other man’s head snapped up, water-filled eyes flinging themselves in Aspen’s direction.
And what eyes they were!
Aspen froze, gaping at the most beautiful, caramel-colored gaze he’d ever seen.
He felt himself flushing head-to-toe, blood rushing to his cheeks…
and other places…as the man’s scent reached him in a wave.
The customer smelled just as sweet as he looked, with an odd, medicinal underlayer that the snow leopard couldn’t quite place.
“Oh fuck!” The other man gasped in surprise, swiping ineffectively at the tears on his cheeks. “Fuck, I’m so sorry! I’ll pay for it! I’ll…I’m…s-sorry…I’m…”
Pay for it? Aspen frowned, then saw the deep claw-marks the other man had scratched into the surface of the check-in counter. He sighed inwardly. He’d just had that installed. Aspen looked back up at the flailing shifter. His stomach twisted guiltily once more.
He hated seeing people unhappy. It was one of the reasons he’d opened the bed a place of comfort and warmth for all those looking for a safe place to rest.
The were-leopard stepped forward and softly lay a hand over the clawed, shaking fist of the other man.
Most would have suggested the action to be overly-familiar and unprofessional, but Aspen was a shifter and so was this other man.
And a shifter’s need for touch often overwrote common courtesy.
At least, it did in an establishment catering to the Unseen, where such things would and could take precedence.
Those caramel eyes shot up to Aspen’s all over again, confusion written large in their emotional gaze.
“Checking in?” Aspen asked softly, his quiet demeanor offering comfort where his words might fail him. At least, so he hoped.
The other shifter sniffled, a fresh welling of tears tracking down his face.
Aspen silently slid a box of tissues over, then waited patiently while the man recomposed himself as much as he was able just then.
Finally that bronze-eyed gaze looked in his direction, cleared somewhat from the watery flood which had been filling it.
Those eyes floored him just as much as they had the first time.
“Y-yeah,” the shifter huffed emotionally. “Yeah, I guess I am.”
Aspen smiled in what he hoped was a warm, welcoming manner, while also hitting an appropriate note of apologetic politeness. Fuck, what was he supposed to say now?
“Welcome to the All Curled Up Bed & Breakfast?” he shrugged in a comical manner, trying to diffuse the tension. The other shifter gave a little hiccuping laugh. Oh good, that worked! “Could I have your name and I’ll check the computer for your reservation?”
“Oh! Oh my gosh, of course! I’m so sorry, I’m just…
” he flapped his hands around in agitation before diving into a little mini-backpack to dig out his wallet.
He gave another huffing laugh with a few more tears as he looked back up.
His face crumpled mildly as he handed over his license. “I’m just…”
Aspen reached out and took the license, his own clawed fingers lingering over the other cat’s for perhaps a moment too long. Their eyes met, blue and tawny.
“It’s alright,” Aspen’s voice was a barely there rumble, though it carried just fine in the quiet space.
“I’m afraid I heard that last bit before I came in the room.
” He gestured at his cat-formed ears. “I’m really sorry that you’re arriving with bad news in tow.
Hopefully we can change that for you while you’re here?
With a nice room and…and a good service? ”
Aspen’s eye’s went wide as he realized what he’d said.
“Good room service!” He wasn’t sure that was any better. He peeked back up at Felix from under his lashes.
The other shifter snorted slightly, a mild smile tugging at his lips, even as as he wiped away another couple of tears.
Felix was having a bit of a hard time reconciling the two extremes flashing through his brain right now.
The breakup with Evan had left him absolutely devastated, but then he turns around to find the most attractive feline he’s ever seen batting his big baby-blues and touching his hand all polite and comforting and… and…NICE?!
Felix thought his emotions might short-circuit.
But damnit, he was here.
In this absolutely gorgeous inn, straight out of his top 10 fantasies…
And he’d worked hard to get here, too! Trading shifts three different times with people he knew he would regret swapping with later.
Working overtime just to afford it. All those long talks with Evan about their various emotional and physical needs while they planned their getaway.
Well, while Felix thought they were planning…
Evan could go fuck himself.
Wasn’t Felix allowed to have a nice weekend? He wanted wine and romance movies and good food and expensive sheets! Even if he spent the entire time wallowing, he was at least going to get his money’s worth, for fuck’s sake!
“I don’t suppose you have a wine list or anything?” he huffed out, his voice still a little shaky.
“Ah, oh, er, not yet, but I have a few bottles in the back! Sorry, I’m still a work in progress—I mean the inn. The inn is a work in progress.” Aspen muttered, his pale, almond skin flushing deeply as he pecked at the keys, pulling up the reservation on his desktop.
“Oh.”
Aspen tried not to feel hurt by the disappointment in the other man’s voice.
“Well that’s ok I guess. Is there a restaurant or something nearby? I don’t want to be a nuissance…”
Aspen’s eyes shot up from the keyboard he was busy mangling with his claws. His brows drew together in confusion. “You want to leave? I have rabbit cooking! And snacks! I could make you something if you are hungry. Are you hungry?”
He paused, noting Felix’s taken-aback expression, then shook himself physically and took in a deep breath.
“Ah, forgive me, I…have not been around people today. I have forgotten how to behave.” He gave a small, apologetic smile to Felix. “You know how this is.”
Felix’s brows drew together in further consternation, “Ah, no, actually. I live in the city. And I work in a hospital. I’m around people all the time. Too much, really.”
“I see.” Aspen sighed, ears and tail tip twitching. He’d made an assumption. It was a good reminder that not all shifters were the same. That they would all have different needs when they came to the inn. “Well…”
He turned his attention back to the keyboard, finally getting it to bring up the screen he wanted. User-friendly, my ass! The printer made a whirring sound nearby.
“…there is a decent pub open late in Jericho, though the kitchen may be closed by the time you get there.” He set the paperwork & a pen on the counter, neatly avoiding the gouges from Felix’s claws.
“Though truly, I do not mind feeding you. I was serious about the rabbit. Or if you are vegetarian, I have options…?”
Felix snorted, “Not vegetarian.”
He scribbled his signature on the page, shoving it back without looking.
He didn’t really care about the price or whatever it was he was signing for.
This was all going on his credit card anyway, and after what had just happened with Evan, he deserved a treat.
He looked shyly back at the other shifter, feeling suddenly extremely self-conscious about everything.
“I’m really sorry for the hassle,” he mumbled. “Am I your only customer?”