Page 47 of How Not to Date a Griffin

Reid swallowed. This was not going to be a pretty story.

“I cleaned her up in the kitchen sink, making what I’m sure now was a huge, annoying mess. But I was just happy to take care of the kitten. She was white under all that mud, and had the most pitiful meow.” Nolan’s throat clicked when he swallowed. “Dad was not happy when he came home. Said some bullshit about her being a wild animal, better off on her own, and if she couldn’t survive, it was her own fault.”

Reid’s heart thundered. This close enough to kicking dogs for you, John?

“God, Nolan, I’m so sorry.”

Beneath him, Nolan attempted a casual shrug. “It’s… in the past at this point. George Whittier hates pets. So, it’s just my little petty obsession. Taking care of the ones I can, in whatever way I can.”

“That’s fucked up. I’m sorry he’s such an awful person,” Reid muttered, voice muffled in Nolan’s chest. “I’m glad you volunteer.”

“Me too. It’s nice. I want a cat of my own, but I travel so much it just seems cruel, to let one get attached to me and then never be around.”

“That can be the first thing you do when you tell your dad to shove it,” Reid said, with a frustrated edge to his tone. George Whittier was an awful person, and Nolan was better off without him.

“Maybe it will be,” Nolan offered, a note of wonder in his tone, and resumed the comforting strokes in Reid’s hair.

Reid let loose a low breath. Not a sigh, because that wouldn’t be fair to Nolan. If he didn’t want his whole life to implode because they’d spent one night together… well, that was more than fair.

And besides, with Nolan’s fingers brushing through the strands of his hair, he was content as fu—

A knock on the door made them both freeze, and Reid just stopped himself from whining when Nolan slid out from under him to go get the door.

Reid listened to his polite tone and many thank-yous until the door closed.

Nolan cleared his throat as he came in pushing a little cart. “Wanna hear something funny?”

“Hit me,” Reid said.

He lifted a small box. “I asked for condoms,” Nolan said, lips twitching.

Reid almost bruised a rib laughing so hard.

Nolan

The sun woke Nolan up, blinding and bright and warm—no.

That was Reid, asleep next to him in the bed, lips slightly parted with his deep breaths.

Nolan stared for probably longer than polite, watched Reid’s face twitch in sleep, counted the even number of breaths.

But the time niggled at the back of his mind. What hour was it? Was he late again?

A stealthy roll and stretch brought his phone to him from the side table, the small unopened box still sitting on the top.

They hadn’t done anything that warranted condoms, and if left up to Nolan, they wouldn’t be using them anyway, since they didn’t have to. But the inside joke had made Reid laugh, so buying them had been worth it.

Instead, they’d finally decided on a movie, eaten, and then fallen asleep before the credits rolled.

But it didn’t matter. They still had the whole week.

And yet that didn’t feel like long enough, so with time permitting, he rolled back over to stare at his new favorite sight, only to find Reid blinking himself awake, smiling fondly at him.

God, it was rather warm this morning, wasn’t it?

“Hello, you,” Nolan whispered, afraid raising his voice would shatter the porcelain moment.

“Morning,” Reid responded, voice raspy from sleep. His arms slipped from the covers to stretch overhead, biceps straining with the long line of his body in a very cat-like stretch. A muffled groan slipped out of him, and Nolan swallowed tightly.