Page 28 of A Furry Thing Called Love (Friends of Gaynor Beach Animal Rescue #7)

Arlo

I can’t believe I’m doing this. Jordan is lucky I love him, that’s all I have to say about what’s about to happen.

“Let’s go, Eli,” I say, opening his door and unhooking his seatbelt. He breathes in my face, tongue lolling out of his mouth. “So encouraging,” I grouse with a wrinkle of my nose.

Walking into Safe Haven Animal Rescue of Gaynor Beach, I stop to marvel at the white marbled flooring and crystal light fixture hanging above. The more I look around, the more I see the not-so-hidden signs of wealth that speak to the shelter’s history.

“Hello, what can I do for you today?” the man behind the reception desk asks. He’s solidly built, with rather impressive auburn facial hair, teal eyes, and a similar calm demeanor to Jordan’s—though I’m not as drawn to him as I am to my boyfriend.

“Uh, hi. Yes, I was wondering if you have any kittens currently? Well, a cat in general will do.”

“But you’d prefer a kitten? Yes, I know, everyone does.” He says it softly, but I’ve heard enough of Jor’s rants to know he’s disappointed I wouldn’t be interested in an older cat.

“No, I actually don’t think it matters. It’s a gift for my boyfriend, actually. It’s his birthday and, well, I’d be the best boyfriend ever if I showed up with a cat, so here I am.”

“Well, you’re in luck. We have a few that could use good homes. Though, I caution against anyone getting an animal as a gift. They’re a lifelong commitment.”

I smile. “No, I know. Trust me, they’re going to a good home.”

“If you’re sure…”

“Positive. I promise, my boyfriend will love a furry thing as a present.”

“Okay, well, I’m sure we can find you something, then.”

“They’re okay with dogs, you think?” I gesture to Eli. “And other animals?”

“What type of animals?” he asks cautiously.

I laugh a little, hoping he doesn’t think I’m insane. “Well, let’s see, a goat, a pig, two more dogs, and a damn parrot.”

His expression changes a little, his eyes lighting up. “Your boyfriend wouldn’t happen to be named Jordan, now, would he?”

I snort. “Yeah, that’s him. I’m guessing you know him.”

“I do. I’m Arthur, I own this place.” He reaches a hand out and I shake it.

“Jor’s told me a little about you. It's nice to finally put a face to the name.”

“You too, he’s mentioned a few times now he snagged himself a boyfriend. Come on, I’ll show you who we have, and you can see if any are the right fit.”

“Sounds good. I’m sure you feel better about the whole ‘an animal as a present’ thing now. Not that I blame you, I’ve heard enough of Jor’s rants about the topic.”

“Oh, definitely. If anyone knows how to care for an animal, it’ll be Jordan. Come on.”

Eli and I follow Arthur to a part of the shelter where cats are housed in various kennels. There aren’t many, but it’s a nice variety of older and younger cats. Hopefully, one of them is the one, and this entire mission wasn’t for nothing.

I point out the few I want to take a closer look at, then go into one of the meet and greet rooms while Arthur gets them out of their kennels.

I spend half an hour playing with the kitties before making up my mind. Arthur comes back into the room to check on me, smiling when he sees the cat cradled in my arms like a baby.

“It’s a match then?” he asks.

Looking down at the content calico, I grin. “Yeah, I’d say so.”

Arthur begins rounding up the other three, laughing when he sees the gray and white one sleeping on top of Eli. “I uhh, hate to be the bearer of bad news, but…”

I sigh as I watch Eli scoot away from Arthur when he tries to get the kitten. “We’re leaving with two, aren’t we?”

Arthur nods. “They’re like potato chips, you can’t ever have just one.”

I sigh again, longer this time, accepting my fate. “Let’s do it.”

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.” I stare at Eli as I hold the wiggling kitten in my lap, trying to put the damn collar on.

Eli stares at me, as if judging me, and I huff. “You’re so helpful,” I mutter to him, finally getting the stupid clasp done.

The kitten uses me as a springboard as soon as I let him go, his tiny claws digging into my leg.

Eli lifts his head, letting out a small woof and moments later, I hear the front door open and close.

“Ar?”

“In the den!” I call out.

Indie finds us first, and she doesn’t hesitate to use my position on the floor to her advantage, coming over to lick my face.

“What’s going on in here?” Jordan asks.

Hugging Indie around the neck, I grin up at him. “Uhh, happy birthday. I was planning on making you dinner, but I didn’t expect you so early.”

“Thanks, you know I’m easy, you don’t have to go through much trouble. But uhh…Ar?”

“Yes?” It’s hard to hold back my laughter as he looks at the chaos around me.

“Have something to tell me?” He gestures to the cat toys, litter box, and travel crate.

“Your birthday presents are around here somewhere,” I tell him, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

In truth, I’m nervous as all hell that this was a terrible idea.

Jordan makes his way over, nudges Indie out of the way, and drops to his knees beside me. “You got me a cat for my birthday?”

“Two, actually. One is about six months old, the other’s about a year. At least according to the paperwork Arthur put together.”

“You went to the shelter?”

I nod slowly. “I know you like spending time there. And well, when you were telling me about the cats a few weeks ago, and how you know you need to be more responsible with the next animal you bring home…I decided I should try your love language out for once. If it’s stupid…”

He grabs my face between his hands and presses his lips to mine, kissing me deeply. “It’s the single most thoughtful thing someone has ever done for me. Thank you, I love them.”

I laugh. “You haven’t even seen them yet.”

“I don’t need to. The fact you care so much to do something so personal for me… Fuck, I love you, Arlo.”

Pressing our lips together, I kiss him deeply, trying to pour as much of my feelings into the kiss as possible, because words just aren’t enough to explain how much I love this man.

It might have taken us two tries to get it right, but Jordan isn’t my second chance, he’s my first and only. Always.

Breaking the kiss, I smile at the glazed look in his brown eyes, loving that I can make him feel even a fraction of what I do.

“I love you.”

“Love you, too, Ar.”

“Good, then you can help me up.”

He laughs. “I don’t know, I kind of like having you stuck down here at my mercy.”

“You can have your wicked way with me later. I bought a cake, and would like to eat it after I cook you a passable birthday dinner.”

He snorts and stands, raising his arms above his head to stretch, teasing me with a flash of his gorgeous skin peeking out from under his shirt. “You stare at me like you want to eat me for dinner…”

“I will if you make me wait any longer for food. I’m starving.”

Laughing, Jordan reaches down and helps me up, making sure I’m steady before giving me a quick kiss and letting go.

“Oh, hello, cutie.” He moves to the side and scoops up one of the cats. “You’re so pretty.”

“She’s the older one,” I tell him as he cradles the calico like a baby.

“The bow’s a nice touch,” he says, touching the collar around her neck.

“I thought so, they didn’t. There’s a gray one around here somewhere. He was not very impressed with my fashion choices.”

Jordan chuckles. “He’ll turn up eventually… You'll probably want to sleep with one eye open when you’re at my house, though.”

“Probably.”

We head into the kitchen so I can start dinner, and Jordan lets Millie in. “How is she with cats? We haven't got to that part of her socialization yet.” He eyes her warily.

“She’s fine. My sister has a cat and she was good with Bernie.

She was curious when I brought these two in, but mostly left them alone once they were out of the travel crate.

She likes to think she’s a lap dog, and wouldn’t leave me alone when I was first trying to put the collars on. It’s why she got moved outside.”

“Ah, okay.”

As I get everything out for dinner, Jordan sneaks a look at the cake in the fridge.

“Can we have dessert and then dinner later? It's my birthday after all.”

I gesture to everything laid out on the counter and give him a look.

Jordan grins. “I'll even help cook. Please?”

Sighing, I throw my hands up. “You can put all this away then.”

Jordan’s grin is worth rearranging our plans. Not that I really care, but still, I did pull all the ingredients out already.

“You're lucky I love you,” I tell him as I pull the cake out and grab the pack of candles from the counter.

Jordan hugs me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder. “I really am. Thank you for giving us a chance, Ar.”

Turning my head, I kiss him as much as I can in this position. “There's nothing I wouldn't do for you.”

“Does that mean I can get chickens for Christmas?”

I laugh. “Absolutely fucking not.”

Jordan sighs and squeezes me around the waist. “Worth a shot.”

I pat his hand in consolation. “Good try.”

I reach for the pack of candles as Jordan asks, “How’d your appointment go, by the way.”

Pausing what I’m doing, I look at him, giving him a smile.

“It went well. No new progression on my last MRI, and the doctor was happy to hear the medication change has seemed to help with some of my symptoms, better than the last one I was on. He was content with the progress reports from the physiotherapist as well. So, all in all, it was a very good appointment.”

“That’s great. I’m glad the new meds are doing what they should, I know you were worried about that.”

“Yeah. It took so long to get things figured out when the first few medications didn’t seem to do much. Changing them scared the hell out of me, but I’m glad we took the leap.”

Any type of changes in my regimen will always terrify me, but so far, things are looking promising, and keeping myself stable is all I can ask for right now.

Getting back to my task, I open the box of candles and start arranging them on the cake.

Jordan sighs and I grin, laughing as he lets me go, grumbling about “I know how old I am, you don't need to put that many candles on”.

“That's no fun,” I inform him, lighting all thirty-four candles.

Jordan sighs, but indulges me as I sing to him, all three dogs joining in as well.

As he leans forward to blow out the candles, the boy cat finally decides to come out of hiding, jumping onto the counter.

“Shit!” I say, grabbing him, but not in time, as he faceplants into the side of the cake.

Jordan almost falls over as he laughs, while I hold the kitten out in front of me, staring into a frosting-streaked light-gray face.

“You should name this one trouble ,” I grouse.

“Or perfect ,” he shoots back.

I look at him, melting at the love-struck expression on his face. “Yeah,” I respond. “Perfect.”