Page 55 of Hooked On Him

“And you know this is only temporary, right? I only need a place to stay until my apartment is ready to move back into.” Not if I have anything to do with it.

“Of course." I nod.

He thinks about it for a moment. Come on, baby, just agree. I promise you won’t regret it.

“Okay.” Fuck yes! “Okay. I’ll give this a try. And I really do need a place to stay. This is the only place I could afford." That's because I put the rent lower than the place he was at before. I don’t even want to take his money. And I don’t plan on it. I know he would insist on me taking it, but I plan on putting it away and giving it back to him later on. Or, make an anonymous donation towards his student loans. If that's even a thing. I’m sure I can find a way.

“Then welcome to your new home.” I wave my arm, gesturing inside my apartment.

A smile kicks onto his lips, and my heart skips. “I have to go to my car and grab Snicklefritz and some of my things. The room is furnished, right? Because I only have a few boxes.”

“Yup. Bed, dresser, and everything.” I say. “Give me a second. I’ll come help.”

“Okay, good.” He nods. “Austin?” His voice sounds so vulnerable as he says my name.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. This is helping me a lot.”

“Of course.” I smile. I’d do anything for you. You just don’t know it. “What are friends for?”

Friends for now. But soon, I’m gonna make this man fall so hard for me, he’s never gonna want to leave.

***

After we grab everything from Levi’s car, I get him and the cat inside. We take his boxes to his room, then let Snicklefritz out of his carrier as Levi sets up his litter in the laundry room. He’s shy about coming out and gives me a suspicious look.

“Hey, buddy.” I crouch down and hold out my hand for him to sniff.

He does before nudging his head against my hand. I smile. If I’m gonna win his daddy over, I've got to win him over first.

“It’s okay. You’re safe here.” I give his head a scratch.

“Well, this is good.” Levi chuckles when he comes back out to see Snicklefritz rubbing against my hand, insisting on more pets. “I was worried he wasn’t gonna like moving again. He’s normally good with people, but a lot of change in a short amount of time can be hard for animals."

“Well, my place is his place.”

Levi looks around, wrapping his arms around himself like he feels out of place. That, I don’t like.

“And now it’s yours too.” I point out.

“It’s... nice. Like really nice,” he says, looking around. “Are you sure the rent is only eight hundred on my end?” he asks skeptically.

“I don’t need help with the rent. That's not why I was looking for a roommate. Just wanted to help out a fellow student, and I had the room. Also, some company in this big place would be nice too.”

“I am going to pay you rent.” He points out.

“I know.” I chuckle. “I wasn’t going to ask you not to.”

“Good. Just because we’re friends, doesn’t mean I’m going to take advantage of you.”

“I’d never dream of it.”

“The only thing is,” he chews on his lower lip. “Everything looks so nice. And expensive. I can’t promise he won’t scratch up some of the furniture. I can keep him in my room if you want.”

“No. It’s fine. Trust me. I couldn’t care less about the furniture. As long as it’s still usable, that's all that matters to me.” I chuckle. Plus, it’s replaceable.

“Okay. If you’re sure.”