“Found a kitten last weekend. Really pitiful little thing. We call him Weasley.”
“Aww, is he ginger?”
“Yeah, so very. He’s still bottle-fed, but one of the dogs, Grace, she loves the little guy and keeps him safe and warm. We just have to play with him and feed him.”
“Sounds nice,” Angel said a bit wistfully. Then he cleared his throat. “I might’ve met a girl.”
“Oh, really?” Dev stretched the first syllable of “really” enough to make Angel chuckle.
“Yeah. It’s early days, but she’s interesting and… she’s pretty awesome.”
They talked for a moment longer about this mystery girl and the dogs and Weasley, and then Dev decided to get back to the hard subjects.
“So, I know you don’t like me being with Seth and Leaf, but I am.”
“I just don’t want to see any of it for now. Like… you know it’s not the gay thing, that would be pretty hypocritical of me, but….”
“Don’t mess with your studies?”
“Yeah, exactly.”
“We won’t.”
They ended the call on a relatively good note, and Dev sighed. Yeah, maybe it would all work out somehow.
Chapter Fourteen
TWO WEEKSwent by, and both Weasley and Dev had become parts of the household more than Seth could’ve ever imagined.
Missy gently playing with the now five-week-old cat had to be one of the best things he’d ever witnessed. Who would’ve thought it took a kitten to make Missy play nice and calm?
One night they were watching TV, and Missy was playing with Weasley around the couch and coffee table. During a commercial break, Dev suddenly piped up. “Here, we see the majestic Fluffy Weasley Beast stalking its unsuspecting prey.”
Both Seth and Leaf burst out laughing at his imitation of Sir David Attenborough.
“Sometimes, the prey becomes ambitious and thinks it can outrun the Weasley Beast. On other occasions it has been known to try to counterattack the Beast, but that usually leads to a surprise warning sound from across the valley.”
Seth, with tears running from his eyes, tried to breathe through the laughter.
As if on cue, Missy got a bit too rowdy and Grace rumbled a warning from her spot on the dog bed.
“Oh my God, I’m going to pee myself,” Seth choked out, and Leaf shook his head, laughing still, while Dev tried his best to look innocent.
Weasley decided he’d had enough, but instead of going to Grace, he toddled to the couch and climbed up Leaf’s pant leg. Once he got to his knee, he preened like a tiny little orange peacock.
“You’re such a clever boy, aren’t you?” Leaf cooed at the cat and petted him.
Weasley meowed, then made his way to Dev and climbed onto his shoulder. He curled up there, eyelids starting to droop a little.
“I think that’s my cue to take the dogs out. Once we’re back in, we can feed him and then go to bed.”
It had been a long day for all of them. Seth had been at the college from eight to five, Dev had been working in the home study, and Leaf had visited Annie’s shelter and done some emailing with clients who needed help but didn’t require a visit.
Once Leaf was out the door with the dogs, Seth turned to Dev. “Leaf’s birthday is on Saturday.”
“Oh? I didn’t know that,” Dev said, frowning.
“Yeah, and I know there’s this fantasy of his that I haven’t been able to fulfill with the issues I have….”
