Page 87 of Double Shot

I’d met Klaus at his apartment this morning and helped him load his stuff into both our cars. As soon as I saw the inside of his place, I’d been overwhelmingly glad that he was moving out. It wasn’t exactly dirty, because Klaus did his best to keep it clean despite his two asshole roommates, but it was far too dated and rundown at this point to ever be made completely spotless. The kitchen ceiling had almost given me palpitations.

Klaus hadn’t been close with his roommates. That was made evident when Ruth, the gargoyle, had wandered out of her room slurping an energy drink as we were stacking boxes by the front door and asked, “Hey, wait, are you moving out?”

Simon the asshole unicorn hadn’t been home, which I was glad about. I didn’t want Klaus to see that guy again.

Once he’d handed his keys to Ruth and we’d loaded everything into our cars, Klaus had beamed up at me in excitement and thrown his arms around my neck.

“I never have to go back in there again.”

I’d grinned and dipped my head to kiss him, settling my hands on his waist. “Nope.”

“I’m going to have a whole house. That’s going to stay clean.”

“Yeah. No more asshole roommates.”

He’d laughed, still clinging to my neck, looking so sweet and happy and pretty in the mid-morning sun that my throat had almost closed up. “Nope. Just Nat, and I’m used to him. Plus, he lets me use all his skincare products.”

He’d given me one more kiss before releasing my neck and stepping back to slam his trunk shut. I’d done the same.

“I’ll see you at the new house.” He’d smiled at me, opening his car door. “Nat said he’ll be there around lunchtime, after his shift. I can’t wait for you to finally meet him!”

That was when the nerves had started.

I managed to distract myself a little as we unloaded the last of the boxes from our cars and carried them inside. I knew this was Dan’s place, and that he’d moved into Rafe’s house right next door, but neither of their cars were in the driveway. They were likely both at work. It was a Wednesday, and I wasn’t performing until Friday, so I had plenty more time to keep rehearsing for my matches this weekend without having to worry about taking a day off.

The place was furnished, and Klaus hadn’t brought any furniture himself from his apartment because most of it hadn’t been his, it had just been there when he’d moved in. He said the only thing he’d considered bringing was the mirror he’d bought, but it had been cracked anyway.

I got to work carrying the bags and suitcases of clothes upstairs to the front bedroom while Klaus went into the kitchen and unpacked the small amount of food he’d brought from the old place; mostly shelf-stable stuff that he hadn’t been willing to leave behind because he’d paid for it all.

The single box marked Books and stuff, I left in the living room, but I carried the one labelled Bathroom upstairs, as well as the one marked Private stuff, which I awkwardly left beside the bed. That could’ve meant anything from important documents to sex toys, but of course my mind went straight to the gutter. I had to give myself a minute before I went back downstairs, because I’d started picturing Klaus using various toys on himself and the throbbing erection in my jeans had been painfully obvious.

Yes, we were still following the rule, but it felt like time. It really felt like time. Mainly because it seemed like Klaus and I had known each other for lifetimes already. I was more comfortable with him than I’d ever been with anyone in my life, and I could tell that he felt just as comfortable with me. We knew each other’s embarrassing stories—and trust me, I had a lot of them. We knew what made each other tick. My mind didn’t exactly go quiet when I was around him, because it was never quiet, but it grew calm and peaceful and my thoughts didn’t spiral when we were together. He made me feel better about myself and my place in the world. He made me feel wanted and cherished. I worked my hardest to make sure he felt the same way.

My belly dipped when I considered the fact that we were likely going to have sex soon. Very soon. Maybe it was silly to be this nervous and excited and so unbearably eager, seeing as we’d already had sex several times, but that was before we really knew each other. That was before it had turned into this.

Thinking about it drove me back downstairs, because I just needed to see Klaus. To wrap my arms around him and bury my nose in his throat and breathe in his scent. I was clingy as hell when I let myself be, and I let myself with Klaus because I could tell he loved it.

He looked up when I walked into the kitchen and beamed at me. He was sitting on the floor and appeared to be organising the food he’d brought into piles, but he stood as I approached.

“How’s it going?” he asked, still holding a bag of flour as he popped up on his tiptoes to kiss me.

“All your clothes are upstairs.” I smiled at him and tucked a couple of stray curls behind his ear. “And your bathroom stuff.”

“Thank you.” He smiled up at me again, a little more dreamily this time. “You know, it shouldn’t take me too long to unpack.”

“No?”

He shook his head, his smile turning a little shy as he raked his teeth over his lower lip, drawing my gaze and making me watch his mouth with growing hunger. “So maybe tonight… I was thinking we could get some takeout and—”

The front door was still open, so the sound of a creaky handbrake being applied was loud and sudden enough to make me flinch. I’d been focusing so intently on Klaus and what he’d been about to suggest that I hadn’t even heard a car coming down the street. An engine cut off, then a car door opened and slammed shut.

We both looked over at the kitchen door, but couldn’t see through to the front hall from here. A handful of seconds later though, my ears twitched as I heard approaching footsteps on the concrete drive, before they grew hollow as a pair of boots stepped onto the front porch.

“Helloooo!” a very loud, enthusiastic and husky male voice called. I straightened immediately. My gut clenched up tight. Sweat beaded along my hairline.

The best friend had arrived.

Chapter 31