The Mortician's Son (BoyxBoy)

C H A P T E R . 1 4

S U M M E R  D A Y S

                                                                     June

Blake and Nathan walked into the pet store. After a short glance around, the raven-haired teen looked to his boyfriend.

"Well, go crazy," he encouraged, beaming.

A faint blush colored the brunette's cheeks. "Blake, I… you don't have to do this…"

"I want to do this, Nathan," Blake corrected. "I want something that'll keep you company and make sure you think of me."

"I don't think I'll ever stop thinking of you," Nathan murmured. Blake smiled at that and took his hand.

"Pick a pet," he said. "I'll pay for the food and everything."

"No, I-I can't ask you to pay for so much!"

"Nathan," Blake pressed his lips against the shell of Nathan's ear and purred. "Just be good and accept my gift."

Nathan felt his cheeks heat up exponentially. Gods, when did Blake become so persuasive? The brunette turned his attention to the cats. Despite the fact that he and his father skinned and gutted the felines on occasion, Nathan liked them and had always thought of keeping one. He made a beeline for the wall of cats, each of them separated by their cages. There were felines of all ages; kittens, young cats and old, lazy, fat cats. There were several cubicles in the pet store for future owners to meet any prospective pets. Nathan requested a few felines to be brought out so he could see Blake personally.

"I like this one," Blake said offhandedly as a white kitten batted at Nathan's nose playfully.

The brunette hummed thoughtfully. "I'd like to see more cats, though. Do you have any interesting ones?" Nathan asked the male employee.

"Uh, well—" the man began.

Suddenly, the mortician's son caught sight of a cat crouching at the far end of the cages. It was a large, black, female cat; its left paw was white, it's green eyes were fixated on the brunette. Nathan went up to the cat's cage and pressed his hands against the glass. The cat glanced up at him, twitched a lazy ear and then squished its nose on the glass in response. Nathan smiled his little flashlight-under-the-chin smile and, to Blake's utter surprise, the cat grinned back in the same fashion.

"I want this one," Nathan said, pointing at the feline.

"Um, I don't think you want that one!" The employee stuttered. "She's really aggressive, and she doesn't like anyone."

"I think she likes me," the brunette said without looking at the employee.

"No, sir, you don't understand. That cat is lethal," the man stressed. "All its previous owners brought it right back the day they brought it home. They've all complained that it scratches anyone who tries to pet it and it's really, really scary! The Humane Society's tried to gas it twice and — well, obviously you can see that it survived."

"You've tried to kill it twice?" Blake asked incredulously. He stared at the cat.

"And there's rumor that it was once hit by a sixteen-wheeled truck, too…." The employee went on.

Nathan looked immensely pleased and turned his gaze to his boyfriend. "I want this one," he repeated.

Blake swallowed. The brunette was thinking about taking care of a cat that survived certain death more than once?! Was he insane — Oh wait.