What a way to meet his parents. Is this better or worse than how Don first met Sophia?
The universe seriously hates me. Things went wrong with Missy and Sheila, and then I ran into Xenia. Xenia even invited me back to her place. More than once, my vision was blurry between the bar and her apartment door, and I felt unbalanced. I’m damn lucky I didn’t drop her when we were making out in the elevator. God bless small elevators. I could cover up my stumble by pressing her against the walls. I don’t know what was happening to make me feel like this. I know I’m not drunk. I’m pushing thirty. Trust me. I’ve drunk enough to know how much of what gets me there. And three shots of tequila aren’t it, especially when I had food in my stomach. Sure, if I hadn’t eaten and done tequila shots, three might have gotten me tipsy, and four would have put me on the floor. But of course, the universe can’t just give me a mulligan. This was my chance to show Xenia I’m not a total wreck and capable of showing her a good time. And just as things were going the way I wanted, it went to shit. I
This is ridiculous. I called 9-1-1 and rode in the ambulance with Clay, but now I’m sitting in an interview room at a police station with this dumbass cop who keeps asking me the same questions as somehow my narrative of tonight's events would change. Because I didn’t feel shitty enough that Clay was possibly drugged on my watch and that he blacked out while eating my pussy. Now I’ve got his cunt mother thinking I’m the one that drugged her son and this cabrón of the same mind as her. “How many times do I have to repeat myself?” I sighed, rolling my eyes. “Until I feel I have the whole story.” The officer shrugged. “You do have the full story! At least the full story from what I could tell you.” I sighed. “I did not drug Clay,” I repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. “Well, you aren’t giving us any….” The cop narrowed his eyes as the door to the interview room swung open, cutting him off. I arched my eyebrow as I saw an African American woman in one killer bold yellow p
I detest hospitals. They are up there with spiders on my do not like list. Hospitals make me think of death and the memory of visiting vózinho Thiago when he had that heart attack during his last visit to NYC. He wasn’t a larger-than-life-size man like dedushka Ares, but he was to a kid like me. I still didn’t think there would come a day he wasn’t around. I remember being fifteen and coming to the hospital with the rest of my family and seeing him in that bed hooked up to all those machines looking so frail. After he died, I couldn’t stand even looking at a hospital. I didn’t even visit Reese in the hospital when she had the babies. I waited till they were home to meet my niece and nephew. I love my sister, but I couldn’t cross the threshold. I’d gone to the hospital full of intentions to meet the babies but couldn’t. Everyone had finally left my room. But now my mind didn’t have the distractions from all the sounds and smells of a hospital. And now I’m in a hospital. I suppose I s
I don’t know how long I’d been asleep, but I know it was not long enough to deal with any bullshit. So when someone came into the bedroom, I freaked. It had been a long day before my creepy neighbor tried to drug me and instead drugged the guy I was hoping to fuck. So it’s been a double-long ass day. I’m in a strange place, and someone just entered what I was told would be a secure apartment. So I did the only logical thing. I reached for the nearest weapon I could find, in this case, an alarm clock, when I heard someone getting closer to the bed. And as soon as they were close enough and pulled the blanket off me, I yelled and lobbed it at them. I figured I’d pay Clay or Makayla back to replace the clock. I just hadn’t expected the intruder to be the rightful occupant of the bed. What was Clay doing here? He’s supposed to be in the hospital overnight for observation. And holy shit, why is he naked? There should be a law about him being naked. It’s unfair for anyone to look that hot
I’d been happy to see Tinkerbell when I had returned from a walk with Makayla. But they didn’t stay, and I knew it was Clay’s fault. That stupid human was ruining this, not just for me but for himself. How can he not realize that Xenia is the perfect match for him? I realized that in moments but it’s been days since she ran off, and now that she’s returned, he managed to offend her, and I fear she may never return. “Why are you in the dumps?” Makayla asked, stretching between my ears. Typically I’d like this and roll to get belly rubs too, but I’m not in the mood. So I huffed and moved further down the sofa so Makayla couldn’t touch me. I know it’s not her fault that Tinkerbell left, but it is her fault they went the other day. If she’d not walked in and made a fuss, Xenia wouldn’t have gotten the wrong impression and stayed; therefore, Tinkerbell would have stayed too. “Oh, come on. I know you’re upset about your not-so-little girlfriend. But don’t take it out on me. I don’t contro
I don’t know if I fell asleep so quickly and soundly because I finally got laid after months of a dry spell, if it was Xenia in bed with me, or just general exhaustion because I was drugged. Maybe a combination of all of the above. Either way, I have slept this soundly in a long time. I’ve also not slept with a woman in years, like sleeping in bed with a woman. Don’t look at me like that. It’s not a big secret that I don’t do commitments. I’m a one-night stand kind of man. And part of that means either the woman or I leave after sex. Yet Xenia didn’t leave, and I had no intention of telling her to either. And I wasn’t going to ask her to sleep elsewhere just because her going home wasn’t an option due to jackass Trevor. The last woman I shared a bed with beyond sex was the one I don’t talk about, even with Reese. Yes, I have kept my secret for ten years from my twin sister. And no, I’m not telling you about it. I’m allowed secrets damn it. Even if Reese and I generally don’t keep th
I don’t know why I was being bashful like that. Clay’s seen me naked twice. So what was the big deal now? Maybe it’s because he touched the tattoo. I shouldn’t be so weird about it. Of course, he’d be interested in the tattoo. Tattoos typically have a meaning to a person, and mine is no different. I still feel like we aren’t close enough to tell him the purpose of my tattoo. Besides, this isn’t the time or place to talk about sad things. Maybe someday, if things go in a serious direction between us, I’ll tell Clay about my tattoo and why I have it. But I’m not banking on that since Clay doesn’t seem like a guy who wants a relationship. He let me stay in his room last night. Because he wanted to get laid, duh, but he’s offered to let Tinkerbell remain with his dog sitter, which implies he’s letting me stay here longer. But that might only be because of the whole Trevor thing. He had issues with Trevor long before meeting me. “Stop overthinking, Xenia.” I scolded myself as I pulled o
Could I have driven her to work in my truck? Of course, I could have. But then, I wouldn’t have had the fun of weaving through traffic with her clinging to me. I don’t think it was a hard choice; any guy would have made the same choice. And it’s not like I needed the truck for hauling anything for work. I'm the foreman at the construction site I am scheduled to be at today, so I don’t need to bring more than myself. Driving my Harley clears my head, and I need a mind wipe. A lot happened these past few days, especially in the last twenty-four hours. Some people would probably say I shouldn’t go to work. To those people, I say fuck off. If I’m at work, my mind will be on the job and not all the shit that’s happened. If I stayed home, I’d overthink and do something stupid. The drive to her job, which I knew where to go because I read the company name over her left breast, was over too quickly. The only way I’d have been willing to stay home is if it was her. I’d been okay with skipping
Pregnant! Xenia is pregnant! I’m going to be a dad!? Me, of all fucking people, is going to be a dad! I know we tackled the subject when the puppies were born. But an offhand ‘we’ll have one when it’s time’ differs from a positive pregnancy test. A positive test is real. Our baby is currently growing inside her as we speak. How far along is she? How did I miss the signs? Has she missed her period? No, I couldn’t go off that her birth control made that hard to track properly. We’ll have to wait till we see a doctor to get an estimate on how far along she is. I say estimate because, in my family, we’re big, so judging just on the size of the fetus may not work. Though I guess they can go off from developmental stages like when certain organs develop and yadda. As I walked into the ceremony, all eyes turned to me. Reese underestimated how many guests we had. Including Xenia’s mom, sisters, and Reese, we had 48 guests. So, add Xenia and me, and we had 50 people. That’s, of course, no
I didn’t know what made me think pressing myself against the door was a good idea. There was no way little me could keep out Clay or his equally tall and strong twin sister. I should have been upset with Reese for deciding to get him when I started crying over the pregnancy test. But I can’t. Because as I looked at his face and saw all the love and concern in his eyes, I knew she was right. I needed him. “Xenia, baby, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Clay asked as he put Zeus down. “What worries do I need to put to rest?” “It’s not worries, per se.” I sighed and steadied myself with Tink’s help. “I just…” I frowned as I avoided eye contact with him. It’s not that I’m ashamed that I’m pregnant. I mean, it’s my fault for not being on top of renewing my birth control. Clay couldn’t help it if a condom broke. We agreed to use both condoms and my birth control to be safe. We knew we wanted kids, eventually. Like he said, we’d have one after the puppies were born when we were ready.
Xenia is supposed to be MY emotional support human. I was not a fan of this switch of roles, but for Xenia, I would try my best. Just because I failed all those training classes to be an official support animal doesn’t mean I cannot be here for my human. She has always been there for me when I was upset. It’s about time I returned the favor. I didn’t understand why she was upset. She’d been so happy a few moments ago. She was trying on her new dress, and everyone was gushing over her and talking about how great today would be. I still didn’t know what was happening today. I knew Xenia was getting all dressed up, even fancier than when she and Clay went on a night out. I got a purple outfit and a crown of flowers to wear. Zeus was given a special outfit, too. So, something big was going on. Even if all the special clothes didn’t make it clear, we were in a strange place, and there were people we only saw occasionally. Plus, all my puppies were here. I love to see my puppies. It’s
I put up with a LOT of shit with Clay as my human. The silver lining is that I have Tinkerbell and her human Xenia around. Not that Clay makes a habit of dressing me up like this. That doesn’t mean I like being in this getup. I don’t care that it’s a special day. I don’t understand what is happening, but it must be special. Clay and Xenia have been planning this gathering for what felt like forever. And all the people they like most are here. Which means all our pups are here. I am happy and envious to see my pups. I was glad to see them since we see some of them only on special occasions. But I was envious because none of them were dressed up like me. Lucky pups. I feel ridiculous dressed like this. Whatever is supposed to happen today better happen soon, or I will find a way out of this outfit to run around free. I was restless and bored sitting in that room, waiting for something to happen. I was happy when Clay decided we could venture out of the room. I was happy until I picked
Holy shit! It’s MY wedding day! If someone told me two years ago I’d be in a committed relationship, I’d ask if you were high. If someone said I’d be getting married, I’d recommend a trip to the nearest psych ward. Old me couldn’t imagine ever wanting to give up being a bachelor. I loved the freedom of that life and couldn’t fathom giving that up for a woman. It wasn’t until I fell into Turtle Pond in Central Park with Xenia that I realized I was all wrong. Being in a relationship wasn’t a noose around my neck. It wasn’t the death of my freedom. It was just a change. Sure, I wasn’t free to fuck whoever caught my eye, but that’s fine with me. If I learned anything from the disaster of an attempt at a threesome before Xenia and I were official, it’s that no one else would do. Till Xenia, I didn’t realize that the ‘freedom’ of being a bachelor was more a cover for loneliness. It was for the loneliness that Reese gave me Zeus. The little shit never filled that loneliness. At least not d
Who’s bright idea was it to have a Valentine’s Day wedding? Oh right. It was mine. I thought it would be romantic and Clay would never forget our anniversary. Not that I believed he would forget any other day. This was the guy that proposed on the anniversary of our meeting in the same spot where we got ‘pongoed,’ as Makayla likes to call it. It still makes me laugh when I think back on how we met. It wasn’t so funny at the time, but in hindsight, I can laugh. I also can’t watch 101 Dalmatians without laughing and thinking of that day in Central Park when my life changed for the better. By chance, Fate, or just the divine intervention of Zeus, I ended up with this incredible man who is hot, great in bed, and so damn sweet. I still don’t know how, in the thousands of men that live in NYC, after only finding assholes, I found such a keeper. And trust me, I know all about the assholes that live in NYC. Between the assholes I met in college, like Alden Zachery Greenwood the Fourth. Inse
The following bonus chapters are for the Valentine's Day special "A Valentine's Wedding." There are references to future Ravenwood books, but no spoilers! I hope you enjoy it!Clay - Who'd have thought the perpetual bachelor would settle down? Meeting Xenia turned my world upside down in the best way. I am looking forward to spending the rest of my life with her. My family, the ones that count, are all behind us. Xenia - It has been almost two years since I fell into a pond and found true love. Clay is everything I could have wanted and didn't think I deserved. Despite some annoying human-size speed bumps, we will start a new chapter together as husband and wife.
Zeus: It’s been a year since I met Tinkerbell, and therefore Clay met Xenia. Unlike Clay, it didn’t take long to figure out I found the one I wanted to be with and have a family with. He was slow on the uptake, that’s for sure. But he finally got his head out of his ass and made it right with Xenia. I swear if he'd dragged his feet longer or lost my chance with Tinkerbell, I’d have chewed every shoe he owned and never given him a moment's peace again. Thankfully for all involved, that didn’t happen, and since that time, things have been mostly great. The devil woman has never returned, and I’m happy about that. I didn’t want her around even before I met Tinkerbell and even less after I did. We moved into a new house where our humans gave us our own room and outdoor area. And we had eight puppies. That’s where the “mostly great” part comes in. After our puppies were old enough, they were sent to their forever homes. They at least ended up with members of our humans’ families, so we
Tinkerbell: I’m so happy we stopped living in that tiny place. I’m even happier that we will never see that mean man again. I didn’t fully understand everything that happened. But I knew, based on what Zeus and I would overhear our humans say, the mean man tried to hurt my human and was punished by the human catchers. I felt terrible that I wasn’t with Xenia to protect her from that evil man, but Clay was, so it was okay. And now we all live together. Zeus has been a great help to my anxiety. With him around, I’m never alone; if I start to feel anxious, he’s there to nuzzle me and remind me I’m safe. Alan, our dog sitter, is excellent too. He’s learned how to handle my anxiety, always brings us yummy treats, and takes us on long walks. I should miss my doggie daycare, but I don’t. There were always so many other dogs and humans that it would be hard on me. Living with Zeus, I’ve gotten better at handling things that used to scare me. Like small humans. When our humans took us on a l