Page 35 of How Not to Date a Griffin

It was like the entire day had never happened, like it was last night all over again, on their way up to Nolan’s room, horny and giddy instead of listening to the floors tick down.

Nolan threaded his fingers through Reid’s, holding his hand as they made out like a couple of teenagers, and god, Reid felt like a teenager all over again, with butterflies in his stomach and heat swirling up the length of his spine as Nolan’s lips parted beneath his and their tongues twined. They were holding hands and Reid melted into him as Nolan lifted the other, sliding it through his hair and holding on tight. Reid let Nolan tilt his head for the angle he wanted, a sliver of desire slicing through him at the firm action.

God, was it too late to put this elevator in reverse and take them back to the room?

The ding as they reached their floor apparently thought so, and Reid pulled away as the doors parted on the ground floor.

“Right,” Nolan said – a little dazed, Reid noted with pride. “Where are we going?”

“I don’t know, man, you tell me,” Reid responded, trying to hide his smile and not succeeding at all.

It was hard not to smile when Nolan looked like he was trying to find his brain cells again, eyes dropping to Reid’s lips twice before he cleared his throat. “Yeah. Right. I’ll take it from here,” he said, and stepped around Reid, grabbing his hand at the last second.

Reid grinned too, nodding his head at the two people waiting to enter the elevator with embarrassed glances. He wasn’t even sorry.

Nolan refused to let Reid fly him to the location, not wanting to spoil the surprise.

“Now, you can’t laugh,” Nolan said softly. “When we get there,” he clarified.

“Why would I laugh?” Reid asked. “We going to a comedy club?”

Nolan rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched up in Reid’s desired effect. “You’ll see.”

What Reid saw was a cartoon painting of a dog and a cat along the blank white wall of a small building. The car came to a stop, and Reid followed Nolan’s lead as he got out.

The tires of the ride crunched over the gravel as it left, and the headlights splashed over Nolan’s unsure smile as he stared at Reid.

“It’s stupid, right?”

“We’re at a pet rescue place,” Reid said.

“Yes.”

“Are you getting a pet?” Reid asked, puzzled.

“Well, no, but—”

The creaky metal door to the building opened, and a woman in pink scrubs stepped out. “You must be Nolan, right?”

Nolan stepped forward, nodding as he went. “Yes! Are you Amanda?”

“That’s me,” she answered.

Reid stared as they shook hands, more questions forming in his mind. “This is a friend, Reid. Is it okay that I brought him along?”

Amanda smiled as she glanced between the two of them. “Of course. The more the merrier, as they say. Come on in, I’ll show you around.”

“Reid,” he said in greeting as she held her hand out to him to shake.

“Good to have you. Come along.”

He shot Nolan a confused look as they followed Amanda into the building. It was… small. Smaller than it looked from the outside, actually. In the background he could hear the muffled barking of dogs and a few meows, even from the reception area.

“It’s a quiet night for us anyway, so you actually picked a perfect night to stop by. Just sign your names here.” She swiped a clipboard off the counter and handed it over, and Reid’s stomach flipped at the words on the top of the sheet. Nolan filled out his name, number, and time of arrival on the Volunteer Sign-In form, and then handed it over to Reid, who did the same.

So this is happening?

Reid had never been to one of these places, had never been interested in pets, but the few cats he had come across around the restaurant alleys seemed to love the shrimp leftovers they had to throw out.