Page 73 of King of Hollywood

The street was bursting with life outside the large glass window in the waiting area.

How unexpected.

You’d think the town would be asleep this late at night on a weekday. Couples held hands, waltzing down the sidewalk together. And at the end of the road sat a diner. It had a lively glow, and a line practically ran out the door.

Beach Town was not this active at night, that was for sure.

Perhaps that was why Felix had opted to come here for his “cat care.” I had a hard time imagining many vets kept their doors open past midnight.

“That him?” The receptionist asked, her voice quieter than before. I glanced around covertly, trying to see who she was talking about, only to belatedly realize that she was probably talking about me.

“Yes,” Felix laughed, a sheepish sort of quiver to his words. “He insisted on coming the second I said I was leaving town.”

“I see.”

“For protection.” Yep. They were definitely talking about me.

There were a lot of sickos out there. Believe me, I knew. There was no way in hell I was letting Felix out on his own. He was far too oblivious. I may not be gifted emotionally, but I was quite street smart, at least in the ways that prevented an altercation.

He’d get robbed or worse if left to his own devices.

Normally, I hid behind my sweater vests, but today I’d abandoned the second layer entirely. Felix’s eyes kept gravitating to my chest where a bit of hair peeped through the collar of my button-down, as well as my arms—staring at me the same way I stared at him.

I hoped, with my size and musculature more obvious, people would be less likely to bother him. I folded my arms over my chest, a cat on either chair beside me as I glared at the receptionist, willing her to find fault in my words.

“For protection,” she repeated, her voice wobbling with a laugh.

Rude.

“He insists I need it,” Felix added, sounding oddly delighted.

“I see.” She flashed me another knowing look, her gaze gliding appreciatively over my body. “Good for you,” she added, humming to herself as she stared at my pecs.

I nearly slapped a hand over them, scandalized.

“He is.” Felix covertly stepped in front of her view, and a little thrill flipped inside my belly. I licked my lips, doing my own ogling as my gaze traveled down the surprisingly long line of his back to his pert little ass.

My cock perked up, and to preserve my dignity, I folded my leg over, resting my ankle on my knee to hide it from view.

It wasn’t until later that I realized the fact that the receptionist had known who I was meant Felix had been talking about me. Probably far longer than we’d even been together.

I probably hadn’t needed the stroke to my ego but it was lovely, all the same.

Two weeks or so after we visited the vet, I received a frantic call from Harold. The summer was winding down.

We were only a month away from Barry (the blight’s) annual Summer Bash. Something I was dreading, though Felix was surprisingly excited. This year, the theme was “weddings”. Which, if you asked me, was frankly ridiculous. Felix told me he wanted to go together.

As grooms.

And wasn’t that…just the stupidest thing I’d ever heard?

I was going to enjoy it immensely.

I’d already ordered my tux.

I was getting ready—a button-down and no vest today—to take Felix out again, and of course, because everything sucked, Harold called.

“Marshall…” He sounded apologetic.