Brick and Mortar (Student Bodies #4) (5 page)

Cannon watched through a slit in the office blinds as Turner buckled Daisy into the front seat of his sleek BMW, wiping away tears with the sleeve of his hoodie.

“You okay, man?” Morgan asked from just inside the door.

Cannon shook his head, too overcome with tears to speak.

“Here,” Morgan said, hugging him from behind. “Professor Maxwell seems like a good man. He’ll give Daisy a wonderful home.”

“I know,” Cannon whispered. “He needs her more than I do.”

Sighing, Morgan held him tighter. “We all need someone, Cannon, and speaking of that, has the professor made a decision about your contract yet?”

Cannon shook his head, tears flying from his face to splatter against the window blind.

“How could he ever resist you? If he does, he’s a fool. Anyone can see how perfect you are for him.”

“Really?”

“Really. Every sub needs a Dom. I know from experience how hard it is to be without one, but the only thing worse than not having a Dom is having the wrong one.”

Morgan was right, but with Turner not saying a word about the contract and Daisy being gone, it felt like his entire world was collapsing around him.

Daisy had been the hit of the pet store. She shook paws with everyone she met and offered sloppy kisses to anyone who bent down to pet her.

Turner had gathered so many items for the dog he needed a second cart for it all. His favorite purchase was the purple leopard print doggie bed he had embroidered with Daisy’s name.

Now that he and his little girl were home, he unpacked all of her things. He set out chew toys for her to play with while he found a spot in the kitchen to keep her food and water dishes. Coming back into the living room where Daisy was playing with a green and white knotted rope toy, he sat on the floor next to her and rubbed behind her ears like he had seen Cannon do. “Well, what do you think? Home sweet forever home.”

Daisy whined, setting her enormous head on Turner’s lap. Sinking his hands into her soft fur, he turned his thoughts to the reason Daisy looked like she lost her best friend.

One thing was certain, Cannon was full of surprises. Where he once thought Cannon was nothing but a motor-mouthed annoyance, he now had to admit there was so much more to the young man.

He spent his Saturdays volunteering in an animal shelter when he could’ve been studying or working a shift at Home Depot. It turned out his brat was a kind and thoughtful, if active young man. “What do you think, Daisy, should we invite Cannon over for dinner?”

Hearing Cannon’s name, Daisy raised her head from Turner’s lap and started to howl.

With ten minutes left to go in his volunteer shift, Cannon was sitting on the kennel floor cuddling a lap full of kittens, when his phone dinged with an incoming text message. Figuring it was from Phillip inviting him over for hot wings and a movie, he shifted the cats to dig his phone out of his back pocket. The message wasn’t from Phillip, but from Turner. [We’ll pick you up at 6 PM for dinner. Pack an overnight bag. –T&D] next to Daisy’s initial was a paw print emoji.

Pacing around his dorm room, Cannon’s mind spun with all the reasons Turner would ask him to come to dinner and spend the night. The most likely reason was Daisy. Turner probably wanted him there to help ease her into her new home.

Only in his wildest dreams would Turner agree to the contract and help him explore his submissive side. It seemed like that was as good a reason as any to invite him over and ask him to spend the night. Whatever his answer was regarding the contract, Cannon needed to remember to keep his emotions under control.

Jumping a mile when his phone dinged, Cannon pulled his phone out of the pouch of his hoodie. [We’re here.] Grabbing his duffel and his computer backpack, he shut off the lights and locked the door.

“Go get him, girl,” Turner urged, letting Daisy off the leash when Cannon pushed through the door. Turner’s car was parked only a few feet from the walkway to the dorm’s entrance.

Cannon’s eyes bugged open and he set his things down on the snowy walkway to bend down and meet Daisy. “Hey there, princess,” Cannon whispered, burying his face into Daisy’s shoulder.

Turner found himself smiling fondly as brat and dog said hello. He walked forward to pick up Cannon’s bags as Daisy was practically licking his face off. Popping the trunk he set the bags inside and closed the door. “Come on you two lovebirds, its cold out here.” Turner opened the door to the back seat.

“C’mon girl, I’m freezing.” He stood and walked to the car, Daisy close on his heels.

“I thought you’d like to sit together,” Turner said, not wanting Cannon to think he wanted him in the backseat like a child.

“Thanks,” Cannon said, unshed tears the sparkling in his blue eyes.

“You’re welcome.” Turner cupped Cannon’s face, rubbing his thumb over Cannon’s cold bottom lip. “In you both go.”

“After you, Miss Daisy,” Cannon laughed, climbing into the backseat behind her.

“How has she been since you took her home?” Cannon asked when Turner was seated in the car.

Thankful Cannon chose a safe topic. He smiled with him in the rearview mirror and was surprised to see Cannon sitting perfectly still. “Our girl was the hit of PetSmart.”
Our girl? Where did that come from?

“The people who work there are really great. A lot of them donate food and toys and some help with fundraisers we do for the shelter.” Cannon grinned at Turner in the mirror. “Which, by the way, we might not need to hold for a while thanks to your generous donation. It’s the first time anyone has donated five figures to Paws for People.”

A blush crept up the back of Turner’s neck and bloomed over his face. “Morgan told you?” He should’ve known Morgan would share the news, not that he’d told the young man to keep it between them. “All of the animals I met today are so deserving of good homes, but until that day, maybe that money can be used to buy them new beds and toys or pay for healthcare.”

“It was such a tremendous gift, Turner. Thank you. The money will be used for all of those things and more besides.”

Happy to stay away from the topic of the contract, Turner asked the question that had been bothering him all day. “What’s going to happen to Bones?”

Daisy whined and burrowed closer to Cannon. “I know you miss him.” Cannon scratched behind her soft ears. “The other volunteers and I will continue to work with him on his trust issues.”

“How?” Anger roiled in Turner’s stomach. It was incomprehensible to him how anyone could mistreat an animal.

“You saw how Daisy sat outside his kennel. We started by doing that too. We sit and talk to him. I used to kill two birds with one stone and read my architecture textbooks to him.”

“Clever, brat.”

“So, after he was comfortable with that, we started opening the kennel door. Then Daisy would sit with me just inside the kennel. She seems to have this innate sense of knowing what others need, almost as if she were an empathic.”

Turner had noticed that as well. Daisy has more empathy in one paw than most people have in their entire body. “You’ll keep getting closer and closer to him? Is that it?”

“Right. Then we’ll do things like offering treats in the palm of our hands, so he’ll learn not to associate hands with fear. It’s slow going, but Bones will get his spirit back.”

“You’re so good with all of the animals, brat,” Turner said tenderly.

A warm shiver danced down Cannon’s spine. “Thank you, sir. My father was allergic to animals, so we never had any pets. Then, after he was gone…” Cannon stopped suddenly, clearing his throat.

Eyes narrowing in the mirror, Turner watched Cannon cuddle with Daisy. “Did your parents get divorced?”

Cannon shook his head. “My father was driving home from work late one Friday night. He always worked late on Friday so he wouldn’t have to bring work home with him over the weekend. A drunk driver ran a red light and T-boned his car. He died at the scene.”

An icy hand squeezed Turner’s heart. “I’m so sorry, Cannon. How old were you?”

“Eleven. Anyway, once Dad was gone, my mother worked two jobs to support us and there was no money for a pet.”

Turner nodded and kept his eyes on the road, hoping Cannon couldn’t see the tears sparkling in his eyes.

“Home sweet home,” Turner announced, breaking the silence in the BMW.

“Holy shit, this is your house?” Cannon gaped at the huge two-story colonial.

“Language, brat,” Turner said with a smile. “Stay, both of you,” he commanded climbing out of the car.

Cannon was still staring up at the large house when he heard the trunk pop open. “You’re gonna be so happy here,” Cannon whispered to Daisy who was standing up with her front paws on his lap.

“Come on, brat.” Turner opened the door and offered his hand.

Cannon waited a moment for Daisy to hop out before taking Turner’s warm hand, a thrill of attraction running through his body.

Daisy raced ahead to the top of the stairs and twirled around.

“She’s so happy to be home,” Cannon said quietly.

Turner nodded and threaded their hands together. He unlocked the door and Daisy dashed inside, her nails clicking on the polished hardwood floors. “Welcome,” Turner grinned, ushering Cannon over the threshold.

The house was gorgeous, done in dark hardwood floors and sage green walls. Peeking into what he thought was the living room he saw two leather chairs positioned in front of the fireplace. “This is amazing. Thank you for inviting me, sir.”

“You’re welcome, brat. You can hang your coat on any of the open pegs on the wall.” He motioned to the right-hand wall just past the door which was lined with mounted coat pegs, while he stripped out of his own coat.

Cannon watched the play of muscles over Turner’s back as he took off his jacket and moved to hang it up. Taller than him by about half a foot, Turner was absolutely perfect.

“Let me show you up to your room and then we can start dinner. Can you cook?”

“Yes. My mom worked so much I had to learn to fend for myself when she wasn’t home.”

“You’ll be my assistant,” Turner grinned and held out his hand.

Cannon took it and let Turner lead him up the stairs. Turning left at the top of the stairs, Turner brought Cannon toward the spare bedroom and snapped on the light. “This is the guest room. It has a full bath through there.” He pointed to the open door on the other side of the large walk-in closet. “My bedroom is across the hall. Come downstairs when you’re settled.”

“Thank you, sir,” Cannon said, squeezing their joined hands.

Done in shades of taupe with accents of ice blue, the room was spacious and homey. In addition to the ornate queen sleigh bed, the room boasted a matching armoire and a high backed light-blue wing chair with a matching ottoman. It would be a perfect spot to study before he went to bed tonight.

Bed.
Cannon shivered in the warm room. It was hard to believe he was here in Turner’s house for the night. He was almost positive it meant Turner was going to agree to the temporary contract. He would have been completely positive if Turner had invited him to spend the night in his room rather than the spare room. Not wanting to put the cart before the horse, he unpacked his toiletries in the bathroom and left his flannel sleep pants and T-shirt on the bed before heading downstairs.

Turner washed his shaking hands. Now that Cannon was here, the time had come for their discussion. He still didn’t know if he was making the right decision, but it was too late to turn back now. Wiping his hands on a plaid dishcloth, he moved around the kitchen gathering ingredients for a tomato sauce.

“There’s my girl,” Cannon yelled from upstairs. Daisy barked happily in return.

Turner heard pounding feet coming quickly down the stairs.

“Hi there,” Cannon said laughing. “Are we gonna help Daddy make dinner? Huh, are we?”

Turner could hear Daisy’s nails clacking on the hardwood floor as she happy danced around the hall. The house hadn’t had this much life in it in years, if ever. Try as he might, he couldn’t remember an instance of Bryce ever laughing like Cannon, like joy was bubbling up from his soul. Cannon’s happiness made him feel warm all over.

“C’mon, let’s go help.” Cannon’s running steps echoed through the kitchen. Slapping bare feet against the hardwood followed by a happy woof from Daisy heralded their arrival into the kitchen. “Oh, cold,” Cannon said, bouncing from one foot to another on the stone floor.

“Where are your slippers, brat?” Turner raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t have any,” Cannon shrugged. “So, what are we making?”

Content to let the matter of slippers drop, for now, Turner pulled a package of ground beef out of the refrigerator. “Do you know how to make meatballs?”

“Sure, I used to make spaghetti and meatballs all the time for my mom.”             

“Why don’t you work on the meatballs and I’ll make the sauce.”

Cannon moved to the sink to wash his hands, Daisy hot on his heels. “What made you choose today as the day to get a dog?”

It wasn’t the question Turner was expecting. “The house has been too quiet since Bryce left.”

“Who’s Bryce?” Cannon asked, opening the package of beef and dumping it into a glass bowl.

He should have known Cannon would ask. “He was my fiancé. He left me a week before our wedding.”

“Jesus!” Cannon took half a step toward Turner, before he realized what he said. “Sorry for my language, sir. I was just…”

Turner’s eyes narrowed as he studied the young man who was obviously taking time to order his thoughts. “It’s okay, Cannon. Sometimes bad language is the only way to say what needs saying.”

“I just meant, who would be dumb enough to leave you?”

“Dumb enough?”

Cannon took an uneasy step back. “You’re kind and you’re always available to help your students. You’re handsome and have the most amazing eyes that sparkle when you laugh. And look at me, earlier in the week I threw the worst tantrum ever and you corrected me and forgave me. It takes a special man to forgive a grown man acting like a toddler.”

Turner nodded, surprised by the depth of feeling in Cannon’s words. He cracked a smile. “You’re right about one thing. You
are
a lesson in patience.”