Chapter 9

Nine

Jon just continued to gape at him, so Beel walked past him, shut the front door, and then padded into the kitchen. He grabbed the paper towels he saw on the counter and peeked under the kitchen sink. Perfect—Jon had bleach wipes. He grabbed that container as well and headed back into the living room.

Jon was still standing near the door, and he didn't even flinch when Beel walked by. Poor guy really had absolutely no sense of self-preservation at all. Beel threw down some paper towels to mop up the bit of wet that was there, then used a dry paper towel to pick up those paper towels, because ick—pee. He then gave the floor a good wiping down with bleach wipes. It occurred to him partway through that Gabe used to say that bleach wipes could damage some stuff (Gabe loved to talk while he cleaned), but Beel figured it was too late now.

He took the whole mess into the kitchen to throw in the garbage can, then gave his hands a nice scrubbing under hot water. Beel did enjoy the heat. He vaguely wondered if maybe he could squeeze a hot shower out of this whole human-form time, but he kinda doubted it. Jon was bound to unfreeze and start asking questions before long.

The whole clean-up hadn't taken more than four or five minutes, and by the time he walked back into the living room, Jon looked slightly less flabbergasted, although he still hadn't moved away from the door. Beel nodded approvingly. At least if Beel had been a serial killer, Jon was near the only exit, although he really should have gotten his phone or made an escape by now. His favorite pet store owner definitely needed some looking after.

"How did you… Who… What…" Jon faltered, clearly at a loss.

"Hey!" Beel said, giving a stupid little wave at the same time. Ok, so his human behaviors were clearly a bit out of practice. He had been a frog for a really long time, and before that, he didn't venture topside too often. He grimaced a bit at his own awkwardness. Ugh, he hoped he could manage to smooth this over.

"How did you get here?" Jon asked, looking at him, then the bedroom, then him again.

"Ahh…" Beel drawled, buying himself time. That was a tricky one, since Jon lived on the second floor above a pet shop. It wasn't like he could say he just climbed in the window… or maybe he could? Weren't people in movies always climbing up fire escapes to visit other people?

"So, I heard the yelling," Beel answered, getting more confident as he came up with his story. "It sounded pretty intense, so I decided to climb up the fire escape to make sure everyone was okay. I'm sorry that it was a bit intrusive of me, but once I heard what that guy was saying, I couldn't help it and had to butt in. I'm really sorry about the invasion of privacy." Beel gave his best smile after that, and Jon just sort of blinked at him.

"But… you're in boxers?" Jon questioned.

"Ah, well…" Beel hesitated. He really hadn't thought this through. He rubbed the back of his neck, then sort of chuckled. "You wouldn't believe that story even if I told you."

Jon blinked, shook himself a bit, then looked back at the bedroom again.

"Well, I best be on my way!" Beel cut in. He did not need any more questions.

He walked over toward the door, but before he opened it, he looked at Jon, who was tantalizingly close and still just standing there.

"I hope that prick leaves you alone. You really are super cute, and sexy, and nice, and you don't need an asshole like that in your life. You deserve so much better," Beel announced.

Then Beel figured what the hell, he'd already invaded the guy's home (sort of), so he leaned over and kissed Jon. He meant to just make it a quick kiss, but Jon's lips were so soft, and he sort of breathed a sigh out, and it was the sweetest sound Beel had heard in far too long. He slipped his tongue into Jon's mouth, and their tongues tangled, their lips pressing against each other. Before Beel even knew it was happening he was plastered against Jon (or Jon was plastered against him?), they were both hard, and they were both groaning.

Beel took one last nibble of Jon's lower lip before he pulled back, staring at his cute petsitter. He hated to do it, but he really had no choice. While Jon watched, he pulled open the door and walked out, shutting it behind him.

As soon as the door was shut, he transported back into Jon's bedroom and quickly shucked the boxers and threw them in Jon's hamper. Then he was back in his frog form and in his aquarium.

He barely made it before he heard Jon walking back into the bedroom. The poor guy looked totally frazzled and bewildered.

Jon walked over to the window, looked out, and then sat on the edge of his bed, frowning and rubbing his hands across his face. "That was the most… I just can't…" he mumbled.

Beel ribbitted in sympathy. Yeah, he really had thrown his cute petsitter for a loop. Oops. But hey, at least he wasn't crying over that prick Marcus.

Jon looked over at Beel. "The thing is, I don't have a fire escape. And I'm pretty sure he had on a pair of my boxer shorts. I just don't know where he came from. It doesn't make any sense."

Well, shit.

Beel just croaked in sympathy as Jon laid down, staring up at the ceiling.

Beel really hadn't thought things through. Hopefully Jon would just forget about the whole thing. And Beel really, really hoped he didn't mention it to Gabe or Az, because he'd never hear the end of the teasing over it if they found out.