Die In California

53

Rook's POV:

Waking up with Devyn in my arms, the dogs by my side... I thought I was in heaven. No-one could've prepared me for having them back so soon, but fuck me I was grateful.

I'd never realised how much I'd missed Devyn kicking me in the night, or taking over the bathroom, stealing just about everything that I owned or tried to eat, leaving shit around everywhere for me to trip over, singing loudly in the shower at a ridiculous hour, or nagging at me to do shit for her or to give her more attention. But, when she was back doing those things, I often found myself smiling, and appreciating every little thing that she does - whether it pisses me off or not.

It would be the simplest things that made me smile, and reminded me of how fucking lucky I was to have Devyn home - and for good, this time. It could be brushing up against her as I reached around her for something, or being forced to watch some stupid sitcom that she'd become invested in (which was nearly always just a phase), or dancing in the kitchen to whatever trashy music she was playing. All of it never failed to bring a smile to my face, my heart growing each and every day that we spent together.

I tried to spend as little time at the studio as I could get away with for the following month after Devyn's arrival, so I could spend as much time as possible with her. Kells thankfully seemed to understand - most of my parts were already recorded anyway - so gave me the time off that I needed to take her around LA, and help her to get properly settled into her new home.

For the first day that she was here, Devyn and I spent our time in bed, only ever resurfacing from our loving to take the dogs out on a walk, to grab ourselves some food, or to run to the bathroom. We spent the day wrapped up in each other's arms, between each other's legs, and consolidating our love. She was everything that I ever needed, and more.

The following days, we decided we should probably get out of bed at some point, so I began to show her around LA, starting local and gradually venturing further out. She got to show off her new car (definitely making an entrance), and I even managed to get her on the back of my bike a few times. I could tell that she was warming up to being my backpack, but her stubbornness meant that she refused to outwardly admit it of course. But I wasn't going to complain; at least she did get on the back, even if she feigned grumbling and complaining the whole time.

Luna had been vaccinated, so we could finally take the dogs out together. We often took them to the local park down the road, and followed a trail through the forest. The dogs loved it! Chapo would usually mind his own business and wander around, sniffing or marking his territory here and there. Luna, on the other hand, was a crazy fucker. She'd be running up and down the trail in front of us, sometimes circling us, before running off to chase flies or try to get Chapo to play with her. Sometimes he complied, other times he was too old man-like to keep up with her.

Seeing how much Devyn enjoyed our walks through the forest with the dogs, and how at ease she was with nature, I decided to take her to The Japanese Garden which was about a ten minute drive from us. Ashleigh and Slim had jumped at the opportunity to dogsit for the day, knowing that most of the time we had to adapt our plans to suit the dogs. It was a beautiful sunny day, probably the first official sign of summer, so why not take advantage of it and walk through a series of beautiful gardens?

Devyn wore a bright smile as she pulled her car into the parking lot, finding a space near the entrance and parking up pretty quickly. It was clear that she was excited; she'd chosen a parking spot first time, rather than dancing around the parking lot to find the perfect spot like she usually does (the indecisive motherfucker). I laughed as I watched her then rush out of the driver's seat and run around the front of the car to grab my hand, dragging me towards the entrance. See? She was excited!