Charlie edges closer, rests her head on my shoulder, and deposits the kitten in my lap. The little one kneads my thigh, spins in a circle, and curls up against me. I try to set her down, but she keeps returning, head-butting me for attention.
“She likes you,” Charlie says quietly.
“And I like her, but what the hell am I going to do with a cat? If you want her, you should take her.”
“But she likes you.”
“Dammit, Charlie,” I mutter, giving the little rascal a scratch under the chin as she prances back to me.
Charlie chuckles and brushes a kiss against my cheek. “I’ll go get a worker to let them know you want this one.”
I wrap one of my hands around the back of Charlie’s neck and hold her in place. “You’ve got me wrapped around your fucking finger. You know that?”
Charlie’s eyes warm as she softens against me. “I didn’t know.”
“If it makes you happy, then I’ll do everything I can to give it to you.”
She swallows hard and leans her forehead against mine. “I…I…”
I don’t know what she’s struggling to get out, but I lift a finger between us and put it over her lips. “You don’t need to say anything, Char. I just wanted to be honest with you.”
Charlie pulls her head back and lifts her hand to cup my cheek. “You’ve come a long way, do you know that? I’m proud of you.”
Heat hits my cheeks, and I shrug. “I didn’t like who I was when I looked in the mirror anymore.”
She pulls away with a huge smile. “Well, I happen to like the man I’m looking at now.” She glides her mouth against mine quickly again before leaning away. “I’m going to get the paperwork for you to adopt her now.”
I shake my head at the kitten as Charlie disappears into the store. “I’m absolutely crazy about that woman. I can’t believeI ever messed up and lost so much time with her.” The kitten purrs as I stroke her dark fur. “You’ll need a name, won’t you? What do you think?” She bats at my fingers, nipping before pushing them away. “Jinx. Those eyes are full of mischief.”
The kitten scrambles up my chest and perches on my shoulders, her tiny tongue flicking out to lick my cheek.
I laugh. “You like Jinx, huh? It suits you perfectly.”
I can’t believe I’m actually going home with a damn kitten. But it’s that look Charlie gets in her eyes when I make her happy. I crave it, I live for it. She’s always been easy to please, with simple requests and never too much. I failed her when I let Rianna into our lives. Charlie never asked me to end that friendship, but she made her discomfort clear. The rest was on me, and I let her down. Never again. Not if I can help it.
“Okay. So, I filled out as much as I could. You’ll have to fill in the rest and then sign. Then you need to pay the adoption fee,” Charlie says, interrupting my thoughts.
Her happiness is evident as she holds out the clipboard. “I can’t believe you’re adopting a kitten.”
I laugh and wrap my fingers around her ankle with a gentle squeeze. “We are.”
“What?”
“We’readopting a kitten. I’ll keep Jinx at my place, but she’sourkitten.”
Charlie drops to her knees beside me and brushes her fingers through Jinx’s fur while keeping her eyes on mine. “We’re getting a pet together?”
I can’t tell from the tone of her voice if she’s happy about that or not, so I backpedal. “She can just be mine if you don’t want to get her together. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed you’d be okay with it.”
“Stop,” she says softly, reaching her hand out to brush her fingers over my cheek. “I think I’d like to get a pet together.”
“It’s not too soon?”
Charlie glances at Jinx and then back at me. “It’s a step, Keaton. If I didn’t want to take it, I wouldn’t. I think this is another good small step forward.” She passes the clipboard to me. “Finish filling this out, then you can take this pretty girl home.”
Once the papers are complete, we take them up front while Jinx stays curled into Charlie’s chest. The employee takes us around the store to load up on all the shit we’re going to need for the recent addition to my household. The basket is full by the time we carry it back to the front.
The rest of the night, Charlie and I bond with Jinx in my apartment. I can’t stop watching the gentle way Charlie cares for her, as if Jinx were her own child. It sends my thoughts spiraling in directions I probably shouldn’t go this soon into reconciliation.
