“How about you have a shower first?”
His voice startled me and I jumped, bumping my hip against the double enameled sink. Wincing at the sharp pain, I could already tell I’d bruise by the end of the day.
“Sorry.” He smiled warily, like he wasn’t quite sure how to handle me now that I was back acting like a human. It could have been because I was a prickly person when I wasn’t a cat, but even as a feline I could be the same way, given the chance. “You should shower first.”
I nodded curtly. “I’d like that. We need to talk.”
“I agree.” He walked farther into the room and opened up a cupboard on the far wall. Inside was obviously his linen closet—a nightmare jumble of balled-up sheets that had me itching to show him how to fold them correctly—and from a lower shelf he yanked out a fluffy blue towel and passed it to me. “Go shower. I’ll be here when you get out.”
I thought about saying thank you but chose not to. Grabbing my clothes, I spun on my heel and headed upstairs, where I’d noticed a bathroom last night. A hot shower sounded nice right now, and it’d give me a chance to figure out what to say. I’d never been good speaking human words and dealing with other people.
5
The sound of the shower humming upstairs had me dropping onto the wooden steps to sit with my elbows on my knees. Wriggling my toes, I stared at them and smiled. My heart raced like I’d rounded all the bases on the field, and my chest was unreasonably warm. I’d missed this, missed having someone in my home with me, and I hadn’t quite realized how much. Even Enrique hadn’t lived here, he’d been more of a when-we-have-time boyfriend and pup, and I’d never liked that much. He hadn’t enjoyed spending the night, and I’d always pushed for more.
Harley stayed without a second thought.
I sat there, wrapped up in the cheerful sounds of someone else bathing, imagining the water beading on his flawless skin, and leaned my elbows back on the steps. The screen door was the only thing between me and outside, I hadn’t bothered closing the wooden door last night, and a warm breeze blew across me. Outside, birds chirped, and the grass I could see through the screen flashed technicolor green, almost impossibly bright. Grinning, I waited for Harley to emerge from the bathroom, and turned to watch him come down the stairs in a puff of sweet body wash smells. He was already completely dressed, even though it was only in shorts and his belly shirt, and he had his collar and ears in his hand and his tail draped over his arm.
Damn it, the serious look on his face told me he was ready to bolt. I got to my feet and let him walk by me, so that we were both standing at the bottom of the stairs sharing an awkward moment. He didn’t look me in the eye, and that was too bad because his were especially amazing. Instead, he blinked at my shoulder and pursed his lips.
“I’ll just… go,” Harley said.
My stomach lurched, all the good feelings fleeing. “Oh, uh, why is that?”
He brushed at his bare arm as if it was a suit coat and rearranged his tail there, and the nervous little gesture was adorable. His flat, hard stomach was on display and tightened with his movement. I reached over and brushed my fingers across his belly button. He shivered and cleared his throat. It was so painfully obvious he was nervous that I wondered if I’d simply overlooked it last night, but no, the kitty who’d climbed into my bed had been content and happy, and so was the Harley cat who had eaten breakfast with me.
I had to assume this was Harley, the man, having a problem with everything he’d done with me. How would I handle him if he was a pup? Pull him into a big old hug, that’s what I’d do, but he hadn’t appreciated that last night. I thought fast, but I was still taking too long. The air between us seemed to get more difficult to breathe. He glanced toward the front door and didn’t seem happy at all, but was that because he didn’t really want to leave, or did he wish he was already gone?
“You likely have things to do today,” he whispered.
“Kitty cat,” I said, and he jerked his chin up and blinked at my face. For a second I was stunned all over again by his handsomeness. “I would like to learn how to treat you. Take care of you.”
“That’s why this probably won’t work.” He leaned toward me and then backed off a step, and I was reminded of him getting to know me last night as a cat, testing me out for safety. Was he doing the same thing as a human? He cleared his throat and blinked at the floor, his shoulders scrunching up closer to his body. “I’m high-maintenance. I require time and effort,” he said, as if that was a death sentence.
“Okay on my part. I’ve trained pups. They take a lot of time and energy. And you’re already such a well-behaved kitty.”
He cut me a narrow-eyed look and sniffed. Was he jealous about other pets I’d had? I couldn’t help but smirk. It took him a while of considering me, but he finally said, “You keep calling me pretty. Do you really think so?”
“Yes, you’re beautiful.” I couldn’t keep the huskiness out of my voice to save my life. Last night he was so amazing, his mouth was so hot, and that sweet little pink tongue flicking out to taste me…. “What scared you, Harley cat?”
He scowled but didn’t answer me.
“Because the kitty I sent to shower already agreed to go toy and bowl shopping with me.” He perked up at “toy,” and I wanted to get him closer and hug him but had no idea how that would end with my feral kitty. I might scare him and get clawed apart for my effort. “Now the Harley boy in front of me is running for cover.”
He ducked his head, but his cheeks turned a sweet pink that matched the collar he clutched in his hand.
“My cat self is content to rely on instinct. I think about things.”
The way he sounded down on himself for being smart didn’t sit well with me, like someone psyching themselves out before going to the plate to kick, or when someone said they couldn’t donate blood because they would pass out. It always seemed to me that part of the problem with the fainters was that they already thought they would take a dive. Same with someone who was sure they would miss the ball. It was a trust issue, and they didn’t trust themselves. So does Harley not— “You don’t trust me?”
“I don’t know you.”
“So let’s do that,” I said, shaking a hand between us. He followed my movements intently, and a small part of me wanted nothing more than to play with him.
“Excuse me?” He huffed and glanced up into my face, but he took a step closer.
“Hang out with me today. And then… pick two nights this week that work for you. We can get to know—”
