I gritted my teeth until I gave myself a headache. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Logan shrugged and rose from his chair. “No offense. Gotta take a piss.” He patted me on the back, as though it was all in good fun. It wasn’t. I hated when people implied I wasn’t a real guy because I didn’t like sports, or drink beer until I was black-out drunk, or fuck women. Maybe Logan didn’t mean for it to sound as bad as it did, but it was insulting nonetheless.
I sniffed and unlocked my phone. Tapping furiously on it, I hit Send.
I’ll be around this afternoon after work. Six?
It only took a few seconds before I got an answer.
I’ll be waiting, Harley kitty.
I shivered at my nickname.
I spentthe rest of the day ignoring Logan and his apologies, because he did try to apologize, again and again. He’d realized what he said was wrong, but cats, even as humans, took a long time to forgive, and I wasn’t going to fall into the trap of his sad eyes.
After work I made a quick stop at my house to grab things and feed my cat, and I had to rush but managed to arrive at Brad’s house just after six, as promised. His door opened as soon as I stepped foot in front of it. Brad grabbed me, dragging me against him, and I let out a surprised sound when his arms locked around my waist.
“Oh, kitty, I’m sorry.”
I melted against his chest, burying my face in his neck. He smelled like sweat, and I realized after a moment that he was still in his work clothes too, which meant he hadn’t taken a shower yet. I liked this scent, though, and breathed it in deeper.
“I told Nicky I couldn’t take in his friend,” he continued, dropping a kiss on my temple. “I swear I wasn’t going to choose him over you.”
My gut rebelled again, that remorsefulness making me feel sick. I had overreacted out of fear. It wasn’t the first time I’d done that.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, burying myself farther into him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and pushing my lips right against the pulse point in his neck.
“Don’t be sorry. I surprised you with him. Nicky surprised me with him.”
“You can foster him,” I said, my fingers curling into fists against the middle of his back. “You can’t just abandon him too.”
“I’m not going to do anything if it means losing you, kitty. What we’ve done has been fun. I don’t want it to be over before we even begin.” He petted his way down the length of my spine and I sighed against him. I’d left my suit jacket in the car, which meant it wasn’t in the way of feeling his fingers against my back through the thin material of my shirt. “I might not have owned a cat before, but I want to give this a shot.”
“I….” Wincing, I let out a sigh. “You should foster him.”
“What?” He pulled back and blinked at me with those beautiful topaz eyes. They glimmered more gold than brown in the setting sun that spilled onto the front porch of the farmhouse.
“I might have overreacted.” I shoved my hands in my pockets and glanced away, cheeks heating. “Foster him.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. You said your safeword.”
I licked at my dry lips. “I was abandoned too, by my ex. He got a dog instead.”
Brad’s eyes widened, and after a moment his face transformed. His mouth was pursed and his jaw tight. “What an idiot.”
I shrugged a shoulder and blinked away the wetness that crept along the corners of my eyes. Nope, I didn’t cry. I was a heartless bastard, at least that’s what I liked pretending, because people misinterpreted my shyness for that. “I’ve heard it happen lots of times before. Cats being abandoned for dogs. I didn’t want that to happen again. I wanted to be the one who left this time.”
He cupped my cheek, and I tilted my head toward him, purring. “You don’t have to worry, kitty. I like you, I told you that. Let’s take this slow, okay? Don’t run away when you get scared, just talk to me.”
I nodded, shame making me shiver. “I’m sorry.”
“Come on, let’s go inside. Do you want a shower?”
I nodded, and Brad touched my arm. “Damn it.” I sighed and ducked my head. “I forgot to bring along clothes.”
“Do you have your toys?” he asked with an impish grin.
I chuckled, and the sound surprised both of us. “Yes, Sir.”
