When I follow the line of her arm, Mr. Karen’s head is above the water and he’s ... paddling? He’s happy as a clam.
“What’s he doing?” I whisper.
“He is so fucking weird,” she whispers back. “He just got in with me. He didn’t fall in and try to scrabble out. It was like he looked at me in there and thought:That looks like fun.He got in toswim.”
We both move over to the bath and watch him as his legs go back and forth and he moves around.
“Are cats big swimmers? I thought they hated water.”
She shakes her head. “I have no idea, to be honest.”
“Well, he can’t stay in there; he could drown. Let’s get him out. Can you find another towel?”
“Hang on a sec.” She disappears into her bedroom and returns in a robe, carrying a clean towel.
Is she naked under that thing? Fuck, James, why are you thinking about stufflike that? Sadie’s a friend. A friend who isn’t attached to Jane, and that’s one of the most valuable things you could have right now.
“Okay, put it on the floor, and I’ll get him out,” I say.
I roll up my sleeves and take off my watch, but when I slide my hand around him and start lifting, he growls. When I lift farther, he paddles his legs like crazy.
“Shit. What is he doing?” I place him back in the water.
Mr. K flicks his ears like he’s disgusted with both of us and carries on swimming. This cat has attitude for days—no wonder he’s in the shelter.
“What do we do now?” Sadie whispers.
I want to laugh. We’re two idiots whispering over a pet in a bath. “I have no idea.”
“Surely, he’ll get tired soon,” she says, pursing her lips as she stares at him. “I can sit in here and read my book and keep an eye on him for a bit.”
“I’ll come and sit with you,” I say. Now why did I say that? But a problem shared is a problem halved, right? Just like yesterday, when we went to collect her stuff.
Sadie goes to retrieve her book, and I check on the food, putting it on a low simmer. I drag a chair in from the dining table, and she sits on it. Then I find something to read and make myself comfy on the toilet seat.
After about five minutes of reading and Mr. Karen swimming, she giggles.
“What’s so funny?”
“I can’t believe we’re in this apartment in the Financial District, sitting in a bathroom together with our books while an adopted cat swims around in the bath! It’s not what I thought would happen in my twenties.”
I grin. “Me neither,” I say, but as it comes out of my mouth, Mr. Karen starts scrabbling at the sides, trying to get out.
“Uh-oh,” she says.
I shoot forward and grab him before he sends water everywhere. Never a dull moment in Madness Mansions. When I left the apartment I shared with Jane, I never expected that living somewhere else would introduce me to all this.You never know what’s waiting just around the corner, Jimmy-boy.When I put Mr. K on the towel, he immediately tries to take off.
“Oh no you don’t, buddy. I’m not having a wet cat racing around Des’sfurniture, so you can stay here and dry off, for Christ’s sake.” I wrap him up and lift him in my arms, and Sadie steps forward and rubs his still mostly dry head.
“Did you enjoy your swim, Mr. K?”
I’ll bet he’s thinking that the place with the interesting swimming options and the cat treats is pretty good now.
As she strokes his ears, he starts purring loudly, and she grins. I take in her smiling mouth, auburn lashes sitting against the freckles that dust the top of her cheeks, hair curling over her shoulders. She smells of something sweet that I can’t quite put my finger on. She’s a lovely person, Sadie—calm and kind. She glances up and her eyes meet mine. Her lips are soft and pink.What would they feel like under mine?Fuck. Where did that thought come from? How come we’re standing so close? I don’t want to move away from her, but I make myself do it as I clear my throat.
“Looks like he had an amazing time,” I say, swallowing.
“Perhaps it was all an experiment. He saw me in the bath and thought,Why not?”
