AllFreeNovel
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Their answers seemed genuine. The way they moved around each other was comfortable. The telltale sign of two people who are familiar with each other. Who know each other intimately.
He was her first kiss.
That shouldn’t bother me. She was fourteen. It couldn’t have meant anything. Not when she was just a kid.
Except you married your first kiss, jackass.
My head falls back as I knead my temples, trying to alleviate some of the pain pounding behind my eyes. The headaches have been constant for months. The longer we’re apart, the worse they get.
Does she love him? Do I care?
The answer to the last question is easy. I don’t because even if she does love him, she loves me more. She has to. You can’t replace what we had.
Can you?
Unless it was one-sided like you always suspected.
Fuck. My eyes squeeze shut.
I think about how she stood suddenly, declared she didn’t feel well, and demanded to leave. She looked ashen and in pain.
Was she in physical pain, or was she thinking about the same thing I was?
The song.
My song to her.
Well, not mine. Noel Gallagher gets that honor, but you know what I mean.
The instrumental was playing in the background of the restaurant, and I wondered if she still heard me.
I wonder if she ever realized what I was saying to her.
The temple massage isn’t working, so I grab the beer and drop my booted feet on the coffee table. The heavy thud of my size fifteens makes my phone fall from the edge. My head tilts, staring at the annoying device with mild irritation.
I’ve messaged her three times since the car dropped them off. I’m worried about her, and she’s no doubt enjoying the misery not knowing is causing me.
I reach across the sofa cushions for the TV remote and turn on something mindless. The pizza remains untouched as I sip my beer and demand my mind to relax. I’m almost asleep when furry vibrations rub against my face.
The gray tabby climbs from the back of the sofa to my chest. “It’s been months,” I grumble. “Haven’t you figured out I don’t like you?”
She sits on my chest, staring at me, not getting the message. “Don’t taunt me,” I mutter, staring into her green eyes. “I can do it, you know. Then you can bug someone else.”
She nuzzles against my face, daring me to follow through. The stupid furball knows she’s not in any danger of homelessness. If I were going to get rid of her, I would’ve months ago.
“Okay, okay. I’m getting up.” My feet drop back to the floor, and I stand, taking her with me back to the kitchen. I dig in the pantry until I find her overpriced food I have no business buying—that no one has any business buying. What the hell kind of cat needs real caviar and lobster in its diet?
And it’s another thing I can’t bring myself to change, wanting her owner to know I cared for the little shit just as she would’ve if she’d been here.
I set the bowl on the counter, and she chows down. Her soft fur tickles my fingers as I stroke down her back. I prop my head on my hand and watch the spoiled ball of fluff enjoy her food. “Tell me about your day, Giselle. Was it as shitty as mine? Okay, maybe it wasn’t shitty, but it had shitty moments.” She doesn’t look up from her overpriced kibble. “I saw your mom today, by the way.” That gets her to look up, though I’m not convinced she cares. “She’s as beautiful as ever. Did I tell you she cut her hair? You won’t like that, will you? You won’t have anything to play with. She thought I wouldn’t like it. That’s why she did it, but you know what? It’s sexy as fuck.”
Yep. This is what my life has become. Henry drags me out on occasion, and Casey and I keep our standing date on Thursdays, but other than that, my life has become nothing more than conversations with a cat.
For the last few months, I have worked all day and spent time with a cat I don’t like or want but can’t bring myself to dump because of dark almond eyes, pleading with me to please let her bring the stray home, won’t leave my head.
That’s what I tell myself, anyway.
The cat finishes her nine-dollar-a-serving gourmet meal and sits with an outstretched foot to clean herself. “I’m trying to get her back, you know? It won’t be easy, but I’m not giving up.” I run my palm over her head, earning a loud purr. “And if I have my way, she won’t just come and leave the next day. She’ll be here day and night. What do you say, Giselle? Do you want your mom back?”
