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And then something happens that I don’t anticipate.
His brow furrows, and he looks confused. The move makes him look ten years younger, closer to my age. “Do you not want to spend the night together?” he asks.
I think my brain malfunctions. How do I answer that?
How the fuck do I answer that without A. sounding insane or B. hurting his feelings? Because for some chaotic reason, I think there’s a good chance I could hurt this powerful man’s feelings if I say no.
Regardless, my body moves without permission.
One step forward, narrowing the distance between us from four feet to three.
The furrow stays, but what I now realize is concern evaporates.
“It’s not that,” I admit. “I’m just . . . confused about why you’re here. You disappear and then you show up. I have no idea what’s going on.”
A small, sad smile moves on his face before he closes the gap between us.
“Missed you,” he says, arms wrapping around me, and again, I should be screaming, I should be running, I should be finding something to protect myself with, I should be calling the cops . . .
But those words.
They melt into my bones, easing the panic because, for some reason, my body recognizes him, and it feels safe here.
Still, I shake in his arms, my breath heavy as the adrenaline eases.
His hand moves my thick hair over my shoulder, the natural blonde I got from my mother gleaming in the shitty, dim lighting, before he kisses me in that spot he loves, right under my ear.
It’s not sexual, just a thing he seems to do, kissing me there. Like he’s reminding himself that I’m here. I’m real.
I get it, after all. Half the time, he doesn't feel real, either.
“Where were you this morning?” I ask in a whisper.
“Had work early. I didn’t want to wake you.”
I don’t like the answer.
But before I can ask any more questions, a black-and-white shape moves near his feet.
"Watch out, she's a bitch," I say, stepping back as my demon spawn of a cat comes our way. She usually hides all day, only noting my existence when she needs me to feed her, at which point she quite literally hunts me around the house. Any other time, I'm basically coexisting and dodging her little paws swiping at me, claws extended.
When I moved out from my home, I wanted something cute and cuddly to keep me company. I found her on Craigslist, thinking she was my new furry BFF.
Instead, I got the feline spawn of Satan.
But again, I'm shocked by this man when he looks down and smiles. And then the bitch starts to fucking rub her head on his leg.
"This girl?" he says, bending down, and then I watch in utter horror as he picks her up.
"Dante, I really wouldn't—"
"We were hanging out while I was waiting for you. Weren't we?" this scary giant of a man asks my demon-spawn cat.
And then she starts purring.
Purring.
"What the fuck is going on?" He looks at me, confused, giving the demon spawn scratches behind her ear. She also looks at me like I'm crazy, like this morning she didn't give me a two-inch gash when I wouldn't refill her bowl a third time.
