“Ugh.What do you want?”she groans through the speaker.
“I got Kat.”
The line goes quiet for a beat.“I’m sorry, did you say you got a cat?”
“Yes.She was Ethan’s, but he put her in a shelter, so she’s mine now.The problem is, I drove my bike there and can’t bring her home, so we’re both stranded.”Why am I crying?Is this what a mental breakdown feels like?I swipe at my tears that just keep on coming, choking back a sniffle.
Lola curses and says, “I’ll be right there.”
Ten minutes later, a cloud of dust billows from the wheels of Lola’s Mustang as she whips into the shelter’s gravel parking lot.Kat tilts her head from where she’s lying on her back on my thighs, gnawing on my finger.I watch my friend climb out of her vehicle, her brow furrowed as she pushes her sunglasses onto her head.
I tickle Kat’s belly, and she throws her furry arms around my fingers like a tiny terror, kicking my palm with her feet.I think I’m in love.“Thanks for coming to our rescue, Lola.”
My friend says nothing, her lips drawing into a thin line as she watches me and my new roommate.Kat must get tired of our game because she leaps to her feet and digs her tiny claws into the white cheesecloth shirt I borrowed from Willow, climbing up to where my hair is matted against my neck.
Lola still hasn’t said anything.I peer up at her, the sun making me squint.“What?”
“I’m trying to decide if you’re in the middle of a complete meltdown or just really happy to have your boyfriend’s cat back.”
“Ethan isn’t my boyfriend.”Not until he calls me back and I convince him to give us a proper chance.“And I’m fine.”Or I will be… eventually.
“You sure?Because you’re not at Mugs, you’re sitting on a sidewalk in a hundred-degree heat, wearing a tiny orange cat as a scarf.”
It’s not my fault Kat likes sitting on my shoulder.I’m quite certain she was a pirate’s parrot in a past life.“I’m sure.Here.Hold her for a second.”And prepare to fall hopelessly in love.
Unlatching Kat’s claws from my shirt, I hand her over.
Lola holds Kat out like the little kitten is about to pee all over her.Wrinkling her nose, she mutters, “This thing better not scratch up my leather seats.”
“Please.Her tiny claws wouldn’t do any damage at all.”
She hums like she doesn’t believe me, making her way back to her car with Kat still dangling from her hands.
I grab my bike, pushing it closer.“Can you pop the trunk?”
Lola frowns at me.“Have you seen the size of my trunk?There’s no way that thing is going to fit.”
Hmmm.She’s probably right.“Okay.You take Kat to my place, and I’ll meet you there.”
She rolls her eyes.“Just leave the bike.”
Has she lost her mind?I can’t do that.“What if someone steals it?”
“Sweetheart, I’m going to say this as nice as I possibly can: No one wants that ugly bike.”
“She didn’t mean it,” I whisper to my poor beach cruiser.“You are beautiful.”
“Beautifully rusted,” Lola says.
I’ve already lost so much today; I can’t take the risk of losing my bike too.It’s stupid and makes no sense, but I just…can’t.I throw my leg over the bike and climb onto the seat.
Lola must see the determination in my eyes because she murmurs, “Suit yourself,” and then slides into the car with Kat.
She spins out of the driveway, whipping onto the road between a stream of minivans.
I pedal behind her and then merge into the bike lane.
I’ll call Ethan as soon as I get home.Even if he doesn’t want to see where this thing between us goes, at least he’ll know that Kat is safe and being taken care of.
