Page 35 of Love at First Fright

I blinked. “Morning.”

He crossed the room, extending the mug towards me. Tea. Actual tea, with milk by the looks of it.

“Thought you might want this.”

Warmth bloomed in my chest. Not from the tea—I hadn’t even taken it yet—but from the gesture itself.

Maybe this was a peace offering. Maybe Brad wasn’t a complete wanker after all. Maybe we could grow to be friends out here, despite the homophobia and the cat kicking and the general air of barely contained hostility.

“Cheers.” I took the mug, wrapping my fingers around its warmth. “That’s actually—”

A spider crawled over the rim.

Big. Black. Eight spindly legs moving in perfect synchronisation as it perched on the edge, inches from my face.

My heart stopped. My brain short-circuited.

Everything narrowed to that spider. That horrible, monstrous spider. Right there. Right there.

I screamed.

Dropped the mug.

It hit the floor and exploded. Porcelain shards scattered across the floorboards. Boiling tea splashed everywhere—across my jumpsuit, across my trainers, pooling in the gaps between the wood.

Brad doubled over laughing. Great, heaving belly laughs that shook his entire frame.

“You should see your face!”

“You asshole!” My voice came out strangled, high-pitched. “You absolute bastard! You fucking—”

“Christ, Charlie, it’s just a spider.”

“It’s not ‘just’ anything!”

“Listen, mate, you need to conquer this stupid fear if you’re going to survive this job.” Brad wiped tears from his eyes, still grinning. “Can’t have you screaming every time you see something with eight legs.”

The spider hadn’t died in the carnage. Of course it hadn’t. It crawled towards my foot, navigating the puddle of tea with deliberate intent.

I jumped backwards. Slammed into the broken wardrobe.

The spider kept coming.

Then the cat moved.

A black blur. Lightning fast. It pounced, scooped the spider up in its mouth, and swallowed.

Just like that.

Gone.

The cat licked its chops, looking smug.

Brad’s laughter stopped. “For fuck’s sake, what’s that rodent doing in here?”

I stared at the cat. The cat stared back, tail swishing.

Sizing up my cock and saving me from spiders, apparently.