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“Who’s Chip?”
“An asshole.”
“Oooohhh.” Jax handed back the phone. “Well, if you want people to think you’re caring, then you’ve, like, actually gotta do caring stuff.”
Alanna’s eyes widened. “You’re right! That’s smart. You’re smart.”
“I get that a lot on the other side of an empty bottle,” Jax replied. “I’m going to need your keys, by the way.”
“Yup.” As Alanna tossed her keys at the girl, her mind swirled with possibilities. All she had to do was show she was a caring person. How hard could that be? Layla adopted two kittens, but that was easy. Everyone loved kittens.
Alanna needed to go bigger. Bolder.
An idea struck her. It was indisputably perfect.
“I’m going to adopt a cat,” she announced to Jane… who was no longer standing at her table. Alanna glanced around the winery and spotted the young woman picking up discarded glasses across the room. No matter. Jane had served her purpose.
The cat idea blossomed in Alanna’s mind.Be bold,she told herself. She couldn’t choose just any cute little kitty. Too easy. Too obvious.
Go big.She, Alanna Sandoval, was going to adopt the most hideous, stankiest, worst cat in the universe. One of those mangey creatures with one eye and tufts of fur sticking out like it’d lost a fight with the garbage disposal. Then everyone would see that she was nothing like Chip Rupert the Turd. They’d call her an angel. She’d get 20 halo emojis on Insta.
Alanna grabbed up the wine bottle and tipped it over her glass. A single purple drop rolled dolefully from the rim and plopped into her glass. How had she managed to polish off the whole bottle by herself, plus the double pour she’d started with?
Because she was a wine-guzzling goddess, that’s how!
It was all for the best, anyway. Alanna didn’t have any more time to waste. She was on a god damn mission of mercy. Unlocking her phone, Alanna pulled up her Uber app.
A disgusting, mutant cat out there was about to hit the fucking jackpot!
Ch. 7 Sully
Sullypressedhisheelonto the crest of the shovel, forcing it deeper into the ground. Gripping the shovel’s handle, he muscled another clod of yellowed, brittle grass from the lawn. He hadn’t planned to start the yard work on the Cinderella house today, especially as the sun was beginning to set in the sky. But desperate times called for serious manual labor.
Specifically, Sully needed to switch off his brain, possibly forever, in order to never again think about the incident this afternoon that Hue had helpfully termed, “The Worst Pickup Attempt of All Time.”
Sully plunged the shovel into the ground again. Had she really screamed, “Fuck nice guys!” at the top of her lungs before baptizing him with her wine glass? Had he really just stood there, as if frozen in a slab of carbonite, until Hue had mercifully dragged his ass to safety?
Sully blew out a breath. Apparently, he wasn’t working hard enough because he still felt waves of humiliation breaking over him. Another clod of dirt came up with Sully’s shovel. Eventually, he wanted to xeriscape Cinderella’s front yard, putting in a desert landscape that required minimal water. But, for now, he’d settle with lining the front of the house and walkway with a row of reasonably priced succulents to make the place more presentable.
On the bright side, he’d already received three inquiries from potential renters and had booked a showing for Saturday morning. Cinderella was indeed the belle of the ball. On the non-bright side, none of his real estate success could make up for the absolute tragedy of this afternoon.
Sully’s back ached but he pressed the shovel into the ground again. God, he hadn’t felt this humiliated since…Michelle.
It’d been two years, so why did her name still feel like a tender bruise on his heart?Because she was your first love, idiot,Sully thought to himself. Sure, he’d enjoyed some hot and heavy connections in college and during grad school. But Michelle had made him realize all those previous relationships were nothing more than puppy love. She’d been wickedly smart, driven, and beautiful.
Sully leaned on his shovel and smiled, remembering the first time he’d seen her on the other side of a massive conference room at an all-hands meeting at his company. Even then, her raven hair and blue eyes had tugged at him like a tidal tow. Two months later, they’d drunk too much at the end of a long trade show. He’d invited her up to his hotel room, and she’d nibbled on his neck in the elevator. They’d explored each other’s bodies. She’d been unashamed of owning her pleasure and had taught him patience and the power of lingering touches and kisses.
They’d kept their relationship secret at first, though they worked in different departments so it wasn’t against their company’s policy. Sully would never forget the spark of excitement that would light in his stomach when he passed Michelle in the hallway or caught her eye in an all-hands meeting.
Sully dumped the last shovelful of dead grass into the pile. In the garage—Row Six, Section One—he retrieved and carefully set out the cluster of potted succulents he’d purchased from a local nursery called the Cactus Blossom. Over the next 30 minutes, he doled out potting soil over the shallow trench he’d dug. Next, he carefully measured, cut, and laid the landscape fabric across the plant beds. As much as he tried, though, the quiet zen of good old-fashioned work eluded him.
His thoughts drifted back to Michelle.
She’d come over to his apartment so often it felt like they lived together. Eventually, they reported their relationship to HR. Over time, the crackling flame between them had subtly shifted into something new. Not as hot but still bright and warm. She’d forced him to watch way too many cheesy zombie movies and he’d retaliated by initiating her into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She had held his hand while they strolled down the beach, and he’d happily cared for her Labradoodle when she went to visit her sister in Vermont.
For two years they settled into each other’s routines, rising in the ranks together at their company. He broached the topic of renting an apartment together, and she demurred. It was never the right time. Her lease wasn’t up. Her roommate was her best friend and couldn’t afford to live on her own. There was always a reason.
And then Michelle had gotten the promotion of her dreams. Senior project lead for a new device so secret she’d need to relocate to company headquarters in Seattle to take the helm. She’d worked her ass off for the opportunity, and he’d been so damn proud of her.
