AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Why did that thought make him even more attractive to her?
And why couldn’t she stop thinking about him?
Why couldn’t she stop picturing him in the apartment? Showering. Lying in bed. Cooking breakfast shirtless.
Those were just a few of the vivid fantasies that had been playing on repeat in her head since she left him. She’d never obsessed over someone before. It wasn’t as fun as one would think.
Laura’s phone beeped, and she saw it was her mom calling. "Kennedy, my mom’s calling. I gotta go."
"Okay, doll."
Laura rinsed out her mouth and spit before clicking over. "Hey, Mama."
"Tia Angie told me that she tried to set you up, and you said no."
Laura sighed. She knew that her family did what they did out of love, but that didn’t make it any easier to deal with.
"Was that after or before you invitedMarioto dinner?"
"What? I can’t invite an old friend to dinner?"
Laura bit her tongue so hard that she was surprised it wasn’t bleeding. She was scared that if she responded to that statement, she might cross the line into being disrespectful. Something she would never do. Instead, she spoke her truth. "Mama, I’m done with getting set up. No more."
"Aye, no more. No, no,no. Yes, more. It only takes one time. One time. You’re going tomorrow night with Tia Angie’s friend. I already told him yes. You meet him at Lanterns at six."
"I work until six."
"Six fifteen, then!"
Laura couldn’t see her mom, but she knew that she was throwing her hands in the air. The entire family was very expressive and talked with their hands.
"Mama, I’m no—"
"Shh," her mother shushed her. "You’re going, Mija. I love you."
The call ended, and Laura stared at the screen, which had returned to her screen saver of a sunset. "I love you, too."
She sighed as she walked into her room, only to find Jello staring up at her with a bewildered look on her perfect round face. The look she only ever got when she couldn’t find her sister.
"Did you lose your sister?"
"Meow," Jello answered.
Growing up, Laura had always been a dog person. The reason she had two cats was because her BIL claimed he was allergic after her sister Lori bought them for Marissa as a thank you for helping with the younger kids. Laura had said yes so her niece could still visit the felines, and she’d thought that unlike dogs, cats basically took care of themselves.
For the most part, Sofie did just that. She was an independent woman. But Jello was cuddly and had separation anxiety. If Sofie wasn’t around, Jello would trail behind Laura like a duckling. Jello also came when called, something Sofie never did.
"Let’s go find her."
She walked out to the living room and checked on the top of the bookcase, which was Sofie’s preferred lounging spot in the evening. No cat. Next, she checked the top of the fridge and behind the couch. No luck. She walked back into the bathroom and checked inside the bathtub. Strangely enough, it was one of Sofie’s favorite places to sleep. She loved curling up in the corner of it. Laura thought she might have creeped in when she was on the phone. But there was no bundle of fur in there.
That’s when she heard it. The screen door in the kitchen banging shut. Laura had left the back door open and only shut the screen because it was a warm night and she wanted the breeze. She didn’t have proof of how she was doing it, but somehow Sofia Purrgara had figured out how to open the latched screen door.
Which meant she was outside. Which meant she was most likely stuck up in a tree. Again.
Since Sofie’s favorite climbing tree was in the front yard, it meant that Laura would be putting on a show for the neighbors as she attempted to coax her down. Again.
As she rushed out the front door, the eternal optimist in her was hoping that Sofie had climbed to a low branch where Laura would easily be able to scoop her up. The realist in her doubted very much that that was the case. When she reached the bottom of the tree, she discovered that the realist was the winner. Her cat’s tail was dangling from one of the tippy top branches.
