18. Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Eighteen
MIA
I let out a long sigh as I ended the call with my mother.
I loved her, but man, she was exhausting sometimes.
Still holding out hope the douchebag boyfriend who stole her car had a good explanation.
I couldn’t roll my eyes any harder. I knew part of it was her need to see the best in everyone all the time.
But, damn. Why couldn’t she see the innate shittiness too?
I shut down my computer and stood, gathering my stuff to leave for the day. My phone chimed letting me know a text had come in. I smiled as I looked down, seeing it was Zack. It had been four days since our little road trip, and we’d somehow fallen into a routine of constant texting.
Zack: *herding cats GIF*
I had no clue what he was trying to say. I glanced at the texts we’d sent before, still not seeing the connection. But was that really surprising? Half the time I had no idea what he was trying to say. But after the day I’d just had, I knew I really wanted to see him.
There were mumblings and rumors surfacing again.
Suspicions that the arsonist might be back.
As far as Dylan knew, neither the Taylor boy nor his godfather were back in town.
But someone reported spotting a guy in a green hoodie lurking around Adam’s apartment again. Hopefully it was just a coincidence.
Me: Rage room?
Zack: *video of a group of kittens*
His obsession with cats was a tiny bit strange. And why the hell was he just sending me cat GIFs and videos instead of answering my question?
Me: Not sure what that means
Zack: They’re kittens.
Me: Duh. I know that. But I asked if you wanted to hit up the rage room.
Zack: I can’t. Watching kittens.
I blew a puff of air toward the wisps of hair covering my forehead.
Why was he so frustrating? Was he really saying he couldn’t go with me because he was at home watching cat videos?
I knew he had the day off, so I hit the dial button to call him instead.
A loud melody of meows in the background sang through the line.
“What the hell are you doing?” Or maybe where the hell are you might have been a better question.
“Fostering kittens. Just brought them home. They are insane, but so freaking cute. I’m trying to—Oh. Don’t do that. Wait a minute, dude. Come here.”
Fostering kittens? What? “Seriously?”
“Yeah. Trying to get them set up and fed and all that. Want to come help?”
I easily got my fill of cats and kittens at the shelter, so they weren’t that big of a draw, but I couldn’t ignore the excitement that raced down my body at the prospect of seeing him.
I did choose to ignore the part of my brain that was telling me it wasn’t a good idea.
We were friends. Friends who wanted to fuck each other, sure, but friends regardless.
And he would be completely focused on the kittens.
I could totally go hang out at his house with him alone. No problem.
“Sure. Text me your address.”
“Sure thing, Raven.”
Ever since I remembered what he said that night when I was drunk and he drove me back to my apartment, I didn’t find the nickname to be all that horrible. I hissed playfully anyway, making him laugh before he hung up.
I pulled up in front of the house my GPS led me to—one of the old Victorians that sat in the original part of town—and double-checked the address he gave me. This was his house? How did I not know this about him?
It was absolutely breathtaking. Painted a light teal color with darker colored accents and a touch of gingerbread trim, it stood out from every other house on the block.
The porch wrapped around one side, where a single large turret pointed to the sky over the second floor.
Two large roof gables, with a smaller one over the porch, defined the front of the house, while another faced a manicured yard on the opposite side of the house from the turret.
I walked up the short flight of stone steps and knocked on the front door.
Two wicker chairs and a small table sat off to my side on the porch, giving it a very small-town feel.
It was easy to imagine sitting across from Zack, a glass of iced tea in my hand, watching the world drive by.
A little too easy, actually. The place just felt so incredibly peaceful. Comforting. Like a home should.
Shadows filtered through the two large panes of glass on either side of the solid wood double doors, pulling my attention back to where I was. And why. And it definitely wasn’t being a happy homemaker with a bunch of kids running around in the yard.
The right door swung open and Savannah appeared. I stiffened as shock and a little bit of jealousy hit me. I had no right to feel any of it, and I knew that. But the sourness in my gut was hard to ignore.
“Oh, this is going to be so much fun,” Savannah singsonged, an impish smile curving her lips as she waved me inside and shut the door. “Let me guess, he didn’t tell you I was here?”
I shook my head, glancing around the beautiful foyer. It had all the charm you would expect from an old Victorian house, but with a totally modern feel to it. “No. But that’s okay. I can leave if I’m intruding.”
She laughed and looped her arm through mine. “I do not want your man, so just relax.”
“He’s not—”
“Riiiight. You guys are friends who actually want to fuck. Got it.”
I sighed. It was easy to see that Savannah and Zack had identical matching energies, and I wasn’t sure I would be able to handle both of them together.
She led me past the gorgeous wooden staircase that curved up to the second level, and down a long hallway that emptied into the kitchen.
I laughed at the scene that greeted us. Zack sat in the middle of one of those baby play yards as half a dozen tiny little kittens climbed all over him.
He looked up at me and smiled, showing off those damn dimples.
I dropped my bag and walked over, stepping over the gate and sitting down across from him. “They are so tiny.”
Savannah joined us, shaking her head. “I’m still not sure who thought it was a good idea to entrust you with a bunch of kittens.”
“How hard can it be?” Zack frowned as one of the little ones toppled off his large thigh.
“What’s your plan when you’re on shift?” I picked one of the orange ones up, cradling it against my chest. It looked to be the runt of the litter. “You can’t leave them here alone for twelve plus hours.”
“Bring them with me.” He reached out, catching a little tabby as it almost fell back trying to climb up on his legs. “They’ll be like our Dalmatians.”
I highly doubted there were any similarities, but I’d definitely learned that with Zack, not everything he said made sense. “Oh, the chief will love that,” I said, sarcasm lacing every word.
“He loves cats. You have no idea how many times he’s sent us to get one out of a tree.”
“Seriously?” I stared at him, expecting him to tell me he was kidding. Those calls rarely came through dispatch, and when they did, we always advised to call an arborist. “I thought that was a firefighter myth. Do they have the chief's number on speed dial or something?”
He chuckled. “Probably.”
One of the kittens started playing with Savannah’s shoestring and then hissed at it when it came untied. We all laughed at the adorable ridiculousness of it.
“As fun as this is, I’m hungry,” Savannah interjected a moment later. “Are we ordering food or what?”
Zack looked over at me. “Have you ate?”
“Eaten.”
“Yeah.”
“E-tin.” I overenunciated the word. “Not ate.”
“Alright, grammar police.” He chuckled. “Have you done that?”
I sighed. “I ate during one of my breaks a couple hours ago. But I could definitely eat again.”
“We’re gonna order from The Burger Hut if that’s cool with you.”
“Sure.”
He gingerly picked two of the kittens off his legs and stood.
I couldn’t stop my gaze from roaming up his thick, muscular thighs to his strong chest clad in a tightly fitted athletic shirt.
He cleared his throat, and I whipped my head up, taking in his smug grin.
I narrowed my eyes, which only made his stupid smile grow wider.
“I need to bring up drinks from downstairs and then I’ll order the food.” He stepped out of the play yard. “Beer or wine?”
“Beer.”
“That’s my girl.”
My stomach flipped, and I cursed the sensation. I wasn’t allowed to like being called his girl. And by the look on his face, he liked it coming out of his mouth just as much.
This was a bad idea. I shouldn’t be here.
Savannah huffed out a sigh. “You two really just need to bang already. You’re going to suffocate me with all this pent-up sexual tension.”
Zack’s gaze stayed trained on me. In his eyes was the truth behind Savannah’s words, and it was all-consuming to know he desired me like that.
He blinked, and the moment dissolved, reminding me we weren’t alone. And probably shouldn’t be.
“We usually order a bunch of things and then fill plates. I’ll eat literally anything, so you two decide.” He turned, heading out of the kitchen, and hollered, “Be right back,” over his shoulder.
A moment later Savannah turned to me. “He really likes you. And when he falls, he falls hard and then loves even harder.”
I understood the warning that lay beneath her words. Maybe it was a good time to let her know nothing was going to happen. A nice little reminder for me too. “I told him he wasn’t allowed to fall for me.”
Savannah threw her head back and laughed. “That won’t stop him. He still will, because he doesn’t listen. Trust me, I know.”
The reminder that they were a serious thing once upon a time invited that stupid green monster to make another appearance.
I pushed the feeling away and focused on what she had said.
I wasn’t sure what else I was supposed to do.
I was forthcoming about my aversion to commitment and love; at this point, it was his fault if he didn’t listen. Right?
Needing to get us off this topic, I asked her something easier to talk about. “What do you think we should order?”