Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Grayson
It’s the knocking that wakes me. A constant incessant knocking. And it pisses me off because I was having a super inappropriate dream about Roxy, involving a lot more than the kissing we did last night. Fuck, I could kiss that woman for hours. Her lips were so soft. It made me wonder what the rest of her would feel like, taste like.
I roll over and put my pillow over my head, trying to block the sound. I know it’s not too early because my room is slightly light even with my curtains closed.
After five minutes, I give up and walk to the hallway. I open the bathroom door, and the kitten runs out like a wild cat. Her legs go in four different directions as she attempts to scurry into my living room on my hardwood floors.
“Whoa!” I call out, chasing after her, but she’s a crafty one. She manages to slide right under my sofa. And when she doesn’t appear again. I get down on my knees and peek into the darkness.
“What the fuck?” I say to myself when I see absolutely nothing until I shine my phone light and see two little eyes open. “Well, shit, you really blend into the darkness, don’t you.”
I stand and walk into my kitchen, grabbing black licorice out of a jar and chewing on a piece while I contemplate what to do. My sister once said black licorice was my only vice. Not sure I agree with her, but it definitely is one of many vices.
I’m considering moving my entire sofa when I hear a “meow” and suddenly this little cat comes waltzing into my kitchen like she owns the place.
She looks up at me and lets out a loud, “Meow!”
“Oh, now you’re hungry,” I grumble as I lean down to pick her up. She tries to grab the licorice out of my other hand. “I don’t think so.”
I stick the rest of it in my mouth and take her back to the bathroom where I fill up her food bowl. She barely waits for the food to hit the bowl before she places her entire head inside it and starts eating it like her mouth is one of those giant claw things on a construction site.
I close the door and grab a shower. I need to go practice for my upcoming guest appearance with the orchestra.
I pull out my phone to text Roxy and see if I can drop this kitten off with her until we can figure out what to do with it when I see a missed text from Pierce.
Pierce: Hey, Haven and I are going up to the lake house this weekend, do you and Roxy want to join us? I’ve invited my brother, Kallen, and his wife, Amber.
I walk straight down to the bookstore. This is a conversation we need to have in person because I’m betting that we will need to share a room and I’m also betting that Roxy will not like it.
I open the bathroom door, and the cat is sitting there.
“Meow!”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re real fucking cute. Come on…Licorice,” I say as I pick up the kitten. She curls into a ball in my hand, and I hold her against my chest while we walk downstairs.
I tap on the door to the bookstore and Jocelyn opens it.
“Awww! Is that the kitten? Roxy told me all about her. Come see your auntie Jocelyn,” she says as she swipes the cat from my arms and trots off toward a bookshelf.
“Hey,” Roxy calls out from the back, waving a hand to get my attention.
“Hey,” I reply because I don’t know how to start this conversation.
“What’s up? How’s the kitten?” she asks as she stands and wipes her hands on her jeans.
“Licorice? She’s fine,” I reply, glancing back over at Jocelyn who is holding the kitten up like the lion cub in The Lion King .
“Licorice?” she asks.
I rub my temple. “Yeah, I was eating black licorice, and the name sort of stuck.”
She grimaces. “Black licorice. Ew! That’s, like, the worst kind!”
“No, it’s the best kind.” I give her a hard look and she rolls her eyes.
“Whatever. I can’t really watch the kitten. Our soft opening is next week and I need to work on some things,” she says as she motions around the store.
“Oh, I was hoping you could kitten-sit while I go to practice,” I explain as I feel my brows furrow.
“Well, no can do. Maybe Jessa or Troy can watch her?”
I nod and swallow hard because Roxy seems to be giving off “not in the mood” vibes. What the hell?
“So, Pierce just texted me. He and Haven invited us to their lake house Friday night,” I start.
Roxy full-on frowns. “Friday?”
“Yep,” I answer, guessing she’s going to say no.
“Joc?” she yells.
“What?” Jocelyn turns toward us still swinging the kitten.
“What time does the shipment get in on Friday?”
“It’s supposed to be here by ten in the morning, why?”
Roxy looks back at me. “If, and big if, I can get those books stocked and inventoried, then I suppose I could do one night. But you owe me, big-time!” she says, poking my chest with one single finger.
“I know. Thank you,” I reply from behind clenched teeth because I know she’s been using us as social media fodder and this isn’t a one-way street. I haven’t mentioned finding her store’s social media but Carly pointed it out to me a few days ago. I thought it was kind of funny and didn’t mind. She didn’t use my name or anything. But she’s acting like it’s all about her doing me a favor when in reality this is more of a two-way street.
“Is that it?” she asks.
“Yes,” I reply as I turn and remove the kitten from Jocelyn’s hands as I make my way to the door.
“Hey! I was playing with her,” Jocelyn whines.
“Talk to your boss. She doesn’t want to kitten-sit,” I grumble as I hold Licorice against my chest and feel her begin to purr.
“Roxy! Come on! A bookstore cat is like…a requirement or something. She’s so cute, please!” Jocelyn argues.
“No. Not now. Maybe later. We have too many packages arriving. I don’t want her running out of here,” Roxy barks back.
“Fine,” Jocelyn says with a pout on her face. Then she turns to the kitten and smiles. “Bye, Licorice. You’re such a cutie!”
Now it’s me rolling my eyes as I walk outside and back into the building, hoping Jessa will agree to babysit or maybe I can get Margie and Cornelia to do it.
* * *
“Uh, there’s a cat back here,” Roxy states as she opens my car door to put her bag inside.
“Yep. Licorice is coming with us.”
“Uh, do you think that’s a good idea?”
I run a hand over my face. This whole weekend might not be a good idea. “I mentioned to Pierce about the cat and Haven happened to be there and demanded we bring the kitten. Apparently, she’s a huge animal lover and volunteers at some rescue. I guess they foster kittens and puppies all the time.”
“Oh. OK, then. Just seems like that’s a disaster waiting to happen, but it’s your night,” she says as she shuts the door and sits down in the passenger seat. She glances over at me as I pull out onto the street. “How long is the drive?”
“Not far. Like an hour,” I explain.
“And…wait a minute,” she says as if she just realized something. “How are we going to…I mean, we’ll have to share a room, won’t we?”
“That’s the plan. But don’t worry. I’ll sleep on the floor,” I explain.
“Great, just great,” she mumbles as she crosses her arms and stares out the window.
I place a single hand on her thigh, and she glances over at me. “Everything OK? You seem…not happy.”
She lets out a long sigh. “It’s just…” She pauses. “Never mind.”
I give her a pointed look.
“What do you care? I’m just your fake girlfriend,” she says and looks back out the window.
I squeeze her thigh. “Hey,” I say, softening my voice. She doesn’t turn toward me, but I feel her muscles unclench a little. “I’m sorry. I’m sure this is a horrible weekend to be away, I mean with the store soft opening next week. I promise we’ll leave right after breakfast tomorrow.”
I let my thumb rub little circles on the side of her thigh. I don’t know why I’m doing that. It just seems like the natural thing to do.
“I…” She starts but then I see her eyes looking at my hand and I stop moving my thumb and slowly pull it away. “I’m sorry. I’m just stressed out. But honestly, Jocelyn was right, it’s probably a good thing to get away for a night and think about anything but the bookstore.”
“Good. We can definitely distract you,” I offer with a small smile in her direction.
“Meow!”
We both turn and laugh when Licorice’s face is right behind us in her cat carrier, staring at us as if she’s part of the conversation.
“I suppose you all will be a distraction,” she muses as she looks from the kitten to me. Then she sighs and looks down at her lap where her hands are now resting. “You don’t have to sleep on the floor. I’m sure they’ll have a monstrous bed. We’ll just put pillows down the middle or something.”
“Such a romantic wifey,” I tease. I see her lips twitch.
“You know me, snookums, sooo romantic,” she coos in a fake voice.
“Seriously?” I ask her as I steal a glance and see her smirking. Smirking I can handle. Upset Roxy, not so much.
“What? I’m supposed to be the romantic girlfriend, right?”
I run a hand over my face. “This is going to be a big disaster, isn’t it?” I ask.
“Probably, but just remember…you brought it upon yourself,” she says with another smirk as she pokes my bicep.
She’s not wrong about that, but right now, the thought of sleeping in a bed with Roxy is not making me regret anything, in fact, I sort of want to get to the lake house faster.
Maybe we can be fake dating with benefits? No, no. I need to stop that. I’m starting to like Roxy and that’s not a good thing for her or me. With a new resolve, I turn onto the highway and hope that I can figure out a way to stop wanting to touch my fake girlfriend.