Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Carter
The next weeks are busy. So busy, in fact, that I nearly run headlong into Eve herself as she waits for me on my doorstep.
I run right into her, stumbling over her and grabbing her arms to keep from throwing her to the ground. She looks up at me, her blue-green eyes wide and her lips already parting on a laugh.
“Where are you going, looking so serious?” she asks.
I use the momentum to dip her backward and then kiss her. She lets out a bark of laughter against my lips. Slipping her hands around my neck, she grins.
God, I feel so incredibly lucky that I’m the man she’s beaming at. I straighten with a sigh.
“Hi.”
“What was that for?” she asks.
“I’m just happy to see my girlfriend.”
Her mouth opens. For a second, she looks stunned. “Is that what we’re calling it, then?”
I chuckle, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. “If you agree, then yes.”
Eve raises up on her tiptoes and hugs me tightly. “Carter… of course. I would love to be your girlfriend.”
I hug her back, inhaling her scent as we stand pressed together in the sweltering summer heat. I glance over her shoulder and see a little hard-sided animal carrier sitting on my porch.
“Come on,” I say, pulling back and taking her hand. “Let’s go inside and get out of this heat. We can talk about things a little more. And then you can tell me why you brought Valentine with you.”
She smiles at my sly, raising her eyebrows. “That’s not Valentine. That’s one of Valentine’s siblings, I think. And I figured that since I already had one cat, maybe you could take the other. You know, a matched set.”
I let out a surprised laugh. “That’s pretty presumptive of you. What if I hate cats?”
I crouch down to peek inside the carrier. A tiny meow is all I hear, but soon I see a little orange fur ball. It meows at me again, shifting uncomfortably in its cage.
“Well, I’m hoping I can use my newfound leverage to ask you pretty, pretty please…”
I shake my head, picking up the carrier and walking to the front door. I sigh with delight when the wall of air conditioning hits me. Setting the cat on the counter, I immediately head over to the AC and turn it up.
When I turn back to Eve, she’s coaxing not-Valentine out of the carrier. Predictably, the little kitten comes easily into Eve’s hands.
“It looks easy when you do it,” I say, leaning against the counter.
Eve flashes me a smile. Holding the kitten up, she flutters her long lashes at me. “Take the kitten, Carter. Look at how cute and sweet it is.”
Raising my hand, I pet the mewling cat. It’s small enough to fit in one of my big hands.
I look at Eve, my lips twitching. “Say it again.”
She looks at me, questioning. “Say what?”
“Call yourself my girlfriend again.”
A dimple flashes in her cheek as she grins. “I’m your girlfriend. And you’re my boyfriend. And this? This is your cat. So I think you should name it.”
I slide a hand around Eve’s hips, pulling her close. “If I name it, will you put the cat in the bathroom and let me make love to you?”
Her cheeks flush pink but she nods excitedly. “Yes.”
I lean down and kiss her lips. “Mmm. Okay. How about Lady Marmalade?”
Eve chuckles. “We don’t know if it’s a girl or a boy yet!”
“I don’t think that human gender constructs really apply to felines.” I shrug.
She hands the kitten to me, looking amused as the vast size difference between us. “Here you go. Now you’re a proud cat dad.”
I look at the fur ball in my hand, my lips curving up. “Hi Lady Marmalade. Or maybe you’d just prefer Marmalade for short. Hmm?”
The kitten meows at me and it is settled.
“Sounds like a plan. Now if you don’t mind, little cat, I have to take my girlfriend into the bedroom for a while. You hang out in the bathroom… and then when I’m done, we’ll see about feeding you and finding you a place to use the bathroom. Does that sound good?”
Eve is already slinking into my bedroom, leaving her shoes in the doorway and unbuttoning her jean skirt. “Are you coming?”
Fuck yes. “Just a sec…”
I sprint to the bathroom, locking a startled Marmalade inside. Then I turn to the bedroom, rubbing my hands with anticipation as I go.