11. Cat
11
CAT
I woke slowly up and realized my surroundings were unfamiliar to me. It took a moment for me to remember I was in Vince’s apartment. His amazingly cool, dreamy loft apartment.
I’d slept in his office on the futon. It was not the most comfortable sleep ever, but I was also so exhausted from yesterday, that I was pretty sure I could have slept anywhere.
Rolling over, I realized I needed to get up and get going if I was going to get to the Ranger Shield Security office and get some work done. I made my way out to the kitchen and saw Val already at the counter drinking coffee and eating what appeared to be toast and a banana.
“Want some coffee?” I heard Vince’s voice from behind the open fridge door.
He closed it, and I realized he was just in some flannel pajama pants and no shirt. God , he looked gorgeous. I’d known he was fit and obviously worked out. You could see that even when he did wear a shirt. Without a shirt, though? I couldn’t see an ounce of fat on this man. Anywhere .
When he first turned to close the fridge door, I could see the lines of his abs and pecs, and then he turned toward the cabinet to reach inside, showing off the display of his muscular back and shoulders. They flexed as he reached up into the cabinet to pull something out, his biceps muscles also flexing. The veins in his forearms looked like they were ready to pop out of his skin. Skin that I currently wanted to touch. Everywhere .
“Earth to Cat ,” someone called out, breaking me out of the trance Vince’s body had put me in.
I looked up to see Vince grinning at me. Crap . He’d totally caught me checking out his body.
“I said, would you like some coffee?” Vince repeated, smiling. “ Or you’re welcome to keep checking out my body if you’d rather do that.”
He winked at me, and I felt my skin heat up and flush as embarrassment started to sink in.
“No offense, Vince ,” Val interrupted. “ But you prancing around shirtless doesn’t help.”
“Men don’t prance,” Vince deadpanned.
“Strut, flaunt, cavort, whatever. Same thing.” Val waved her hand, dismissing him. “ I’m just saying, if you don’t want her to look, then you should put a T -shirt on, though I am looking forward to the moment she sees your tattoo.”
Val had a conspiratorial grin on her face. When I looked back over to Vince , I scanned his body for a tattoo. I hadn’t seen one in the last two days, so I was guessing it was hidden in an area that a shirt would cover. I saw some kind of band on his upper arm, and he had small ones on each side of his upper chest.
He saw me looking him over and began to walk closer, I assumed, so I could see them better since he was easily ten to twelve feet away from me. Now , he was right in front of me. His chest was mere inches from my face. I saw what looked to be a military insignia with a series of numbers on the right part of his chest near his collarbone.
Then I looked to his left side and saw a familiar image inked on his upper chest.
“You got a tattoo of my cat?” I whispered as my fingers reached up to touch my familiar business logo—the image I’d drawn for him on our very first letter so many years ago—but I pulled my fingers back.
“You told me it would protect me,” he whispered back, and I was so close I could feel his breath on my face. “ So when I came home on leave, I got the tattoo.”
I looked up at him, so many emotions running through me. Surprise , warmth, and pride that he liked the design well enough to permanently put it on his body. And also a bit of awkwardness because what did you even say to that? Thankfully , I didn’t have to say anything because Val went and made the moment even more awkward by opening her mouth.
“Ha-ha! Ohmigod , I just realized he has a picture of your pussy…cat…on his chest,” Val said and laughed hard at her own joke. “ On that note, I’m going to take a shower and get ready for my training shift.”
She laughed even more as she walked out of the room.
I thought about what she’d said, and as crude as my sister’s comment was, it was also kind of funny too. I started to laugh myself but covered my face, too, since there was definitely a level of embarrassment as well.
“I’m sorry about her,” I said, uncovering my face and looking back at him.
He was smiling back at me, and that made me feel more at ease.
“It’s all good. She’s funny,” he replied.
“She’s funny, but she doesn’t always think before she speaks, so sometimes the jokes aren’t always appropriate for the time,” I explained.
“Honey, sitting around a bunch of bored guys in a sandbox overseas, I’ve heard it all,” he said. “ There’s not much she could say that I haven’t already heard or that would offend me. Now , how about some coffee, yeah?”
“That sounds divine, thank you.” I smiled and followed him to the coffee pot, expecting to get it myself, but then he turned around and grabbed my arm softly.
“Go sit, babe. I got it,” he urged.
Babe . This man and his endearments.
“You want cream or sugar?” he asked.
“Both, please.”
“What about food? You want some eggs? I don’t have a lot at home in the fridge but I do have eggs,” he went on, and it felt nice. I’d been self-sufficient for so long that even something as simple as having someone get my coffee seemed like such a big deal.
“I’m okay for now,” I responded. “ I need caffeine in me first before I eat real food. I’m usually quite the zombie before I have at least a full cup of coffee.”
“I’ll have to remember that.” A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he brought over my coffee and set it in front of me. I looked back up at him to thank him and noticed the tattoo again.
“I can’t believe you actually got that tattooed on you,” I said barely above a whisper, while I admired the work. It looked exactly like the one I’d drawn him. The same one that was now my company logo.
“As I said, you promised me it would protect me,” Vince jested, his grin smug.
“I meant it metaphorically, Vince ,” I told him with a small grin on my own face.
He shrugged. “ Well , the guys thought it was great and even gave him a name.”
I blinked. “ They named your cat tattoo?” I asked, thinking I hadn’t heard him correctly.
“Yep.” He paused, waving in front of the tattoo as if to give it a dramatic introduction. “ Meet the Clawmander .”
I threw my head back and laughed. This man was too much sometimes, but I hadn’t laughed and smiled this much in a while, and I loved it.
When I glanced back over to Vince , I noticed he was looking at me with a sly grin on his face. I wasn’t sure what I’d done to make him give me that look.
“What?” I asked.
He walked over to me so that he was just on the side of the kitchen island, only two feet away from me, coffee in hand, and replied with a bigger grin, “ Your whole face lights up when you laugh. I like it.”
Was it getting hot in here? It felt warmer. He was so close, and his eyes were right on me in such an intense way. I swear he looked like he was about to kiss me, but then he just smirked and walked back over to the sink to set down his coffee cup.
“Hey, the tattoo worked. No bullet holes,” he said, spinning around for me to do a full body scan of his non-bullet-ridden body.
“I’m pretty sure your bullet-proof vest did more than my cat picture,” I stated, which I thought should be obvious to him.
“Semantics.” He brushed it off. “ I may not have bullet holes, but I did have a few close calls, and I’m pretty sure this cat gave me some of its nine lives.”
That comment made my stomach drop. I knew it wasn’t all sunshine and roses overseas, but knowing that he came that close to death made my heart pinch.
He straightened. “ Alright , do you feel sufficiently caffeinated to head over to the office, or do you need a few more cups?”
He was teasing me, and I could tell he sensed my thoughts turning dark, so he was clearly trying to lighten the mood.
“Much better, thank you,” I told him.
“Good. We leave in twenty,” he announced as he left the kitchen.
Then it hit me. Only twenty minutes? I needed to hurry.
Twenty minutes later, I was showered and ready to go. We left his apartment and walked down the street to the office. Heading to her training shift at the pub, Val walked with us, though she had to print something off first, so she was coming to the office to use the printer since we hadn’t set ours up yet at the apartment.
Shortly after, I was all set up in the office behind Ruthie , and Val left to go to the pub. For the first time in a while, I felt a renewed sense of energy and happiness settle over me, and I realized this move was a good thing for both of us.
Vince stopped by to check in but left me to work for the most part, as he was busy getting caught up after having been gone for more than a week trying to find me.
People were in and out of the front reception throughout the morning, and I got to meet two of the other guys who worked there— Dane Enderson and Axel Skarsg?rd . Ruthie ordered us lunch then got me my own badge to access the stairs and elevator if I needed it. Everyone was super nice so far, and it made working in this building very easy. I knew I would need to find a place to live soon, but Vince said there was no rush, and I found myself wanting to take advantage of his hospitality a little longer.
Ellie stopped by too on her way to get her hair done across the street, which reminded me I should probably get my hair cut soon since my split ends were taking on a life of their own.
“Do you like that place?” I asked her. “ Because I desperately need my hair done too.”
“This will be my first time there, so I’ll let you know,” Ellie responded cheerfully.
“If not, I go to a place over on Peachtree Avenue that’s nice,” Ruthie said, and it occurred to me that I’d seen that street name.
“Oh, that’s the street on the other side of Vince’s place, yes?” I vaguely remembered.
“No,” Ruthie laughed. “ That’s Peachtree Street ,” she said, emphasizing the last part of the name.
“Oh.” I chuckled back. “ At least I was close.”
“Yes, well, you’re going to be close a lot. Because this city is obsessed with naming their streets after peach trees,” Ellie said, giggling.
“It’s true,” Ruthie confirmed. “ There’s a Peachtree everything. There’s Peachtree Ave , Street , Road , Boulevard , not to mention Old Peachtree and West Peachtree and Peachtree Creek . Oh , and then there are two suburbs with the name too, Peachtree City and Peachtree Corners .”
My head was spinning from all this.
“Just remember, everywhere you need to go is on a road named Peachtree , just a different one,” Ellie said, smiling at me.
“That’s not confusing at all,” I joked, but I also felt slightly terrified of having to find anything while driving in this city.
I spent the next several hours catching up on some client websites, and also browsed Ranger Shield Security’s website to see what I could do to help. Vince and his colleagues had already done so much for Val and me, I wanted to be able to return the favor. I told Ruthie about some of my ideas and she loved them.
At the end of the day, Val came back from her training shift super excited to work again tomorrow, and I was happy for her. I was also really proud of myself for not once asking Ruthie to pull up the pub cameras to check on her.
Vince came by shortly after, and we all headed back to his place. Vince asked about our day, and Val was a chatty Cathy , talking the whole way about how much she loved working at the pub and how awesome Tammy , the bartender, was. It had been so long since I had seen her this excited and it made me feel even better about taking the chance and moving here.
When we arrived back at his place, Vince opened the door and flinched. His face went hard, and instantly, my senses were heightened. I turned to Val , and she knew something was up. We had lived in WITSEC long enough to learn when potential danger could be near. Vince slowly opened the door more while throwing his arm out, indicating Val and I should stay back. Just as quickly as his arm was out to block, it went right back down just as fast. His head dropped, and he sighed. He turned to us, mumbling, “ She just can’t help herself,” as his face went softer and no longer alert.
“My mom is here, so I’m going to apologize in advance,” he said in a low voice to us then turned and walked into his apartment.
Val and I followed behind, and I wondered if maybe we should just go to Val’s room and give them some privacy. Unfortunately , Val had other ideas, which included shoving me from behind straight into the kitchen with Vince and his mom.
“Oh good, you’re home!” An older woman turned to Vince when we walked in, a big smile on her face, and moved to hug him.
She was a little thing, maybe just an inch or two above five feet. How she gave birth to a man as big as Vince , I would never know. She had medium-brown hair with Vince’s green eyes. Those eyes were about the only thing that tied them together. Just then, those eyes turned to Val and me, and she smiled brightly.
“Oh!” she said, dropping Vince like a hot potato and moving over to Val and me. “ I’m this brute’s mother.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs . Fletcher ,” Val and I replied in unison.
“Mrs. Fletcher is my mother-in-law, and we don’t speak of that devil,” she said as she squished her face in disgust. “ Please , call me Susan . You must be Cat and Val . It’s so nice to meet you.”
How did she know our names? I didn’t have time to think because she moved in to hug both of us.
“Sorry, I’m a hugger,” she said as she moved from me to Val , causing Val to chuckle. “ I am so happy to finally meet you.”
“You know who we are?” I asked, realizing Vince must have given his mom at least a little background on us since she knew who we were and our names.
“Yes, of course, though no thanks to my son.” Her face turned, and she glared at Vince . “ My sweet, wonderful nephew Archer has told me everything since my son never talks to me .” She emphasized the last part, as if she hadn’t heard from him or seen him in years.
“Mom, I literally texted you this morning to tell you I was home,” Vince said, sounding exasperated. “ And why are you bothering Archer when you could just ask me yourself?”
“I’m not bothering Archer ,” she countered as she walked back into the kitchen and began putting away groceries that I hadn’t noticed until right then. “ I was being a good mother and stopped by to bring you lunch one day last week at the office, but you weren’t there. Archer told me where you were and that you found the girl you used to write your cute little letters to.”
I heard Vince sigh dramatically and saw his head tilt up as though he was looking to the sky to give him the sanity not to strangle her, but I knew there was no real anger, as his lip twitched at the same time.
“He said you were helping them move down here, and they would be living with you for a bit until they could find a safe place. But you ,” she emphasized, pointing her finger at him like he was in trouble. “ Didn’t tell me any of this. You also didn’t tell me you got a cat. You know I love animals!”
He pointed to Val and me. “ It’s not my cat, Ma . It’s theirs.”
“Oh, well, he is just darling,” his mom swooned, turning to Val and me, her face so full of kindness. “ Ladies , since my son never tells me anything, I had to find out the basics from Archer . I hope you don’t mind, but he gave me a bit of your backstory, and I know your parents died a few years ago.”
Even though this was not news to me, the thought of it still made me sad. I was also honestly happy she knew so that Val and I didn’t have to retell it.
“This means you are coming to our house for Thanksgiving next week,” she continued. “ So you can have a nice family meal.” She looked at Val and me before turning back to her son. “ And don’t you dare bring that nasty jelly cranberry sauce! I’m making my grandma’s homemade cranberry chutney, and I will not have you embarrass me in front of these ladies with the canned version.”
“What if they prefer the canned kind?” Vince retorted. “ Are you really going to tell them their feelings don’t matter? They should be able to eat the more delicious, canned kind if they want.”
Val and I both chuckled at their back and forth. Vince’s face implied he was riling his mother up on purpose, but not in a malicious way. His mom’s reaction, however, implied she was beyond offended he would even consider canned cranberry.
“You’re lucky I love you so much, because you should have been ostracized from the family years ago when you brought that canned nonsense to my house.” She sighed as she finished putting away the rest of the groceries.
I missed my parents daily, but I was so happy Vince had this. Someone who, no matter what he did, at the end of the day, loved him dearly.
“On that note, I need to go meet your father for dinner.” She grabbed her reusable grocery bags and walked around the island. “ Goodbye , my long-lost son,” she teased and hugged him. He sighed and shook his head, a small smile tugging at the side of his mouth.
“It was a pleasure to meet you, beautiful ladies.” She turned to us and came back to hug us again. “ I will see you next week for Thanksgiving . It’s nothing fancy, so please don’t feel the need to dress up, but please bring that precious little kitty of yours. He is adorable.”
“Mom, Dad is allergic to cats,” Vince pointed out.
“He’ll be fine.” His mom waved her hands around as though this was not a concern to her. “ I didn’t know what foods you liked, so I got a variety,” she said to Val and me.
“We’re not picky, Mrs . Fle … I mean Susan ,” I told her, smiling because she was so thoughtful.
“Good. I can tell you are healthy eaters because you aren’t skinny as a toothpick.” She looked us over approvingly. “ This will benefit you greatly down the road when you give some lucky man beautiful grandbabies.”
Val snorted beside me, and my eyes widened at the bluntness of her statement, but I wasn’t offended as I knew she meant it as a compliment.
“Mom,” Vince growled from the kitchen island, a clear warning to her.
“I’m leaving, I’m leaving!” she yelled as she scurried out of the kitchen and slammed the front door behind her.
“I’m sorry,” Vince said to the room.
“It’s okay. She’s very sweet,” I defended her to Vince .
“At her core, she is very sweet, but she has no filter and often says whatever is on her mind without thinking about how it might make other people feel.” He grinned like he had made this speech to many other people before regarding his mom. “ And just warning you both now, but by the end of Thanksgiving dinner she will have you both partnered off and planning your weddings to someone in the family or a close friend and will likely steal that cat out from underneath you without you even realizing it.”
“If you have any hot cousins, Vince , then I’m game for whatever your mom plans.” Val laughed and then went into the kitchen to see what had been put into the fridge.
I laughed, too, as I wondered if his assessment of how the holidays would go was actually a reality.
“Are you sure we won’t be intruding on your family though?” I asked him, now a little worried we were a bit of a pity invite since she knew we didn’t have a family to celebrate with.
“My mom doesn’t do anything she doesn’t want to do,” Vince informed us. “ To her, there is no such thing as too many people at Thanksgiving dinner. Knowing her, she’s also invited Ruthie and everyone else at Ranger Shield to join us as well. Plus , Archer’s family and is already included.”
That made me feel better.
“Your mom bought so much food,” Val remarked from behind the fridge door.
“I’m sure she did,” he responded, walking over to check the fridge out himself. “ Give me a few minutes to shower and call Archer to strangle him over the phone, and I’ll whip up some dinner.”
“We can do dinner,” I pushed, feeling like we needed to help out more since he was already being so hospitable.
“You’re my guests. I’ll take care of it,” he rebutted.
“We like to cook, and you’re already doing so much for us. Please let us cook for you. It’s the least we can do,” I tried to tell him.
“She’s really stubborn about stuff like this. You might as well just concede.” Val walked away from the fridge with a few items in her hands. “ Besides , even if you don’t, she’s just going to do it anyway while you sneak away to the shower.”
Val turned to me, giving me an overdramatic wink, then turned back to Vince and grinned. He grinned back and conceded. He left to shower and likely reprimand his cousin for snitching on him to his mother, which made me chuckle a little.
“What’s so funny?” Val asked me.
“You met Archer ,” I told her. “ Just imagining someone yelling at him and giving him crap makes me laugh.”
“Yeah.” Val laughed too. “ I’m kind of sorry we won’t get to see his reaction.”
“Why don’t I get something started, and you go see if you can find Harry and make sure Vince’s mom didn’t catnap him on her way out,” I joked, and Val chuckled.
After reporting Harry’s existence, Val came and helped me make dinner. We decided on Mexican pizzas because they were quick and easy to make. The three of us sat down for dinner at his bar and enjoyed some light conversation, mostly surrounding Archer’s impending safety and what we could bring for the meal next week.
It was a little colder out tonight, so Vince didn’t sit out on the patio after we cleaned up dinner. He offered to set up a movie if we wanted to watch it. Val declined, saying she wanted to get some homework done for her online classes. Since she was working full-time now, she didn’t want to fall behind.
For me, I wasn’t ready to turn in for the night, so I took Vince up on his offer to watch a movie. I told myself it was because I wanted to get to know him more, but I’d be lying if I didn’t also admit that I was hoping to sit next to him on that couch and maybe accidentally fall asleep in his arms.