Chapter 8 #2
I couldn’t have begun to read his mind, but I was mortified.
Selena wasn’t the first ex to say something along those lines.
Especially when someone realized they were the one who’d fucked up, they’d just tell me on the way out that they were only using me for my dick.
Sometimes I wondered if they meant it, or if they were just trying to save face by hitting me with that parting shot.
I wondered if there was some truth to it this time. Selena had made more than a few comments about how Eric hadn’t been able to please her the way I could, and she’d alluded several times to it being because I was packing more than he was.
But like, I’d literally watched the two of them in bed together.
Eric wasn’t lacking anywhere. Even if she had been right about what he was packing, the man’s mouth was incredible; he’d gone down on her until she’d come so hard she’d almost cried, and then he’d sucked my brains out my dick until I nearly had a religious experience.
And that was before he’d ridden my ass while I’d been pounding her; I thought I’d touched heaven because they’d both driven me wild.
So her comments to me while we were dating had probably been to butter me up and keep me from suspecting she was still banging that “ex.” That parting shot on her way out the door was just to hit both of us below the belt. So to speak.
After a painfully long time, Eric cleared his throat, the sound making me jump. As he watched himself petting Chili, he said, “Well. That was, uh… unexpected.”
I didn’t know if he meant her showing up or what she’d said on the way out. Either way, I agreed. “Just a bit, yeah.” I sighed. “Maybe I should be looking at that apartment guide too.”
He lifted his gaze. “You think she’ll come back and mess with you?”
“Nah, probably not. But I’ll probably jump out of my skin every time someone comes to the door.” I sighed, pressing back against the couch. “I’m not afraid of her or anything. Just… never been a fan of confrontation.”
“I know the feeling,” he murmured. “That was probably the one thing I really didn’t like about my relationship with her—how confrontational she was if we were disagreeing.” He paused. “Well, the one thing I didn’t like that I knew about.”
I laughed dryly. “Yeah. I feel that.” Silence fell again, and my stomach knotted as we sat there for what seemed like ages. I was the one to speak this time. “Listen, what she said before she left—she’s full of shit. You know that, right?”
The response to that was a laugh so halfhearted, it was nearly soundless. “I mean, she never complained about my size before. But maybe she…” He didn’t finish that thought, and he deflated against the cushion.
I fought back a grimace. I was honestly more pissed at her over that comment than anything else. I was still livid about the cheating, of course, but the cheap parting shot? Especially about something that a person could be really sensitive about? That was just cruel for cruelty’s sake.
Eric blew out a breath and rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, she’s gone now. Good riddance to bad rubbish.” He put his iPad aside and gestured at the TV. “Think we can get in another episode or two before we call it a night?”
I could take a hint. Without another word, I unpaused the show, and we were again lost in the series and its irresponsible cinematography. Seriously, I was going to need glasses after squinting so hard to see what the fuck was going on.
It was a nice distraction, though. Hopefully it was holding Eric’s attention, though his mind probably kept wandering back to that encounter just like mine did.
I still had no idea if she’d meant what she’d said, or if she’d just been trying to hurt us both on the way out.
One thing I was absolutely sure of?
We were both way better off without Selena.
“So, wait—who is this guy again?” My sister Maureen surreptitiously watched Eric carrying a few things out to his car.
“He’s a friend,” I insisted.
She turned a skeptical look on me. “A friend… who you’ve never mentioned before, is living with you, and you’re suddenly taking off with him for three weeks…right after you broke up with your girlfriend?”
The heat in my face said I wasn’t playing this as cool as I’d hoped. “A friend.”
“Mmhmm.” She eyed me but apparently figured out she wasn’t going to pry anything more out of me than that. With a huff, she rolled her eyes. “Fine. And the boys have enough food?”
I nodded. “I stocked up yesterday. The automatic feeders go off three times a day, and they just need to be filled every couple of days. I also just did a deep clean on the water fountains, so just rinse those out every few days and they’ll be fine.”
“And otherwise just hang out with them, spoil them rotten, and steal their affection?”
I laughed. “Good luck with that.” I gestured out the window. “I’m pretty sure Chili has completely fallen in love with Eric.” I regretted that the instant it came out of my mouth. My sister’s eyebrow flicked up. I pointed at her. “Don’t start.”
She showed her palms. “What? I’m just saying—it doesn’t sound like—”
“Hush.”
Right then, Eric came back inside, and fortunately Maureen knew when to shut up. Unaware of our stupid conversation, he gestured over his shoulder. “I loaded up the car with just about everything. Do you want me to take any of your stuff out?”
I could feel my sister’s “just a friend, huh?” look even though I was focused on Eric. “Uh. No, no. I’ll take it all out in a bit.”
He flashed me a quick smile, and I hoped to God the rush of warmth it gave me wasn’t visible to him or my sister. Then he disappeared into the guest room, Chili trotting along beside him.
When I faced Maureen—oh, yeah. Her eyes screamed “just a friend, huh?”
I huffed. “Shut up.”
She laughed and didn’t say anything more, but I knew her. This wasn’t over. She was going to grill me when I got back from Maine.
In the meantime, I made sure she knew all the particulars about the cats. She took care of them whenever I was out of town, but Clyde was on a new medication for his asthma, so I wanted to make sure she knew all the ins and outs with that.
“He’s okay, though, right?” she asked.
“Oh, yeah, he’ll be fine. It’s really mild, and this new med is working great.”
As if on cue, both boys went thundering through the condo, Clyde hot on Chili’s heels. A second later, they zoomed back the other way.
“Like I said…” I gestured in the direction they’d gone. “He’s fine.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Yeah, I’d say zoomies are a good sign in an asthmatic cat.”
“Definitely.” Prior to the new meds, he’d be winded after his zoomies, but lately, he hadn’t had any issues.
And I trusted Maureen to check on them frequently while I was gone.
She knew what signs meant he needed to go to the vet.
If not for her, I doubted I’d be able to go out of town without worrying myself senseless over him.
I also showed her the new wet food they’d gotten from the vet. “They’ll insist they’re starving after a quarter can apiece, but that’s all they get. If they’re still hungry…” I pointed to the feeders stocked full of kibble.
“But what if they’re out of wet food and they can see the bottom of their dishes?” She put a hand to their chest. “I can’t just… not feed them!”
“Yes, you can,” I said. “Or else you can explain to the vet why they both look like beach balls.”
We wrapped up the kitty logistics, and I showed her to the door. “Thanks again for looking after them.”
“Don’t mention it. It’ll be nice to get out of my house for a bit.” She grimaced.
I made a face but didn’t comment. Maureen had four roommates in a three-bedroom house, and that place got… loud sometimes. Plus, she couldn’t have any pets there, so she always jumped at the chance to housesit for me just to have some peace and quiet with Chili and Clyde.
“Well, have fun on your trip.” She glanced toward Eric’s room, then back at me, and smirked. “Maybe not too much fun, though.”
“Shut up,” I muttered.
She giggled, elbowed me, and headed out, and I refused to think too hard about what she was seeing between Eric and me. Just because it was her M.O. to immediately find someone new after a breakup didn’t mean that was what I was doing.
Not even when I thought Eric was seriously hot. Or when I had carnal knowledge of him and knew exactly how good the sex would be if we got carried away together.
The man had just found out his fiancée was cheating.
I’d just found out my girlfriend was cheating.
We were freshly single, still finding our post-Selena equilibrium, and yeah, no, we didn’t need to be hooking up.
We’d just take off to some remote place in Maine, decompress, maybe commiserate, and then come back and resume our lives.
We weren’t going to get involved with each other.
No matter how tempting that thought might be.
“So they’ll be okay on their own?” Eric looked down at Chili, who was purring in his lap and kneading on his leg. “They seem kind of… attached to having people around?”
“Oh, Maureen will be staying here while we’re gone.” I reached over and tousled Chili’s ears. “She insists it’s so they don’t get lonely, but I think she’s just getting her cat fix.”
“She doesn’t have cats?”
I shook my head. “Lease won’t allow it, and she’s got too many roommates anyway. She swears the minute she can buy a place, she’s opening up a cat rescue.”
“I don’t blame her.” He stroked his hand over Chili’s back. “I’ve been itching to have some kind of pet for a long time.”
Chili tipped his head back and gazed up at Eric, purring even louder as his claws clicked in and out of Eric’s jeans.
Eric gently popped the claws out of the denim, and…
oh God. The way he smiled as he petted Chili?
No wonder my sister thought there was something going on between us.
Who wouldn’t be absolutely swooning over this guy?
Unaware of me losing my cool over him, Eric said, “So, tomorrow… we’ll do about seven hours, then stay in Hartford, Connecticut. I made us reservations there for tomorrow night.”
“Oh. Uh. Let me know how much I owe you for the room.”
“I’ve got it.”
“But I can—”
“I’ve got it,” he repeated a little more firmly. Apparently sensing I was still unconvinced, he added, “You’ve been putting me up”—he circled his finger in the air—“here. The least I can do is cover a hotel room for a night.”
I wasn’t going to win this one, was I? Probably not, so I shrugged. “All right. Well, what time do you want to get moving in the morning?”
He shrugged. “Maybe ten? So traffic has had a chance to clear out?”
“Sounds good to me.” I smiled. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Yeah.” He smiled back. “See you in the morning.”
As I settled into bed, Clyde joined me. Chili was nowhere in sight, but I was quickly getting used to that. He loved Eric, and apparently he’d been sleeping in Eric’s room.
That was good. Eric probably needed the company right now, and Chili was always game to take advantage of someone who was willing to cuddle with him. He’d probably be bummed out when we left tomorrow.
Which…
My heart sank.
Yeah, he probably would be bummed. Even with my sister coming to keep them company, I always felt guilty about leaving him and Clyde.
I’d always been a softy for my animals, and they’d been a huge part of why I’d jumped at the chance to work at home.
Going on vacation, even for a weekend, always left me feeling a little guilty.
And now I was worried about how Chili would feel with not only my absence, but Eric’s. And after this trip, when Eric moved out. This arrangement was temporary. Eric was here until he got on his feet after his breakup.
What if my cat missed him after he moved out?
I glanced at the wall dividing our bedrooms.
What if I did?