Page 13 of Three Meows

Marshmallow meowed. It sounded like a confirmation. He was such a good listening buddy.

“You can’t relate, huh?” I booped the cat’s nose playfully. “Every time I visit Elijah, you hide in the bedroom, choosing to be antisocial. The cuddle time has to happen on your rules or notat all. Do you dislike Elijah or something? Who is your chosen human then? Rowan or Chester? Wait, I know…!”

My fingers flew over the phone’s keyboard again.

Lisa:

Who is Marshmallow’s favorite human?

Rowan:

[picture of me laughing at the club]

I spluttered.

One, when did he take that photo? So stealthy!

And two, was he really suggesting I was Marshmallow’s fav human? It couldn’t be!

As if to prove me wrong, the white cat climbed into my lap and stretched up to nuzzle my face.

“Aww, you are so sweet. Like a real Marshmallow. I could eat you up,” I said, returning the affection with rubs and pats.

My phone dinged and my eyes widened. Rowan was messaging me first!

Rowan:

[white cat emoji] [ginger cat emoji] [black cat emoji] [star emoji] [question mark emoji]

A frown spread over my face. I couldn’t choose which of the three cats was my favorite! Cheddar was a personification of chaos, and stupid in that absolutely endearing way of orange cats. Marshmallow was heavenly to cuddle and easy to hang out with. Shadow made me fight for his affection, but that only made it more precious that he was slowly starting to trust me… Wait…

Lisa:

How do you know about the black cat?!

Rowan:

[smiling face with an angel’s halo emoji]

Lisa:

Uh-huh. Have you been stalking me, mister?

Rowan:

[shrug emoji] [eyes emoji] [heart emoji]

My face flared with a hot blush at the implied confession that he liked to watch me.

“You know what’s even harder to choose than which of the cats is my favorite?” I addressed Marshmallow, hoisting him up in front of me. “Choosing which one of my neighbors I like the most.”

“Mreow?” Marshmallow made an inquisitive sound.

I sighed and cuddled the fluffy cloud close.

“They are becoming such good friends to me. I do working dates with Elijah, and silent tea with Rowan, and let Chester drag me all around the campus… I’m scared that if I pursue anything with one of them I will hurt the others and our little friend group will fall apart,” I confessed.

Well, not like the cat could help me with that. I had to make a decision about how to proceed myself. There were three options to choose from.

---