Page 50 of Faking Romance

I sit up next and pat the pillow but there’s no cat.

“Damn it. Licorice!” I call out as if the damn cat is going to answer me. We both climb out of bed.

“Licorice!” Roxy says loudly as we each begin searching the room. She’s on her knees looking under the bed. I walk into the bathroom but see no kitten.

“Does she know her name?” I ask myself because I literally named her days ago.

“Holy fuck!” Roxy yells and I race out to find her pushing the sliding door. I make it to the doorway and see Licorice on a tree branch that hangs by the small balcony.

“Roxy, wait,” I command as I step forward and put a hand in front of her because I swear this woman is about to climb out onto this limb after a damn cat.

“I can reach her,” she argues, trying to push my hand away from her abdomen.

“No,” I growl as I step in front of her. I push a chair over, stand on it, and reach out toward Licorice. “Come here, sweetie,” I coo.

She meows but doesn’t budge aside from rubbing her little face against a small branch.

“What do we do?” I ask, beginning to feel panicked. Not only did I leave this furry bundle in the car for five minutes, I totally left the slider open and now she could fall to her death.

“Food,” Roxy whispers and runs back to the bathroom. She holds out the food to me and I shake it a little. Licorice looks my way and starts to walk toward me.

“That’s right,” I say. I lean forward a little and she gets within arm’s reach of me. I grab her but lose my footing. I lean back and turn as I start falling and then suddenly I’m crashing into Roxy and we both go tumbling onto a lounge chair. I manage to catch myself with one hand while keeping Licorice in the other.

I stare down at Roxy who has wild eyes and is searching my body.

“Oh my God! Are you OK?” she says as her hands run over my arms.

I let myself relax a little as I realize I’m not injured and the damn kitten is safely tucked between our bodies looking innocent.

“Yes,” I grumble as I look down at Licorice, “no thanks to this furball.”

Roxy starts to laugh and the kitten shakes between us. “Oh my God! We should not be allowed to be parents, like ever!”

I can’t help the smile that forms on my face. This entire thing is ridiculous. I just got cockblocked by a kitten who almost got me killed.

“We should probably go to bed,” Roxy says and then adds, “After we lock all the doors.”

I chuckle as I stand and hold out a hand for her. She leans down and picks up the food bowl that spilled on my fall and then takes my hand as I pull her up to stand in front of me.

“Come on, before we all fall over the deck,” I demand as I put a hand on the small of her back and guide her toward the bed. I slide the door closed and shut the closet door so it’s only the bathroom and bedroom where this little furry missile can run.

Roxy climbs into bed and so do I.

“Tell me about little Grayson Porter,” she says sleepily as she curls up against me. “Put our holy menace in between our pillows.” She pushes the pillows apart and I set Licorice in between them. Licorice, seemingly unaffected by all her adventures today, curls into a ball and falls asleep.

“Fucking cats,” I mutter.

Roxy giggles. “Now, now, we did sort of fuck up…again.”

“I don’t know if we should keep this cat, Roxy. So far we left her in a car and now we’ve left a door open,” I state as I watch Licorice sleep.

“Two rookie moves. But we’ll figure it out. Let’s give it a few weeks,” she urges. “Please.” Her eyes look so hopeful that I can’t say no.

“OK. Three weeks,” I say.

She grins. “Don’t be such a grump. We’ll figure it out. I promise. I’m just out of cat practice. Now, back to little Grayson. Did you always play instruments?”

Careful with facts, I share little snippets of my childhood and how my grandmother gave me a violin when I was eight. How I loved music and would spend hours playing instruments. How nothing brought me greater joy than learning a new piece of music. Eventually, Roxy’s breathing slows. Her even breaths indicate she’s fast asleep. I lie there watching her for hours. Can I trust her? Can I be what she needs? I don’t know.

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