Page 64 of From Nowhere

“Now you have to tell me.” I start my RAV.

Again he laughs. “It was nothing. Just, uh, a cat joke. I was going to say I can’t wait to see your cat.”

I chuckle because he’s laughing. The joke is not that funny. In fact, I don’t get it.

“Except I was going to use a different word for cat, and that’s when I realized I would sound like an immature boy, so never mind.”

“What word for ...” I shift into reverse. “Oh my god. Pussy?”

He snorts.

“Now who’s the perv?”

I try to suppress my laughter. He’s right. It’s a childish joke. So why am I so tempted to tell him my pussy can’t wait to be seen?

Chapter Sixteen

Ozzy

Maren leaves town Thursday, so Lola doesn’t cat-sit. It would have worked out if I could have driven to Maren’s house to pick him up. Instead, she talks Jamie into keeping an eye on Bandit.

By Sunday, Maren’s scheduled to head home, with six more days until she has a break. And all I can think about is her sneaking into my bedroom.

Why did I try to talk her out of it?

Idiot!

Who am I kidding? I’m not prepared for this. I have an ex-mother-in-law who’d be happy to see me die a lonely man, and my ten-year-old daughter sleeps thirty feet from my bedroom.

And I don’t have condoms.

That is the one thing I can solve because, at some point, I want to be in the position to need a condom.

After breakfast on Sunday, I shower, slide on a hoodie, and head upstairs, where Lola’s giggling about something. She and Amos shift their attention to me, a half-empty box of doughnuts on the kitchen table between them.

“Where’s Tia?” I ask.

“Showering,” Amos says.

“Well, I’m running to the store for a few things.”

“I’m coming.” Lola hops out of her chair, wiping the back of her hand over her mouth.

“It’s Sunday. Why do you want to go to the store with me?” I fetch a glass of water.

“Because I like going places with you.”

This girl.“Maybe we can go hiking later.”

“I want to go with you now.”

Amos eyes me like he doesn’t understand why I’m pushing back, so I press my lips into a firm line and nod. “Do you need to use the bathroom?”

She shakes her head, shoving her feet into her dirty red sneakers without untying them.

“We’ll be back.” I offer Amos a tight smile.

He nods, closing the lid of the box of doughnuts.

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