Page 8 of Mister Curb Appeal
I grab Mr. Snuggles off the passenger seat, attaching his lead to his collar just in case, I lift him out and he meows gratefully. He needs a good stretch.
“Time for a pee, little guy,” I sing. I’ve only been here for a few minutes, and already I feel like the city grit is well and truly out of my hair. Normally, I don’t follow my cat around on a lead, but he can be skittish, so considering we’re in a new place, I’m not going to risk letting him off in case he runs into the bush, never to be seen again.
They say cats are carnivores, and can easily fend for themselves in the wild, but whoever said that hasn’t met my cat. He’s demanding, at best, and while I adore him, he’ll never be shy in telling me his dinner isn’t as fresh as he’d like. Mr. Snuggles also doesn’t eat anything out of a can. I’m not kidding. He’ll share my fish for dinner, and hopefully that’ll keep him sated until the morning. Heaven help us.
Lucky for me, he does his business quickly, and I venture toward the locked box on the outside of the patio containing the key. I love Airbnb just for the self-check-in option alone. You don’t even have to see your host if you don’t want to.
The little safe opens, and I pull the key out. The enclosed porch has a small gate at the side that isn’t locked, but the front door is. I let myself in with the key, singing a little tune to Mr. Snuggles as he meows in my ear. Once inside, I’ll let him run free so he can get comfortable with his surroundings; then I’ll trudge back to my SUV and grab all my stuff, as well as his cat bed and scratching post.
Once inside, I’m greeted with a large, open plan kitchen/dining/lounge combo. You know you’re in the sticks when there’s a moose head mounted on the wall, thankfully, it’s one made out of wood.
“Lovely,” I say to myself with a little satisfied smile, and I haven’t even seen the rest of the cabin yet. I let Mr. Snuggles off and he immediately darts away.
Crap.I should’ve made sure the other rooms were closed first, and that he can’t get out the back door. “Here, kitty kitty.”
Of course, my cat has been known to ignore the sound of his own name on more than one occasion.
“Mr. Snuggles?” I call out. The little shit darts across the hall and I miss him by a fraction of an inch. He pushes his way into what appears to be the bathroom and several things happen simultaneously.
I notice the strewn-out sweats just as I step over them, which is odd in itself, and at the same time my hand reaches the open door, Mr. Snuggles dives inside. Hot steam billows, and the scent of mint, cedar wood and something spicy hits me in the face. Before I can register there’s someone in the shower, our eyes meet through the glass and I freeze. It kind of all happens in slow motion, the realization smacking me in the face.
What the hell?
Staring at me, buck naked as one usually is in the shower, one hand on his massive chest, the other trying to haplessly cover his massive dick, is a set of sapphire blue eyes. I stare back, and it’s like we’re both frozen in time.
Joshua Lucas.
I feel a silent scream coming on, but before any words leave my mouth, Mr. Snuggles dives into the open shower and all hell breaks loose.
“Mr. Snuggles!” I yelp.
He’s not a fan of water, but he’s clearly confused, as am I.
What the hell is Joshua Lucas doing in the shower of my cabin? Am I hallucinating?
I know I asked for a fantasy to come true, but this is closer to home than I expected.
I tear my gaze from the monster in his hand just in time to see him shriek when Mr. Snuggles darts around the shower like a lunatic, trying to find his way out.
Josh is halfway through soaping himself up, when he rubs body wash in his eyes. I watch in horror as Mr. Snuggles gets sprayed with the water and latches onto Joshua’s knee in a frenzy of howling that could wake the dead. Joshua frantically tries to rub soap out of his eyes while bouncing around the shower like a wild coyote with my cat attached to his body. It’s like a circus in there.
And I just stand there with my hands covering my mouth in disbelief.
Take action, you jerk!
I don’t know what possesses me, but when my brain finally begins to work again, I reach into the open shower in an attempt to pull my cat from Joshua’s leg. I grab Mr. Snuggles, my hand grazing Joshua’s dick as I pull my cat off him, leaving claw marks in his skin that would make Wolverine proud. Meanwhile, water pours down on me, drenching my sixty-dollar blow dry, clothes, new shoes and Mr. Snuggles himself. He screeches like a banshee, jumping out of my arms and flees out of the stall like his ass is on fire.
I’m left standing in the shower, fully clothed, with my crush, Joshua Lucas, howling because my cat just left claw marks on his skin and he’s now bleeding.
He has tattoos. This damn man has ink across his chest and his back. The swirling patterns with a firebreathing dragon, roses and thorns, pops of color drawing my eye that all melt into one huge piece that’s intricate, beautiful and… I’m staring.
“Alexis?” One of his eyes is still closed because of the soap streaming down his face.
“Joshie?” I stammer. He towers over me like the Adonis he is.
“W-what are you doing here?”
“Umm, I… uh… What amIdoing here? What areyoudoing here?”
