Page 13 of Nerdy or Nice
What that something was, I didn't know. But tomorrow, I decided, I'd be on my way to finding out.
Chapter 8
Gwen
I was in my bedroom getting ready for my job at the tutoring center when Harper called out, "Hey Gwen! You've got a visitor."
A visitor? Here?I finished tucking the last bobby pin into my tightly wound bun before opening the bedroom door to call out, "Who?"
"Some guy with a dog."
Instantly, I thought of Drake. "What does he look like?"
Harper appeared at my bedroom door and replied, "Like a big surfer dude." She hesitated. "Or did you mean the dog?"
I hadn't seen Drake since last Monday when he'd helped me with the kittens. That was exactly a week ago, and I'd been trying like crazy to put him out of my mind.
It hadn't worked.And now, my pulse gave an annoying little jump at the thought of him here on my aunt's doorstep. I lowered my voice. "I meanthim, but…" I glanced toward the front of the house. "Did he say what he wants?"
She straightened. "No, but if you want, I'll get rid of him." Harper had red hair and a smattering of freckles. She was like a human firecracker, with the personality to match.
If shedidget rid of him, I doubted she'd do it nicely. And besides, I didn'twanther to, because for one thing, I was far too curious about why he was here. I reached for my eyeglasses and put them on. "No, that's alright. Thanks for the offer though."
"So…do you want me to stick around? Or, should I give you some privacy?"
This was a dangerous question. The foolish part of me wanted some privacy, but the smarter part thought better of it. "He's a neighbor," I said. "Maybe you should stick around to meet him." I pulled out my cell phone and gave it a quick glance. "And besides, I've only got a few minutes 'til I leave for work."
Harper, in contrast, had just returned from her workday. But whereIhad several part-time jobs, she owned her own coffee truck, which was a full-time venture and then some.
When I reached the front door and pulled it open, Drake was turned away, facing the front yard. At the sound of the door, he turned back with a grin. "Kitten Cove, huh?"
I knew what he was referring to. Before my aunt had left for Switzerland, she'd commissioned to have the exterior of the house decorated for Christmas.
The decorations had arrived only a few days ago and included a custom sign that read,Welcome to Kitten Cove.
With its old-fashioned red and green color-scheme, it looked like something from Santa's workshop, and every time I saw it, I got a warm Christmassy feeling regardless of the weather. "I know." I laughed as I stepped out onto the porch and shut the door behind me. "Pretty cute, huh?"
The sign wasn't just cute. It was clever, considering that the name of the neighborhood was Carlton Cove – and well, wedidhave a bunch of kittens running around.
But Drake –hehad a dog. This time, it was actually with him, sitting there all nice and friendly on a Christmassy red leash as it stared up at me. Drake said, "This is Cash, by the way."
I didn't know much about dog breeds, but Cash was so cute that my smile widened. He wasn't small, but he wasn't big either. He had playful floppy ears, and I swear he was grinning.
I crouched down to say, "Aren'tyouhandsome?" As I ruffled his fur, I happened to look up and realized to my infinite horror that my face was only inches away from Drake's crotch.
I jumped to my feet so fast, it was a miracle I didn’t slam the top of my head into his chin. As I took an awkward step backward, I waited for him to say something vulgar, or at least suggestive, but all he said was, "I brought you something."
Whatever that something was, it most certainly wasn't in his pants, so I kept my gaze firmly on his face as I asked, "Do you want to come inside for a minute?" But then I hesitated. "Wait…Cash is fine around cats, right?" I held up a hand. "On second thought, would you mind keeping him on his leash? I mean…just to be extra careful?"
Maybe I was paranoid. After all, Cash looked perfectly friendly. But when it came to the kittens, I wasn't taking any chances.
"Trust me," Drake laughed. "If he hasn't attacked Tango, he's not gonna attack anything. But sure, I'll keep him on the leash just in case." He looked down to his dog. "You don't mind, do you?"
Cash gave a happy yip as I turned back to open the front door. If I were here by myself, I probably wouldn't be inviting Drake inside, but with Harper here, too, it seemed perfectly safe for everyone.
Or so I thought.
I'd just ushered Drake and his dog into the front room and shut the door behind us when Harper looked to Drake and said, "Soyou'rethe guy with cat? Just so you know, our aunt warned us about you."
