Page 19 of Totally Played
“Don’t you agree, Calvin?” Beau asks, and I snap my attention back to them.
“Sorry, what?”
They laugh, and Levi points to the cat enclosure.
“That little gray one is obsessed with Ash.”
It’s pacing back and forth on a shelf, all the while watching Ash, or at least looking our way.
“It could be into you,” I say, downing a big drink of water. I’m starting to feel less buzzed, which is a good thing. I think.
“No way, it’s totally crushing on Ashley. Go on, get up and move, bet it follows you.”
Ash grabs the jug of water from the center of the coffee table and tops up my glass first.
“See, it’s tracking you,” Levi says, and I watch, too, as Ash moves from side to side. Every time he changes direction, the little kitten does, too.
“Maybe it wants to attack him.” Beau chuckles.
“I heard that if you die in a house full of cats, they eat you,” I say, and the room slows, a fork dings against a plate and then dead silence. My mouth is dry, and I try to swallow as my gaze sweeps from one confused frown to another. Fuck, why am I so weird? Please God, open up the earth and just swallow me whole already. This is what I need Tony for. When he’s around, I don’t go saying stupid shit like that.
I pray that someone says something. Anything to end this torturous moment, then Ash laughs.
“Oh my god, I heard that, too. Hey, Lion, do you think your kitten wants to eat me?”
Everyone laughs along, and I exhale the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
“It’s just the system at work, you can’t fight it,” he says, and Ash sits back down beside me on the couch, only this time he’s right next to me, almost so close that our legs touch.
“What system is this now?” he whispers in my ear, sending a shiver down my neck, and I shudder.
“The cat kind,” I turn to say, and he’s still right there. His eyes are so close that I can make out the dark blue lines that spiral around the brighter striations. “Ummm, the cat distribution system. Like, there are a bunch of cats in the world just waiting to find their forever homes. Once they find you, there is no saying no.”
“Do you believe that?” he asks, and while I thought it would be uncomfortable to be this close to a guy, with Ash, it’s easy. Like everything else tonight, with Ash has been.
“You’re kind of my cat distribution system,” I say, and he smiles, brilliant and wide.
“Really? Explain.”
“I don’t know how to. I only met you tonight, but we’re like super-fast friends. I’ve never had that before?”
“I totally agree. It’s like I’ve known you forever.”
“That is what I was thinking,” I say, slapping my hand down on his knee. His gaze goes to it for a second, then returns to my stare, a smirk on his lips.
“So you think we were fated to meet?”
“Maybe. I don’t know how the universe works. My brother got sick and sent me on his date, and I met my new best friend. Yep, sounds pretty fate-like to me.”
“Best friend, now, okay.”
“I just meant… Like, because we get along so well.”
“No, it’s good,” he says with a smirk.
Tim taps a glass from over by the table and draws all of our attention.
“Dinner is served,” he says, and it’s almost another stampede to the table.
