Page 18 of Waiting on Life
He nodded, but it seemed off. “Sure, I guess.”
Waldo took that moment to run to the door. He sat, peered up at Kyle, and let out a loud, low mew.
Kyle brightened. He knelt down and stroked Waldo under the chin. “Good morning, beautiful.”
Another mew, this one punctuated by Waldo rolling onto his back, his feet wiggling in the air.
Kyle laughed. It was warm and rich and… I shook my head.
“No, I’m not buying for a second that he’s starving you, so drop the act.”
In a moment, Waldo was on his feet, chuffing at Kyle. Then he turned, flipped his tail up, and dashed off.
“I love your cat. He’s got such an ‘I don’t give a fuck’ attitude.”
“He’s a weirdo, but he’s my weirdo. It’s gotten to the point where I have problems sleeping if he’s not beside or on top of me.” I loved that cat more than I could possibly say. “Do you want some coffee? Just made a pot.”
Kyle stood and I peered into his eyes. They were so pretty, and so unique on a redhead.
“Do you wear contacts?” I asked.
He chuckled. “Nope, these are my eyes. They’re crazy, right?”
“No, I don’t think so. I’ve never seen anything like them, but then again, I’ve never met anyone like you, so it kinda works out.”
His cheeks pinked. “Thank you. I think.”
He came into the apartment, and I shut the door. It seemed a hundred times lighter than it had before he came over. As he sat, I went into the drawer and took out a fork—one of the last three.Wash disheswas added to my ever-growing list. I took a seat across from him and dug in. The pancakes were light and fluffy, the sausage was moist and had just the right amount of spice, and the eggs were amazing, having cheese melted in them.
“So good. I wish I could cook like this.”
Kyle grinned. “It’s all vegan.”
I squinted at him. “Say what?”
He laughed. “Pete’s vegan, and all this stuff is his.”
“Bullshit.”
Kyle held up a hand. “Swear to God.”
I always thought of rabbit pellets when anyone mentioned vegan food, but this was damned tasty. No way was I going to let my natural distrust of vegans color my perception of what Kyle made for me. “My compliments to Pete. This is delicious.”
“I’ll be sure to let him know.”
Kyle glanced toward the kitchen, then back with a heavy sigh. “I need to go. I don’t want to be late.”
“Give me a second, and I’ll finish up.”
“But….” Kyle stood. “I can make it on my own. Thanks for the offer, though.”
“It’s no problem. Just—”
“I’ll talk to you later,” he said, then rushed out the door, leaving me to wonder what the hell I’d said or done.
Kyle
I sat at the bus stop, the memory of what had just happened pinging through my brain. I didn’t understand it at all. Toby was straight, I was certain, yet the way he was looking at me, the way he smiled… it confused the hell out of me. I’d never had anyone I was with make me feel that way, and it was messing with my head.
