Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
I needed more than that.
We both did.
So, I continued eating my dinner and tried not to overthink things. It wasn’t easy with him sitting so close, but thankfully, I got a much-needed distraction.
I was just about to take a sip of my tea when I heard a cat meow. When I turned to look at the back door, I spotted a black kitten with a tiny white spot on the tip of his little nose. “Oh, my goodness. Who is that?”
“That is Shitstain... A stray that’s decided that he likes my back porch and my garbage can.”
“You cannot name this cat Shitstain.”
“I didn’t name him. He named himself when he strewed garbage all over my backyard.”
“You’re terrible.” I took a small piece of steak and carried it over the door. I dropped it at the cat’s feet as I told him, “He seems sweet. You should keep him as a pet.”
“He’s a dick.”
“Wrath!”
“Well, he is.” He gave me a light-hearted shrug. “I guess I’m more of a dog person.”
“Dogs are needy and way messier.”
“Cats are assholes. They don’t even like people,” he huffed. “Dogs are friendly and loyal.”
“Yeah, and they’ll poop all over your house.” I cocked my brow as I told him, “Cats use a litterbox.”
“Litterboxes smell like ass.”
“Fine, then you could make him an outside cat.”
“He is an outside cat, and he’s gonna stay one.” Wrath shook his head. “And if he gets in my garbage again, I’m gonna shoot his sorry ass.”
“You will do no such thing!” Being careful not to let the cat inside, I reached down and petted him on the head. “Just give him a little food, and then, he’ll stay out of your trash.”
“If I feed him, he will come back looking for more.”
“Oh, good grief.” I sighed with frustration. “He’s going to come back either way. If you have food for him, then he won’t get in your trash.”
“Hmph.”
And that was Wrath’s final response to the cat situation.
He got up and took the dishes to the sink, then started putting them in the dishwasher. I closed the back door before going over to the table to collect the rest of the dirty dishes. Once we had everything put away, he turned to me and asked, “What now?”
“What do you mean?” I looked up at him, and the second I saw the expression on his face, I knew exactly what he meant. This was a date—something he rarely ever did, so I suggested, “We could go for another ride or see if there’s a movie on that might be worth watching.”
“They’re calling for rain.”
“Then, a movie it is.”
I started into the living room, and Wrath followed after. We both sat on the sofa, and Wrath offered me the remote. I was hesitant, but I took it from his hand and started flipping through the channels. I came across several romantic comedies but passed them by. I wasn’t sure if Wrath would have any interest in them, so I kept going until I found an old Denzel Washington movie that my father used to love. He and Wrath had similar tastes, so I figured it sufficed.
Surprise marked his face when Wrath saw what I’d chosen. “I didn’t know you liked football.”
“I don’t.” I giggled as I told him, “But I do like me some Denzel.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
We both settled back and started watching the movie. It wasn’t long before Wrath got up and went into the kitchen. A few minutes later, he returned with a couple of sodas and a big bowl of buttered popcorn. He placed the drinks on the table, then sat down and put the popcorn between us. “Look at you pulling out all the stops.”
“It’s just some popcorn.”
“Um-hmm.” I gave him a playful smile. “A regular Romeo.”
He scoffed, then tossed a couple of popcorn kernels at me as he grumbled, “You’re too much.“
I considered sassing back with something clever, but I didn’t. Not because I didn’t enjoy our little exchanges. I did, but I enjoyed sitting there with him, watching that movie, and eating popcorn with him even more. So, I scooped up a handful of popcorn and settled back into my spot, and it wasn’t long before we were both enthralled in the movie. When it was over, Wrath flipped it over to the news and checked the scores, and by the time he was done, I could barely keep my eyes open.
I stood with a yawn, then told him, “It’s getting late. I should get going.”
“Going where?”
“Home… to bed.”
“I have a bed here.”
Without giving me a chance to argue, he stood and took my hand in his, then led me down the hall to his bedroom. It was much bigger and felt more like him than his room at the clubhouse, but for reasons I couldn’t explain, I felt more nervous there.