By the way my body is reacting to him, we might as well be pressed against each other.
“I’m going to go with a yes,” I reply.
“Come to my place later,” he says softly, brushing a stray curl away from my cheek. “We can order some dinner.”
I haven’t been to Ryan’s house yet, and I am curious to see it, but I have a problem. “Sounds nice, but um, I won’t be able to stay the night.”
He quirks an eyebrow. “I like the direction your thoughts are going in, but can I ask why not?”
“I can’t leave Tiger alone all night.”
“Ever?” he asks incredulously.
“I never have before,” I answer hesitantly.
“Isn’t that one of the advantages of having a cat? You don’t have to walk them, and you can leave them alone for long stretches of time?”
I cringe before answering. “Yes, that’s what I’ve heard.”
He blinks at me, and I have no idea what he’s thinking.
“How about this?” he suggests. “Maybe we could work Tiger up to it. Leave him alone until one or two in the morning to start. Then slowly add an hour over time, until eventually, he has spent an entire evening at home alone?” Ryan is unsuccessfully concealing his mirth.
“You’re making fun of me,” I pout even though I’m amused.
“Yes, I am,” he smiles warmly. “You just told me you can’t warm my bed tonight because you have to be home for your cat. You sort of asked for it. Now you leave me no choice but to be rude and invite myself over to your place since a sleepover is part of what I had in mind for tonight.”
“Well, that is pretty forward of you, but also absolutely okay.”
He leans in and pecks me on the mouth. “It’s a plan. I’ll call you when I’m heading out.”
I nod in agreement. “Ryan,” I call to him after he turns to go inside. He stops and looks back at me. “We could try it one night. Leave Tiger alone and see how it goes. I’m sure he’ll be okay. I’ve just never…”
“Andrea,” he interrupts. “It’s fine. It doesn’t matter where we are. I just want to spend time with you.”
I nod wordlessly as the rest of my plea dies on my tongue. Ryan gives me a casual wave before heading back inside.
“You seriously told him that you couldn’t spend the night at his house because you needed to get home for Tiger?” Laura asks.
I bite my bottom lip and nod.
She throws her arms in the air. “What kind of a moron are you?”
“That’s a rhetorical question, right?” I ask mildly.
“No, actually, it’s not. Didn’t you just tell me this morning that you weren’t going to mess this up?”
We’re sitting on the couch in Laura’s living room. Jonathan is at the gym, and we have the place to ourselves. Her hands have landed in her lap where they are now curled into fists. Her narrowed eyes are making me feel about two inches tall.
“It just came out,” I explain. “It’s true though. I’ve never left Tiger alone all night. When I go away, Mom and Dad take him.”
“How did Ryan react?”
A smile curls my lips as I recall our conversation in the parking lot. “He made fun of me, actually. He joked about working Tiger up to it a few hours at a time.”
“Thank goodness for that.” Laura’s hands unclench and she rests her open palms on her knees. “I like him, Andy. I really like what you tell me about him. It sounds like he already knows you pretty well, too, and he doesn’t take it too seriously or personally when you say stupid stuff like that.”
“He’s a confident person. It’s not in your face or anything, but I think he has a pretty healthy ego. And what I said wasn’t that stupid. Ryan actually thinks I’m nice.”
Laura’s still critical stare softens. “You are nice. You just like to poke the bear sometimes to see what kind of a reaction you’ll get. You may have done it unintentionally, but you were doing it again when you said that to Ryan. Would you really not spend the night at his place because of Tiger?”
My shoulders slump because I’m afraid she’s right. “I don’t know. I guess not. I’d feel badly about leaving him alone all night. I know that much.”
“By the way, I ran into David Rose last week. It was awkward,” she says, wrinkling her nose and adding a high-pitched, sing-song tone to the word awkward.
“Sorry.”
“Whatever. No big deal.