take care of a kitten?” Levi asked, gesturing to me.
Logan shrugged. “Probably not.”
“See?”
I glared at them both. “You guys realize I’m no longer ten, right?”
“You’ve just never had to take care of anything besides yourself,” Levi said.
“And let’s be real, your track record there is questionable,” Logan added, gesturing to my leg.
“Whatever, Chip and Dale. I’ve got this.”
Levi glanced at Logan. “Apparently we have a cat now.”
“Are we allergic to cats?” Logan asked.
“I’m not,” Levi said.
“Well if you’re not, I’m not.”
I shook my head and shoveled more cereal into my mouth. The kitten rubbed her head against my neck and I reached up to give her a little pet with my index finger.
“Gram said her furnace was making a weird noise, so I’m heading over there to check it out,” Levi said.
Logan dropped into a chair and raked his fingers through his messy hair. “Need help?”
“No, I’ve got it.”
“Cool. I told Chief I’d come in and help with a training exercise,” Logan said.
I grunted, mildly jealous. Chief usually had me come in to help with training exercises. Stupid broken leg.
“What are you doing today?” Logan asked. “Other than being a cat mom?”
“I don’t know. I have an appointment with Sven, but that’s it.”
“Who’s Sven?”
“Cara’s massage therapist.”
“Wait, what?”
I poked at my cereal with my spoon. “I’m getting a massage by a guy with magic hands. Cara set it up for me.”
“Who said he has magic hands? Cara?”
“Yeah. I guess he does Grace, too. He’s supposed to be really good.”
“What the fuck? Does Asher know about this?”
“That his wife got a massage?”
“No, that a fucking guy named Sven was touching her.”
“I don’t know. Probably. It’s a massage, bro, those are a thing.”
Scowling, he glanced away.
The corner of my mouth twitched in a grin. “Are you jealous?”
“Jealous that you’re getting a massage? If I want a massage, I can go get one. I don’t need some dude named Sven.”
“No, are you jealous that Sven gives Cara massages?”
“Why the fuck would I be jealous of that? He’s taking his life into his own hands, but that’s his problem, not mine.”
I laughed. “Come on, bro. We both know she’s not actually evil.”
“No, she is actually evil.”
The kitten stretched out a paw, so I reached up to make sure she didn’t tumble off my shoulder. “I think she’s just misunderstood.”
He snort-laughed.
I knew I was risking life and limb by poking at him about this, but I couldn’t resist. Besides, I had a broken leg and I was holding a kitten. There was no way he’d tackle me right now.
“Okay, but real talk, you’d totally bang her.”
“Fuck no, I wouldn’t.”
“Wait, have you already?”
“No.”
I actually believed him, but this was too much fun. “Yes you have. That’s why you guys hate each other so much. You fucked once and got under each other’s skin.”
“No we fucking did not.”
“You sure about that? You hate her a lot for a guy who hasn’t been in her pants.”
“What the fuck does that have to do with anything?” His face reddened. “I can’t stand her because the very sight of her pisses me off, not because I fucked her once.”
“Okay, sure.”
“It’s true.”
“Yeah, I believe you.”
His nostrils flared and if I hadn’t been holding the kitten and had a broken leg, he would have wrestled me to the ground by now for sure. “Fuck off, Gav.”
“So touchy. You know, you could do a lot worse than Cara.”
“No, she’s the literal worst.” He stood abruptly, pushing his chair back. “I need a shower.”
“If Sven does a good job, do you want his number? You seem stressed, I bet a massage would be good for you.”
“Shut the fuck up.”
I snickered as he walked down the hall toward the bathroom.
“You’re lucky your leg is broken, asshole,” he called over his shoulder.
“I know.” I petted the kitten again. “I’m lucky I have you, too, aren’t I?”
The rest of the day stretched out in front of me, alarmingly empty. I needed to go to Happy Paws and get some cat toys, and I had that appointment with Sven. But other than that, I didn’t have much going on.
Maybe Skylar was free. I texted her to find out.
Me: Hey Sky. What are you up to today?
Skylar: I’m writing. Or trying to.
Damn. If she was working, I should leave her alone. That was no fun.
Me: If you want to do something later, let me know.
Skylar: Okay.
Her non-committal answer tempted me like a playground dare. I had the urge to text her back—relentlessly, if necessary—until she agreed to hang out with