me.
But that was a Gavin on the prowl move. Not a Gavin’s just her friend move.
Although would it be so bad if I applied my usual tactics to a friendship? Or would that take me into chasing her territory?
This was so weird. I had friends who were girls, so I knew guy/girl friendships were doable. I’d been friends with Grace my entire life. I was friends with Cara and Fiona. There were other girls I hung out with sometimes who were just friends—girls I hadn’t dated and didn’t intend to. And okay, maybe I flirted with them a lot, but that was just for fun—or in the case of Fiona, to get a rise out of my brother. When it came to those girls, I didn’t have arguments with myself over how much I was going to text them.
The kitten shifted on my shoulder and mewed, a tiny little squeak. I scooped her into my hand and held her against my chest.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be a good cat mom. The squirrel thought so. He led me right to you.”
She mewed again.
“What’s all the squeaking about?” I gently stroked her head. “Maybe that’s just who you are, huh? A little squeaker? Actually, that’s not a bad name—Squeaker. How about Princess Squeaker? That’s more majestic, and you’re definitely my tiny princess.”
Her squeak told me she approved.
I finished my breakfast, then got Squeaker settled in my room. It was nice having an actual bedroom. I’d crashed on the couch at our old house for like a year. And now my brothers couldn’t claim I didn’t live here.
Assholes.
They were my assholes, but still.
My massage wasn’t until later today, so I decided to head into town and get some more kitten supplies. I had the basics, but my Princess Squeaker was no basic bitch. She needed some good shit for an awesome kitty life.
Missy Lovejoy down at Happy Paws helped me find everything I needed for Princess Squeaker, including a pink rhinestone collar, a little cat bed, a scratching post, and some toys. I thanked her for her help and took everything out to my truck.
I glanced across the street at the Steaming Mug. And right in the window was Skylar.
She had her laptop open, but I could tell at a glance she wasn’t looking at it. Her face was tilted toward the window, her eyes unfocused. What was she thinking about? Finding dead bodies in a beaver dam? Or something else this time?
I watched her for a long moment, fascinated. Her lips moved slightly. Not as much as if she were talking to herself, but enough that I could tell there were words running through her mind.
Those lips. Her tongue wetting them as I slide inside her, slow but deep, savoring the first thrust. She moans in my ear and—
My crutch slipped off the curb and I almost pitched forward into the street. I used the other crutch to regain my balance before I could fall flat on my face.
Shit. That would have sucked.
I took a deep breath to shake off the Skylar sex fantasy, looked both ways—I was not getting hit by a fucking car again—and crossed the street to the Steaming Mug.
Her expression didn’t change as I wrangled the door open. Whatever she was seeing, it wasn’t here. Her eyes moved to her screen and she typed something. Then her eyebrows drew in and she shook her head.
I went over to her table, but she didn’t look up.
“Hey, Sky.”
Gasping, she jerked in her seat, her eyes flying up to meet mine.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“That’s okay.” She took a deep breath. “I was just…”
“Thinking?”
“Yeah.”
I pulled out the other chair and lowered myself into it. “I know you’re busy, so I won’t stay long. I just saw you through the window and thought I’d come say hi.”
She smiled. “Hi.”
The urge to reach over and touch her was almost irresistible. I wanted to trace my fingertips along her arm, feel her smooth skin.
But after that sex fantasy had just about made me step into oncoming traffic—figuratively speaking, there hadn’t been any actual traffic—I kept my hand to myself.
“Are you working on your book?” I asked.
“Trying to. I decided I need to pick a premise and stick with it, even when my other ideas start to seem like they’re so much better. But I’m still struggling to get the story off the ground. I feel so distracted.”
“By what?”
“Um…” She met my eyes and I had a flash of her face mid-orgasm, while I