Page 12 of Long Story Short

I’ve never been a cat person. I’ve never been an animal person, actually. We didn’t have them in the house growing up, and I never desired to have a pet as an adult. I don’t even know the last time I pet any kind of animal, but the cat doesn’t seem to mind. He makes himself comfortable in my lap.

The cat—Mouse, if I remember correctly—meows at me. His big, blue eyes watch me carefully.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to be here.” My hands hover in the air next to the cat’s body. Am I supposed to pet him? Do cats even like to be pet? Fuck if I know. He jumped into my lap as if he were expecting some kind of attention, but from what I know about cats, they don’t always love to be petted.

I let one of my hands drop to his body, barely applying pressure, in case he doesn’t like it. He lets out another meow before he presses his face into my other hand, which is still hovering in the air. His whiskers tickle my palm as he demands more pets from me. A soft purr comes from deep inside his chest. I don’t know a ton about cats, but surely the purring is a good sign.

I shake my head with a slight smile. I know I should take the cat home before his worried owner comes looking for him, but also, I don’t hate the idea of seeing his mother on my porch again.

“It seems like you’re a little escape artist,” I tell the cat as I continue to pet him. I must be doing it right because an even louder buzzing sound comes from deep in his chest as he lets out a long purr.

“Mouse!” a familiar voice shouts from the side of my house.

My lip twitches as a rush of excitement runs through my blood at knowing I’m about to see the woman from next door. This time, I won’t let her walk away before finding out more about her. I swore I saw her at Pembroke the other day, but when I tried prying who she may be out of Jude, he didn’t seem to have any idea. I don’t know why she’s piqued my curiosity so much, but there’s something about her that has me wanting to know more.

“Mouse, you’re in so much trouble,” she fumes.

The cat doesn’t react to his owner’s words at all. In fact, I swear his purrs get even louder as he angles his head against my hand so my fingers scratch just where he wants.

The woman’s blonde hair peeks over the top of my hedge bushes, her eyes going wide when her gaze meets mine.

“Oh. You again,” she whispers, her footsteps faltering for a moment as she steps closer to me. “Mouse, what are you doing?” Her voice is full of disbelief as her stare rakes over the cat in my lap.

My lips twitch as I look down at him. “He took me by surprise while I was on the phone. Jumped right into my lap and demanded pets.”

Her head cocks to the side as a slow smile builds on her lips. “He normally doesn’t like other people.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” A small laugh escapes me as the cat completely rolls over in my lap.

The woman stares at me in disbelief. “What have you done to my cat? He never likes new people, and he especially doesn’t like men.”

I don’t know why, but a weird pit forms in my stomach at the mention of other men. “Maybe he’s just been around the wrong men,” I offer, making sure to keep my tone casual. I’m not normally so outspoken, but something about her has me saying what comes to mind without thinking twice about it.

My comment makes her freeze. Her only movement for a few seconds is the rapid blinks of her eyelids as she stares at me wide-eyed. Eventually, her shoulders relax as a small smile graces her full lips once again. “Probably.”

I return her smile. I can’t help it. I cup the cat carefully in one of my hands and stand up, holding my free hand out between us. “I’m Tyson, by the way.” I’ve spent days analyzing how much I wish I had introduced myself, and I don’t want to miss another chance at finding out her name now. I don’t want to spend another day wondering who she is.

Her eyes bounce between my outstretched hand and the one holding her cat. He makes no effort to leave my hold. If anything, he seems to attempt to get even more comfortable as he stretches his front legs out. Finally, her hazel eyes meet mine. “I’m Josephine.”

She places her hand in mine, and I close my fingers around hers, which are cold against my skin. I keep my hand wrapped around hers for a little longer than might be necessary, but she doesn’t seem to protest it.

“Josephine.” I test her name as I stare into her round eyes. The name fits her. My heart rate increases with excitement at finally being able to put a name to the face that hasn’t left my mind for days.

She nods as her smile gets even wider. “But most people call me Josie.”

“Is that what you’d prefer I call you?”

I swear pink paints her cheeks as she looks over my shoulder for a moment before she meets my gaze again. “Um…” She rubs her lips together. “Yeah. You can call me Josie.”

“Nice to meet you, Josie.” I don’t know why, but I love the way her name rolls off my tongue. I cock my head to the side as my lips twitch with the hint of a smile. “Most people call me Tyson, but there’s a select few people who call me Ty.”

Her eyes go wide as she tucks a strand of her dirty-blonde hair behind her ear. Her top teeth rake over her bottom lip as she pulls it inward. I swear a corner of her lip turns up in a tease of a smile, but it could be my mind playing tricks on me. “Good to formally meet you, Tyson.”

I click my tongue as I finally let go of her hand. I hadn’t even realized I’d kept it in mine that long. “Are you here for the summer, Josie?”

Two tiny lines appear between her eyebrows as she stares at me. “That just kind of depends. Why?”

“Because maybe by the end of the summer, you’ll call me Ty.”