Page 44 of Cat’s Guide To Romance

He nibbles his bottom lip. “I... Uh... I have time now.” He takes a breath. “To date. If you’re still interested, that is.”

I scoop him into my arms, bridal style, and spin around and around. Sparkle clings to me and laughs. It’s so joyful I damn near forget how angry his dad made me.

“I take it that’s a yes?”

“Absolutely. I’m sorry I wasn’t at Wick’s the last few days. I had some demon shit I had to do.”

He shakes his head and leans into me. “Wren told me. And sorry I wasn’t there when you were. I was exhausted and wanted to bed rot for a bit.”

“No need to apologize.” I want to kiss the top of his head so bad.

“Put me down?” Sparkle looks up at me with a smile.

When I let him down on his own two feet, his tail swishes out behind him.

“You need ribbons all along your tail. It’d look so, so cute.”

“Sometimes I tie purple ones into my fur.”

I wonder if it’s the same shade of purple as my skin.

“My darlin’ kitty.” Ah, that blush! He shakes his head, and I tip his chin up with my tail. “Why so shy now?”

He looks away and runs a hand over his forearm. “Dunno. It was easier to flirt when I didn’t think I had the time. Now there’s a possibility. It’s scary.”

“You must enjoy scary things since you just moved out.”

A small smile creeps over his face. “I love my new apartment. It’s two bedrooms and just me. The apartment manager said I can paint the walls and hang whatever I want. I’m gonna paint my bedroom a pretty lilac color. At least I think I am. I have like thirty paint swatches because I’m trying to decide. I keep ordering things with glitter.”

“I expect a lot of glitter.” I boop his nose. “What if we wash up and⁠—”

He raises a hand. “We should probably both get some more sleep.” He yawns and shakes his head. “I’m still pretty exhausted. And no offense, but you stink.” His nose scrunches, and I melt. I want to nibble on his cheek.

Am I a demon with cute aggression? Apparently.

“That’s all doable. What if I take you out for dinner?” I have the perfect idea.

“Dinner would be great.” Sparkle shuffles his feet and doesn’t look at me again. But before I can say anything, he speaks. “I can go wherever you want. I have a pendant that glamours my cat features away now.”

My eyes go wide, and I gasp, needing to sell the act. But the more I think about it, I don’t like the idea of him glamouring himself. “I have a few spots we can go without changing a thing about us.”

His tail wags, and he takes hold of it. “I’d like that. I like me. Papa always made me feel bad about...”

“Well, he was wrong for it,” I say.

Sparkle’s phone buzzes, and he snorts as he shakes his head, but he doesn’t reach for it.

“You can answer that if you need to.” I nod toward his pocket.

“I don’t need to. It’s the group chat, not Mama or any of the kittens. The guys probably wanna ask apartment questions or questions about you. They knew I was coming here.”

“Oh. Interesting.” Maybe I have a real chance at wooing Sparkle. I mean, he came here and said he’s ready.

“I’m nervous.” He rocks on his feet. “I’ve never dated anyone before.”

I blink back at him. The pressure’s on. I have to make this date and every date after epic. I search through my memories. “I don’t think I’ve dated anyone before either.”

“Really?”