She gives me a wry look. “Your dorm, at your extremely prestigious academy, with its kitchen and living room and entertainment system. Truly roughing it.”
“You know,” I point out, “you’d be living a bougie life too, if you let me spoil you more.”
“You already gave me a new laptop and that ridiculous fucking check—which I still haven’t cashed, by the way.”
“I didn’t give you the check,” I clarify. “I chose you to get the check, but it’s only like one-twelfth my own money. If you don’t cash it, it’s just going to rot away in the bank account. No skin off my back.”
She curls her lip distastefully, but I can see the gears moving when she pops a piece of cheese into her mouth. I’m wearing her down, slowly but surely.
By the time the day starts winding down, we find a whole bundle of squirming, slick kittens nestled into Abby’s belly. Sugar’s hunched over the box, trying to count them.
“I think that’s just her tail,” Sugar points.
“No, it’s got stripes. Pretty sure.”
“You’re not even close enough to tell.” Sugar laughs at the grimace on my face as I peer over from my spot on the counter. Abby might not be birthing anything at the moment, but she’s still laying in a big ole box of ‘nope’. “They’re so tiny,” she coos. “These three look just like Hades, don’t you think?”
I crane my neck to take a reluctant look. “Yep, three little voids.”
“There’s no way they could have survived in the ice,” she says, looking vaguely upset at the notion. “Not where Abby was stuck.”
I agree, “We did the right thing by bringing them here.”
There’s a quiet knock on the door and Liesel pops her head in. “All right?”
“Five kittens. Or possibly four and a tail. Hard to say.” I watch as she smiles and leans in, ooh-ing and ahh-ing over them. For all that she was opposed, Liesel is just a big softy at the end of the day. “I think they probably need some rest.”
“I brought up a bowl for some water. We didn’t have any cat food, but I mashed up some tuna.” She pushes in with a bowl in each hand, and I take them from her, setting them where Abby can reach them easily.
“Thank you,” Sugar says quickly, earning a pleased look from Liesel. “Can I help carry these dirty towels downstairs or something?”
“Don’t trouble yourself. Just hand them over and I’ll take care of it.” She grabs the laundry basket from the closet and drops in the used towels. She tells me, “I’m staying the night in the guest house. It’s too slick to drive all the way home. If you need something—anything…” She gives me a soft, maternal look. “Then tough shit, pal. I’m off the clock.”
“Ah, that’s the warm and fuzzy Liesel we all know and tolerate.” More seriously, I say, “Thanks for the help and the dinner. We’ve got everything from here.”
Liesel takes the basket and leaves the room. It’s getting late now. Late enough that we should think about settling in for the night. In my bedroom. Together. Alone.
Sugar looks down at herself, pulling a face. “I know I didn’t technically touch anything, but do you think I could clean up a bit?” Almost instantly, she backtracks. “Fuck, never mind. All I thought to bring is the dress I’m wearing tomorrow.”
“No problem, I can get you something,” I offer, going into the closet that connects to the bathroom. I grab a lacrosse sweatshirt from freshman year and a pair of flannel shorts. I hand them to her and excuse myself.
When I walk into the suite off the bedroom, Liesel is still there, collecting our dirty dishes from dinner.
“Are you still working?” I chide.
“Just putting this stuff away,” she insists, making to leave, but I stop her.
“So…what do you think?”
“About the dishes? You could have taken them out yourself, yes.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m talking about Sugar.”
Liesel gives me a soft look—without all the bullshit artifice. “She’s beautiful, Sebastian. Very polite.” She glances toward the bathroom door. “She seems nervous, though.”
“She’s definitely skittish,” I admit. “Her family doesn’t have money like we do.”
“Hardly any families have money like you do,” Liesel reminds me, watching me closely. “I don’t think you’ve ever brought a girl home before.”