I hate him. I really fucking hate him. “It’s like you don’t own any shirts.”
“You should’ve said so. Easy fix.” He disappears back into his room and comes back out wearing a tight, sleeveless muscle tee. So not better when I can still make out the definition in his abs through the shirt.
It’s better than nothing, I lie to myself and take a deep breath.
Brody picks Lucky up on his way back to the couch and plops her on his lap. God, why is the sight of him cuddling this ugly, damaged cat so alluring?
Lucky appears to tolerate it rather than enjoy it, but she stays as if she wants to like it. I can’t help feeling a pull of solidarity towards her. I sink back down onto the couch and watch them with morbid fascination.
Even with the guys I date, I try to enjoy being touched. I want it, and for the most part, I’m okay with it, but I’ve yet to find someone who truly makes me enjoy it. I can’t get out of my head long enough to appreciate someone’s hands on me. Which sucks, because before Kyle, I was a total cuddle whore.
Pillows don’t cuddle back, and I miss the real thing.
“Did I end up telling you her story?” Brody says and leans down to kiss Lucky’s head.
She lets out a little purr, finally melting under his soft touch.
Okay, now I’m jealous of a fucking cat.
“What happened to her?” I ask.
“A group of teenagers were torturing her.” His tone, so casual, makes me pause.
“What the fuck?”
“They burnt her.” Brody runs his hand down her hairless side and then down her tail.
“It was recent?” I ask, wondering why it’s still patchy.
He shakes his head. “My sister’s had her for over a year. Vet says it won’t grow back. Too much skin damage.”
My breath gets stuck in my throat, and I find it hard to swallow.
“They’d hogtied her so she couldn’t get away,” Brody continues. He lays the cat down on her back, and I’m surprised she allows it. Then he brushes her fur on her stomach and parts it. “Here she has some hidden stab wounds. Just in case you ever wanted to pick her up. I thought I’d tell you where she’s sensitive.”
My hand mindlessly rubs over my jaw, unable to feel the thin ridge of my own scar running along my skin because of my beard.
I manage a nod. “I don’t see me picking her up anytime soon, but thanks for the heads-up.”
“She’s been through a lot, and it takes a while for her to trust. She still takes a while each time I pick her up for her to settle in my arms, but she eventually does.”
God, this guy is killing me. If a damaged cat can let him in, then I should be able to too.
“How did your sister end up with her?”
“She saw what the boys were doing to the cat in an alley and ran in there to break it up.”
My eyes widen. “She fucking what? Did you kick her ass?”
Brody scoffs. “Wait until you meet my sister if she ever comes back from saving the world. She’s headstrong, stubborn, and does stupid shit all the time in the name of being a good Samaritan.”
Envy laces his voice, and I wonder what that’s about but don’t want to pry. Prying means he could turn around and do the same to me.
“She sounds like a good person. There aren’t many truly good people in the world anymore. I can pretty much only name one that I know.”
“Your brother?”
“Yup.”
“Lying to Reed and assaulting the father of one of his students aside?” He smirks, but his words hit me in the gut. Because both of those incidents were my fault.
“There were extenuating circumstances surrounding both those things. He’s a good guy who did a shitty thing, and hitting that parent … he still feels guilty about that. Even if the guy was a douche and bashed his gay son. An eye for an eye doesn’t work, but in Law’s case, it was out of his control, because … because …” Because of me. I can’t say that though.
Brody loses his smugness. “I know. I think it’s easier for me to see your brother as a villain, but it’s not like I can talk. Tomorrow I get to defend the scum of the earth, so yeah, I’ll give you that one.”
With one simple conversation that isn’t particularly deep and a night of watching mindless movies, hope that being roommates could work burrows its way into the back of my brain.
6
Brody
When I awake to Anders’ moans, at first I think I’m dreaming because the noises he’s making are pure sinful. But as I become more aware of my surroundings, his sounds of pleasure quickly escalate to groans of pain.