“Sure.”
I follow him up the stairs, appreciating his ass in those black joggers. He’s long and lean but muscular too. I bet he’ll fill out even more over the next couple of years, especially if he sticks with football. He smells good too. Clean with a hint of salt, like the ocean.
“Ladies first,” he says when he stops in front of the third door on the left and opens it, holding out his hand and inviting me in.
I enter the bedroom, relief hitting me that it doesn’t look like a pit from hell. It’s clean. It smells normal. There aren’t any discarded empty soda cans or water bottles cluttering his bedside table. His bed is actually made. It’s neat and orderly and there aren’t any personal items anywhere. No photos, no trophies, no art on the walls. It’s downright barren, which kind of makes me sad.
Then I notice the dark gray lump sitting just behind his pillows. I take a step toward the bed, and the animal lifts its head, contemplating me with wide golden eyes. “You have a cat.”
“That’s Millicent,” he says.
I send him a look. “Millicent?”
He shrugs. “She was my mom’s cat first, so she named her. Then when my mom was never around, she adopted me.”
“Millicent adopted you?” I go to the bed, reaching my hand toward the cat. She gives my fingers a delicate sniff, deems me acceptable and then rubs her head against my knuckles. I scratch her chin, and she begins to purr.
“She had to make nice with the only person in the house who’d feed her on a regular schedule, right? I’d wake up in the middle of the night to her sleeping on top of my head. Kind of sucked at first, but we grew on each other.” He smiles faintly. “I couldn’t leave her in that big house all alone when I moved down here. My mom would take off and probably forget all about her. She would’ve died.”
My heart cracks. This is the sweetest thing. “So Millicent is your cat.”
“She is now.” He stands beside me and strokes along the cat’s back. “She’s cool.”
This guy keeps surprising me. He’s not your typical eighteen-year-old asshole, that’s for sure.
“Your apartment is nice,” I tell him as I head for the window. The blinds are still open and I peek outside to see he has a view of the grassy area in between the buildings. “I like it.”
“Yeah, we do too.” I glance over at him to find he’s already watching me. “Where do you live?”
“Not too far from here, actually,” I answer.
“We’re almost neighbors?” He lifts his brows.
“Yep. Makes sense, don’t you think?”
He frowns. “What do you mean by that?”
“Our paths were bound to cross.” I don’t mean to sound like a mystical woo woo, but I sort of am. I believe things happen for a reason, and people are put into our life for a purpose. I’m not sure why Tony is in my life yet, but I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough.
“You really think so?” he asks.
“For sure.” I spot the chair that’s pulled away from his desk and I go to it, sitting down. “What should we do now?”
“Participate in a Call of Duty tournament?” He smiles, and I can tell he’s teasing.
“Oh yes. I love Call of Duty.”
“Really?” His smile fades.
“I’m joking,” I reassure him with a soft laugh. “Should we watch a movie?”
“Netflix and chill?”
“Is that still a thing?”
“It will never not be a thing,” he says with confidence.
“You know, I’d love to, but I should probably go home.” I check my Apple Watch. It’s already close to ten. Getting up for my eight o’clock class just about kills me, but I didn’t have a choice. “It’s getting late.”