Page 247 of Cloudy With a Chance of Bad Decisions
Was I supposed to hold the cat?
I blinked, startled into action as I latched on to the animal, and George let go. Then suddenly, I was holding the purring beast, all his fluffy white furclutched to my chest as I arranged his limbs so he could comfortably curl against me.
“His pecs make good pillows,” George whispered conspiratorially. “Enjoy.”
And then he abandoned me, stalking off toward his bedroom to pack. Missy laughed at the shell-shocked look on my face, patted the arm she’d abandoned so I could hold my current arm full of fur, and headed off to grab the boxes she’d gathered to help George.
I felt like I was missing something.
Something crucial.
Like in my haste to make a good impression on George’s roommate and pet—and take in his home as greedily as he’d taken in mine, I’d forgotten something I really shouldn’t have.
A fact that was only proven to be true when seven hours into our group packing project, the doorbell rang.
We were expecting pizza, so none of us were surprised. George was the first to rise, all his long, skinny limbs straightening as he shuffled past where I was huddled on the floor, packing his manga—not mongooses.
That had been a fight in itself.
The whole collection was hidden in his closet behind rows of clothing—and when I’d offered to help pack them he’d immediately shut me down at first.
“Absolutely not,” George had said, yanking me out of the closet like I’d just discovered a bomb about to go off. “Those are for my eyes and my eyes only.”
“How am I supposed to build you a library if I’m never allowed to even look at the books inside it?” I asked, amused by his dramatics. He shut me out of the closet without reply. I could hear him rustling around in there. And I waited to see what he’d do next.
Leaning against the wall, I watched the door for a few minutes, unsure if I should give up and move on to another section of the house, or wait him out.
My patience was rewarded because only a few minutes later, the closet door creaked open and one of George’s cute eyes peeked out from the gap. “If Ilet you help—” he hesitated, “If.” I nodded. “You are not permitted to open any of the books.”
“Why?” I couldn’t help but push. “Are they porn?”
George’s cheeks went bright red and he slammed the door on me again.
Oops.
Another few seconds passed before it opened again, only a crack once more. “I’m not ashamed,” he said quickly. “There’s nothing wrong with liking what I do.”
“Yes,” I agreed, because there wasn’t.
And that was why I was being so pushy. I didn’t want him to think there was a single thing he had to hide from me. Especially not stuff he loved.
“I just…haven’t ever…let anyone else touch them.” The door creaked open a smidge wider, revealing his nose and the corner of his mouth. “And some of the things I read are…”
“Creative,” I finished for him, throwing him a bone.
“Yes.” George waited for a beat.
“Baby, the first time we met I told you my favorite genre to read is erotica,” I pointed out, wiggling closer to him. Just a bit. Not enough to spook him. “Besides, you know I like anime. I promise you that I’m more likely to become obsessed with your mongooses than I am to judge you. ”
“Mangas,” George corrected. “Mahn.” He enunciated slowly. “Gahs.”
“Mangas,” I echoed, pleased when the door pushed open more. Now I could see his whole cute face, in all its anxious glory.
“Okay…” George waited. “You can help.”
I was tempted to fist pump, but through sheer strength of will managed not to. “Thank you.”
Which was why I was knees-deep in a box full of Japanese comics. Some of these covers were wild. I could see why he’d been a bit nervous for me to see. The most memorable had been one with a man totally covered in bondage gear, tear-streaked face, a tall stranger behind him smirking like he’d put thebeefy bottom exactly in his place.
