“She’s beautiful,” he remarked over his shoulder. “Hey, kitty.”
“Be careful!” I admonished. “Don’t stretch out your hand. You have no idea how common it is for people to be hospitalized after a cat bite. Their fangs are…”
My words died as I approached and saw what he was doing. He had picked up the cat and she’d allowed it.
“She’s not trying to escape,” I said, and on top of that, she’d nuzzled against him. “She likes you?”
“They were all lying about you, you poor thing,” he said to the cat. “Why would anyone malign such a nice animal who’s bigger than my niece?”
“Maybe she just needed time.” I stepped closer and the cat opened her sleepy eyes. Her body visibly stiffened.
“You’re fine,” he told her, and then asked me, “You’ve had her since she was a kitten, but you’ve never gotten along?”
“She just doesn’t like me,” I said. “I’ve bought her toys and good food, and I try to make friends.” Of course, with my poor skills at relationships and bonding, her lack of attachment to me made sense.
He made himself as comfortable as you could get in my apartment, by sprawling on the bed. He put one of the pillows behind his back and turned it into a kind of couch. “Do you mind?” he asked me.
“No, I guess not. I was wondering where you would go if you came over.”
“My sisters will tell you that I’ve never had a problem making myself at home, no matter where I am. Some of my friends had chairs, pillows, and blankets in their houses that were designated for my use, since I was hanging around so much. You can also make yourself at home, since it actually is yours.” He patted the mattress and I joined them, making sure to leave ample space between myself and the cat. The bed did seem distressingly small with the three of us on it.
“Hernán wants to give me his furniture,” I mentioned, and Levi said he thought that was a very good idea.
“As much as I enjoy this crib mattress, a couch would be nice. That’s generous of him.”
“You know, no matter what he says about me, you don’t have to do it.”
“Huh? You mean keeping up the Spanish lessons?”
He might have been playing dumb; Grant did that sometimes when he wanted to avoid what he called “getting in trouble” with me. For example, when he’d lost our rent money at a Windsor casino, he pretended like he didn’t know what I was talking about when I demanded answers about why the bank balance had dipped so precipitously. “I have no idea,” he’d said, his dark brown eyes wide and innocent even as I showed him the withdrawals from the ATM located in his office building’s lobby.
“I mean, if Hernán says something about watching me, you don’t have to,” I explicitly told Levi.
“Yeah, he mentioned that he’s been keeping an eye on you. It seems like you might have needed it.”
“Not anymore. I did the online therapy, I got a cat, and I’m taking walks, so I’m much better.”
“Good to know.”
“So…you won’t be watching me like that,” I hazarded.
“Well, no. I mean, yeah.” Levi smiled. “I guess I’m the kind of wanna-be writer who’s bad with words. I’m saying that I will be watching you, because we have that friendship bond. Like how you’re watching to make sure I don’t turn into a criminal.”
His new job started on Monday and it wasn’t soon enough for me. I’d come up empty in my searches for Lance and Vivienne’s new home, but that could have been due to them using a shell corporation or some kind of trust. I had dug up some dirt on Levi’s friend August, though. “I don’t think you’re a criminal,” I answered. “I told Ava that just today.”
“What else did you two have to say about me?”
“She told me about the wedding. Your cousin’s wedding,” I prompted, when he seemed confused.
“Right, Britainy’s big thing. I forgot about it.” He squinted. “I guess I should let them know that Mary Evelyn won’t be showing up with me.”
“Ava thinks I should go in Mary Evelyn’s place since because you’ll need someone as a plus-one. She says that your aunt and cousin are nasty people who are mean to you.”
“Hm.” He considered it. “So you’d be my bodyguard?”
“It would be more like support personnel. Like the guys who put in fuel and change tires in car races, or the assistant coach who holds all the teddy bears after an ice skating routine.”
“What teddy bears?” he asked.
