Page 6 of Cat's Outta the Bag

Fuck, even through the door, his voice sounds amazing. My whole body shivers. Before he can decide I'm not home, I rush to the door and yank it open, surprising him so much he gives a little jump. I can't stop the laugh that escapes at the thought that I scared Jason Adams.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

We both smile like idiots at each other.

A neighbor down the hall exits their unit, jolting us out of our respective reveries.

“So,” Jason rubs the back of his neck, “I was parking in the garage when I replied to your text and then just thought I’d drop by and say hi since I would pass your door.” He pauses and notes my scrubs, “oh, are you just getting back or on your way out?”

“I have to leave in about twenty minutes for my shift. But I’m glad you stopped by. Want to say ‘hi’ to Slinky?”

I step back, silently berating myself; why the hell would he want to greet my psycho cat? Without hesitation, he crosses into my unit and heads straight toward Slinky. In the blink of an eye, he is luvin’ her up, giving chin scratches and murmuring sweet nothings into her ear.

And fuck if I’m not a little jealous of my cat right now.

Oh man, that’s messed up.

"Well, I'll get out of your hair. I'll see you at lunch tomorrow. Bye, Slinky." He gives her one last scratch before heading for the door.

“Bye, Jason, I’ll see you tomorrow.” I smile and wave as I shut the door, absolutely not taking a moment to watch his nice ass as he walks away, definitely not.

An hour later, I am wrapping up my charting for a kid's broken arm and referral to the pediatric wing for treatment when my watch chimes. His text scrolls through on the tiny screen.

Jason: We’ll be eating at Maison LaCroix at 12:30. I hope you like French cuisine.

I smile like a lunatic for the rest of my shift.

I’m going on a lunch date with Jason Adams. I can’t wait.

Chapter 6

Jason

Iam incredibly nervous.

In fact, I don’t even remember being this nervous when I first started acting.

I changed my outfit five times, for fuck's sake.

I'm already seated when she enters, and I can't help but drink her in as she shyly waves, following the host to our table. She looks radiant, dressed in a plum sundress, white wedge sandals, and her shoulder-length dark brown hair loosely curled. Her green eyes absolutely pop.

Like a gentleman, I stand and pull out her chair, inhaling her intoxicating scent as she brushes past me to sit. I have to resist leaning down and burying my face in her hair. We aren’t quite there yet.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

We both smile as if soaking each other in. Or at least, I know I am.

"Have you been here before? What's good?" She breaks eye contact to look down at her menu, chewing her bottom lip. I almost groan; why is that so sexy?

"Um," I clear my throat, concentrating on the menu, "Pretty much everything I've had here is good. If you haven't ever tried escargot, theirs is delicious. The chef is from the Alps, so there are some good hearty meals, too.”

“I’m game to try new things. Should we maybe share the snails and then both order something else?”

“Sure, that sounds great. Do you want any wine or something else to drink?”

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