Page 87 of Teaching the Kot'oll Coach

“Okay... So... Did you feed him?”

“Yeah, I did. You were there too.”

“Right... Changed his water?”

“We did that when we fed him.” I reach to stroke Ossa. “What do you want?”

He meows, which... Even though we have pretty good technology, we still don’t have a translating device for cats.

I shrug. “I have no idea. Maybe he doesn’t like the movie.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Ossa climbs up Telke and gets to his upper arms again. Telke says, “Um... Is he in the mood of climbing things?”

I stand and reach for Ossa. “No, Ossa, don’t climb up Telke, that’s rude.”

My hand is an inch away from Ossa when he jumps to the side. I reach further, but Ossa dodges me again.

“Ossa! Get off Telke!”

I move to catch him again, but he ducks again. With Telke, I hate how small I am. With Ossa, he is mocking my speed.

I take a breath and snatch him again. Ossa hops off Telke, but I trip on Telke’s leg.

“Whoa!”

Now... I end up in Telke’s arms. He grabs me before I’ll fall onto the couch with my face down.

Ossa meows and walks off as if he is innocent and does no wrong.

Telke chuckles as he helps me onto the couch again. “I guess Ossa wants you in my arms.”

My cheeks heat up. I look away from Telke. “Geez, how dare you use a cat to your benefit.”

He winks. “Even your cat knows we’re good together.”

Is that the case?

He pecks a kiss on my cheek. “Tell me. What do you want? How should I prove that I mean it? Give me a chance, I’ll prove myself to be the perfect mate for you.”

My heart hammers even harder in my chest. My body is so hot that I can explode at any second.

“Telke... But... I have nothing but trouble and...”

He presses a finger on my lips. “No, the trouble has nothing to do with you. Troubles just happen and we’re here to solve them. We can solve whatever problems come up. I may not be the smartest, but we can work out something together. Nothing can stop us unless we let it.”

“But... What if this won’t work out?”

He scowls at me as if I’ve said something dumb. “What if it will work out but you decided not to try?”

Oh... I’ve never thought about that.

He holds my cheek with two hands and my shoulders with the other two. “Look me in the eye. What if everything’s going to go well? What if we can figure out our problems and solve them together?”

His intense eyes burn me. His face is so close that I can see myself in his eyes. I can feel his fire and I want some of that.

“So... You don’t mind problems.”

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