Page 66 of Give Me a Shot

Why are you winding yourself up? She wouldn’t jump to conclusions.

He was certainly falling for Jess, though. Even though he’d grown more confident about being open with Jess, he was still finding his feet with his own reactions. His mind interpreted his body’s involuntary responses to Jess, like his heart racing or his breath catching, as mortal danger. Going slowly had given him time and space to understand that he was actually safe and that he didn’t need to run away. If anything, he wanted to keep moving closer. He checked the time again. Six fifty-six. When she wasn’t around, he was always thinking of her, remembering something she’d said, her determination, her laugh. That determination was lacking in her voice earlier in the day. Was it the Ren Faire situation? Now that she’d spent time with the other archers, maybe she felt resigned or sad. He checked again. Six fifty-eight. He got out of his truck, carefully taking the flowers with him. He took his time getting to her door. It opened as soon as he reached it.

“There you are,” she said, smiling. “Did you need a little more time on the phone?”

“On the phone?” he asked.

“Oh, I thought that’s why you were in your truck for so long. It wasn’t?” She waved him inside.

“Ah,” he said, realizing he may have made himself look like a stalker.

“No, not on the phone. I didn’t want to ring the doorbell early. Here,” he said to Jess, offering the flowers as he crossed the threshold. “These are for you.”

She smiled, accepting them and closing the door.

“It would have been okay if you were a few minutes early.” She shifted the flowers to one arm. “You didn’t have to,” she said, nodding at them. Mo’s jitteriness had abated enough once she’d smiled at the flowers for him to focus on her vibe. She sounded good, but not quite like herself. As she went into the kitchen for a vase, her cat, Steinem, ambled his way over before sitting down and looking up at Mo, sniffing the air in his direction.

“Flowers are always good,” Mo called to her. “Hi, Steinem,” he said, smiling at the cat. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

The cat meowed once.

“I’ve heard nothing but good things,” Mo said to Steinem. Jess laughed from the kitchen. Her laughter felt right.

“Don’t lie to him, Mo!” she called out. “Grab a seat on the couch.”

Mo laughed and followed her instructions. Steinem joined him, walking at his side. When Mo sat down, Steinem sat beside his feet and looked at him.

“You know, you’re an especially dapper tuxedo cat,” Mo said to Steinem. He smiled when the cat raised his chin and meowed back. It almost seemed like the cat had smiled. Mo turned to Jess as she joined him, handing him a glass of sparkling water. He thanked her.

“Listen,” he said. “I know we talked about it, and I appreciate you keeping in mind that I don’t do well with a lot of people. Dinner and a movie here is great, but we can also go out for our dates. I don’t want you to feel boxed in here or at my house.”

Jess waved the idea away.

“Going out can be fun,” she said, squeezing his hand. “But I’m basically a homebody. My friends used to have to drag me out of my apartment in England. Besides, we can watch a movie here without having to—”

Steinem jumped onto Mo’s lap. He made a trilling sound, so Mo started scratching under his chin, then behind his ear.

“Where do you prefer your scritches?” Mo asked him. “Behind this ear? Maybe on the back of your neck?” He kept scratching, and Steinem began to purr. He noticed that Jess wasn’t saying anything.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I was listening to you. As long as you’re comfortable staying in, I’m happy with that.” Steinem moved closer, bumping his head on Mo’s chest. He kept scratching down Steinem’s back. Jess was staring at them.

“Is everything okay?” Mo asked.

“Uh…It usually takes a lot more time for Steinem to warm up to somebody. When we were in England, the fastest heallowed a new person to pet him was like three days. And he certainly wouldn’t approach someone right after they walked through the door. Normally, he hides.”

“Oh,” Mo said. “Animals usually like me. They often seek me out. And I like animals a lot, so it’s nice.”

He continued scratching, enjoying the low vibration of Steinem’s purring. Watching them, Jess shook her head and picked up her glass with a little smile.

“I still can’t believe that we both loveThe Princess Bride,” she said.

Mo nodded, smiling back. That had been a lovely thing to discover when they’d been trying to decide on the movie for that evening. Steinem stood on Mo’s lap suddenly, turning on himself and curling into a ball. That made him chuckle. He looked back at Jess.

“Makes for an easy movie night choice,” he said.

“It does,” she said. “But there’s a problem.”

“What’s that?” he asked. Her tone had him a little concerned.

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