Page 31 of Fumbled Into Love

“You didn’t tell me you have a cat!” Nathalie exclaims, crouching down and extending her hand.

Oh no. He’s going to attack her, and then shit is going to hit the fan. As much as he terrifies me, I have a soft spot for the monster, and the last thing I can handle is having to euthanize him.

“Get back!” I scream. “He’s not a friend—” Gordito slowly walks to her outstretched palm and rubs against it. An odd noise escapes him, and I jump back, fists raised and ready to fight.

“Is he…purring?”

Humor swims in Nathalie’s brown eyes.

“That is what cats usually do.” I focus on Gordito as she fights back a laugh.

“Not that cat.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard him purr. All he does is terrorize me and perch atop his cat tower like the king he is.

“What’s its name?” Nathalie asks as she scratches behind Gordito’s ear. I’m on high alert as her hand glides down his back, prepared to drag her back and run us away as fast as humanly possible. Instead, the purring grows louder, and he flops down on the ground, displaying his stomach for her to rub.

I’ve never once seen the asshole's stomach, and here he is, flaunting it for Nathalie. He’s trying to replace me.

“Uh…His name is Gordito.”

I stare at the situation in awe. If you asked me what was more likely to happen, this or an alien abduction, I would have chosen the abduction with zero hesitation.

The sounds he’s emitting grow louder, and Nathalie plops onto the hardwood floor, all of her attention focused on my cat.As she coos and whispers compliments at him, the green little monster dances in my chest. He’s been far too frequent a guest in my life lately.

“Oh, qué lindo, Gordito,” Nathalie coos, the words foreign, but Gordito releases a battle cry, and Nathalie’s eyes widen behind her glasses.

“Do you speak Spanish?” I ask, creeping away from my cat before he can take his anger out on my toes.

“A little…Deon, I don’t think he likes his name.” Gordie meows loudly in agreement. “You have to give him a new name.” Nathalie looks at my cat with nothing but adoration in her eyes. “How about Gordie?”

I glance between her and the cat. Gordito—Gordie—peers up at me, vengeance in his eyes. Shivering, I take a step back.

“Yeah…uh…Sounds good. I’ll drop your bags in the guest room.”

Scurrying away, I leave Nathalie to fend for herself. Honestly, Gordie loves watching me squirm. He feeds off my discomfort, and knowing the girl I am attracted to and now fake dating is living with us is the feast of a lifetime for him.

I drop the bags on the bed and spin to find Nathalie standing in the doorway of the room across the hall.

She turns, eyes wide.

Oh, shit.

CHAPTER 8

“Sorry for acting this strange, I can’t control myself”

FU In My Head – Cloudy June

Nathalie

“No! Don’t look in there!” Deon scrambles to block my view, but his attempt is futile. I’ve seen beyond the threshold. His arms fly up to the sides of the door frame, chest heaving.

“I can explain,” he says shakily. “It’s not what it looks like.”

“It looks like you have alair.”

I jerk to the left, and he mimics the movement. I repeat the motion, and he slides to block me. Rookie. I launch my body in the opposite direction and wiggle beneath his outstretched arm, right into the room beyond.

Sweet, sweetvictory.

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