Page 87 of A Forgotten Mistake

Gabriel raises an eyebrow. “There is absolutely no way he’s not interested in you. Just because he’s dated women doesn’t mean he’s not interested in dating you.”

Matthew sighs. “I’m not going to be able to woo him.”

“Not with that attitude, you’re not. With that attitude, I’d be surprised if you ever find comfort in anything but your right hand,” I say.

He inflicts his glower upon me. “Yet with your attitude you got the nicest man in the whole damn department…”

I sure did. “I could teach you my ways if you call me sensei.”

“I will most definitely not be calling you that.”

“Your loss.” I continue cooking as Gabriel hovers around, eager to help, but there’s very little for him to do. Not too much later, Jesse returns spiderless.

“You dating anyone, Jesse?” I ask. It’s not that I want to help Matthew in any way. I just feel like if Matthew had something to focus on, he’d stop trying to become my friend. And then Gabriel would be all, “Oh wow, look how kind and selfless you were setting those two up,” and I could pretend that I didn’t do it for myself.

“Nope. You looking for a third?” Jesse teases. “I’ve been wanting a new house. And my car is like three years old; I could get a new one of those.”

I look over at Matthew and raise an eyebrow. My look very much conveys that he has a chance. He only has to buy him ahouse, which is the most romantic gift one could purchase for a loved one.

“Gabriel, your cat is just so cute,” Jesse says as he kneels in front of Lucy Fur. He holds a hand out for her to sniff, and she holds a paw out which she uses to beat the shit out of his hand.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” Gabriel apologizes as he rushes over to drive off Lucy Fur while Jesse bleeds on my floor. Doesn’t he know how hard I try to keep blood off any of my belongings?

Jesse just laughs as he looks at his battle wound. “It’s fine, I just got suckered in by the cuteness. You even told me she strikes at random, but that face… I got suckered by that face.”

“Matthew, there’s a first aid container in the closet in my bathroom. Go play doctor and tell me how it goes,” I say. “I love hearing about the failures of others.”

Matthew flips me off but hurries Jesse over to the bathroom.

“Your cat is the ultimate wingman,” I say as I hold a fist out to Lucy Fur. She simply yowls at it, telling me that I’ve made some progress with the cat. Not that I want to. Dear god, no. I just want to rub it in Jesse’s face when he comes out.

“Is she? I feel so bad,” Gabriel says as he eyes the bathroom. “Should I go help?”

“Go help Matthew play doctor? I think he’d prefer you didn’t,” I respond. “I thinkI’dprefer you didn’t. Like what would my role be? The janitor?”

“You’re acting like there’s a full-on porno going on in your bathroom right now.”

“There might be. I learned from a young age to never underestimate humans.”

“And what planet did you come from?” he teases.

“I crash-landed here just for you. It was the overwhelming pull between us that drew me to Earth in the first place.”

“Uh-huh. Sure.”

Gabriel cleans the blood off the floor a moment before the doorbell rings. “That has to be my mother. She’s early for everything.”

He hurries over to the front door that I can see from my position in the open concept kitchen/living room. The realtor assured me that it was one of the selling points, but now that I see how easy it’ll make it for others to interact with me, I’m starting to second-guess it.

Gabriel’s parents walk in after greeting him. “Oh my, such a lovely house,” Mabel says with a smile.

“Very nice,” Clark agrees, even though I’m pretty sure he’s just mimicking his wife and doesn’t really care.

I smile back. “Very safe area too. High-end security. Everything a single grown man who lives alone with the dangers of the world beyond these walls could ever need. There’s a safe room too, in case there’s a tornado or a hurricane.”

Gabriel gives me an amused look. “How would a hurricane possibly reach us? There’s not an ocean near us.”

“If the tornado picked it up, obviously.”

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