Page 38 of Had To Be You

“What’s with the obsession? Please tell me there isn’t a cat costume somewhere in this house because I won’t role play. Unless it’s Cat Woman, and you’re doing the dressing up,” I tease her.

She laughs, leaning her head against my stomach, her eyes meeting mine. “Jealous? I know you wish you had a Cats magnet collection too.”

I laugh at the absolute ridiculousness of that. “I’m serious, what’s your compulsion with a 1980s theatre production about a bunch of singing cats?”

“You wouldn’t get it.”

“Try me.”

“Okay, fine. I’ve loved cats since before I can remember. It started with the actual animals, then went on to the musical. I loved them so much I dressed up like one for six straight Halloweens,” she admits, laughing at the memory. “Told you you wouldn’t get it.”

I smile because as crazy as it is, it’s incredibly cute. “Go on.”

She sighs like she can’t bear to tell me the history of her devotion to Cats, but continues anyways. “I rescued cats, I volunteered at a cat shelter bottle-feeding orphaned newborn kittens, I wore ridiculously ugly cat sweatshirts and then in high school, the best thing to ever happen to me happened.”

“What happened? The suspense… I can’t take it,” I tell her, kneading her shoulders with my hands then moving towards the table to grab my mug.

She rolls her eyes. “The high school musical my senior year was - wait for it, yup you guessed it - Cats! And yours truly won the lead roll of Grizabella.” Her eyes are bright as she mimes taking a bow. “And of course, I nailed it.”

“There’s no doubt in my mind that you did. You definitely have the whole theatrics things down pat,” I say with a laugh.

“I should have won some sort of an award if I’m being honest.”

I can’t help it - I start laughing. Then suddenly she’s laughing too.

“What’s happening between the two of us?” she asks when we finally regain our composure. “We haven’t argued in days.” I sit down and lift her legs back onto my lap, finding any excuse to get as close to her as I can.

“That can’t be true. We must have had at least a tiny argument at some point,” I say.

Her eyes draw me in. They do every time. She’s right, though. Neither of us has thrown any cheap shots or provoked any fights. But it’s still fun to play the game with her.

“Right. You must be right,” she says, narrowing her eyes at me with a smile. “I’m sure we must have had a quarrel.”

Lifting her legs from my lap, I lean towards her, pulling her chair between my open thighs. the legs screeching against the tile floor. I rest my hands on her knees and brush my lips over hers. Kissing Ellie has become my new favorite pastime. Her lips are pillowy soft and taste like strawberries. Her smooth skin smells like the freshest scent of citrus. I settle my hand on her neck, loving the feel of her skin beneath my fingertips. I love everything about this girl. I love her strength, I love her free spirit, which she obviously inherited from her parents, I love her goddess eyes and the way they sear right through me to my core. In short, I love how she makes me feel.

It’s clear now, what’s happening. What that feeling deep in my gut has been trying to tell me. I’m falling for her. I’m so far past falling, I’m already there, drowning in the depths of Ellie, so I decide to tell her exactly what I want. Tell her exactly how I feel.

“You know… I never mind it when we bicker,” I say as I lean my face into the dip of her neck. “And I also really like it when we agree.”

“Really?” she hums, tugging me closer, her hands winding around my neck. “What are you saying, Liam? You’re going to need to spell it out for me.”

“I’m saying that I really like you. I like being with you and I’d like to be with you more. Just us,” I say, pulling back to meet her gaze. “I want it to be just us. No one else.” Her bright blue eyes fade to a look that resembles sadness. “What’s wrong?” I ask.

“Nothing, Liam,” she says, but I’m not sure whether to believe her.

I lower my voice and drop my hands to her knees. “Tell me, Ells. What’s bugging you?”

She shifts her gaze to my hand as it runs circles on her thigh then back up to meet my eyes. “Nothing, Liam. Nothing at all. I want that too. I want it to be just us. Yes.”

Then why does it feel like there’s something standing in our way? Like there’s something between us, stopping her from being with me. I choose to ignore this sinking feeling that’s set in and just take things one day at a time. One moment at a time because Ellie is worth it. She said yes, didn’t she? It’s a start.

“Hey, Ellie,” I say.

She looks up at me. “Yes?”

“Don’t make plans this afternoon. You’re mine.”

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