Page 48 of Wrath

“No, it’s perfect.”

The room fell quiet as we both started to eat. I was in heaven. The food was amazing, and seeing that pleased look on his face had my heart skipping a beat. I was happy—happier than I’d been in ages, and that scared me a little. I had no idea how Wrath really felt about what was going on between us. I wanted to think it was a good sign that he’d invited me over, but I’d learned a long time ago not to put a lot of weight into signs.

I needed more than that.

We both did.

So, I continued eating my dinner and tried not to overthink things. It wasn’t easy with him sitting so close, but thankfully, I got a much-needed distraction.

I was just about to take a sip of my tea when I heard a cat meow. When I turned to look at the back door, I spotted a black kitten with a tiny white spot on the tip of his little nose. “Oh, my goodness. Who is that?”

“That is Shitstain... A stray that’s decided that he likes my back porch and my garbage can.”

“You cannot name this cat Shitstain.”

“I didn’t name him. He named himself when he strewed garbage all over my backyard.”

“You’re terrible.” I took a small piece of steak and carried it over the door. I dropped it at the cat’s feet as I told him, “He seems sweet. You should keep him as a pet.”

“He’s a dick.”

“Wrath!”

“Well, he is.” He gave me a light-hearted shrug. “I guess I’m more of a dog person.”

“Dogs are needy and way messier.”

“Cats are assholes. They don’t even like people,” he huffed. “Dogs are friendly and loyal.”

“Yeah, and they’ll poop all over your house.” I cocked my brow as I told him, “Cats use a litterbox.”

“Litterboxes smell like ass.”

“Fine, then you could make him an outside cat.”

“He is an outside cat, and he’s gonna stay one.” Wrath shook his head. “And if he gets in my garbage again, I’m gonna shoot his sorry ass.”

“You will do no such thing!” Being careful not to let the cat inside, I reached down and petted him on the head. “Just give him a little food, and then, he’ll stay out of your trash.”

“If I feed him, he will come back looking for more.”

“Oh, good grief.” I sighed with frustration. “He’s going to come back either way. If you have food for him, then he won’t get in your trash.”

“Hmph.”

And that was Wrath’s final response to the cat situation.

He got up and took the dishes to the sink, then started putting them in the dishwasher. I closed the back door before going over to the table to collect the rest of the dirty dishes. Once we had everything put away, he turned to me and asked, “What now?”

“What do you mean?” I looked up at him, and the second I saw the expression on his face, I knew exactly what he meant. This was a date—something he rarely ever did, so I suggested, “We could go for another ride or see if there’s a movie on that might be worth watching.”

“They’re calling for rain.”

“Then, a movie it is.”

I started into the living room, and Wrath followed after. We both sat on the sofa, and Wrath offered me the remote. I was hesitant, but I took it from his hand and started flipping through the channels. I came across several romantic comedies but passed them by. I wasn’t sure if Wrath would have any interest in them, so I kept going until I found an old Denzel Washington movie that my father used to love. He and Wrath had similar tastes, so I figured it sufficed.

Surprise marked his face when Wrath saw what I’d chosen. “I didn’t know you liked football.”

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