Like Cats and Dogs by Kate McMurray (scary books to read TXT) 📗

Café closed and everyone is coming here instead, the morning commuters have been cleaning us out. These two croissants represent all that is left after the plunder this morning.”

“I’m honored you’re willing to share with me then.”

Lauren poured two cups of coffee and put the croissants on a plate, and somehow managed to get all of that to the table without spilling anything. She probably had some table-waiting experience in her past. She sat across from him and dug into one of the croissants.

“How are the kittens?” she asked.

“Really great. I checked on them when I grabbed the carriers. They’re all pretty lively now. Rachel gave them names based on their physical traits.”

“I know. I dropped in to check on them yesterday.”

Of course she had. Lauren was just the sort of busybody who wouldn’t take anyone’s word that the kittens were okay.

Caleb sighed. His whole resolution to make friends and try to find a community here wasn’t going to get anywhere if he let everyone annoy him.

“Anyway,” said Lauren, “those kittens will be too young for the adoption event we’re hosting here next week, but I can definitely let people know there will be kittens up for grabs in a few weeks. We can make flyers or something. People love kittens.”

“I usually try to talk people out of adopting kittens.”

“Really? Do you prefer puppies?”

He sighed. “It’s not that. Kittens and puppies are just a lot of work. They’re energetic, they eat a lot, they get into places you don’t want them to go. Not to mention, as you must know very well, it’s harder for adult animals to get adopted because people love kittens and puppies, but grown cats and dogs make perfectly good pets if you’re into that sort of thing.”

“Said like a man who likes a big, slobbery dog.”

“Well.”

“What kind of dog is Hank?”

“Yellow Lab and…something else. Definitely not a purebred. I can’t tell what the something else is, though. He’s on the big side for a Lab and has a shaggier face than any Lab I’ve ever seen, and he has some random patches of darker fur, but is otherwise basically a yellow Lab. He’s a good dog, though. He came housebroken and mostly trained.”

“But someone left him at the clinic?”

“Yeah. Could be anything. The previous owners moved or died or who knows? My gain, I guess. It’s nice to have a dog at home again. My ex took ours in the divorce.”

“That bitch,” Lauren said with a bit of a smile.

“Yeah. That was probably our most vicious fight.”

“Over the dog?”

“I really liked that dog.”

Lauren nodded. “Sure. I’d be pretty upset if an ex wound up with one of my cats. Mostly, though, I just end up with other people’s cats. And you’re right, it’s harder to adopt out older cats, but we try here. The point is to lure people into adopting by letting them spend time with the cats first.”

“Does that work? Do people fall in love with the cats and want to take them home?”

“Yep. A few times a month. We let it be known that all the cats here, except for Sadie, are looking for forever homes. I figure if this place ever closes, I’d just take her home. Molly can cope with a new roommate.”

Caleb sipped his coffee. “This is some place you’ve got.”

He looked her over. She looked good today. Her long brown hair was up in a messy bun, her long bangs loose over her forehead. She had on a soft-looking pink sweater and dark jeans tucked into stylish brown boots. Her clothes hugged her body in an appealing way, and Caleb enjoyed a moment of remembering what she looked like under her clothes.

“Maybe we should talk about what happened,” Lauren said.

Caleb’s knee-jerk response was, Do we have to? But he said, “That is the elephant in the room, I guess.”

She sat across from him. “I’m not trying to make it a thing, but it just feels weird not to acknowledge it.”

“No, I get it. I’m acknowledging it. We slept together. It was good. I’m not opposed to doing it again.”

Lauren rolled her eyes. “Well, there’s a ringing endorsement.”

“What?”

“‘It was good. I’m not opposed to doing it again.’” She dropped her voice in imitation of him, and the way she said it did make it sound quite lackluster.

Of course, it was anything but. Caleb was still thinking about Lauren in bed all these days later.

“Well,” he said. “We know where things stand. We had an amazing…morning together, but neither of us can do a relationship right now. So where does that leave us?”

***

Lauren stared at Caleb. His facial expression made him look like he was fighting with himself about something. This guy clearly had some baggage Lauren would do well not to look into. That was fine, she could work with that. Because she wanted him again. In, like, a primal, monkey sex way, not as a potential romantic partner.

“Crazy idea,” she said. “We could be friends.”

“Friends.”

“Friends who have sex sometimes?”

He laughed. He really was so very cute when he smiled. He should do more of that and less scowling.

“Seems reasonable,” he said. He sipped his coffee. “This is good. Very strong.”

“A little too strong if you ask me.” She sipped her own coffee, and it was bold and bitter. Lauren liked a strong cup of coffee, but not this much so late in the day.

“Hmm,” Caleb said, clearly enjoying the punch in his cup. “I’d try to talk my way back into your apartment, but I really do need to get home before the dog tears apart my living room. He’s been gnawing on the rug when he gets anxious. I’m going to start bringing him to work with me, because I think he gets lonely.”

“Where’s home?”

“Brooklyn Heights. I’m renting a one-bedroom not far from Borough Hall. I usually walk here in the morning, and it’s a nice walk. I’ll probably walk home now, in fact.”

Lauren nodded. That was a swanky zip code. Recently divorced veterinarians apparently did all