Wild Card Ch. 03

"The brat bolted when we were trying to gather them," Josie said.

"Poor little girl, saddled with a name like 'Sassy'," Cory said to the cat. "I'd run too if they tried to call me 'Sassy'." The kitten mewled pitifully and he cradled her against his chest. "Yes, I think it's a silly thing to name a cat, too. Besides, you look more like a 'Lola' to me." She meowed again and rubbed her head against his hand. "Yes, definitely a 'Lola'." He looked up at me. "Doesn't she look like a 'Lola'?"

He held her up to my face as if closer inspection was needed. This closer inspection was as unnecessary as the small kitten lick I got on the end of my nose.

"That was very nice of you," Cory said, cuddling her back to his chest. "'Rain probably needed another bath." Sassy/Lola started kneading his t-shirt and purring heavily. "Always wanted a kitty. If I could, I'd take you home and you could be my Lola."

"I will say this," Jimmy said, an odd look on his face. "I've never seen her act that sweet before."

I continued to watch Cory make kissy faces at the cat, seeming more peaceful and happy than I'd seen him since coming back. Jealousy dug sharp claws into my chest—I'd been trying to get him back to his old self, with minimal results, and this cat just prances on in and he's laughing and smiling again. Only, the moment anger tried to rear up, I took one look at Cory's grin and it all faded.

Oh, fuck.

That my emotional states had become so entangled with Cory's that I couldn't be happy if he wasn't should have been proof enough that I was fucking in love with the guy. If I needed any other sign, the little fluttery feelings in my chest over watching my guy get excited over this cat would more than suffice. Without my realizing it, the bastard had undermined my defenses and made himself comfortable. Funny thing is, he probably didn't realize how he affected me, either. This all was just Cory being Cory.

God, I'm fucked.

"We'll take her!"

When several surprised faces turned to me, I realized that shout had come from my mouth. Something lingered under Cory's shocked expression, triggering more of those goddamn flutters, and I got all melty.

"We'll take Lola," I said at a more reasonable volume.

"'Rain," Cory said. "You don't have to do that."

"Give me the damn papers," I told Jimmy, who laughed. He waved his hand to Josie, and she produced a clipboard and pen. I handed over my bank card, still flush with Christmas cash, so she could charge me the adoption fee. As I filled in our information, Cory watched me, his face still bewildered in a way that kept my heart going pitter-patter. "We'll need to get some supplies for her," I told him, and his face broke out in this huge smile.

"Yeah," he said, then looked down at Lola. "Hear that? You're our Lola now." Our Lola perked up, and her tail swished.

Seriously fucked.

I cleared my throat, retreating into gruffness before I fucking swooned like some goddamn girl, and, after I signed my name, ran back to the front of the store for a shopping cart. When I returned, Cory was chatting up the Douglases about the kinds of food they fed Lola, the types of toys she liked, and all of her other preferences.

By this time, I think it had finally sunk in for Cory that the kitten in his hand was his, and he was clearly excited. He began leading me around the store, selecting this and that item, rattling off the merits of products, as if reading from a shopping list. I did most of the grabbing since he had yet to put Lola down.

"How do you know all this stuff?" I asked.

"The people I volunteered for ran a cat rescue," he answered.

"You volunteered at a cat rescue?"

"Since I was a kid," he said, placing a litter pan in our cart before selecting a mat to place underneath it. "A couple of my scholarships are for my 'lifetime commitment to serving animals in need'."

"'Lifetime commitment', eh?"

Cory shrugged. "Between volunteering on the weekends, and during the week over breaks, and all the fundraisers and events," he said, "I have over a thousand community service hours."

"Didn't know that," I said, and grabbed the trash can looking thing he pointed to that was supposed to keep the used cat litter from stinking up the place.

"Don't talk about it much," Cory replied. "Cat obsession isn't the most masculine of traits. My brothers only put up with it, I think, because it got them laid. I swear, girls learn that they took their 'baby brother' to help rescue kitties and panties drop."

"You're kidding me."

"Totally serious. Caiden kept a picture in his wallet of me and him bottle feeding two-week-old kittens for that express purpose. He probably has it on his phone now." Cory's smile slipped, and I wondered if he was thinking about whether or not Caiden would keep that picture with him after everything came to light. "At any rate," he said, straightening himself, "I've always wanted a cat, and now I have Lola."

Something about the way he looked at me then made my knees wobble, and I was thankful he moved on to the grooming section before I did something foolish.

Cory nabbed the usual stuff—grooming brush, flea treatments, shampoo, clippers, etc—but then he picked up these acrylic caps that were supposed to be glued on the cat's claws and I finally found something to pull my ass out of love fool mode.

"You're putting nails on the cat?" I asked.

"Sure, why not?" he said. He put down the box he had, then selected a set of colored caps—one half in light blue, the other clear with blue glitter. "What do you think, Lola?" She pawed at the box Cory shook in front of her. "Yeah, I think it matches your eyes, too," he said and tossed it into the cart.

"Oh my God," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing," I said.

Cory grinned at me before turning back around. I swear I heard, "That's what I thought," but wasn't going to challenge it.

"Besides," Cory said. "With her nails capped, she can't claw up Indie's furniture. I'm sure that'll make him less pissy about us bringing home a pet."

I cursed myself under my breath for being too besotted to think about how I was going to get the cat past my roommate. I saw one of two things happening—he was either going to be royally pissed off, or he was going to raz my stupid ass. I wasn't looking forward to him coming home. Cory seemed oblivious, however.

"How about a collar?" he asked Lola. He picked one out for her consideration. She batted at it once. "Me neither," Cory said as he put it back. "Oh! This one!" He pulled another collar off the hook, pink with little cupcakes on it. There was even a small cupcake charm next to the bell on the clasp that Lola tried to play with.

"Cupcakes?"

"She's a girl cat," he said. "Why can't she wear girly stuff?"

I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets." Cory laughed and sang to her as he threw the collar into the cart and waltzed over to the cat toys. "And little man," Cory turned back to me, putting me and the cat nose-to-nose. "Little Lola wants you."

He continued humming, stepping back in to sing, "I always get what I aim for, and your heart and soul is what I came for," which drew giggles from the other shoppers that he didn't bother to notice. He hummed some more (because he couldn't remember all the lyrics, probably), then slipped back into song. "I'm irrezeestable, you fool." He teased Lola with a feather toy. "Give in." He threw it in the cart. "Give in." He picked up a catnip mouse to toss in the cart. "Give in." A lazer pointer joined the pile before Cory sauntered over to pick out a cat bed. "You'll never win."

And, I gave in.

God, I was going to throw his ass down and fuck him senseless if I didn't get him out of the store soon, adoption event be damned.

Two snorts of laughter drew my attention away from Kitten and kitten.

"'Lothario' and 'White Bread' are almost unrecognizable when they aren't trying to fuck on my dancefloor," Jimmy said to Josie in a stage whisper, and she laughed again.

I suddenly remembered where I'd last heard that voice, and ended up pushing the cart into a cat litter display. Cory spun around with a curious look.

"Sorry, 'bout that, boys," he said.

"Allow us to reintroduce ourselves," Josie offered.

"This," Jimmy said, holding his arms out with much dramatic flair, "is Josephine 'Josie' Douglas, stage name JoeD, my biological daughter and drag son."

Cory's eyes went wide. "No way!"

"And this," she gestured toward her father dramatically, and he bowed. "Is, my biological father and drag mom, Jimmy Douglas, stage name Elle Porcine—the 'queen' in 'Tom and Queen', and the little piggy that owns Market."

~*~*~*~