Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
“What’s the half?”
“Korean. I’ve been trying to learn it for years, but I’m nowhere near fluent.”
“You’re Korean-American, right?” He nodded, and I asked, “Do you have any relatives that can help you with the language?”
“None of my relatives speak Korean. I was adopted from South Korea when I was four months old and raised by a white family.”
We both took a seat on the barstools at the kitchen island, and I asked, “Were you an only child?”
“I have three sisters, but they’re a lot older than me, so it kind of felt like I was. My dad really wanted a boy, so he and my mom ended up adopting me when their daughters were in their late teens.”
“Are you and your parents close?”
“No. They’re super religious, and conservative…”
“And you’re gay.”
“Exactly.” Miller was ready to change the subject. “I forgot about drinks,” he said, as he got up and went to the refrigerator. “What would you like?”
“A soda, if you have it.”
He brought us two bottles of something fancy that I’d never heard of. I clinked my bottle to his and said, “Here’s to new friends.”
Miller started to reply, but just then, a black cat jumped onto the kitchen island. It startled me so much that I let out a scream worthy of a victim in a horror movie. The cat shot off the island and darted away.
Once I finally stopped screaming, I blurted, “What the hell!”
“I thought you liked cats.” Miller definitely looked amused.
“I love them. I just didn’t know you had one, so that scared the shit out of me.”
“She came with the house, more or less. When I moved in, she stood outside the back door and cried until I let her in. Then she refused to go back outside.”
I nodded. “That’s the cat distribution system at work. If you don’t own a cat, one will be appointed to you. Kind of like a public defender.” I looked around, but the cat was nowhere to be seen. “Poor thing. I probably scared her half to death when I screamed.”
He chuckled and said, “I’ve never heard anything quite like that. On the plus side, I’m forever telling her to get off the kitchen island and counters, and I’m pretty sure you cured her of ever jumping up here again.”
“I should go find her and try to make amends.”
“Don’t bother. She won’t like you.”
“Why would you say such a mean thing?”
“It’s nothing personal, that’s just how she is. She doesn’t let me touch her. Every time I need to take her to the vet, it’s this whole ordeal of trying to lure her into the cat carrier. It makes me feel like Wile E. Coyote, trying to catch the Road Runner.”
“So, you share your home with a feral cat.”
“I don’t think she’s feral, exactly. She just hates people.”
I raised a brow and asked, “How is that different than being feral?”
“How would I know? I’m not a cat expert.”
“I’m going to go talk to her. What’s her name?”
“I just call her Cat.”
“Oh, come on! No wonder she hates you.”
“Why? What’s wrong with that?”
“It’s not a name! It’d be like me walking around addressing everyone I met as ‘Human.’ No, no, don’t tell me your name. I don’t care about you at all, so Human will suffice.”
He rolled his eyes, and when I started to get up, he said, “Eat some dinner first. Then you can spend the rest of the evening getting rejected by Cat the cat.”
I sat back down, because I was incredibly hungry. After I polished off a big bowl of tofu and veggies over rice, I helped him pack up the leftovers. He didn’t just stick the paper boxes in the fridge, like a normal person. Instead, he transferred everything into glass bowls with blue plastic lids, which got stacked neatly in his immaculate refrigerator.
Once we were finished, I said, “Thanks for dinner. I’m going to go find your cat now. Can I name her?”
“Knock yourself out.”
“Any ideas where to look?”
“Her room is at the front of the house.”
I thought he was kidding, but no. The room in question was probably meant to be a formal living room, judging by the pretty chandelier and impressive, marble-fronted fireplace. Instead, it had been transformed into a cat wonderland.
The room was a huge contrast to the rest of Miller’s tidy, perfectly organized home. It was scattered with toys, and it contained six cat trees in various sizes, shapes, and configurations, along with no fewer than ten pet beds.
I took one look at the total chaos and pure pet indulgence and grinned. I really liked this guy.
3
Miller
While Collie was off trying to bond with the wild animal that shared my home, I tidied up a bit. Then I collected some spare bedding and brought it to the office.
After maybe twenty minutes, I went in search of my houseguest. I figured his mission would have ended in heartbreak by now. Instead, I found Collie curled up in the largest of the pet beds with my traitorous cat in his arms. She was purring contentedly as he scratched her neck.