Like Cats and Dogs

by Kate McMurray

  Caleb didn’t say anything. He just smiled when she reached into the fridge and then handed him a beer.

  “My ex-wife hated beer,” he said. “We hardly ever had it at home.”

  “I like beer. But not IPAs. I don’t know why every craft brewery tries to cram as much hops in their beer as they can now, because bleh. But give me something lighter like a Kölsch or a pilsner, and I’m happy. This is a pretty good amber. It’s got kind of a caramel-y quality.”

  Caleb looked at her with awe. “You know the kinds of beer.”

  “I know a lot of things.” She smiled. She’d arrived at the ripe old age of twenty-nine without getting married, and though she’d never been the sort of woman to modify her behavior to impress a guy, she’d been growing more set in her ways of late. And since all that mattered as far as Caleb was concerned was her physical attractiveness, she’d order dessert if she wanted to and drink beer if she wanted to, and basically just be herself because she could be.

  She’d left an old afghan on the sofa the previous night, which she shoved off to the side now so they could sit.

  “If I weren’t here,” Caleb said, “what would you be doing right now?”

  “What a weird question.”

  “I’m curious about women, I don’t know.”

  “Nothing that interesting. I usually just watch TV in my jammies most evenings.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Although, honestly? Usually when I get home, the first thing I do is take off my bra.”

  Caleb sat back on the sofa and sipped his beer. “Don’t let me stop you.”

  “All right.”

  It wasn’t a lie. Lauren often did come home, dump her stuff, wriggle out of her bra, and then go about the rest of her evening. The bra she had on now had a wire that poked her on the left side, one of those bras she kept putting back in the drawer long enough to forget it was uncomfortable. She met Caleb’s gaze, then reached under her shirt, undid her bra, wriggled around, and pulled it off under the bottom of her shirt.

  “Not through a sleeve?” Caleb asked.

  “This shirt doesn’t really allow for that. Also, we’re not in Flashdance.”

  Caleb grinned. “I saw that movie when I was ten. It had a profound influence on my adolescence. So you’ll forgive me the fantasy.”

  Lauren smiled back. “You have such a funny, formal way of talking sometimes.”

  “Too much time in school, I guess.”

  “How much college for you?”

  “Well, five years of undergrad. Then four years of vet school, then another year of an internship, and then a residency. I finally graduated when I was twenty-eight.”

  “And now you are…”

  “Thirty-two. Turning thirty-three in September.”

  “And already divorced.”

  “Yeah. That wasn’t part of the plan.”

  “Did you see it coming?”

  Caleb frowned. “I think part of me did. It’s not that we were having problems, we just kind of shifted into coexisting rather than talking and having a real relationship. I wasn’t… I mean, we weren’t honeymoon happy, but I wasn’t unhappy, either. We just…were. Then she told me she was seeing someone else. That I didn’t see coming.”

  “Did you know the guy? Not to be nosy.”

  “It’s okay.” He laughed softly and shook his head. “No, I didn’t know him. She met him at the gym. And we went to different gyms. I forget why. I think she thought mine was too much of a meat market. And then, lo, she found some meat.” He sighed. “Sorry. I hate talking about this because I inevitably kind of fall into this bitterness that I’m tired of and don’t want to feel anymore.”

  “I’m sorry I asked, then. And not even in a snotty way.”

  He nodded. “No, I get it. Hard not to be curious. What about you and that ex who got married?”

  She didn’t want to talk about Derek, but she supposed turnabout was fair play. “We dated for almost six years, and then one day we realized we were headed in different directions. He wanted the wife and kids with the picket fence in the suburbs. That kind of life horrifies me. I’m never leaving the city. So we hit an impasse. Then he married the next woman he dated.” Lauren took a deep breath. “It’s not even that I want him back, because I don’t. It just…hit me wrong, I guess, when he announced he was getting married. Like, I’m mad he won the breakup.”

  “He won the breakup?”

  “Yeah. I’ve hardly dated since we broke up, but he’s married now.”

  “I don’t think you can assign a real value to that.”

  Lauren rolled her eyes. That was such a Caleb response. “I’m not saying it’s rational. I’m just saying that I felt… I dunno. Like I failed because he’s happy now but I’m just… I mean, I’m not unhappy, but I’m not in a relationship. Not that I even feel the need to define myself by being in a relationship, because that’s some sexist, heteronormative bullshit, I’m just saying…” She stopped talking and looked at Caleb, who was smirking. “I’m rambling. Sorry.”

  “It’s okay. You’re what, late-twenties? Hard to get to thirty without any baggage. I’d think you were weird if you didn’t have any.”

  “You already think I’m weird.”

  He laughed. “True.”

  Lauren was a bit relieved when Caleb made the first move, because she couldn’t figure out how to get them from this conversation about their failures into the sexy times. Because she did not want to talk anymore. She wanted Caleb naked, in her bed, and she wanted him to do unholy things to her, but she couldn’t quite figure out how to make that happen. Should she just say it, should she touch him, should she—

  He kissed her.

  He put his hand on her cheek, a gesture so sweet she almost forgot they weren’t supposed to like each other, and then he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. The kiss alone was enough to kick her motor into gear, and arousal spread through her body like a comforting warmth. She pulled his shirt out from his pants and slid her hands up his chest. He sighed into her mouth.

  “Let’s take this to the bedroom,” she said.

  “Perfect.”

  They stood and she led him toward her room. Then a thought popped into her head as they crossed the threshold. “What about your dog?”

  “He’ll be okay for another hour or two. It’s not like I’m spending the night. That’s not what this is. Right?”

  Right. Lauren had quite forgotten this was just sex. It wasn’t romantic. There would be no cuddling, no spending the night, no kisses over waffles in the morning.

  She shook it off and led him to her bed.

  ***

  It didn’t take them long to get naked, their clothes tossed all over the room. It didn’t escape Caleb’s notice that there was a fresh box of condoms on the bedside table, and when he looked in the drawer, the old ones had been removed. That she had anticipated this was encouraging.

  When he turned back to her, she lay staring at him. She was on her back, her head pillowed by her arms, her perfect breasts raised up a little. Her body was lovely, curvy in the right places, soft in a way he found appealing. He touched her belly, ran a hand up her side and cupped her breast. He couldn’t not touch her. He loved how soft and smooth her skin was, how beautifully shaped her breasts were, how hard and pink her nipples were. He bowed his head and took one of those nipples in his mouth. She moaned when he did.

  He wanted to taste all of her. He set the condom aside and then trailed kisses from between her breasts to her navel and finally between her legs. She was already wet, and he relished her taste, sweet on his tongue. When her fingers wove through his hair, he applied more pressure, making her hiss and sigh and groan. He licked her clit and slid a finger inside her, and the way she smelled, tasted, and writhed around on the bed aroused him like nothing else had in a while.

 
She came on his tongue.

  She’d whispered it was coming, but he felt it when her back arched off the bed and her body vibrated around him. He kept licking and stroking her through the orgasm, then slid up her body and kissed her lips.

  His cock, hard as it had ever been, pressed against her, and he was about to reach for the condom when she tilted her hips up and the tip slid inside.

  “You’re gonna kill me,” he said breathlessly. “Hold that thought, please.”

  “I need you inside me right now.”

  “And I need to be inside you, but I need to do one thing first.”

  He managed to roll the condom on before his brain leaked out of his ears, and he finally slid home in one smooth movement, her body warm and tight, he pressed inside her. It felt amazing to move in her, tight and tingly and hot, and he knew he was about to go off like a teenage boy.

  “I’m not gonna last long,” he said.

  “If you do it right, I’ll come again.” She was equally breathless, her face and upper chest flush, beads of sweat on her forehead.

  God, she practically glowed.

  “Do it right?” he asked.

  She grabbed his hand and positioned his thumb on her clit. He understood exactly what she needed and he moved his thumb in a circular motion. She hissed and arched off the bed again.

  It became a challenge to keep up anything like a rhythm, and he felt like he’d gone primal, that he was just rutting around looking for release. He tried to give her what she needed, putting pressure where she needed it.

  But it was too good. Lauren dug her fingers into his back, he surged forward, and then everything went white as he came. He clutched her body to his and pumped his hips and groaned.

  When he came back to himself, he rolled off her, but reached for her body. “I want to make you—”

  “No, you’re good. I’m good. I came twice, Caleb. That hasn’t happened in years.”

  “You came twice.”

  “Don’t look so smug.”

  He laughed and rolled out of bed to run to the bathroom. When he came back to the bed, she was still laying there pretty much as he’d left her.

  “Having a problem there?” he asked.

  “All my limbs are Jell-O now. I just want to lie here forever.”

  “Well, move over. I want to lie down for a bit.”

  “Right.”

  She shifted slightly toward the side of the bed. He lay down beside her. Then she snuggled up to him and laid her head on his chest.

  It was…nice.

  They lay together in comfortable silence for a long time, and Caleb put his arm around her and pressed his hand near her shoulder. He regretted that he’d have to get up to leave in a few minutes. Not only did he have to get home to Hank, but he couldn’t stay here. If he did, his walls might come down.

  “I wasn’t always this way,” he said softly.

  “Mmm?”

  “You asked me that recently. If I was this much of a bastard before the divorce. That’s not how you phrased it, but that’s what you meant.”

  “And you’re saying you weren’t.”

  Caleb let out a breath. “A divorce will take all the idealism right out of you.” If his heart wasn’t open—to a potential romantic partner, to the animals he treated—then it couldn’t be broken the way it had been that day Kara had handed him divorce papers and told him she was seeing someone else.

  “It’s hard to picture you as idealistic.”

  Caleb laughed.

  He ran his hands through her hair. He would have loved to spend the night, just talking about whatever, maybe showing her the kind of man he used to be, but he knew better. “I should get going.”

  She made a protesting noise.

  “I’m sorry, Lauren. I gotta get home to my dog.”

  She rolled away. “I know. Of course. He’s probably eaten your rug by now.”

  She sounded angry, and he couldn’t really blame her. But he couldn’t tell her why he wasn’t staying, either. That had the potential to pull down his walls, too.

  It was too soon. He was still too raw. And this…thing…he had going with Lauren was never supposed to be anything but sex.

  He got up and started putting his clothes back on.

  She sat up and pulled her sheet over her breasts. “You are coming to the adoption event, right?”

  “Do you want me to?”

  “We were hoping a few of the vets would be on-hand to answer questions for anyone interested in adopting a cat.”

  Ah, so it was a business situation, not that she wanted him there for support. That was probably just as well. He shouldn’t feel so disappointed, especially since he was the one getting ready to leave.

  “Yeah, I’ll try to be there,” he said. “Depending on how the Jell-O wrestling goes with the other vets and all that.”

  She laughed softly. “Right. Well. Say hi to Hank for me.”

  “Yeah, I…” She was clearly miffed now, and he didn’t want to leave her like that. “Lauren, I’m sorry. It’s too late to make other arrangements, and I…”

  “It’s fine. I know what this is between us.” She smiled, but it seemed hollow. “Good night, Caleb. I’m sure I’ll see you around this week. We seem to be forever randomly running into each other.”

  “Right. Good night.”

  Then he made himself leave.

  Chapter 13

  Since Lauren had been managing the Cat Café, they’d held adoption events once a quarter or so to make room for new cats. They were usually pretty well attended, but this party was something else. Apparently “free booze” was the only thing one needed to say to attract New Yorkers to an event.

  The café’s full staff was there. Victor was posted at the cat room door to make sure none of the cats got out. Monique was overseeing the adoption paperwork and fees. Paige had gone into corporate event planner mode, walking around the room to make sure everyone was fine, helping people pick out cats, shaking hands with the shelter volunteers and veterinarians and other invited guests. The hired bartender was slinging drinks. And a handful of Lauren’s other friends were pitching in to make sure everything went well. Lauren didn’t have much to do as a result, so mostly she just mingled with the crowd.

  She spotted Evan standing near one of the sofas. The little tortie named Chloe stood on the arm of the sofa and kept leaning up into Evan’s hand to be pet. Evan was humoring her.

  “Thank you for coming,” Lauren said to him.

  “Of course. You can’t talk me into adopting another cat, but I can be supportive.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Sam is a lot of cat.”

  Lauren smiled. Evan had been among the first to adopt a café cat, a chubby gray street cat named Sam who was too sweet and lazy to survive among the feral cat population from which he’d been rescued, but who had enough feral in him that he was savage toward the occasional bug that got into Evan’s apartment. Evan was convinced his apartment remained roach-free because word had gotten out among the roach community that any bug that got near Sam would be disemboweled.

  “How are things otherwise?” Lauren asked.

  “Fine. Is Caleb still your nemesis?”

  “Yep.”

  “You’re so gonna marry him.”

  Lauren rolled her eyes. “How’s that whole ‘sleep with a guy who’s not Pablo’ thing going?”

  “Ugh. Not well. That housewarming party I went to? Everyone was in a couple. Everyone! How can that be? Is this just how my thirties are going to be? I thought I had more time.”

  Lauren tried not to smile at Evan’s histrionics, so she said, “More time for what?”

  “Before my classy yet understated destination wedding at a B and B in the Finger Lakes.”

  “Right, of course.”

  “I mea
n, come on, no one in New York settles down until they’re at least thirty-five. I’ve still got a few more years until I get there.” He sighed. “I don’t want to get married tomorrow. I just want to have some fun. Find a nice fellow to fool around with.”

  Lauren tried to school her face so she wouldn’t let on that she had one of those in Caleb. She still wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the fact that she was sleeping with a guy she didn’t get along with otherwise. In bed, everything was peaceful and harmonious. Out of bed, things were still pretty messy.

  This was normally the sort of thing she’d share with Evan, but she didn’t want his judgment—or his gloating—and there was no reason any of her friends needed to know about all this. At least not until Lauren had a better handle on what this was.

  And speaking of the devil, Caleb himself strolled into the Cat Café then.

  “Your future husband is here.”

  “Bite your tongue. He isn’t my future anything.”

  As if making that point, Caleb greeted nearly everyone else in the room before making his way over to Lauren.

  “Hello,” Caleb said placidly when he was close enough.

  Evan sipped his cocktail and made a “See?” face.

  “Hi,” said Lauren. “You know my friend Evan?”

  Caleb frowned, which meant he didn’t. He shook Evan’s hand. “I’m Caleb Fitch. I’m one of the vets from the clinic next door.”

  “Yes,” said Evan. “Lauren has mentioned you. I’m Lauren’s best friend. I’m very protective.”

  “Right.” Caleb’s frowned deepened, which was gratifying.

  Monique walked by, her clipboard in hand. “Lauren, can you give me a hand?”

  “Oh, hey, gotta go,” said Lauren. She followed Monique to the back room to carry more cardboard carriers and other supplies back out front.

  “Callie and Steve have been adopted,” Monique said. “They went home with a really sweet newlywed couple who live in Carroll Gardens.”

  “Together? That’s great!”

  “Yeah. I’m happy they found a good forever home, but I always feel a little sad when our cats leave.”