Cafe Love: Cupid's Cafe Box Set Books 2-4

by Ashley Lauren

  “Well, we put her in the cage and let her sleep there tonight. I already posted on Facebook about the kitten, so hopefully someone will claim her. If not, we’ll figure something out…” Brooke allowed her words to trail off, not wanting to impose the cat on Justin.

  “Alright.” Gently, he picked up the feline and placed her in the cage.

  She kneaded the blanket with her tiny paws like she was trying to fluff it and then laid down.

  Brooke reached over and grabbed an end of the blanket, using it to cover the kitten up so she would be nice and warm.

  “So, we just leave her there?” Justin asked.

  “Yeah,” Brooke said as she got up, stretching her tired body. She was exhausted. It had been a hectic day, and she was glad that it was all over now. “Do you mind if I spend the night here?” she asked.

  “You… you want to spend the night, here?”

  Brooke blinked a couple of times, her cheeks flushing pink. “Sorry, I meant could I sleep on your couch. I’m exhausted and want to be nearby in case the kitten needs something.”

  She’s just tired and concerned about the kitten. Justin shoved all his wayward thoughts out of his head and focused on that thought. The kitten was certainly a better thing to focus on than Brooke sleeping on his couch. “Of course. Make yourself at home,” he said, trying hard to keep his voice even.

  She nodded and then stood there, her gaze going back to the kitten. “Can I ask for something else?”

  Justin hesitated, wondering what more she could want. “Um, sure,” he answered.

  “Can I borrow a pair of clean clothes? I know you wouldn’t have anything my size, but maybe a t-shirt and some sweatpants would be nice. These are still soggy from the rain earlier.”

  “Oh… yeah… sure… just look in my closet and pick out anything you’d like,” Justin said. He tried to picture what Brooke would look like in his clothes but stopped himself before his imagination could go too far.

  “Thanks,” she said and moved to the closet, sorting through his clothes.

  “I’m going to make us some hot chocolate, okay?” Justin offered after a minute. He suddenly felt awkward being in the same room as her. So, he made his way downstairs and turned on the stove. Grabbing a bar of chocolate, he started to melt it, slowly adding milk and cream in increments until he had the perfect hot chocolate.

  Justin smiled to himself, hoping she would like it. He was glad that Brooke was just a vegetarian and not a vegan. With a cup in each hand, he made his way back upstairs. As he entered his room again, he stopped in his tracks. Brooke was already asleep, dressed in one of his flannel shirts. It was long enough that it went down to her knees, almost acting like a dress.

  How on earth did Sleeping Beauty end up on my bedroom couch? Justin took a moment to compose himself before he placed the cups of hot chocolate on his desk. He crept toward her and slid his hands under her body, picked her up, and moved her to his bed. Her eyes remained firmly shut, but she snuggled into his pillow. Lucky pillow. He smiled to himself. She must have been exhausted, and he didn’t blame her. After their long and chaotic day, he probably would have done the same thing if he had sat down for a minute. He continued to stand by her side and watch her sleep.

  She’s so perfect. Beautiful inside and out. Justin reached out, needing to touch her to assure himself she was real. He gently ran his fingers through her silky soft, dark hair. Before he could stop himself, he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

  “Goodnight, beautiful,” he whispered. He pulled up the covers and tucked her in, making sure she was nice and warm. Once he was satisfied that she would get a good night’s sleep, he walked away. He grabbed some clothes and changed in his bathroom before he came out and made his way to the couch.

  The room was slightly chilly, but Justin never noticed the cold. He burned with an inner warmth, and it had everything to do with Brooke.

  He’d been worried as he drove to Cupid’s that afternoon. He’d been late and hadn’t even had his phone to call and tell Brooke what had held him up. Justin had thought Brooke that would never speak to him again, but here he was, sleeping in the same room as her. He wanted to get up and snuggle next to her on the bed, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. Not only was he too shy, but at the same time, he didn’t want to be rude and impose. So, he opted for the couch. It was a little lumpy, but it would have to do.

  Justin heard a soft pat, pat, pat sound coming from the floor. Seconds later, a loud meow cried out next to the couch. He looked down and saw the kitten peering up at him with an expectant expression on her small face. “Are you lonely little one?” he asked, feeling much more comfortable around the little animal.

  The kitten simply sat down and meowed at him again. Thinking maybe she wanted to come up on the couch, he picked her up and placed her on the cushion. She continued to stare at Justin.

  He let out a frustrated sigh. “What?”

  The little black cat meowed at him again and flicked her tail back and forth. A shiver rolled up her spine and looked annoyed as her tiny body shivered.

  “Are you cold?”

  The cat blinked, but didn’t answer him. He took the blink as a yes and kept talking to the cat as if she could understand him completely. He decided to put her back in her bed. He got up, placed her back in the cage and wrapped the blanket around her.

  She slid out of the folds of the blanket and jumped out. The kitten sat by his feet, her yellow cat eyes watching him.

  “I don’t understand.” Justin looked at her in confusion, before sitting down on the ground. Unsure what to do, he pulled the blanket into his lap. The kitten wasted no time and jumped onto Justin’s lap. It circled ad located the perfect spot and settled down. A rhythmic purr began in the kitten’s throat.

  “This is what you want?” Justin threw up his hands. “But how am I supposed to sleep?” The kitten didn’t seem to care as she closed her eyes, wrapped her tail around her little body, and fell fast asleep.

  Chapter Nine

  Brooke stretched and opened her eyes. She had glanced around the room in confusion before it dawned on her that she was in Justin’s townhouse. I must have fallen asleep last night. Wait a second. Brook sat up, suddenly alert. She was in Justin’s bed, but couldn’t remember getting into it or covering herself with the blankets.

  Brooke’s forehead crinkled, and she looked around the room again, taking in more of the details. She was surprised to see Justin, fast asleep on the floor.

  Upon further observation, she found that the kitten’s cage was completely empty. Her heart stopped beating for a split second. Where’s the kitten? Has she escaped? Brooke started a frantic search for her around the room but found nothing. Seeing no other option, she squatted down near Justin and shook his shoulders, trying to wake him up.

  “Justin!” she whispered loudly. “Justin!” She shook him harder.

  After several rigorous shakes, he finally woke up. “Hmm?” His eyes grew big as he noticed Brooke’s face so close to his own. He sprang up to a sitting position and the blanket on his lap shifted. “What is it?”

  The bundle of blankets squirmed and the kitten tumbled out and onto the ground with a thud. It blinked a couple of times and then meowed in irritation.

  “Oh, there you are!” Brooke exclaimed in relief. “I thought you had runway.”

  The kitten licked her face and then looked back at Justin.

  Brooke smirked and then tapped the kitten’s nose. “Oh, I see… you were sleeping with Justin.” Brooke sent a saucy smile toward Justin, saying, “I don’t blame you one bit.”

  Justin’s sleepy-eyed expression disappeared and his mouth popped open. He seemed to be at a loss for words.

  “He is kind of cute when he’s all flustered.” She winked at the kitten.

  A few undecipherable words came from Justin’s throat. Brooke waited patiently for Justin to gather himself.

  Finally, he managed to say, “Is she okay?”

  Brooke took his ques
tion into consideration as she set the feline down. The kitten walked around the room with a slight limp, but it was no worse than before. “Let’s feed her. If she doesn’t eat, then we know something is wrong,” Brooke explained as she looked in the bag, pulling out a can of cat food.

  Justin watched Brooke fill a food dish with cat food from one of the cans. “I can fill the water dish if you’d like.”

  “That would be great.” Brooke nodded, smiling up at him.

  “No problem.”

  He walked down to the kitchen and filled up the bowl with filtered water from the fridge, before carefully bringing the bowl back up the stairs and into his room. Justin placed the dish down, and the kitten eagerly lapped up some water.

  Justin glanced down at the empty food bowl and said, “Wow, she ate everything already? She must have been pretty hungry.”

  Sometime during the night, he’d come to terms with the kitten. He’d petted her as she slept in his lap until he’d fallen asleep. She was tiny but not completely breakable. He reached out to stroke the kitten’s black fur.

  Brooke was surprised that he touched her so naturally. Last night he had appeared terrified, but now, he seemed more comfortable. She smiled, glad that he was bonding with the kitten. “So, we should probably take her to the shelters in town and see if she belongs to anyone,” Brooke said. She was reluctant to give up the kitten, but at the same time she didn’t want to take it away from its rightful owners.

  “Oh?” Justin tilted his head.

  “Yeah. I know she looked like a stray, but she could be a runaway or something. You never know. Plus, if she’s a stray, we should probably give her up to the shelters so they can put her up for adoption,” Brooke stated, but even so, her voice was monotone. She didn’t want to do it, but it was the right thing to do.

  “I see…” Justin answered just as downtrodden. He was actually starting to like the little fur ball.

  ***

  “Do you really think she doesn’t belong to anyone?” Brooke asked as they left the last shelter.

  Brooke lifted the cage up and peered in at the little kitten.

  “Meow,” the kitten responded when it saw Brooke.

  The sound put a smile on her lips. She had never heard a sweeter sound.

  “I mean… no one has claimed her yet, and almost all of the shelters seem to think she’s a stray,” Justin said and then paused. “I did find her on the streets during that rainstorm. I think it’s likely at this point.”

  “Do you think she’ll be adopted if we leave her in one of those shelters?”

  “No,” Justin answered.

  “Why not? She is pretty well tempered and rather cute. I’m sure some family would love to have her.

  “No,” Justin said once again.

  “Why are you so sure?”

  “Because, I’m going to adopt her.” There was determination in his voice as he looked over at Brooke. “I’ve never had a pet before, but I think she likes me.”

  His crooked smile was just too cute for Brooke. If she thought that the kitten tugged on her heartstrings, then that was nothing compared to Justin. “You would really adopt this cat? What about your roommate? Won’t he mind?”

  “He’s not home like ninety-nine percent of the time,” Justin responded, shrugging his shoulders.

  “Are you sure?”

  Justin held out his hand to take the cage from Brooke. “Yes,” he said with a nod.

  Brooke handed the cage to Justin and then studied his face. His eyes were on the kitten in the cage. A soft meow drifted from the cage followed by purring. That silly kitten is as smitten with Justin as I am.

  “I think it’s a great idea,” Brooke stated, not that her opinion mattered. The kitten and Justin had already chosen each other.

  “Good. Because I’ve already thought of a name for her.” Justin grinned, a proud look on his face.

  “What is it?” Brooke tilted her head and then looked at the kitten, hoping he didn’t come up with some generic name for a black cat, like Shadow or Oreo or something cliché like that.

  “Misty.”

  “Hmm… how did you come up with that?” Brooke asked.

  “When I first saw her mist was rolling across the street. It seemed appropriate to commemorate our first meeting.”

  “That’s pretty cute. I like it.”

  “Well… I hope she likes her new home.” Justin placed Misty’s cage in the back of the car and then got in. He reversed out of the parking space and made his way back home. His and Misty’s home.

  ***

  Justin sat in his living, room throwing a toy mouse to the far side. In about a week’s time, Misty had gained a lot of strength and energy. Now, she was always playful, constantly asking Justin for attention. Her favorite way was to claw her way up his body and perch on his shoulders, like some kind of parrot.

  Justin chucked the mouse across the room and before Misty could bound after it, the doorbell rang. She froze in place and looked up at her owner, tilting her head curiously.

  “It must be Brooke,” he said and got up to answer the door. It was hard to believe that Brooke and he hadn’t spent a day apart since the moment they had met. Justin feared that Brooke might get sick of him, but it hadn’t happened yet. She was always in a bright and chipper mood whenever they were together. But then again, maybe she was just happy to see Misty.

  Either way, he answered the door, excited to see her. Brooke stood just outside with a bright smile on her face.

  “Hey!” she said, giving Justin a fleeting hug and then walked into the living room to place her bag on the sofa.

  Misty spied Brooke and scampered over climbing up her body to greet Brooke.

  “Hello there little one, what have you been up to? Have you missed me?” Brooke said, hugging the cat and twirling around with her snuggled close.

  Justin’s heart tightened in response to Brooke’s comment to Misty. He had missed her. Justin wished he had the courage to ask if she’d missed him too, but he didn’t. He was growing more attached to her each day, and his chest felt hollow and lonely the moment she left his side. Justin never wanted her to go, but he didn’t want to scare her away by rushing things.

  “Have you missed me?” Brooke whispered into his ear.

  Justin jumped. Did she read my mind?

  “What?” he said, having trouble forming a coherent thought let alone a full sentence with her so near and breathing into his ear.

  Brooke took a step back, a knowing smile on her face. “Have you missed me?” she repeated.

  The distance helped, but just barely. “I… uh… um…” Justin failed again in giving her a cohesive answer and his face burned with embarrassment.

  Brooke giggled and stretched up on her tippy-toes to kiss his cheek. Justin shivered in delight as he caught the scent of her vanilla and coconut shampoo. He looked down at her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close before he kissed the top of her head. The gesture made him feel bold, and he was finally able to answer her.

  “With a greeting like that? Of course, I missed you.”

  Brooke laid her head on his chest and smiled, hearing his heart’s quickened pace. “I can hear your heartbeat when I’m like this… I like that.”

  She trailed her hand along the back of his neck. Justin’s heartbeat jumped up a notch. Brooke closed her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy the sweet moment. After a minute or so, she broke away from the embrace and sighed. Might as well get this over with.

  “Could you help me with bioengineering? The exam is tomorrow, and I still can’t seem to figure out transport phenomena. I get that it’s the exchange of mass, energy, and momentum. That’s not very hard to remember. But once you give me a problem to figure out, I’m completely lost.”

  “Ah well, that’s a little mix of continuum mechanics and thermodynamics, both of which are fascinating,” Justin said, smiling as he waited for Brooke to take out her textbook and show him an example.

  “You so
und like a total nerd right now.”

  “It takes one to know one,” he taunted.

  Her bottom lip jutted out in a pout, but she didn’t offer a comeback. Instead, Brooke shifted her focus and shuffled through her bag until she found her textbook and notes. She motion to Justin and then headed toward the kitchen, intent on studying at the large kitchen table. She turned the corner and almost bumped into a large guy holding a bowl of Cocoa Puffs in his hands.

  “Who are you?” he asked, with a mouth full of cereal.

  “Good morning to you, too,” Brooke stated, eyeing Justin’s very untidy roommate. He looked like he’d slept in his jeans and gray T-shirt for over a week. Brooke sniffed and decided that he smelled like that as well.

  “I’m not a morning person,” he mumbled. “Now, who are you?”

  Brooke straightened her spine and lifted her chin. “I’m Justin’s girlfriend.”

  His bowl of cereal crashed to the floor, and his mouth popped open like a fish gasping for air. “Wait. Hold up. You’re Justin’s girlfriend?” He sounded completely astonished. He scrunched his brows together trying to figure out how his nerdy roommate had managed to snag such a hottie. He knew he looked bad at the moment, but last night had been... It didn’t matter now, but he had a good reason for looking like this.

  “Christopher… you’re actually home.” Justin said, entering the kitchen, missing the whole conversation. He looked down, eyeing the cereal, puddle of milk, and plastic bowl on the ground. “What happened?”

  “I do live here you know,” he snapped. Christopher grabbed his bowl off the floor and tossed it into the sink. He turned his back on both of them and ignored the mess on the floor.

  Justin gave Christopher a confused look but didn’t push it any further. He turned back to Brooke. “Why don’t we go up to my room? We can use my bed.”

  Brooke giggled at his comment, causing his ears to turn red as he realized the implications.

  “I didn’t mean it like that!” he blurted out quickly, trying to defend his decency.

  “I know. I’m just teasing you.” She smiled warmly at him.