Hope(less) (Judgement of the Six #1)

He moved to the couch, sitting in the middle, his choice clear. Stay in tonight.

I hesitated. With him sitting in the middle, I’d need to sit next to him to watch a movie. The one other chair crammed in the room sat at an odd angle to the TV. It gave you a sore neck if you tried to watch a movie from there. I felt so exposed wearing a skirt and sleeveless shirt, I wasn’t sure if I could sit next to him for a full movie.

While mentally debating my options, he watched my face closely. “I’m going to go change,” I stammered, “I’ll be right back.”

I turned and made it one step before the back of my shirt snagged on something. Surprised, I looked over my shoulder to find Clay standing right behind me holding a fold of my shirt between his thumb and forefinger. I could see the glint of his brown eyes behind the still damp strands of hair. He tilted his head back toward the couch and gave a slightest tug on my shirt indicating I should follow him there. My stomach dropped and I couldn’t tell if it was in a good way or a bad one.

When I hesitated, he gave another tug. Caving, I turned back and sat on the couch.

He padded over to the movies, making a selection I couldn’t see, and crouched to start it. It amazed me that he knew how to do that. Then again, he watched everything Rachel and I did. I wondered if anything escaped his notice.

Pressing play, he stood and walked toward me with fluid strides. I felt graceless in comparison. He settled next to me and watched the previews. I tried to focus on them too, but couldn’t. Instead, I noticed our bare feet, the scratch on the wall next to the TV, his leg lightly touching mine, the sound of the water slowly dripping from the showerhead in the bathroom, his hands loosely resting on his lap. The long list of unimportant details would not let my mind settle.

It was midway through the movie when my mind calmed enough to notice we watched an action comedy I’d wanted to see. I’d just mentioned it to Rachel this past week. She must have gotten it after that.

Slowly, I began to relax and enjoy the movie even laughing aloud at one point. Clay’s echoing chuckle startled me, but in a good way. So he could do more than growl as a dog. His deep laugh sounded pleasant.

When the movie ended, I moved to put it away. It was still early, just about six. Kneeling to look at the movie selection, I asked, “Do you want to watch another one? I can throw in a pizza for us.” Turning when I heard nothing, which wasn’t unusual, I saw folded clothes on the couch, but no Clay. “Clay?”

Standing, I went in search of him, but he wasn’t in the house. I hadn’t heard a thing. I did a quick scan, but didn’t see him nearby. He did occasionally leave my side so I wasn’t too worried about it. He never stayed away for very long.

I looked back at the pile of clothes with a slight smile. Good thing I took forever to pick a movie. Shrugging, I picked up his clothes and went to my room to change into some sweats and tank top.

Scrounging around in the kitchen, I found what I needed to make a big bowl of buttered popcorn. Since I had nothing else to do, I decided watch the other movie I’d spotted before Clay had disappeared. When I walked into the living room, he once again sat on the couch. This time in his fur. I smiled at his familiar furry presence.

“There you are. Want some popcorn?” I didn’t bother waiting for an answer but went to the kitchen to get him his own bowl. I split what I’d made between the two and set his bowl on the floor before sitting next to him. Getting comfortable, I curled into the couch tucking my feet under him. Bowl balanced at my side, I reached for the remote.

I’d barely started the movie with the remote when he sighed gustily and laid his head on my curled legs. The heat of him relaxed me and I settled in comfortably content not to move him. Taking a piece of popcorn, I absently offered it to him watching the opening scene. He ate it so I offered him a few more pieces not fully paying attention when he licked the back of my hand.

The second movie tended toward action-suspense more than comedy. Halfway through the movie, the bowl of popcorn rested on the floor, one of my hands burrowed in the thick fur at his neck, and the other lightly worried his fuzzy ear. At a particularly suspenseful part, the front door opened, scaring me so badly that a strangled scream tore through the air. My scream. Heart pounding in my throat, both Rachel and Clay stared at me.

“And that’s why I don’t watch suspense movies,” I said to both of them once I could breathe again. Clay didn’t stop laughing for two minutes. Rachel laughed just as hard and thankfully didn’t notice Clay’s reaction.

Clay licked my exposed midriff and then, finally, settled down. I gently tugged on his ear. “Cut it out,” I scolded softly.