Page 74 of To Have and to Stalk
I wanted more than just the glimpse of her mind I’d caught in papers and books, I wanted to see all of it. Shay was the definition of still waters. Beneath her cool exterior lay a maelstrom of complexity.
She tastedso good.
She opened up so well for me. Promised so much in that kiss. All the ways she’d let me ruin her?—
My phone buzzed with a notification from my sister in our sibling group chat.
Are we still on for lunch next week?
I had started to type yes, when another notification appeared—Shay had added another note, but it was just a link. Curiosity getting the better of me, I clicked it.
Moans filled the room.
Porn.
The phone slipped from my sudsy hand, landing on the floor with a clang, just as I heard movement outside the door and the sound of—keys.
I froze, watching someone jiggle the knob as if in slow motion. Someone was home.Whywas someone home?
“Fuck me harder, Daddy,” a woman on screen moaned.
Shit.
I grabbed the phone and smothered it.
Shit.
Shit shit shit.
The apartment wasn’t tiny, but it wasn’t exactly equipped with hiding spots. There was one closet next to the front door, one I knew they opened up every time they entered to put away their shoes. The bedrooms had a walk-in with no door. There was no balcony, no space under the bed.
Shit.
Their black tuxedo cat blinked down at me from atop his cat-tree-litter combo. And then an idea came to me. A horrible fucking idea. My eyes wandered beneath, to the small hutch where they kept the litter.
No.There had to be another?—
The door edged open.
I lunged into the hutch, barely managing to get inside before the door opened. Through the small hole where the cat came in, I saw Shay open the closet and kick off her shoes.
“I just got back,” she said, sounding like she was on the phone. “It shouldn’t take me long to find.”
The hutch barely fit me. This time I did channel Spider-Man, doing everything I could to stay suspended above the litter. Shoulders wobbling, knuckles white.
Just as I was thanking god for the clean litter, the cat came in. I stared at him. No way. No fuckingway.
“No…I don’t know,” Shay said.
I urged the cat soundlessly to go somewhere else.
Go,I mouthed.Get the fuck out. You can hold it for ten minutes.
“I think I’ll need to borrow something for my date Friday,” Shay continued.
My attention immediately shifted from the cat.
Date? What fucking date?
