“Good riddance. Now tell me all about this guy. Where did you meet him?”
“At the strip club.”
“Oh.” I didn’t want to judge the man at all, but Tack was a great friend. Was it so wrong to want the absolute best for him? A man who went to strip clubs searching for partners to have sex with couldn’t be serious, could he? Maybe it didn’t matter if Tack said it was just sex.
“Well, don’t sound so disappointed. I mean it. There’s no way I want anything but sex from this guy.”
“As long as you’re sure.”
“I am, but it’s sweet you care. Maybe I’m waiting for you to realize we’re meant to be together.”
I snorted loudly. “What good are two bottoms to each other? We’d be a disaster in bed.”
Tack cackled beside me, and we ribbed each other about what sex with one another would be like as we drove the rest of the way. I sobered up when Tack found a parking spot in front of Kitty Krave. Before I could unbuckle my seat belt, he placed a hand on my knee.
“What are we really doing here, Kit?” he asked. “We’re not adopting another kitten behind Sully’s back, are we? Because I think he meant it when he said that two are enough.”
“He thought one was enough too, but no, I’m not going to adopt a cat.”
“Are you going to convince me to adopt one? Because my apartment doesn’t allow pets.”
“No. I’m going to save the café.” I unbuckled my seat belt and got out of the car.
“Wait a minute.” Tack hurried after me. “What do you mean?”
“I wrote them a check, which should be enough to keep them open for another couple of months until I figure something out.”
“Where would you even come up with that kind of money?” Tack slapped his forehead. “Stupid question. Of course, the sugar daddy.”
“No, this is money I worked for. I promise.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the door to avoid being hit in the face when someone pushed it open from inside.
“Does Sully know what you’re about to do?” he asked.
“No. It’s my money. Why does he need to know what I do with it?” How could he be angry at me? It was for a good cause. Besides, I could always threaten that it was either I used my money to save the shelter or we’d be adopting two dozen more cats.
He’d either murder me or let me have my way, and since he’d been so vocal yesterday about what he loved doing to me, he’d definitely spare me, right? If just because I made him happy in bed. For some reason, he hadn’t figured out yet that there were guys a dime a dozen who could give him the same thing I did.
Hopefully, he never would.
“I have a bad feeling about this, Kit,” Tack said. “Remember when you blew ten grand of his money? Didn’t you get punished for that?”
“I didn’t, but he won’t know about this.” Not right away, anyway. He kept a watch over my finances for me, but by the time he found out what I’d done, it would already be too late, and he couldn’t stay mad at me for saving all these cats, could he?
“Okay, then. It’s your ass meeting a paddle.”
“Joke’s on you. He’d never hit me with a paddle for punishment. Only his hand. He knows anything else is a hard limit for me.”
I held the door open for Tack, and this time he didn’t hesitate. Together we entered the café. The line was long, and when we finally reached the counter, I ordered iced coffee for both of us.
“Oh no, we can’t accept your money,” Lane said.
“Why not?”
“Not after everything.” She beamed a smile at me. “Have a seat, and I’ll bring your order over when it’s ready.”
“Thank you. Is Hugh around?” I asked. “I have something urgent I’d like to talk to him about.”