“I heard them when I was locking up and then somehow…this…” he gestured to them on his lap. “Then I realized that the London Stock Exchange was opening, and I wanted to check what the stocks were doing.”
“And,how are they doing?” I asked, sitting down close next to him, to pick up one of the kittens.
“I’ve been watching this one pharmaceutical company,” he said. “They are in the middle of a big clinical trial for a new cancer drug and if all looks good, their stock is set to soar.”
“You’ve bought shares?”
“No,” he shook his head with a laugh. “I wanted to, but then I got a bad feeling. But I can’t stop myself from checking whether I made the right move.”
“Do you always trust your gut?” I asked.
“Not always.” He was looking at me now. The room was dark and the only light in the living room came from the TV. It was impossible to ignore the chemistry between us. It felt like there was a current of electricity rippling between us. I wondered if he would act on it or if I would. I knew something was going to happen, I just didn’t know when or how. Because it was late and I wasn’t supposed to be here, or maybe because it was dark and we couldn’t really see each other clearly, it felt like we could get away with whatever we shouldn’t be doing.
“What about you? Do you trust your gut?” I didn’t know what we were talking about anymore. It felt like we were talking about something else, about us.
“I don’t know what I’m doing half the time,” I said in a low voice.
Then we were kissing, and I wasn’t sure if he’d moved towards me first or if I had made the first move.
Our lips met and the moment froze in time, with both of us savoring it. His lips were soft and gentle, it was such a lovely, tender kiss. Then we seemed to realize what we were doing and at the same time, leaned back, laughing.
“This is probably not a good idea,” I said.
“I don’t know about that,” Will stopped laughing and looked at me seriously. His blue eyes were intense and almost magnetic, and I found I couldn’t look away.
“But what about…” I couldn’t think of an objection.
“Zoë?” He suggested and I nodded.
“Yeah, Zoë! And the job, working for you, surely that isn’t a good idea.”
“If we… like each other?”
“You know what I mean!”
He was grinning now, and I found myself smiling back. This could’ve been an incredibly awkward moment and instead I found myself deeply attracted to him, wanting to lean over and climb into his lap, to kiss him more, to feel his hands on my body.
“Daddy?”
Neither of us had noticed Zoë coming into the room, sleepily rubbing her eyes.
We quickly moved away from each other.
“I miss my kitties,” she said.
“They’re perfectly happy here,” he said. “As you can see.”
“Can I sleep here tonight?”
“Don’t you want to sleep in your own bed?”
“I want to sleep with the kitties.”
I saw Will’s face soften.
I had spent a few hours changing her bed that morning, cleaning the mattress, and putting new sheets on.
“Let’s put their bed on top of your bed,” I suggested. “That way, if they have another accident, we only need to wash their bed?”