Despite growing up together, Catherine Simmons and Mattis Reed were never close.
Cat was inseparable from Mattis' younger sister, Chloé, while he was busy running around on the football field.
But when Cat's new dream drags her across the country du...
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After Chloé leaves for work, Mattis and I walk down the street to my parents' house.
I feel kind of bad dragging him to hang out with my dysfunctional family on his birthday, but he doesn't seem to mind.
Standing outside the big, daunting oak door, I hesitate, my hand suspended in mid-air. My heart drums in my chest, and I feel dizzy.
It's just your family, Cat.
Except, it isn't. This is the first time we're all gathered since last summer. So much has changed since then. I worry I no longer fit in. I never really did, to begin with, but I got very good at pretending like my sharp edges could bend enough to conform to the role. If I put on an act and smiled like a Simmons would, maybe I wouldn't look so out of place in the family portrait.
Now, I don't think I have it in me to pose.
Also, there's the whole Mattis thing. I finally informed my parents of our relationship last month. I wrote it in an e-mail, and I haven't bothered to read the reply since the header included three exclamation marks. I don't care about their disapproval. Mattis is mine, and I'll proudly parade him around.
But it does kind of feel like I'm dropping him in a shark tank.
He turns to me once I've waited a ridiculous amount of time to push the door open. His eyes bore into the side of my head, and I sense the question on his tongue—the need for reassurance that I'm okay. Like I'm a baby deer who's been left by their mother. Vulnerable, defenseless, dependent.
I hate that he sees me that way.
But then he grabs my arm, pulls me towards him, pushes me up against the door, and swallows my squeak with his mouth.
I know it's unwise to stand on my parents' porch letting my boyfriend all but dry hump me in public, and yet I can't find it in me to care because, finally, he's touching me like he used to. Finally, this feels right. It feels real.
Last night was the missing piece of the puzzle, and we've fallen back into sync. My need for him has been skyrocketing all day. As he leans into me, not an inch of space between us, I feel the proof of his desire against my hip. His lips are hot and demanding, his tongue caressing my own, and my hands intertwine in his hair.
His mouth moves to my ear, breathing heavily. "You've got this, Kittycat."
Before I have a chance to nod, he steps back, adjusts himself in his jeans, and opens the door.
I'm amidst making myself look decent and trying to force the appropriate, stilted smile into place when my sister flies through the open door, throwing herself in my arms.
I stagger back, awfully close to falling down the concrete stairs with Sarah in tow. Luckily, Mattis steadies us with a hand on my waist.
I hug my sister back ferociously. "Hi, Sarah," I choke, suddenly overcome by emotions. God, it's good to see her. She's a few inches shorter than me, and her brown hair tickles my nose.
