I was sitting on the beach staring at the Pacific Ocean through swollen, bleary eyes when I first saw him. If I had the troubles of the world on my shoulders, this guy was my polar opposite. He strolled down the beach, almost skipping while humming...
His whole face lit up in a smile and he pulled me into him, burying his face in my neck. "That would be wonderful, jagi."
I smiled, kissing him as we both got up to find our clothes. He pulled on his sweats and a hoodie he had discarded upon arriving, zipping it up over his naked torso. He looked so gorgeous, I could hardly keep from staring at him as I pulled on a baggy white t-shirt over my bare skin and my shorts.
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I grabbed Hope's hand and pulled him into the living room with me and gave him the remote. "You can pull up a movie or something if you want while I cook."
"Okay," he said, smiling cutely, his eyes scrunched. He pulled me back to him and tickled me, kissing my neck. I blushed, giggling as he caught my lips with his. I sank into the kiss, his long fingers holding my face as his soft lips worked against mine.
He finally pulled back, tickling me again. Dancing out of his reach, I headed to the kitchen, smiling foolishly. I grabbed two glasses and filled them with ice water, handing one to him. "Thank you," he murmured, brushing my hand with his as he took the glass. My stomach flipped and I blushed. "You're welcome," I murmured back. I didn't know how he still made me shy with all that had passed between us, but somehow he did.
We heard a tentative meow and Boo crawled out from under the couch, interrupting our moment.
"You have a cat?" Hope queried, his voice cute and his eyes wide as he titled his head.
"Um yeah," I laughed. I had forgotten that Boo had been hiding every time he came before and he still didn't know about her. "Her name is Boo."
"Where has she been?" he asked, his eyes still wide and I couldn't help but giggle at how cute he was. Boo had sidled over to him and Hope was holding out his hand as Boo sniffed tentatively. She came a little closer, butting her head into his hand and allowing him to scratch her ears.
"She's kind of shy of men, so she's been hiding. Dan-" I stopped and cleared my throat. "-my ex, wasn't a big cat person so she's a little nervous now." I smiled as I watched Hope move his fingers down to her chin, scratching her there as she purred.
"Who doesn't like cats? No wonder he's your ex," Hope said as he talked to Boo under his breath. "You're such a cute kitty, aren't you?" He said, making cute little noises as he scratched her chin. I giggled to myself, watching him, warmth flooding my chest.
"No kidding," I said. "I should have known from the beginning he was no good." Anxious to change the subject, I pulled the box of spaghetti I had bought at the store from my cabinet. "How's spaghetti sound?"
Hope beamed, his eyes all but disappearing. "I love spaghetti!" he said, a little loudly, which spooked Boo as she scampered off. "Sorry!" he called to her retreating back as she crawled under a bar stool. I laughed to myself and began filling up a pot with water, putting it on the burner and twiddling the knob to high.
