Just Friends

29

⊱𝙻𝚎𝚟𝚒⊰

"Cheshire!"

Tess is beaming as she hurries inside to find Cheshire. I shut the door behind us, smiling to myself as I watch her search for that cat.

Cheshire, surprisingly, comes out of his hiding place pretty quickly. He curiously steps up to her. Tess takes that as an opportunity to lean down and scoop him up.

I shake my head with a smile when she grins at me. "Careful." I advise, already heading down the hall to the bathroom where I have my glasses and such.

"He loves me!" Tess claims. It sounds like she's wandered off to the living room. I don't mind.

While I start switching out my contacts for my glasses, I listen to the quiet conversation Tess proceeds to have with my jerk of a cat.

She tells him about the spider we encountered earlier tonight as well as the fact that we learned how fast my car can go on the freeway. I make a face when she mentions the fact that I was very clearly terrified in that car.

I was not terrified. More surprised, that's all.

Tess isn't a bad driver at all or anything. I was just caught off guard when she actually started testing the speed. I thought she'd been joking.

When I finish with my glasses, I sigh quietly and head out to the living room. I'm not ecstatic about being in glasses around her more than I need to. I prepare myself for her bullying.

I stop in the doorway of the living room, watching as Tess sits on the couch with Cheshire hugged to her chest on her lap. She laughs to herself as she leans in close to dramatically kiss his head a bunch.

What a lucky cat.

I almost hate him now.

Tess looks up when she notices me. She smiles. "Better?"

"Much." I nod with a sigh as I step further in. "I shouldn't have waited so long to change them. I'm not really supposed to sleep in contacts."

"Why did you?"

I shrug, having no answer for that. Laziness doesn't sound like a good answer.

Tess smiles as she leans over to set Cheshire down beside her. He blinks when she does, confused. He's never received kisses like that.

"Okay," Tess hums quietly to herself as she shifts to take her phone out of her back pocket. I frown when I realize she's looking for a ride home now.

She's going to go home and we still have no idea when it'll be a good day to see each other again. When we're both free and not tired.

I bite the inside of my cheek as I watch her from the doorway. She purses her lips at her phone, scrolling absently.

I clear my throat as I inch further in carefully as if it's not my apartment. "You know," I begin, in the middle of figuring out what I want to say here. "You don't have work tomorrow. I mean—I do, but you don't."

Tess looks up from her phone. "That's a great observation, Levi." She nods slowly. She snorts and looks back down at her phone.