Her Melting Point

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Jackie opened the door for Alexander and saw a cab drive away down the street.

"Evening," he said.

Jackie stepped back, letting him in.

"I haven't realised you were taking a cab. Let me pay you back!" She looked him over. "Oh that's... a lot!" she exclaimed at the view of a massive box of litter and two sizeable totes that he carried in. "Oh, and you bought him food! You really shouldn't have! And is that a toy?! He doesn't seem to enjoy any of the ones that Euphemia dropped off. I wonder if he just doesn't like the stuff from his old home. Because he did play with a piece of paper that I tied to a string earlier. And I completely forgot that you had a game today! It's Saturday! And then there was all that noise outside. I could've just gone to Abernathy myself!"

He carefully put his cargo down - and sighed a long, deep sigh.

"Oh." Jackie clasped her hand over her mouth. "I'm doing it again, innit?"

He gave her a side glance, the same way large dogs do when they suss out that you're going outside without them.

"Alright, one step at a time. Firstly, thank you," Jackie said earnestly. "Would you like a cuppa?"

"Yes, please," he answered with obvious relief in his voice. "I'll go wash my hands first. There were puppies in the shop, and they let you hold a guinea pig. I petted several cats too."

He left down the corridor, and that's when the snort she'd been holding back, finally escaped. He'd sounded so proud!

She put away the kibble and the treats that he'd brought, took out the toys, and then gathered the handle of the litter box.

"Blimey," she exhaled.

"Let me carry it," he said, approaching her. "It's heavy."

"It's not just 'heavy!'" she yelped. "I'm no dainty fairy, but I can't even shift it!"

He gave her an unreadable stare - and then picked the package up. If his biceps, deltoid, and his highly prominent brachioradialis hadn't just bulged under the sleeve of his black jumper; she'd doubt the two of them had been dealing with the same box.

"Where do you want it?" he asked.

"In the closet with the washer."

He headed that way, and she hurriedly squatted in front of the totes. She'd just imagined running her palms down his arms, from his wide shoulder, to his wrists! It must have been something hormonal, she told herself. Maybe that was already one of those hot flushes her GP had been threatening her with. Wasn't her libido supposed to decrease at her age?!

"Those are presents," he said above her, and she jumped up, startled.

"Pardon?"

"The toys and the treats," he said. "You can pay me back for the litter and the food, but you hadn't asked for the rest. They are from me."

"And the cab," Jackie said stubbornly, rising.

A knitted ball with a fluffy tail attached to it, jingled in her hand.

"No, thank you," he answered levelly. "I was taking it anyway. I can't drive." Jackie was going to argue, but he spoke first, "So, where is he?"

"The cat?" she asked, and he nodded.

Jackie squinted and studied his face. She could be wrong - but wasn't there something unusually lively about his expression?

"Is that why you're here?" she asked and stepped closer to him, peering into his eyes. "You want to see the cat! You really, really want to see it! Do you like cats?"