Opposites Attract

Chapter 11~Fake Smiles, Sweaty Palms

~Judy's POV~

The sun is extra harsh on my fur this morning. I look down to check my phone. Okay, very late morning; it's 11:50am. My face was hit with bright rays as soon as I stepped outside, instantly loosening me up and allowing me to absorb the temperature. It's not too warm, but enough to revive you. My tummy suddenly ached, which spoiled the mood, and wanted breakfast.

We ended up having to sacrifice half an hour of our lunch break to help free Ben Clawhauser. He got stuck between two walls in a tight gap... well maybe it was tight for him. He explained that he was trying to grab a stray dollar, but couldn't seem to squeeze back out again once he caught it. We finally saved him after involving a lot of pulling and a lot of butter.

I expected Nick to be whining and complaining the entire time but surprisingly, he seemed unnaturally cheerful and optimistic at the inconvenience. And still was as we walked out of the ZPD for, well what's left of, our one-hour break. My eyes are unwillingly drawn to his free hand swaying lightly by his side. My own fingers twitch, longing to be entwined with his and my palms are sweating from the anticipation ...Shall I? Suddenly I'm swamped over with decisions. But I manage to kill those away, resulting that others do not want to see public displays of affection... especially from that of two different species.

"Did I ever tell you that you look cute when you're angry?" Nick says out of the blue. My eyes instinctively roll out of forced habit, from whenever he'd make these sort of remarks. We were strolling further away from work and are now on our way to Snarlbucks, which was just a couple blocks down. I can smell the coffee already. "Well...cute and frightening." He finishes.

I huff. "Uh one, what did I say about calling me cute? And two, the only reason I was angry is because my Landlord gave me a hard time."

My arms were swinging back and forth by my sides and looking back at Nick, I notice for once that he seems to have adopted the same motion suddenly, which is extremely out of his character. I take it as a sign of him appreciating the good fresh air. Well, it is nice after all.

My stomach growls again. "Man..." I say, clasping my empty belly. "What I wouldn't give for one of their muffins right now." I groan.

He snorts. "Believe me, we'll get held back with a really long waiting line as soon as we arrive." He says.

"Well if we make it there quick enough we can beat the rush!" I reply back.

"And the service, probably terrible as always." He pauses and shakes his head. "I mean... you know what? You're right Judes. I bet we'd make it first in the queue!" He breaks out a tight grin, walking with his arms swinging by his side more briskly now.

That definitely doesn't sound like him...

"Since when have you decided to change your tune?" I ask.

He lowers his face. "Maybe you have made an influence on me."

~.~.~

"Thanks!" I say to the cashier, grabbing our food to go. "Looks like you were right, Nick. We managed to make it first in line!" I say to him as we head out of the door.

"Right as always." He replies, smirking. "Hey, shall we eat these on a bench, at the park over there?" He points. "I need a change of environment."

"What's wrong with our office?" I question.

"Staring at the white and grey wallpaper day by day can really start to dampen your mood."

I'm swayed. "Hm, I agree. White and grey aren't motivational colours at all."