Drew watched the high ponytail of dark brown dreadlocks sway from side to side as he followed a step behind Jaclyn. They had been dating for six weeks now and he still hadn't been invited to her home. She always came to his house.
At first he didn't mind but as time went on, he was starting to get scared she might have a boyfriend at home that she hadn't told him about. He refused to be someone's side piece, and he had told her such. He could see it in her hazel brown eyes. There wasn't someone else. It was something else that she for some reason either felt embarrassed about or was scared he would feel embarrassed about.
"This is my house," she said.
She turned around and looked at ham. That hint of fear was back in her eyes. Whatever it was, he was sure he could take it. Judging from the outside, it didn't look like she was a hoarder which had been another fear of his.
"Well, aren't you gonna invite me inside?" He asked.
"Yes, of course," she answered.
They walked up the driveway and he watched as she unlocked the door. She didn't open it. She turned around and looked at him again.
"Whatever it is, you're not scaring me away. I'm here. I'm with you. I wanna be part of your life and your world," he said.
"It's just..." She sighed.
"Just what?" He asked.
"I've been left over this before," she said.
He smirked and leaned down to place a kiss on the top of her head.
"In a way that makes me happy. Otherwise we might not have been together right now," he said.
She gave him a smile back and he could tell she relaxed a bit more.
"You know I love cats," she said.
"So do I," he said.
"And I told you I had a couple of cats," she said. "I wasn't honest. I have a bit more than a couple."
"How many?" He asked.
She opened the door and held out her hand. He walked inside the small hall and waited for her to close the door behind her. Once it was closed, she opened the next door into the house. He was greeted by five cats that immediately walked over to rub themselves against his and Jaclyn's legs. He could hear meowing from further inside the house. She nodded and started walking, and he followed her into the living room where several more cats were. What stood out on top of all the cats was how clean she kept the house and how good smelling it was. She took her time caring for her cats, herself and her home.
"I got 12 cats," she said. "That's it. My big secret. I'm the crazy cat lady doomed to forever be alone according to my ex."
"I love it!" He laughed. "And I love you."
"You do?" She asked.
He pulled her into his arms and gave her a heartfelt kiss.
"I love you, Jaclyn," he said.
"You've never said that before," she said.
"I know," he smiled. "Now seems like the right time."
"I love you too," she said.
His smile turned into a full blown grin hearing that. Something white caught the corner of his eye. He looked over to see a white cat standing on the back rest of an armchair, waiting for some much needed attention.
"That's April. She's got her own opinions and this is her way of saying she approves of you," she chuckled. "Go say hi before she decides you're not worth keeping."
He walked over to April and stroked her. She purred and turned around to make sure he hit all the right spots with his strokes.
"She's the boss around here. I don't think I've ever seen her approve of someone this fast before," she said.
"Because she knows it. She knows we're the real deal," he said. "What are the others' names."
"I named them after the months. My first one was January," she pointed at a chubby, grey stribed cat. "Then came February."
She kept pointing out each cat while telling him the names. He couldn't stop smiling. She had been so scared he would leave her because she had a lot of cats. Nothing could be further from the truth. He fell in love with her even more because of it.
"I hope you got room for two more," he said.
"Well, I'm actually getting one more next month once she's ready to leave the shelter. A two year old girl who was found in the streets with a broken leg after having been hit by a car. Once she gets that cast off her leg, I'm bringing her home. I've already named her Lucy since there's no more months to pick from," she said.
She looked up at him and could see he was holding back his laugh.
"And that was not what you meant. Gosh, I'm stupid," she chuckled. "You were talking about your cats."
"One day when we're ready to take that step, they're gonna join your pack," he said.
"There's room for them," she said. "Room, treats and lots of love."