Not So Romeo

13

Shawn

I'm laying on my bed watching Tatum do her homework. It's quite amusing how she sticks her tongue out and furrows her brows while she's concentrating. "Oh my God! Alfie!"

Her scream causes me to jump. "What?"

"My cat! I completely forgot about him." she bursts into tears and I'm immediately at her side. "Im such a horrible person. He's probably starving to death."

"Tatum, sweetheart. It's alright. Cats are smart animals and know how to fend for themselves. Let's go pick him up, yeah?" she sniffs and hugs me. I help her to her feet and we grab our shoes then leave.

"I feel so bad. How could I forget about my baby? I didn't even think to look for him while we were at my house the other day."

I take her hand, still keeping one on the steering wheel. "It's okay, Princess. You've had a lot on your mind. I'm sure he's just fine."

"It's been two weeks, though. Sure he has a cat door to get in and out, so he's probably been mousing. But he probably thinks I abandoned him. My poor baby."

I'm not sure what to say so I just squeeze her hand. We soon arrive to Tatum's house and she's quick to jump out of the car. I follow quickly behind. She fumbles with the key but is able to unlock the door.

As soon as we enter, she starts shouting her cat's name. "Alfie! Alfie, kitty, kitty, kitty!" she makes her way to the kitchen and fishes out some cat treats. She hands me a pack, "Can you go into the back yard and call him while shaking the treats?"

I give her a small smile. "Of course." she gives me a quick hug and starts shaking her bag of treats while walking around the house, still calling out for Alfie.

I go into the back yard as Tatum asked and call for the cat. After a few minutes of nothing, I'm ready to give up but then I think about the broken girl inside and call out again. "Alfie! Come on boy! Tatum needs you! Alllffiieeee!" Come on cat. Please come back.

I hear a rustling in the bushes at the side of the house and out comes a fat Persian gray cat with a shiny blue collar. It meows and makes it's way over to me. I shake the treats a bit more, "Come here buddy. Come on." when he reaches me I pick him up and he purrs. I check the tag just to be sure it's Alfie, and it confirms he is indeed Tatum's beloved cat. I give him a treat and carry the fluff ball inside.

Tatum is no longer yelling for the cat, but sobbing on the bottom of the staircase, head in her hands. "Tatum."

She sniffs as another sob racks her body. She doesn't look up at me when she speaks, so her voice is a bit muffled. "It's no use Shawn, he's gone."

I put the fat cat down and he runs towards Tatum. Her voice sounds so fragile and disbelieving, "Alfie?" she hugs the cat and finally looks at me. Tears are still running down her face. "You found him. Thank you so much."

I sit in front of her and wipe her tears away. "I told you he would be alright. How about you take him to my car and I'll grab his food. Then we can go home and lie down for a bit."

"Okay. That sounds good." we both smile.

             **********************

We're laying down on my bed, facing each other, Alfie in between us purring away. I'm twirling Tatum's red/orange locks between my fingers. We're staring intently into each other's eyes, which has become a very normal thing for us. Her hazel eyes are so captivating, I feel myself getting lost in them every time I see her face.

She has a small smile playing on her lips and I just feel the urge to kiss her. Her smile grows as she notices my eyes continuously dart to her lips. "Are you gonna kiss me or not?" Her voice is all the motivation I need to finally connect our lips.

I take it slow, not wanting to rush it. After all, this is our first real kiss together. I'm not some jerk who uses girls and I really like Tatum, so I want this one to last. We all know I'm a dead man once Tyler finds out.

Tatum wraps her arm around my neck, after she pushes Alfie out of the way, and we deepen the kiss. As soon as our tounges touch she let's out a small moan and I can't help but smile. I pull her on top of me so that she's straddling my waist.

"Guys! I hope you're decent, we're coming in!" Grayson's voice causes us to break the kiss and Tatum rolls off of me, and straightens out her clothes as my bedroom door opens. In walks, not only Tyler and Grayson, but the twins as well.

"You're so funny Gray, I forgot to laugh." Tatum says sarcastically. "Why wouldn't we be decent? We're not dating."

Gray shrugs and gives us a cheeky smile. "Doesn't matter, you could be hooking up for all I know.

Tyler growls and gives me the most spine chilling glare I've ever seen. "They better not be."

Tatum sees my terrified face and takes my hand, "Don't worry. He's all bark and no bite."

I whisper, "I wouldn't be so sure of that, when it involves you."

She just smiles and turns to the girls. "Hey twins!"

"Hey!" they respond simultaneously, it's pretty creepy.

"Nice place you've got here, Shawn." one of the platinum blonde beauties compliments.

"Thanks, Bailey." She just smiles and sits next to Tatum and I.

Alfie hops back onto the bed and lays in her lap. "Hi Alfie Dayes. I've missed you." Bailey cooes, scratching behind his ear.

"So, what brings y'all here?" I smile, not minding that they showed up unannounced.

"I missed my baby sister. You both need an eye kept on you as well." Tyler says.

"We're not little kids, Tyler. We don't need to be babysat."

"I beg to differ, little sister." Tatum just glares at her older brother and I sit awkwardly beside her. I think he knows what went down between us not even ten minutes ago.

We all just sit around talking about random stuff when Grayson's stomach growls so loud, I'm sure China could hear. We all laugh as his cheeks turn pink.

"Man, I'm starving. I haven't eaten for like two and a half hours." He groans.

"Wow! That's gotta be a new record." Tatum says, completely serious.

My night stand is a secret mini fridge so when I open the secret door, everyone looks amazed. I grab an apple and toss it to Grayson. "What?"

"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen! Where'd you get it?" Gray asks as everyone looks at me for an answer.

"My uncle made it. He sells all kinds of stuff like this."

"I've definitely got to get one." everyone nods in agreement.

After a couple more hours of talking, our friends leave and it's just Tatum and I once again. Acting like nothing ever happened between us, she asks, "Can you help me with my math? I don't understand it."

I smile, "Of course, love."