“I’m really sorry.” Summer hung her head, fumbling at the handlebars of her bike to right it. Thoughtlessly, she wiped her hands on her skirt, then cursed. “Dammit. I just really suck today.” She blinked, and a tear rolled down her face. She swiped at it impatiently. “Maybe I better just … look, you want to just come over to my place and watch a movie?”
Hey, it could be worse. “I guess that’s something we could do. Even after I went through the trouble of actually getting a bike…” Not that it really bothered him. Worse things could have happened than that. Robert ran a hand through his hair, debating whether he should bring the bike back now or not. He could use it to get to her place, couldn’t he? Eh, he’d have to wait and see.
“No, it’s okay, you should ride it to my place.” Summer brushed her fingertips over the heel of one hand, dislodging some grit and wincing. “Does the fact that I have cats to adore you make up for my stupidity?” Once again she swung her leg over the bike, balancing on one foot while she waited for Robert to mount up.
“I never said what you did was stupid. But, you mentioned cats and now you’ve captured my attention.” Robert mounted his bike, pedaling a bit to arrive beside her. “Lead the way then, so I can meet these feline friends of yours, before my curiosity and need drives me nuts.”
“You’re already nuts,” she shot back, starting to grin. She led him to the southern edge of the park, and then another five blocks farther on, until they reached her apartment building. “Hope your bodyguards don’t come looking for you,” Summer teased, parking her bike and locking it up with swift efficiency.
She led the way upstairs, too, flicking through her keys one-handed and unlocking the door. “I wasn’t planning to have visitors, you know, so — please forgive the mess.” She pushed open the door.
One solid wall of the living room thus revealed was covered with shelves, which were, in turn, packed with books of all types and sizes. One case was all dvds and video games. A loveseat and a papasan chair took up another wall, and a complex entertainment system the third. Stacks of unshelved books littered the floor, among cables.
Down the short hallway could be seen the edge of a bed and an open, half-packed suitcase on the floor. A pair of dark ears emerged from the suitcase, followed by the rest of the small tortoiseshell cat, bounding down the hall. On the loveseat, a pale ball revealed itself to be another cat, fluffy and seal-pointed.