“I put everyone off,” Loki said evenly. ”but you offered to teach me something I need to know—only a fool would ignore such an offer.”
“You, of course, are never foolish,” Summer drawled. “Well, come in, sit down. Be welcome to my home, such as it is, and be at ease in it. D’you want something to drink?”
Inwardly she sighed. How was it she always got caught up in the broken ones, the ones who held everyone at arms’ length? ‘You can’t afford to go into anyone like that again,’ she reminded herself, picking up the bag of kitty treats and weighing it in the palm of one hand.
He stepped inside and stood with his hands in his trouser pockets looking, if anything, a little awkward.
“You are generous with your welcome, Miss. I do not require refreshment, however.” He eyed the bag of kitty treats—and then let his eyes wander curiously over the rest of the room.
It was actually a fairly large space, for New York, but crowded with bookshelves and electronics. A pile of pillows stood in for a couch, and a round papasan chair held pride of place before the widescreen tv, though the stack of books implied other entertainment. A tall, carpet-covered climbing tree, many-ledged, took up the space before one window, and a hallway led off on the opposite side.
No cats were actually in evidence anymore. Summer shrugged. “I’ll go ahead and do the magic trick, then.” She called out, “Kitties!” and crinkled the bag a few times before opening it, and what seemed to be a thundering rush of cats poured out of every available opening.
As she knelt down in the midst of the waving tails, the clowder resolved itself into four: a brown tabby, a blue-eyed silver tabby, a tiny tortoiseshell, and a huge seal-point and white longhair. She began to distribute treats from the crinkly bag.