Monday slipped by. Tuesday too. Nothing out of the ordinary—at least on the surface. I didn't bring up the voice call. Not because I'd forgotten, not because it stopped gnawing at me, but because I didn't want to bother her. Not yet. Sometimes timing mattered more than questions.
By the time Tuesday ended and we made it back to my place, the sun had dipped behind the city, throwing streaks of orange against glass and steel. The apartment felt quieter than usual. Duchess wasn't here—Val had left the cat at her house for the week. Apparently, one of the staff was watching her, and though Val had tried to act casual about it, I knew she missed the little furball.
The absence was noticeable. No tiny paws skittering across the floor. No soft thud of a tail hopping onto the couch. Just silence—except for us.
We both headed to shower. And no, I'm not going into details about whether we did it together or not. Not your business.
