Semper Fi Magick

“Derek, I assume there’s a reason you ruined my song, and treated me like you were from the caveman era.”

“Why? You have to ask why?” Derek glared down at her. What was his problem?

“Are you dense as well as rude?” Cat slung back at him.

“Lady, you were this close to being booed off the stage for sounding like a scalded cat. Then you start acting like a stripper with an itch to scratch. This is a family restaurant. You can’t act that way in public.” The last of his tirade came out on a sigh. Cat looked, really looked, at his face. The lines around his eyes were deeper; he looked like he didn’t sleep enough.

Instead of the tongue-lashing she wanted to give him, she found herself reaching up and touching his face. “You need more sleep.”

As she watched, his green eyes turned darker. His previously stiff lips thinned into somewhat of a smile.

“Princess, you pull out all the stops.” He slid his arm around her and sat her on the back of the car. She liked it. This way she could look in his face without craning her neck.

“In what way?” She asked her question, curious as to what he meant by stops.

“You blow hot and then cold and then you look like a spitting cat and turn into a kitten who needs to be petted.” Derek just stared at her while she tried to figure out his words. For some reason she didn’t think he meant them derogatively. It seemed he was as confused by her as she was by him. Maybe her first estimate that he was just a snobby mortal was off base.

“I wouldn’t mind being petted by you.”