tongue tied - jake kiszka

37.

   Maybe he was getting a dog?

I stuck my fingers through one of the cages and scratched softly at the nose of a big brown Lab. A couple of other dogs barked impatiently at the sight of all the attention he was getting and I let out a laugh.

"I think they might be jealous." Jake said, nodding in the direction of the others. "We have to pet all of them then." I shrugged, walking over to the opposite side to wiggle my fingers through the caging. "It's the only way."

I felt Jake slip his pinky around mine, pulling me forward and away. "Hey!" I called out, glancing up to look at him. He merely smiled, shaking his head silently as we kept walking past all the dog cages.

"I thought you wanted a dog?"

Jake gave me a cockeyed grin. "What made you think that?"

I motioned all around me, exasperated by his lack of answers. "Just follow me, okay?" His pinky tightened around mine and I finally nodded, blindly letting him take control.

Shit, he really did have some weird effect on me.

We kept on walking to the end of the long hallway until we reached another door. He opened it, leading me into another hallway full of smaller cages.

Cats.

"So you're getting a cat?"

A smile slipped across his lips as he once again shook his head. I decided to ignore it. He was just being difficult- maybe he was one of the guys that didn't like to admit they liked cats. "Dogs are more macho" or whatever.

I let go of his pinky to roam the hallway of cats freely. Half expecting him to go off in search of his new secret pet, I knelt down beside one of the cages and slipped a finger through.

An big brown tabby cat playfully pawed at my finger and I grinned. "Jake, come look!" I called out, glancing behind me quickly only to find him already standing there.

"You're never going to find your cat if you just stand there staring." I scolded him, rising to my feet so we were face to face. "I'm not getting a cat, Charlie." Jake chuckled softly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear.

I watched as it popped back out and I bit back a grin. "What are we doing here then?"

"You're getting a cat."

He was kidding.

Right?

"No fucking way." My eyes searched his face quickly, looking for any signs that he was joking before realizing very quickly that he wasn't. "Jake, I didn't even bring my wallet!"

   He took a step towards me, snaking his arm around my waist and pulling me closer to him. I looked up at him, my face the picture of confusion I'm sure.

   "Think of it as a birthday gift." He spoke softly, lowering his head so it was resting against the top of mine.

   "It's not my birthday."

   "Then it's a late birthday gift." Jake planted a kiss on top of my head, "For all the ones I missed before we met."

   I wasn't much of a PDA kind of a person, but right there in the middle of the animal shelter with all the cats watching- I kissed him.

   His lips were soft against mine, a little hesitant like before but he quickly recovered. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him closer to me this time. I could feel his lips spreading into a grin against mine, but I kept kissing him.

His hands cupped the sides of my neck and face as he bit against my lower lip, tugging at it roughly. I let out a breath as he did, not even realizing I'd been holding it. His lips trailed down from my lips to my jaw, planting soft kisses all the way to my neck.

   He sucked against it softly for only a moment before pulling back and placing one last firm kiss against my lips. I felt hot from his touch, wanting nothing more than to keep kissing him.

   When I finally brought my eyes up to meet his, I almost felt a little shy. Like a girl who'd just been kissed for the first time. His cheeks were pink and his lips were shiny and I couldn't stop staring at them, remembering their wet touch against my neck.

   "Okay, so let's get you a cat." He grinned back at me, completely unaware of how out of control he made me feel. I nodded quickly though, trying to gain some composure.

   Jesus Christ.

   "Quick question."

   He raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to continue. "Why are you getting me a cat?" I needed to know. Where was this sweet gesture coming from?

   His cheekbones glowed red and I wanted to poke fun at him blushing, but I was more eager to hear his answer. "You told me you always liked cats but never had one." He rubbed at the back of his neck, now refusing to meet my eyes.

   I tried to remember when I had told him that, searching my memory up and down for the exact conversation. "After you watched us perform and we went to that burger place." He said quickly, "We went outside to smoke and you were telling me about yourself."

That's it.

"I remember saying a lot of things that night. I just didn't expect you to remember that in particular." I teased, poking softly against his side. Jake shrugged it off, trying to play it cool as he motioned for to start looking around again.

I grinned to myself, turning back towards the cages. As I stood up on my toes to reach one of the ones at the top, I felt him place another kiss on my shoulder.

"I remember everything you say Charlie. All of it."