Putting on Airs

Cool Cat...errr...Dog

Kota and I make our way to the room I've been staying in. The clothes from the shopping trip take up residency in the closet and dresser, so it isn't unreasonable to start calling the room mine. I just don't want to be presumptuous.

A glance at the clock shows I don't have much time to rest before I have to go to the library to have orientation. Tonight I'm watching a video about library shelving etiquette and filling out paperwork so I can try to get straight to work next time.

"I only have about 45 minutes before I have to leave for the library. Can you set an alarm?" I ask hesitantly.

Kota smiles and pulls his phone from his pocket, typing on the screen, and places it on the nearby nightstand. He removes his shoes and glasses before reclining on the bed with his arms folded behind his head, taking the spare pillow I usually hug to my chest. I crawl up onto the bed after removing my own glasses and lay next to him. Closing my eyes, I try to blank my mind enough to doze off, but the images of today have me flipping from one position to the next in an effort to escape them.

"Sang, sweetie. If you don't want to rest, no one will make you," Kota sighs and rolls onto his side to face me.

"It's not that. I just can't get my brain to shut off. Today was awful when it was supposed to be wonderful. It's all my fault!" I whisper before a yawn takes me.

"Wonderful? All I heard you had planned was starting at the library. Did I miss something?" Kota asks, immediately making me feel bad. I crinkle my nose.

"I was notified that Owen and I were to have a date after he had finished his job this afternoon. Dinner was a little early in the day, but I think it went okay. It turned into a nightmare as soon as the subject turned to the investigation. I don't know whether to feel awful for Owen or throw myself a pity party that my first date ever was a mess," I roll my eyes and hope my sneaky tear ducts keep their fluids to themselves!

Kota's breathing falters, but he pulls me into his chest and cuddles me close.

"Don't worry about Owen. Just be prepared for your next date with him to be planned to the T. When we go on a date, I'll probably plan everything out too, unless you let me know what you want to do. I can be flexible. I'm a cool cat, well, dog like that," Kota speaks against the crown of my head.

I laugh until I realize he's spoken of his and Owen's dates with me in the same breath. I pull back a little so I can look up at Kota's face. From what I can see, there isn't any strain or other indicators that he's upset.

"You really don't mind if I date the others, do you?" I ask with amazement. I honestly thought they were pulling my leg.

"It's not that I don't mind, but more that I just want you and my brothers to all be happy. You were at the center of our lives all those years ago, and not once did any of us resent each other or you when you were affectionate with any of us. It was almost natural; normal," Kota murmurs while tucking my head back against his chest.

I close my eyes and listen to his breathing while letting my mind wander. I must doze for a short time because the next I'm aware, a strong hand is stroking down my spine, pressing me tightly against a firm torso. I shift my legs and realize I have a hard thigh between my own. The rhythm of Kota's petting causes sparks to zing from my core and heat to build low in my tummy. I lift my head away from Kota's chest to seek out his face. His face is already tilted down toward me, and when I whisper his name, his lips find mine.

There's just a brush of soft lips before he pulls his face back slightly to brush his nose over my own until our mouths are once more touching. As gentle and slow as we are moving, my heart reacts as though I'm on the last stretch of a marathon run. We repeat the process, Eskimo kisses are peppered in between nibbles and brushes of our lips; the urgency causing our touches to become bolder. Just as our kisses deepen into using tongue, the air shifts.