Kitten

by Jack Harbon

  “Before she passed, she told me they’d given me everything I needed and that I couldn’t fuck it up.” He laughed at himself. “Her last words were, ‘Don’t disappoint us.’”

  Kit could see everything falling into place now.

  The way Roman held himself the way he did. The way he wanted to put forth the best foot he could. His sudden, uncontrollable anxiety when it came to his appearance and his presentation. He didn’t want to ruin it. He didn’t want to ruin all of the hard work his parents had done.

  Their legacy.

  Rather than saying anything, Kit took Roman’s face in his hands and kissed him. It wasn’t the passionate, clothes-ripping kiss from nights before. This one was softer, as if Kit had never done this before. As if, if he pressed too hard, Roman would fall to pieces in his palms. There was a tenderness to it that Kit surprised even himself with.

  He hadn’t kissed many people like this before.

  Roman held him close, breaking the kiss and running his nose down the side of Kit’s neck. Kit had intended to come over, eat a little bit, and then jump right into fooling around, but there was something much more satisfying about this—about being held like this.

  “I think your parents would be proud of you,” he said quietly.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well, I do.” Kit wasn’t certain about a lot of things in life, but he knew for a fact that if Heaven existed, Mr. and Mrs. Li would be smiling down on their son, beaming with pride because of all his accomplishments.

  After a moment of peaceful silence, Kit reached for the food. “We’d better not let this get cold,” he said.

  Roman wrapped his arm around Kit’s shoulder and grabbed the television remote. As they ate, they watched reruns of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. It was the best date Kit had been on in years.

  18

  Hashtag Did That

  The only thing harder than acting normal around Roman in public was behaving when they were in private. Over the past week, Kit had fought to keep all of his flirty comments to himself. Sure, Roman might not have a problem with them, but at the end of the day, he’d been right. They were at work. They were in a professional setting. It was important to make that distinction and stick to his guns about acting right.

  On Friday, Kit sat in the kitchen with Barbie, absently scrolling through his Twitter timeline as Barbie went on about her review of the latest animated movie she’d seen with her kids.

  “I’m not normally one for kitschy movies like this, but the animals could all sing really well and I was invested in finding out who was gonna win the contest. It was cute, though, I enjoyed it.”

  “That’s good!” Kit said. He placed his phone down and took a sip of his coffee. “I haven’t watched an animated movie in years, but that’s probably because I’m too embarrassed to go into a kid’s movie by myself.”

  “Oh please, no one looks at you any different, pumpkin. I love whenever I see someone by themselves. They just want to see a good movie, there’s no shame in that. My favorite is whenever a group of boys your age comes in. It’s cute that they’re still in touch with the kid inside everyone,” she smiled.

  “I’ll keep that in mind! Maybe my friend and I will go see one sometime, then. He’s a big fan of Disney.”

  “We’ll go see one together, how about that?”

  “That’s the perfect plan,” Kit said. He was about to say something when Barbie held up a finger and quickly unlocked her phone. He watched her tap around for a moment before she said,

  “It’ll have to be a matinee or something, most of this paycheck is going towards buying my way out of my lease.”

  Kit’s eyes went wide. “You’re moving?”

  “Just across town! I haven’t told you, but Kevin and I have pretty much split up. He still lives with me, because it’s hard to move out when you mooch off someone, but when I break the lease and get a new place with the kids, he’ll be out on his ass. My mama always told me fighting comes with relationships, but I’ll be damned if I let some out-of-work loser call me all kinds of names in front of the kids.”

  “Go off,” Kit grinned. “I’m so happy that you’re leaving him, he sounds like a real asshole. Are you okay, though? I’m sure getting a divorce takes a toll on you. If you need anything, you know you can call me, right?”

  “I appreciate it, baby. But mama’s got it.” She winked at him and pushed herself up from the table. “I have way too much work to finish up. Talk to you in a little bit?”

  “Definitely,” he nodded. Kit watched her toss her cup of coffee and return to her desk. He could see the change in her behavior. When he’d first joined the Yellow Fall team, Barbie had been sweet but just a bit of a pushover. The way Roman had talked about her being fired for just spilling coffee on herself clued Kit in on the kind of soft person she was. That tenderness was still there, but she seemed more confident in herself.

  Kit sat back in his chair and opened his own bank app, nearly choking when he saw his paycheck. He’d been expecting a lot given the amount of time he’d spent at work, but seeing an extra seven hundred dollars almost caused a spit take with his coffee. This had to be some kind of error. There was no way he was seeing the correct number.

  Once he’d gathered himself, he marched into Roman’s office without knocking.

  “I don’t know why I bother with a door anyway,” Roman said without looking up from his computer.

  “I think there was a bit of an error with my paycheck?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean I have an extra seven hundred dollars that came out of nowhere. Given everything that’s going on with someone stealing money from Yellow Fall, I don’t want Ari to get the wrong idea about me.”

  Roman pressed a few more keys before looking up at Kit. “That’s not an error.”

  Kit blinked. “So…you meant to give me that much money?”

  “Yes.”

  “Roman, I know that we’re like…doing whatever it is we’re doing, but I can’t take this money. No shade to any sugar babies out there, but that’s not what I’m about. I earn my own money, I don’t need anyone giving me anything. Especially not my boss. You know what this looks like, right?”

  “Kit—”

  “It looks like I’m sleeping with my boss and making extra money from it!” Kit couldn’t believe that he was the one trying to keep things professional. He’d never been that person before, let alone that kind of person with someone like Roman.

  “If you’re done accusing me of paying for sex, I’d be happy to explain where that extra money came from.”

  Kit crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “I’m listening.”

  “Earlier you told me that you purchased that room at the Mandarin Oriental. I asked Ari, and he told me that we should have charged that to the card as it was a business expense.”

  “But it really wasn’t a business expense. I bought that room because I wanted to sleep with you,” Kit said.

  “Obviously I left that part out. Either way, I rearranged some things, Ari approved of the hotel expense, and now you have your money back. If you were smart, you’d use that money to help pay for your first month of rent.”

  Kit didn’t know what to say.

  It was obvious that Roman wanted to help him, and he’d even gone far enough to talk with Ari and get the job done. There were too many emotions for Kit to process in that moment. Excitement that he’d gotten his money back and he had enough to actually pay for his own place. Confusion about why Roman would do such a nice thing. There was even a touch of something else that he couldn’t explain or put a name to. All he knew was that it made his heart skip a beat and his smile grow wide.

  Kit crossed the room and leaned down to kiss Roman. It was soft, and Roman smiled when it ended. “Are you going to take my advice or not? Go make that call.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Kit said, walking to the door. “Thank you, Roman. Really.”

  “You’re welcome, kitten.”
>
  Kit headed down to the lobby to make his call in private. He tapped his foot impatiently as the phone rang and rang. Finally, Donny, the landlord, answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey Donny, it’s Kit, Bria’s brother. I called earlier about wanting to rent that apartment next week? Would there be any way for me to actually stop by today and pay now? I did a little reorganizing with my finances and as it turns out, I’ve got just enough.”

  “Hell yeah that would be fine. Stop by whenever you can tonight and we’ll get all the paperwork filled out.”

  “Perfect,” Kit smiled. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  “See you then. Have a good day, buddy.” Donny ended the call.

  It took all Kit had not to throw his hands in the air and do a happy dance. Elation zipped through him like electricity. For a moment, he wore the biggest, happiest smile, still in shock that this was actually happening. He took a deep breath, shook out all the jitters, and headed back upstairs to finish the day.

  *

  Donny’s office was a mess of papers and trash, but the man seemed comfortable with it. Impressively enough, he knew where everything was. His madness had method, it seemed. Donny slapped down the paperwork and slide a pen towards Kit.

  “I’m sure you already know how everything goes, right?” he asked.

  Kit nodded and reached for the pen. “Yeah, I’ve heard Bria and Trish talking about all the rules plenty of times.” By talking, Kit meant complaining. There were a lot of rules to the apartment building, but Kit couldn’t have cared less. All he wanted was the key to his new place. He could live with stupid rules.

  “Alright, next you’ll sign this right here.” Donny handed him another sheet of paper. “You have the money order, correct?”

  “Mhm, right here.” Kit gave him the slip and quickly scribbled his signature down. “I just wanted to make sure, but I’m allowed to paint, right? Nothing too crazy, but I’m lowkey an interior designer now, so I want this place to look great.”

  “Kid, you can paint whatever you want on the walls as long as you know you’ll have to paint them back before you move out.” Donny opened his drawer and placed the money order inside, locking it once he was done.

  “Perfect. Keys now?”

  “Hold your horses. One last thing.” Donny placed his last piece of paper in front of Kit. “We don’t allow subletting, and anyone staying over longer than a month must be on the lease.”

  Kit started to sign when he tilted his head. “I’ve been staying with Bria for like, four months. I never had to sign the lease.”

  Donny smiled. “Bria’s the best tenant I have here. Plus, you’re her family. Most people around here would say otherwise, but I’m actually not a dick all the time.”

  “I appreciate it, Donny.” Kit signed his name and placed the pen down beside the paper. “We all set now?”

  “All set, buddy. Here you go.” He handed over the key to Kit’s apartment and went back to organizing his papers. “Now get outta here.”

  “Don’t have to tell me twice,” he laughed. Kit took the key and left the office. He punched in the floor number and waited impatiently for the elevator to come down to him. By the time he made it to the door of his new place, he was buzzing eagerly. Kit twisted the key in the lock and opened the door.

  “Surprise!” Bria said. She tossed a small handful of confetti over Kit’s head.

  “Hey!” he laughed. “What are you doing in here?”

  “Donny called and told me you managed to pay for the first and last month’s rent. When were you gonna tell me?” she exclaimed.

  “I was gonna tell you later tonight once everything was said and done. It was a surprise, but you beat me to it!” Kit noticed the bottle of peach sparkling wine and two wine flutes on the counter. Bria looked back as well.

  “I got those to celebrate. You want some?”

  “Hell yeah I do!”

  Bria crossed the room and managed to pop the bottle of wine without spilling too much. She poured two glasses, then took a seat on the floor in the living room. Kit plopped down beside her.

  “Cheers,” he said, clinking his glass with hers. He took a long sip then leaned back on his elbows.

  “I can’t believe my baby brother’s all grown up. I knew it was coming, but I’m still kinda sad.”

  Kit nudged her. “Don’t be sad. I’m still gonna need someone to take care of me. Remind me to buy groceries, take the trash out, all that stuff. Plus, I have no idea what to do about furniture.”

  “Oh, shut up,” she laughed. “You designed an entire office with Alma Middleton. I’ll still help you pick out some cute furniture, though.”

  There was a silence in the air that was broken by Bria sniffling. Kit turned towards her. Bria wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. “Why are you crying?” Kit asked. He slipped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. “It’s okay.”

  “I know it’s okay,” she said quietly. “That’s why I’m crying. I’m just feeling a lot right now.”

  “Like what?”

  “I’m proud of you. When you first started looking for a job, I was a bit unsure whether you’d be able to make it out there. I know you’ve got a smart mouth and you think you’re a thug,” she laughed. “But you surprised me. You’re doing well for yourself. You’re making responsible decisions. You’re acting like a grown up. But I’m also sad that you’re not going to be around as much.”

  “I’m only a few floors below you, Bria. I’m not going anywhere. I need you as much as you need me.”

  She turned to look at him, smiling tenderly. “Yeah?”

  “Of course. You’re really all I have out here. I mean, Trish is great, and I could have stayed with Chad, but I wanted to be back with you. You’ve always been there for me when I needed you. You’re like my sister and mom and dad mashed up in one person. Unfortunately for you, you’re stuck with me.”

  Bria snorted. “How terrible.” She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “Remember how Mom and Dad said we’d never make it out here?”

  “Yup. They said when we were homeless and hungry, not to come crawling back. And I also remember what you told them back.”

  “Oh lord.”

  “My soft-spoken, timid, kind sister told them, ‘You can suck my asshole.’”

  Bria cracked up. “I was angry, okay? It was the first thing that came to mind.”

  “Hey, I’m not kink-shaming you or anything,” he laughed. Bria slapped his shoulder and shook her head, stifling her laughter. “I’m not at all surprised. We were better on our own than we ever were with them.”

  “Damn right. They’re probably pissed that we made it without them. Those two gays hashtag did that.”

  “We hashtag did that,” she said in agreement.

  19

  You Need It

  Kit ran the roller over the wall one more time, making sure that there were no white spots showing through the paint. After trying to redecorate his bedroom years ago, he’d learned that he needed to be more careful and intentional when it came to painting. He didn’t want a patchy job for his first apartment.

  Bria looked at their work and smiled, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. “Does this look good?” she asked.

  “It looks perfect.”

  He’d talked to Alma again and decided that he wanted something deep to help compliment the furniture color. He’d gone with black wood for the coffee table, entertainment center, and dining table set, and to match this, he’d picked a latte brown color to paint the wall. Once everything was dry and he could set the dining table up against the accent wall, it would all come together.

  Bria started to say something when there was a rambunctious set of knocks at the door. “I got it,” she said. As she hurried off to answer the door, Kit bent down and carefully folded up all of the plastic they’d put down on the carpet.

  “Welcome to adulthood, beyotch!” Chad exclaimed, raising his hand. The six-pack of beers clink
ed inside.

  “I’m a big kid now,” Kit cheered. “You can put those in the fridge if you want. Hey, Michelle!”

  Michelle gave a little wave and gestured to the large gift box in her hands. “I got you a little something!”

  “Girl, you know you didn’t have to do that for me!” he said. Michelle handed over the box and shrugged.

  “I just wanted to congratulate you on your first place. It’s a big deal, even if you pretend like it isn’t! I remember the first place I moved into had a bedbug problem, but I was still proud of myself for actually getting out of my folks’ house and on my own feet. Open that, hurry!”

  “Yeah, don’t act all modest now,” Bria teased.

  “Fine, fine!” Kit stuffed the floor covering in a large trash bag and wiped his hands off. He carried the box over to the coffee table and took a seat on the futon. “This better not be anything insane, I’m gonna have to get you something in return.”

  “No way, this is your celebration,” Michelle said, waving that statement off.

  Kit tore off the wrapping paper and cut open the brown box. Inside, he found the Star Wars lamp he’d been lusting after for the past six months. “Holy shit, Michelle!”

  She clapped happily. “Do you like it?”

  “I love it! But I can’t accept this. This lamp is two hundred dollars online! How did you even know I wanted it?”

  Michelle gave an obvious glance towards Chad and winked at Kit. “I had a little helper! And seriously, it’s no biggie, all I have to do is work Uber another extra day and I’m good. I’m the biggest Star Wars geek myself, so I might even get one for my bedroom.”

  Kit looked back at the lamp and shook his head in disbelief. “Thank you so much, Michelle.” He rose from the seat and gave her a tight hug. “I really appreciate this.”

  “You’re welcome!”

  Kit turned to Chad. “Where’s my gift, you bum?”

  “Hey, I brought beers!” Chad said indignantly.

  Bria chuckled. “I’m gonna get out of your hair, Kit, but if you need anything, call me, okay?”