Happy Wednesday! I’ll keep it short because I’m in the midst of a very busy couple of weeks. It’s final rehearsals for my older child’s school musical, and next week is the release of An Act of Devotion (that was Adam and AJ’s story, if anyone remembers them from way back when).
Straight on to the WIPpet, then. We last saw Cat refusing a drink. He’s about to refuse a different kind of fun this week. Cat’s lack of experience or context isn’t unusual for someone who has had a lifelong disability. So he often comes across as young for his age, and I hope I’ve captured a bit of that with the last two snippets.
WIPmath: 4 + 2 + 7 + 2 + 0 + 1 + 6 = 22 paragraphs, plus a bonus one because it didn’t make sense to cut either the first or last one.
Having gotten distracted enjoying the pretty men dancing together, Cat missed when a good-looking guy pulled up a stool next to him. He only registered it when the man said in his ear so he could be heard, “Hey, there.”
Cat nearly jumped a mile. He put a hand on his stomach—conscious of doing anything someone might comment on later—and waited until his heart rate slowed before he said, “Um, hey.”
“I’m Landon.” The guy stuck out his hand.
Taking it, Cat suppressed a giggle at the oddly formal gesture. It was nice, though. He’d seen how a few of the men were getting handsy even when asked to stop.
“I’m Cat.”
“Cat?” Landon laughed. “Interesting. So, you came with Preston’s…cousin, was it?”
“No, his boyfriend’s cousin. Oh!” Understanding dawned. “You’re Keith’s friend.”
“Yeah.” The man grinned. “Having fun?”
Cat shrugged. “I guess. I’m a little—”
“Overwhelmed?” Landon guessed. He nodded, not waiting for a response. “You’ll get used to it. You should go dance.”
“Um.” Cat’s face fell. “I probably shouldn’t, really.”
“No?”
“Not a good idea for me.” He hadn’t been going to tell a total stranger about his health, but he figured what the hell. Landon wasn’t exactly a stranger if he knew Ezra. “I have a medical…thing. Like, I could get hurt.”
“Not if someone’s protecting you, right?” Landon asked.
“I’m not sure,” Cat admitted. “Maybe—”
He was cut off by Ezra appearing at his elbow. “Hey, Landon.”
Landon backed off from Cat. “Keith’s cousin, is it?”
“Yeah.” Ezra turned his attention to Cat. “Want to go upstairs, have a look from there?”
He didn’t wait for Cat’s reply, tugging him from his seat and leading him up the stairs. Cat followed, his brief conversation with Landon left behind him until they reached the top of the stairs. It was quieter up there, fewer people. Cat almost felt like he could breathe again.
“Thanks,” he said to Ezra, not having realized he needed to be away.
“Sure,” Ezra said. He fidgeted a little. “Listen, I’m sorry I butted in there, but Keith told me I should.”
“Why?” Cat furrowed his brow.
“He said to me, ‘Maybe you shouldn’t let your friend talk to Landon.’ I have no idea why not, but I get the feeling Landon’s kind of a player, you know?”
Like what you read? Be sure to check out the other entries and add your own. Just post a bit of your WIP, connect it to the date, and link up with us. Many thanks to Emily Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!
I’m thinking Ezra may have gotten him out of what could have been a bad situation.
For now, yes. :/
I must say that I didn’t get the idea that Landon is a player from the conversation between him and Cat. I got more the feeling that Landon was indeed interested and afterward concerned after Cat said something about having a medical problem.
However, I have to wait and see, but….. maybe Keith has a problem with Landon’s attraction.
Also, sorry it took me so long to visit you, but I was knee deep in the A to Z Blog Challenge.
Shalom,
Patricia
Ah, yeah, there’s more to this than what’s here. But it’s not that he was being terrible in that conversation, just that Ezra’s cousin said to steer clear.
No worries about how long it took. We were pretty busy the last several days at my house, so I haven’t been online much since Thursday.