CHAPTER 7:

Where She Introduces Him to Spartacus

~~**~~

"You're sure your roommates won't mind?" Archer asked as we climbed the stairs which led to my apartment.

"They won't," I assured him. "Nelly's in her second year of nursing school so she's probably in class right now, when she does come home she just stays in her room and studies, and Adrian works the night shift at the gas station so he's probably asleep right now."

I took out my keys from my bag pack and unlocked the door.

Our three-bedroom apartment wasn't much to look at but Nelly, Adrian, and I had done whatever we could to make it feel more like home. We'd painted the walls a soft blue and found a matching rug to go in the living room. Nelly had managed to get a decent brown leather sofa from a yard sale that sat in front of Adrian's flat-screen TV.

"You want something to drink?" I asked Archer as I flicked on the lights.

"I'm good." He responded.

I bit my lip as I looked at him. Archer seemed to eat up all the space in the living room, he made my small apartment look impossibly smaller. He was so tall that he'd probably be able to touch the ceiling if he jumped. He looked completely out of place in my apartment. 

"What the actual-" Archer's freaked-out voice made me jump.

"What's wrong?" I hurried towards him. In a quick move, he put an arm out in front of me to protect me from whatever he'd seen.

My heart thudded wildly in my chest.

He stared unblinking ahead.

"What the hell is that?"

My eyes followed his gaze and finally made contact with the object of his terror. My shoulders sagged in relief.

"Oh my God you almost gave me a heart attack Archer!" I said as I stepped out from behind him.

"That's just Spartacus," I told him.

"Spartacus?" Archer echoed still sounding skeptical.

"Yes, Spartacus," I told him pointedly. "My cat."

"That thing is not a cat." Archer hissed.

I crossed my arms over my chest as I went to stand protectively in front of the feline. "Don't be mean. You'll hurt his feelings."

I bent over and made kissing noises as I pet Spartacus's head affectionately.

"Fallon. Cats aren't supposed to be that big." Archer said cautiously like he seriously thought my cat would attack him any second. 

I laughed as I kissed the top of Spartacus's head, the sound of his loud purr filled the apartment.

"He's a Maine Coon, they're supposed to be the largest domestic cat breed."

Spartacus was over a foot tall and weighed more than seven kilos. He was missing his right eye and half of his right ear was gone too. I suppose he was a bit unnerving to look at, at first, most people had the same reaction to Spartacus as Archer but I knew he was just a big sweetheart who just wanted to be loved.

"I found him last year, he was just a kitten. Someone had run over him with their bike and left him to die beside a dumpster." I couldn't keep my voice from trembling with anger. "He had to undergo three different surgeries. The vet said that he probably wouldn't make it." My lips lifted into a soft smile as I ran a hand through Spartacus's soft fur, "But he did because he's a fighter. That's why I named him Spartacus."

Archer swallowed. "It always astounds me, how can people be so unkind to beings who can't even speak for themselves." He said quietly.

My eyes stung as my emotions started to get the better of me. I loved animals, and the thought of someone hurting such wonderful innocent creatures always made me feel like someone had ripped my chest open. It meant a lot to me that Archer seemed to understand that.

"Why don't you sit down?" I gestured towards the sofa.

He swallowed and looked around with an uneasy expression before finally settling down. I sat down beside him and Spartacus wasted no time jumping on my lap and draping his big furry body over my legs.

For a moment neither Archer nor I said anything.

"So . . .'' I finally spoke up, "Let's start."

He gave me a wary look, "Where do you plan on starting? Do you want me to get a haircut?" He ran a hand through his unruly hair, "or change the way I dress?" He tugged at the oversized hoodie he was wearing.

I'm sure my expression conveyed my mortification.

"Archer," I whispered. "This isn't a 90's Rom-Com. I'm not going to ask you to change the way you look."

"You're not?" He asked a little uncertainly.

I shook my head. "There's nothing wrong with the way you look, and besides, you shouldn't be with someone who chooses you just because you start to look and dress differently," I told him gently. "You should be with someone who chooses you for the kind of person you are on the inside and not because of how you look on the outside." I gave him a small smile, "So let's start with that."

He seemed thoughtful for a moment and then his lips twitched, "Is this your way of telling me that my personality sucks?"

I rolled my eyes and turned my body so that I was facing him. "Lesson one- Confidence."

He laughed at that. A rich, husky sound that made my insides feel warm.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

His eyes were filled with amusement. "It seems fitting, you giving lessons about self-confidence." His eyes trailed over me, taking in what I was wearing, which was an orange and purple checkered plaid skirt with a neon green cardigan.

I was pretty sure he didn't mean it as a compliment but I took it as one anyway.

"Thanks." I beamed at him.

His lips twitched again but he didn't say anything.

"Now getting back to you." I gave him a determined look. "What I mean by being confident is that you need to be happy with who you are, how you look, and what you have. If you can't be happy with yourself, how can you expect someone else to accept you?"

"What if I can't?" He said quietly.

"What if you can't what?" I asked.

"Be happy with who I am." For a moment an emotion flashed in his eyes, an emotion that made me want to ask him who had made him feel that way so I could go and beat the shit out of that person, but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

I studied him. "I guess it depends on what your reason is." I said gently, "If it's because you're not proud of the kind of person you are then you can always change yourself," I swallowed. "But if it's because of what other people think of you then screw them."

He regarded me with a serious expression like he couldn't quite figure me out, "So you don't care about what people think of you?"

I shrugged. "I'd be lying if I said that I didn't care at all. But I try my best to not let it affect me."

Spartacus chose that precise moment to jump off my lap and saunter over to the kitchen where his kibble-filled bowl was located. Thankfully Nelly had filled it before she left for school.

I sighed, "Okay now getting back to you and Caroline. You need to be confident and by that, I don't mean that you should start acting like one of those douchebags who think they're better than everyone else, but just be a little more direct, and convey your feelings a little better. Respect her personal space and boundaries but make your intentions known. A lot of times, the reason a girl isn't considering a guy is because she has no idea how that guy feels about her."

"So you think that I should just go and confess to her?" He asked incredulously.

Something inside my chest squeezed when he said that.

But I quickly pushed the uncomfortable feeling away.

"No, that's not what I meant. You'll need to ease into it because right now I'm pretty sure Caroline has no idea that you're even remotely interested in her. So start with the small things like complimenting her smile, or telling her she looks nice and then just gauge her reaction and act accordingly."

He seemed skeptical so I gave him a reassuring look. "Guys like Chase, one of the main reasons girls fall for them is because they're not afraid to go after what they want and everyone likes to feel like they're wanted sometimes."

"Is that why you fell for him?"

I could feel my whole body go rigid at his question.

He must have noticed the change in my demeanor because his expression softened. "I'm sorry, it wasn't my place to ask you that question."

"It's alright," I whispered.

"Can I just say something?" Archer said quietly.

I gave him an expectant look.

"He must have been a fool to have lost someone like you."

My breath hitched.

He'd moved closer to me, or maybe it was me who'd moved closer to him. His head tilted towards me as he tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

"Your eyes have flecks of gold in them." He murmured in awe. He moved closer.

I'd always thought my brown eyes were boring but Archer made it sound like he'd never seen anything more beautiful.

His pupils dilated making his green eyes seem darker, more intense.

My eyes fluttered as his hand cupped my jaw, his thumb caressed my cheek.

Once

Twice

My heart thudded wildly in my chest.

"I don't mean to interrupt whatever is happening here but I really wanted to watch the highlights of the game before I left for work."

Adrian's voice had us jumping apart. Both of us scooted to the opposite ends of the sofa, our chests heaving like we'd just run a marathon.

Adrian gave us both a funny look.

"I uh- sure. Go ahead." I sputtered awkwardly as I gestured towards the TV like a complete moron.

"It's late. I should probably get going." Archer stood up from the sofa and quickly made his way towards the front door, not really looking at me.

"Okay, bye," I said softly as I watched him leave.

"Well, at least he looks like less of a dick than the other guy who used to come here." Adrian's voice cut in, he was talking to me but his eyes were glued to the TV screen.

"Yeah, I guess Archer isn't a dick." I found my lips turning up in an involuntary smile.

Adrian turned to look at me, he must have seen something in my expression because his expression became concerned. "Hey Fallon, be careful okay? Especially when it comes to guys. People like us, we need to watch our backs because it's so easy to take advantage of someone who . . ." He trailed off, his eyes not meeting mine.

Of someone who has no one.

I finished the sentence for him.

A lump lodged itself in my throat. I nodded because he was right. I'd learned it the hard way.