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“Do you use a purse?” Julian asked.

“Nope.” I said in a cheery voice, making sure the ‘p’ popped.

I absolutely did not want a tiny little purse dog. Or a big dog. Or any kind of dog for that matter. I didn’t have anything against dogs, I just didn’t want one for myself. They required far more love and attention than a cat did.

“How about a bird?” Tyson kept at me.

“A goldfish?”

“Bunny rabbit?”

“Goat.”

“Chickens.”

“We don’t live on a farm,” I reminded them as I entered the house. “And thanks for the distraction. Without you guys, I might have stood out there for an hour staring at the ground before I conjured up enough bravery to walk over that spot. Also, in case it ever comes up, I would like a hairless cat. I think they’re cute.”

“She’s joking,” Tyson tried to assure Julian. “She has the good sense not to find something that ugly as cute.”

Tyson was wrong. Good sense wasn’t really my specialty or my strong suit.

“Theyarecute.” Julian said as he shot Tyson a dirty look.

Julian was sweet. He lived with Damien, had honey colored hair that was always kept buzzed close to his skull and he had a gold lip ring. The lip ring was something we had in common. His eyes were always kind when they were on me and I sometimes wondered how he ended up BFF’s with Quinton and Damien. Outside of magic and being attractive, I didn’t think they had anything else in common.

I didn’t know him very well because I hadn’t had the chance to really get to know him yet. But what I did know, I liked a whole lot.

“I will get you a hairless cat,” Julian vowed in a solemn voice.

Oh boy.

Now what had I started?

“I don’t need a cat,” I told him. “I have Binx.”

Which reminded me…

A quick glance over my shoulder told me Tyson had been kind enough to close the front door behind him.

I sat Binx’s carrier on the floor and knelt down beside it. Happy, he started to purr at me through the bars on the door in the front. Binx wanted out and he knew I was going to free him from his tiny cage. He watched me through the bars, waiting patiently, and with an intelligence I hadn’t seen in another animal before.

I slid the bar free and pulled the door open wide. Binx strolled out purring, as if he had all the time in the world. He rubbed the side of his little body up against my hand and sauntered off. I grinned after him. Binx acted like no tragedy had occurred and he hadn’t been displaced for days, he was home and nothing else mattered.

I needed to adopt his attitude for myself.

I stood up quickly and muttered, “I’m going up to my room to change into some of my own clothes. As comfortable as these pajamas are, I miss wearing normal clothes. And I miss wearing my own clothing. And a freaking bra. I know you don’t understand that last one, how could you, but trust me when I say I could never be a hippie. Free-boobing it is so not the way for me to go. It’s awkward and I feel like people are constantly staring at my chest and since I’ve spent the last week surrounded by guys it’s made the situation seem all the more awkward for me. You might not have noticed, but I certainly did.”

I walked away, heading towards the stairs. Their conversation didn’t fade away until I closed the door to my bedroom shut firmly behind me.

“Did she just say free-boobing?” Julian asked in amusement.

“I wish she wouldn’t talk about her boobs at all,” Tyson remarked. “Now I want her to come back here so I can check them out, but I can’t because it would make me a dick and make her feel even more awkward than she already claims to be. Seriously, though, did you see anyone staring at her chest, because I didn’t. I didn’t even notice she wasn’t wearing a bra.”

“I didn’t see anyone staring, but she’s been locked away with Quint and Dash. I doubt they were checking her out recently. The only thing I think Quint’s capable of feeling right now is guilt. It’s eating him up inside. And Dash is in too much pain and too exhausted to get a hard on right now, so I imagine checking out her tits isn’t something he’s going to be doing any time soon.”

“I think you give them too much credit…”

I wished I had never said a thing. I didn’t want them talking about my boobs and debating amongst themselves who they thought was most likely to check me out.