Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. Pixelberry does.
Summary: F!MC (Millie) is irritated. Furball makes an appearance. Amends are made. Takes place after Book 1’s Bagelgate
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“So Millie and I ended up hiding in my friend, Edgar’s, closet – wearing hockey masks – for about two hours until he finally came home.” Diego could barely keep his composure as he recounted a Halloween prank they had pulled off during sophomore year at Hartfeld to Zahra and Craig.
“Wait,” Zahra tried to stifle a smile, “D&D Edgar?” She took a drink of her mimosa and Diego nodded. She looked at Craig and they both laughed, her spitting out some of her drink.
Failing to engage in the conversation, Millie focused on pushing her cold bagel around with her fork. The smear of cream cheese sat on the plate, untouched. Her eyes darted around the breakfast hall to see who was left. Sean, Michelle, Aleister, and Grace had left in a huff. Quinn and Raj were working on their second helping of scrambled eggs. Lila was flittering around the room, busing tables and cleaning up. Furball was scampering around, vacuuming up what he could find.
Finally, her eyes focused on Jake. He was sitting in a booth with his feet propped up on the table, fiddling on the padlock Millie recovered the day before. For a moment, his eyes caught hers across the room. Normally, she’d feel butterflies in her stomach and blush. Not this time. This time she scowled at him and looked away, focusing again on the bagel.
Despite her stomach rumbling, she couldn’t eat a bite. She was irritated. Nerves on end. Millie took a deep, cleansing breath to help calm those nerves. It didn’t help. Her reality was that she was stuck on an abandoned island with her best friend and a group of people she barely knew. The right side of her abdomen was sore from the swipe from an actual Sabertooth Tiger’s paw. To make things worse, she had interjected herself in a pissing match between the two resident alpha males.
Eyeing the coffee urn by the buffet, she slid out of her chair and grabbed a mug. She took another deep breath. Why did she get in the middle of their argument that morning? Honestly, had she stayed out of it, they probably would have devolved into another physical altercation. Against her better judgement, she poured some coffee in her much and turned around to survey the room again. Her eyes settled on Jake who was still fiddling with the padlock, a blank look on his face.
Though unnecessary, she had defended him against Sean. Truthfully, she didn’t see anything wrong with Jake and his half of their group relaxing by the pool and playing in the ocean even if Sean and his companions searched The Celestial for any way to get off the island. Maybe she didn’t see any wrong because she had decided to join Jake, needing a few hours of relaxing and goofing off to clear her head.
Stirring creamer into her coffee, she frowned, thinking about what was making her more agitated: allowing Sean to make her feel guilty for taking time off by pool or insinuating that she defended Jake because of the attraction she felt for him. She groaned, starting to wonder if Sean was actually right.
She ran a hand through her long blond hair, twisting it behind her neck. Sighing, she set down the coffee, realizing she didn’t need her nerves any more stimulated. Looking around the room once more, she saw that Diego was still laughing with Craig and Zahra. Smiling, she silently blessed him for being able to use humor and pop culture references to diffuse an uncomfortable situation.
Yoga and a nap would do her well, she decided, and left the room, heading for her suite. Halfway down the hall, she thought of Furball and how much she wanted to cuddle with him. Turning back around, she heard Jake growl, “Watch it, Snowflake!” followed by a distressed “Mmrrk!!” by the little blue fox.
Her jaw slightly dropped when she looked at Jake and Furball. Jake’s eyes were wide as he realized that as Furball was scampering around underfoot, he had accidentally stepped on his tail. His face was instantly full of regret and guilt. Before he could say anything, he saw Millie angrily stalk down the hall towards him.
Furball, still in shock, scurried up Millie and perched on her shoulder. She stopped in front of Jake, hands on her hips.
“What the fuck, Jake?!” She narrowed her eyes at him. Oh, she was mad. “What did Furball ever do to you?!”
“I, uh…” He stammered as he looked at Furball with remorse. “Sorry, little Snowflake.” Tentatively, he reached out a hand to pet Furball. Furball rewarded him with a purr, allowing Jake to run his hand a few more times on his back. Satisfied and forgiving, Furball jumped onto the floor and nuzzled against Jake’s leg. Jake looked back at Millie, “Look, Princess –“
“Don’t you Princess me, Jake!” Her body was tense as turned to walk away.
After walking past the corner, she slumped against the wall and took a few, deep cleansing breaths. She hadn’t meant to yell at Jake even if that allowed her to release some tension. Closing her eyes, she thought about the past few days – they’d spent a lot of time alone, exploring the island. They liked being around each other and looked forward to the next time they would meet. She put her head in her hands and shook her head. No, he didn’t deserve to be yelled at.
Before retreating to her suite, she looked back at the hallway and saw Jake kneeling on the floor, a hand now full of bacon that Furball was happily eating. Jake’s other hand was scratching behind Furball’s ear. “What a softie.”
***
Millie looked at herself in the mirror and smiled at her reflection as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail. After a yoga session, a nap, and shower, she was refreshed and rejuvenated. Having reflected on her handling of the events earlier in the day, she was ready to smooth things over with Jake, Sean, and the rest of their group.
First though, she needed to check on Furball. Millie half-expected that Furball would have followed her to her room but he was nowhere in sight. She had a sneaking of suspicion of where he was.
The air was warm and humid when she walked outside and quickly glanced around the pool area. Raj was sitting at a table, writing something down, deep in thought. Crossing her arms, she looked at the other side of the pool and spotted her little blue fox.
She felt her heart skip a beat when she saw Furball curled up in a hammock on a bed of Jake’s green bomber jacket. Purring softly, he was snuggled against Jake who was lying in the hammock, taking a nap. With a goofy grin on her face, she walked over to them.
Crouching to get to eye level, she put her hand on Furball’s head to pet him and softly greeted him, “Hey there, Furball.” He opened an eye and let out a happy squeak. Jake opened an eye, looking at the both of them. Her eyes met his and she let go of Furball. “Uh, hi, Top Gun.” She gave him a shy smile.
“Millie.” He acknowledged and moved to get up. Though her tone was promising, he figured she’d want her space. She stood up and put a hand on his arm to stop him. Millie climbed into the hammock with both of them, Furball in the middle. Jake shifted to face her, a small smile on his face.
“Princess.” She corrected. Her hand ran down Furball’s back.
“Princess.” Furball cooed as Jake’s hand started petting his head. Silent, they focused on petting Furball. A few times, their fingers brushed against each other, sending electricity through her body.
Millie piped up, “I had a poodle growing up.” Jake laughed, of course Princess would have had a poodle. “One time I accidentally stepped on her foot. I didn’t see her for the rest of the afternoon.” Furball’s ears perked up and he looked at her. “Don’t worry, Furball.” He cooed and got up, shaking out his body and skipping off.
Her eyes darted down to their hands, Jake’s fingers were combing against her palm. She moved her fingers to lace them with his. He cleared his throat, “I know I’ve been an ass. I’ll work on it. Scout’s honor.”
She scooted closer to him, closing their gap. Her eyes studied him – his long, sandy brown hair had fallen in front of his blue eyes, his five o’clock shadow, that smirk on his face that drove her absolutely crazy. Her heart felt like it was pounding. Tilting her head, she noticed a bruise on his cheekbone, a souvenir from his fist fight with Sean the day before. With her free hand, her thumb gently grazed the bruise. “Jake, you’re much sexier without the over the top machismo.” Instantly, she felt her face redden. A deep, tomato red. She couldn’t believe she blurted that.
A huge grin emerged on his face, “Duly noted, Princess.” His thumb moved to caress her hand. “I’ll go make friends with Captain America.”
The butterflies seemed to multiply in her stomach and she took a deep breath. With her free hand, she pushed his hair back and out of his face. “I’m sorry I yelled at you.”
“You know, Princess.” He hooked his free arm underneath her hip, drawing her even closer. Her breath hitched and she briefly struggled to regulate her breathing. “I never give a damn whenever someone’s mad at me.” He let go of her hand and moved it to cup her cheek. His voice lowered, “I do give a damn if you’re mad at me, Princess. I’ll stay on your good side.”
She gave him a grateful smile. Before she knew it, they leaned towards each other until their lips gently brushed together. Her mind and heart were racing, they were finally going to kiss.
Just then, they heard Raj bounding towards them, jolting them to a seated position. “Doodlebugs! Can we talk?”
