The fresh breeze was blowing through my hair, as I entered the large warehouse. I could tell that this would be the day that I would finally take home the pet I’d been searching for. Always a lover of animals, I had been seeking out the best pet for months. When I got a notice that there was a Pet Auction coming up, I wanted to be the first one in line.

Although, the moment I walked into the warehouse, I knew that that wasn’t going to be the case.

The way it was all laid out was that you could walk around and look at the animals, anywhere from cats, dogs, pigs, and even horses. They had them all laid out in this big building. Then once you had a chance to look them over, you could take down notes of the ones that interested you, then go out back and they would be auctioning them off.

I knew right away that I was looking for a kitten or a cat, whichever one struck me the deepest. I entered the area that was marked, Felines. I started looking around. There were dozens and dozens to choose from. As I made my way around the crowded area, I stopped and looked at each one, trying my hardest to play with them and see how they would interact with me, but there was a lot of competition.

When I got to one cat, it looked like she was being avoided. I read the information on her card. “Orange tabby looking for a home. A little shy, but has a lot of heart.” I took a breath, then heard someone continuing the dialogue.

“Three years old and responds to the name Boots.” I looked up and that’s when my eyes met with his. He was tall, looking very stoic and handsome in his blue suit. I was taken aback, mainly wondering who wore a suit to an auction. I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and feeling under dressed. He smiled at me. “Hey!” he said.

I nodded. “Hey!” I turned back to the cat and knelt down in front of her. She moved closer to me and started smelling my fingers offered. “Hey, precious,” I said.

“Her name’s Boots,” he said. There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

I rolled my eyes and looked up at him. “Yeah! I know!”

He knelt down beside me and we both started to pay attention to this one cat. I kept glancing at him, wondering if he was going to be my competition to make this cat my own. I even recognized that he was dressed to kill, so it definitely appeared that he wouldn’t be easy to give up. He started talking to Boots and I stood up and stared at him.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

He looked up at me and he laughed. “I’m just getting to know the cat that I’m going to bid on.”

My jaw dropped. “This is my cat,” I argued. I had been looking for months and I wasn’t going to give up without a fight.

He tilted his head. “I’m sorry, but the auction isn’t for a half hour. There’s no guarantee whose cat she is, but I do know that my niece would love her.”

I felt dejected; I was competing against a man that was buying this for his niece? “Well, there are lots of cats around and you best start looking for another one.”

He laughed and even rolled his eyes. “You’re stubborn, that’s plain to see, but we’ll just see who is looking for another one.” And with that... he was off to get his bidding number.

I glared at his backside, fuming with his arrogance. I turned back to Boots and knelt back down. “I won’t let anyone else take you away from me. You’re already mine.” I heard her purring in response. I reached in and picked her up and she snuggled up against me. I knew that I needed to do everything I could to make that the truth.

I attempted to look through the other cats, but there was not another cat that I was interested in. I kept coming back to Boots. I got my bidding number and went out back, where several people had already taken their places. They had auction platforms set up for whichever you were there to bid on.

I scanned the area, mainly looking for him and that’s when I spotted him. He was staring at me. I looked away and went to the opposite side of the yard, but still with the rest of the Feline hopefuls. I was standing there, waiting for them to start, when two minutes later, he was by my side.

“We got off to a rocky start,” he said. I looked up at him, confused as to who this guy was. I didn’t know him and I definitely didn’t owe him conversation. “The name’s David,” he said.

I looked away from him, but still felt his eyes on me. “Scarlett,” I mumbled.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him smiling. He tried to make some more small talk, but then things started off and the crowd quieted. He kept trying to talk to me, but I had to quickly glare at him and tell him to kindly be quiet. I didn’t want to be rude, but I also didn’t want to converse with this guy and lose out on Boots.

“Fine!” he mumbled. He moved away from me, taking a place that I could still see him, but didn’t have to talk to him. I took a deep breath and waited for them to continue through several cats, before they finally got to mine.

I was ready. I had five hundred dollars in my pocket, just ready to be spent on a new member of the family. The bid started off with small increments. I would bid, then David would bid, then I would bid, and then David would bid. I was freaking out as the bidding kept picking up and the total kept going up. David, on the other hand, didn’t seem to bat an eye.

“Do I have four hundred dollars?” The man asked. I put up my paddle and then shot David a look. He grinned and put up his paddle to add on another twenty-five dollars. This was ridiculous. I put up my paddle to up my bid. I was inching closer to losing out. Then he did something that I didn’t see coming and it was a jackass move. He upped the big on me.

“Two thousand dollars,” he said, hollering out into the crowd. I turned to look at him and he was smirking. I was appalled. There was a loud gasp in the audience and I felt a pit in my stomach. I obviously couldn’t compete with that. I turned around and left the crowd. I was a little heartbroken, but also angry that David was such a jerk. I was furious that I actually found him attractive.

I went back into the warehouse and was hurriedly moving through, when I heard my name. “Scarlett... wait up!” he called. I paused and feeling stupid for considering it, I still turned around. He had Boots in his arms.

“Here to rub it in?” I asked. I tried to avoid looking at the cat in his arms.

He shook his head. “No! I’m here to give you your gift.”

I frowned. “My gift?”

He then handed Boots to me. “I don’t understand. You just paid two thousand dollars for her. What are you doing?”

He shrugged. “You seemed to have your heart set on her and I always buy beautiful women gifts.” He winked at me and I still couldn’t fathom it was happening.

“What about your niece?” I asked.

He laughed. “Well, I was lying about it going to my niece. I don’t even have a niece.” He laughed. “She’s yours and I’m happy to do it.”

With Boots in my arms, I wrapped my other arm around him and hugged him. Then I realized how forward that was, so slowly pulled back. Our eyes connected in a heated exchange and he quickly leaned in and captured my lips. We pulled back and I felt redness on my cheeks. This was by far one of the happiest days of my life and I had David to thank for that.