Loving Carter

11

Eli frowned as he watched Del's eyes flit between him and Carter. What was she thinking about? 

"Hey, I have an idea." Del voiced. "Porter, get up. Let's go get some take-out for us to eat."

Porter put a throw pillow over his face and groaned, "Can't we just order pizza?"

"No. I want something else." She insisted.

"Let's just order." He repeated.

"Porter." She said firmly. 

What the hell? Eli thought. Why did she wanna go so badly?

"I can go with you, Della," Carter said. 

Del shook her head. "I want Porter to come with me." 

Porter got up at that last part, running his hands through his hair and glaring at Del. 

"Fine. Give me five minutes." 

And then after the five minutes had passed and they both left, Eli realized what his evil friend was up to. She had left him alone with Carter.

Eli got up and went into his room. He knew his mom would beat his ass if he left a guest by herself, so he picked up May and brought her out with him. 

She had been asleep in Porter's room during the last time Carter came over, so she never met her.

As he stalked out with her fluffy body in his arms, Carter looked up from her phone and squealed. 

"Is that a cat?!" She started to walk over to him.

"No, it's a chicken." Eli deadpanned. 

Carter paused. "Did you just make a reference to Keeping Up With The Kardashians?" She raised an eyebrow.

Eli ducked his head to hide his heating up cheeks. "No." He mumbled, knowing full well he had watched every season with Della. 

Carter laughed, approaching him and May with an outstretched hand to pet her. 

"She won't let you," Eli informed her. "She only likes me." He said smugly. Being an animal's favorite human was definitely a flex.

His smug face turned into an appalled one when his traitor of a cat sniffed Carter's hand and snuggled her head up to it as if asking for pets. 

Carter smirked. "What was that? She won't let me pet her?" She inquired as she scratched under May's head. He noticed her nail polish was chipped on almost every nail. 

"What's her name?"

"May."

"Short for anything?"

"Uh. No." Eli lied. 

"Really?" Eli looked up from her hand on his cat to find her already looking at him. 

Her eyes must have been some sort of truth serum as Eli blurted out, "It's short for Mayonnaise."

She blanched. "Mayonnaise?" 

"Yeah."

Her eyes crinkled as she found the humor in the situation. "That's gotta be animal abuse."

"Hey," Eli shrugged, "We thought it would be funny."

Carter noticed how he was much more approachable and soft when he had an animal in his hands, unlike the rude and cold Eli she had consistently dealt with. She was right that he was warm and squishy on the inside.

May jumped out of his arms then, trotting over to her food bowl. Carter's eyes followed her before trailing back to Eli. 

They were awkwardly standing in the middle of the living room, so Carter walked away and placed herself on one of the stools near the kitchen counter where he usually ate breakfast.