Catalyst

Part 6

"How do I feel about carrying a squirrel in my purse? Hmm, oh I don't know. Really frickin' weird! No!" 

"Come on, Y/n!" Jimin pleaded, biting his lower lip and flashing puppy eyes at me. "It won't be like a wild squirrel. It'll be me."

I shook my head. "No. What if someone saw? I don't want to be known as the crazy woman with a purse squirrel!" 

Jimin burst out laughing. He had clearly been holding it in. 

"Oh, and fun fact, being on a first name basis with the squirrel in my purse doesn't make me feel any better. It makes me feel worse." 

Wiping tears from his cheeks, Jimin calmed himself down. "You're over thinking it." 

"You do hear yourself, right? Can you not hear the crazy?"

Jimin sighed, and sat down in front of my computer. He ran a hand through his hair, and I felt myself become weak at the knees. I envied that hand. Snap out of it, Y/n! It's embarrassing!

Would I still want to help him if he wasn't this attractive? Am I shallow?

He waved me over, and I obeyed, standing at his side. 

"I'm guessing that Yoongi is just now starting to sell my stuff, because he listed my leather moto jacket and few other things late last night." He pointed at a black leather jacket on the monitor. "You should contact him about the jacket. I'll wait in your purse until you distract him, and go into my room and get what I need out of the safe. I'll put it in a backpack and toss it out the window. I'll hop back in your purse, you grab the backpack once we're outside, and we're good to go."

"That sounds easy enough." I sighed, "What if I can't distract your roommate, though?" 

Jimin waved his hand dismissively, facing the computer screen, "It won't be a problem. He has a thing for redheads." He checked Yoongi's other marketplace listings.

Great. Another guy with a redhead fetish. 

"Move over, I'll contact him about the jacket." I rolled Jimin and my desk chair out of the way, and leaned over the keyboard to type. "Okay, now we wait."

"After we hit up my apartment, we should go grocery shopping. You're out of eggs."

***

I tugged on the hem of my floral skirt as I got out of my car. It was shorter than I remembered. Jimin had picked it out, pairing it with a fitted white shirt and denim jacket. He claimed Yoongi would like it. Admittedly, I did look very cute, but was just uncomfortable with the situation as whole. 

I carefully lifted my purse from the passenger seat, and glanced at the small squirrel peering up at me. This was insane. 

Yoongi had replied to my inquiry within the hour and said he was available all day. 

I walked up the stairs to Jimin and Yoongi's apartment and knocked on the door. I heard heavy footsteps trudge to the door which swung open to reveal Yoongi. He was just as cute as, if not cuter than, Jimin. He wore an irritated expression, but that didn't detract from his adorable face. I was barely able to resist the urge to reach out and squish his cheeks. 

He narrowed his eyes at me, then scanned me up and down. He gave an almost imperceptible nod of approval, and a sweet smile spread across his face. "You're here about the jacket? Y/n, right?"

I was taken aback by how deep his voice was, but recovered quickly. "Yes, that's me."

He stepped aside and motioned for me to come in. 

Yoongi offered me a seat before disappearing down the hallway. Squirrel Jimin took this opportunity to leap out of my purse and run down the hall, darting into a darkened doorway. Once Yoongi had passed the doorway on his way back to the living room, Squirrel Jimin took off further down the hall. 

"Here's the jacket." Yoongi presented the black leather moto jacket to me. "It was my roommate's, I don't think he wore it much." 

I looked over the leather, pretending like I knew what I was looking for as far as wear and tear was concerned. 

I stood up from the sofa, and tried on the jacket. It felt like a perfect fit. "I don't mean to be a pest, but do you have a mirror?"

Yoongi looked up from my chest, not one bit ashamed about having been caught staring. "Yeah, there's one in the bathroom. First door on the right." 

"Thanks." I walked to the bathroom and checked myself out in the mirror for a bit. Not bad. Jimin had good taste. The leather jacket looked great with my floral skirt and fitted white t-shirt combo. I couldn't blame Yoongi for checking me out. I looked hot. 

Walking back out into the living room, I stopped at the end of the hallway. I gave Yoongi what I hoped was a flirtatious smile. "What do you think?"

Yoongi gave me a once over again. "It looks good."

I sat back down on the sofa, and grabbed my wallet out of my purse. "You were asking $50 for the jacket, right?"

"Yeah."

I pulled some cash from my wallet and handed it to him. He stood up, pulling his wallet out of his pants pocket, and stuffed the cash inside. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a movement in the hallway. I began coughing. Yoongi didn't react, so I kept coughing until tears formed. 

"Water?" I gasped. 

"Oh, sure." Yoongi said and walked into the kitchen. Squirrel Jimin raced down the hallway, jumping into my open purse which was sitting on the floor, just as Yoongi came back with a glass of water. 

"Thank you," I croaked out after a few sips. "Sorry, I think I inhaled some saliva." 

I finished the water, and handed Yoongi the empty glass. He sat it on the end table, and stood up from the sofa. I followed suit, and grabbed my purse and denim jacket. 

Yoongi walked me to the door, and as I was about to step outside, he asked for my number. I was surprised as the whole encounter seemed very awkward, but I gave it to him anyway.