“Hey,” I said, startling her. I sloshed my way through the flood, over to the tub, reaching in to find the culprit. “Whose load of wash is this?”
“I don’t know. Probably Cujo’s.” She sighed. “But Sassy’s stuck behind the washer.”
I held up the pair of pink panties that I’d pulled from the tub drain. “Hmm, nice!” I wrung them out and held them up. “At least Cujo’s owner has good taste in lingerie!”
“Sebastian!” She rolled her eyes, grabbing and tossing them behind her onto the wet floor. ust help me get the cat!”
I sighed. The tub problem had been solved. The water was going nicely down the drain again. Aside from the wet carpet in our apartment, which I would have been happy to deal with after another two hours of sleep, my worries were over.
“Please?” She leaned over the washer again, and I got a glimpse of her ass as her shorts rode up. “Just help!”
“Okay, okay.” I stepped up behind her, peering over the washer. I could see the luminescent eyes of a white cat glowing up at me, ears pressed flat against its head. Sassy saw me and hissed. “Does that one have claws?”
“Yes!” she scoffed, all horrified. Katie was one of those-altering an animal was horrible, blah blah blah. I didn’t know if it was cruel-I just knew I would have preferred picking up a soft-pawed cat to a fully loaded one. We had some of each kind.
“You know I can’t keep them all straight…” I edged around the other side of the washer to see if I could move it. I thought I could, without breaking any connections or pulling any hoses. Enough, anyway.
Katie peered anxiously over the washer. I noticed the way her pink tank-tee pulled over her breasts. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and her nipples were hard. Probably from having wet feet and standing on the cold basement floor, but still-it was a nice view. Made me want to bend her over the washer right there, but I knew better than to try. Katie wouldn’t have any of that. I leaned over to turn the washer off and my hand brushed her shoulder. She slipped back off the machine, slanting her eyes, watching me.
I grabbed the washer with both hands, rocking it forward a little at a time. The cat hissed and suddenly bolted. Luckily, Katie had shut the door at the top of the stairs and it was trapped there. She ran after it, and I heard her cooing as she carried the cat back down toward me, cradling it in her arms.
“Thank you.” Her smile lit up her whole face in such a way that it even made me forget about her ass and I remembered again why I’d agreed to move in together in the first place, in spite of the fact that sex with Katie was minimal at best. “My hero.”
I pushed the machine back, turning it on. “Do I get a hero’s blowjob then?”
“Sebastian!” Katie blushed, nuzzling the cat’s fur.
“Just a suggestion.” I opened the door to our apartment, herding the four or five cats crowding the doorway, looking to escape. I could smell the mildew already. “I’m going back to bed. Don’t you have class?”
The cat in her arms was purring now, its eyes half-closed. “In an hour.”
“Still time for that blowjob…” My dick was hard watching her walk around in her tank and little shorts as I climbed back under the covers. The cats were everywhere, as usual. I had to shove them out of the way to make room in bed. I think at last count there were fifteen. It was a lot of damned cats.
Katie stood only half-facing me, still rubbing her cheek against the cat’s ear. “Sebastian…?”
“Hmm?” Damn my dick was hard. A guy should get a little reward for a rescue like that, I reasoned. But Katie knew I’d do anything for her, no matter what. She had me wrapped, although I’m not sure she knew it.
“Are you ever going to like cats?”
I groaned. “You know I’m not good with them.” My eyes were back on her ass, where the water from her feet had made little wet spots on her shorts when she was hanging over the edge of the washing machine. I was about to make one of my usual jokes about liking cats ‘braised in light cream sauce’ and then I remembered the way she had looked sprawled across the washer.
“Come here.” I reached my arm out for her and she sat on the edge of the bed, letting me slid my hand up under her shirt in back. “I may not love cats, but I love you.”
She smiled, just a little, letting the cat jump from her arms onto the bed. I winced-the damned thing just barely missed my crotch. But Katie was letting me rub her back, and I dared to slide my hand around to cup her breast, so nice and firm, her nipples still hard from standing in her bare feet on the wet basement floor.
“Mmm.” She sighed, closing her eyes, and for a moment my cock was sure we were going to get lucky. Then she opened them again, hopping up from the bed. “How about I make you a nice ‘thank-you’ dinner tonight after I get home from work?”
“No blowjob?” I reached for my crotch, imagining her mouth on it. She didn’t do it often, but when she did, oh fuck… my cock stood up at full attention just at the thought.
Katie smiled over her shoulder, on the way to the bathroom for a shower before class. “Mayyybe tonight…”
“Tease!” I raised my eyebrows but I was grinning. “Hey, don’t forget, the show’s tonight.”
“Oh right. Well then we’ll have to do dinner tomorrow.” She threaded her way through a congregation of mewling cats. I couldn’t help watching how her hips swayed before she closed the bathroom door, feeling my cock swell to bursting in anticipation.
* * * *
We were doing “Cleopatre,” and although she kept saying how much she wanted to hear me perform, Katie had missed it twice. This is her last chance, I thought as I paced backstage, my jaw working, teeth grinding.
“Ready for the big finale?” Anne’s speaking voice was as soft as her singing voice was loud. I’d never heard a woman who could project like she could, especially when she started out with something that seemed so small.
She smiled up at me, already in full costume, her eyes heavily darkened for the role. For a while, I thought she and I might hook up, but it didn’t work out. Performers had big egos, and they got in the way. Anne was too much of a diva for me.
“Sure,” I said, stopping in mid-pace. “You?”
“Look what Theo gave me.” She arched her neck, lifting a small pendant on a gold chain. “He told me you should go see him.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Finale gift?” Theo was known for his prudence when it came to putting on shows. My entire costume had been acquired from a Salvation Army thrift store.
“Sort of.” Her eyes were bright. “He’s got boxes of stuff in his office he’s giving away. He doesn’t want the university to get any of it.”
“Holy shit!” My eyes widened and I laughed. “He’s retiring isn’t he? Sly old fox.”
She just smiled. “Go see him.”
I shook my head, heading back toward his office. He growled a “Come in!” when I knocked.
“Hey, ol’ man,” I said, crossing my arms and surveying the stacks of boxes in his office. “I heard you wanted to see me.”
“Sebastian!” He poked his head up from behind his desk. “You talked to Anne?”
“She didn’t tell me a thing.” I grinned.
“Good!” It came out ‘Goot.’ Theo’s English was ‘goot’ but his accent was still very German, and he often slipped back into the language when he was angry. We’d all been berated in German more times than we could count-I was probably the only one, though, who had been called a “verfluchter hurensohn” and knew that it actually meant some approximation of “stupid son of a bitch!”
“Anything you want.” He nodded at the pile of boxes. “You choose.”
“I’d rather have you stay,” I said, meeting his eyes.