Feliformia

Author's note: This is the 12th chapter of Feliformia series. This one is much more like a fun break with the aim to humanize the characters. Latex and rubber will stay on the sideline in this chapter. Instead, you'll have just a fun slice of life adventure on a tropical island. Think of it as the famous beach episode in the middle of any good anime series, because that is exactly what this is. :) Oh! And it's a long chapter too. So pour yourself a good whiskey before tackling it. Enjoy! TS

Cats of the Caribbean

Part 1

"Erika, slow down... We have plenty of time. You're always driving too fast."

"I'm not driving that fast. I just don't want us to miss our plane."

"We still have three hours before it takes off, and we're fifteen minutes away from the airport. I'm pretty sure we will be okay."

Our SUV flew down the highway at an excessive speed, but I couldn't blame Erika for being this excited about our trip. We were all thrilled at the perspective of spending a full week on a sandy beach in the Caribbean.

Syr's aunt had recently purchased a small Inn on one of the countless islands and apparently needed help to get the business started. From what I understood, the plan wasn't to make millions out of it; it was merely a fun way to change her lifestyle as she was heading toward retirement. No matter what, for a bunch of northern people like us, it was worth going to take a look.

I opened my laptop case sitting at my feet and pulled out some important papers and distributed them; our passports.

"Here, Kitty. This one is yours! It's a cute pic, but I think you've gained some weight."

"WHAT!? You must not say things like this to a cute girl! You must not!"

"Hehe! You are enjoying Syr's cooking a bit too much, I think, and you are lazy as fuck. Sooo..."

"I have a cheese sandwich addiction. Is it that much of a problem?"

"Nah! You are still our cute beloved Kitty. Syr, this is yours."

"Thank you."

"And this is yours, Erika. Oh, look at that birthdate!"

"I'll gut you, Mark! I swear."

"Haha! I'm just kidding. I can't wait to get there and have fun with all of you."

"Master Mark, you only say this because you want to see us wearing our new swimsuits."

"Guiiilty as charged! But I live well with those thoughts."

Going to a beach with three sexy girls had its perks, none of them that I would exchange for anything. Girls being girls, they refused to show me what sexy dresses and swimsuits they had purchased for this trip, but they made sure to buy me some clothes to replace my existing ones; I certainly felt like their Ken doll at times.

When we reached the airport, we parked our car in the long-term lot and took our luggage out. Kitty and Erika were tiny five foot two ladies, and seeing them dragging suitcases half their size was immensely entertaining.

After checking in and dropping our baggage off, we headed to the security checkpoint; I should have known that Kitty was about to cause all kinds of trouble with her distorted vision of world.

"What's this, Mark?"

"What?"

"The big machine scanning people."

"Oh, that is the new radio scanner. It sees through your clothes to detect weapons and drugs."

"They don't pat you down anymore?"

"Not always, no. Unless you tell the agents that you don't want to go through the scanner, but it's safe, so don't worry about it. Go. It's your turn."

The security lady signaled Kitty to enter the scanner, but she stopped walking when she got near it. She turned to the lady and told her something I couldn't hear. They took Kitty aside and patted her down.

I couldn't see the whole thing because it was my turn to be called to the scanner, which only took a few seconds to go through.

Once on the other side, I rejoined with Syr and Erika.

"Where's Cathead?"

"They took her aside for a manual search. I'm not too sure what happened."

"She always causes trouble. Unbelievable."

"Well, that's Kitty for you. But I'm sure she is fine. She took the plane more often than I did to go visit her family in Japan."

"I'm still not surprised that she caused trouble."

"Master Mark... There she is."

Carrying her little backpack and passport, Kitty exited the security checkpoint, looking happy and unphased.

"Kitty? What happened?"

"Nothing? Why?"

"Why didn't you go through the scanner? It scared you?"

"No. Why would it scare me? I'm not a child."

"But... They took you aside for a manual search."

"Oh, that? The female agent was pretty. So I wanted her to pat me down."

"..."

"What? You said I had a choice. So I asked her, and she said yes."

"Kitty... Aaah! Nevermind!"

"Whaaaat?"

Overlooking Kitty's uncorrectable behavior was the best thing to do to avoid an early burnout during our vacation. Airport security was a serious business, yet she found a way to pervert it into something sexual.

We all headed to a small pub near our gate as we did have a good two hours to kill before boarding. A beer or two and some snacks wouldn't hurt before our long flight.

Sitting in a comfy booth, we discussed our destination. Syr didn't have any concrete info for us. All she knew was that we would need to help refresh the place and set things up, but we had no idea what it would look like; she didn't even have any pictures to share with us.

Syr didn't have much to say about her aunt either outside that she was nice and friendly. After Syr's parents passed away, she was the one who had taken care of her. Raising an orphan child was proof of character.

For a full hour, we asked Syr many questions to which she didn't have answers, but it was all in good fun. We would soon discover everything firsthand once we would land on the Island.

As Kitty and Erika fought for the last deep-fried cheese curd, I felt something pulling shyly on my elbow. I turned to Syr, who had a cute flushed face.

"What's up, Syr?"

She brought her lips to my ear and whispered something.

"May... May I speak to you?... In private."

"Sure. Kitty, Erika, we will be back in a sec. And stop fighting. We are in an airport. What are you? Children?"

They were not even listening to me; it was a lost cause. Whatever. It allowed Syr and I to slide off the booth discreetly, and walk up to the large window giving on the runway. She grabbed my arm and pressed her cheek on my shoulder.

"Hey? What's up? Do airplanes scare you?"

"No... No. That's not it. I have something embarrassing to say. I should have discussed this earlier, but I was too uncomfortable."

"What is it?"

"..."

"Tell me... I'm not going to judge you."

"I... I didn't tell my aunt."

"What? You didn't tell her we were coming?"

"No... Not that! You know... I didn't tell her..."

"Syr, what are you talking about? What didn't you tell her?"

"Well... about... us."

"Ooooh... I see. THAT."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, we should have brought the topic up sooner. So, you think it's going to be a problem?"

"I... I don't know. Maybe. My aunt knows I'm living with Erika, and I told her that you were my boyfriend... but she doesn't know you have two other girlfriends."

"Let me guess, she doesn't know you are playing maid and that we call you Syr either."

"Correct."

We were not even on the airplane that things suddenly got more interesting. We should have discussed this waaay earlier, but in all fairness, I was pretty sure all of us thought about it at one point or another but didn't have the guts to bring the sensitive topic up.

It didn't take a genius to understand Syr's delicate position in all of this. Telling her family that she was living with a boyfriend who had two other girlfriends was a recipe for disaster. Syr had zero interest in dating girls, but she was open-minded and generous enough to be happy in a relationship where she had to share her male. But telling that to people close to her was not as easy as it sounded.

It could be compared to a young adult admitting he was gay and wanted to tell his family. It's not a matter of not being comfy as a gay person; it was a matter of being ready to share this portion of his private life with the entire world. A person couldn't be forced to be ready to get out of the closet, or else it could seriously harm his relationships.

In this case, Syr wasn't only worried about herself. As the group's male, it was pretty evident that I would end up looking like the bad guy abusing all those cute girls. Her aunt would never believe me if I were to tell her that it was, in fact, the girls who had decided on this strange polyamory arrangement.

Syr, clinging to my arm, showed that she was not ready to open up on that level with her family just yet, and I took no offense. I haven't even told my own family about our fantastic little group.

"Listen Syr, you'll be my only girlfriend this week."

"..."

"Don't worry, Kitty and Erika will understand. I'd not be surprised if they even like it. You know how much Erika is into Kitty."

"You...you think so?"

"Absolutely! And Syr, the cute maid, won't be around either. It's going to be the real Elizabeth."

"That...That's going to be hard."

"Well, think about it as a great opportunity to show me the real you."

"Yes...That's the hardest part."

"I know you better than you think, Syr. Everything will be fine. Let's go tell Erika and Cathead about it."

"O...okay."

My reward for being understanding was a kiss on the neck. Hand in hand, we walked back to the restaurant where Kitty and Erika were digging in a fresh basket of cheese curds.

"Seriously, more cheese?"

"Always more cheese! Where did you go?"

"Well, I have an announcement to make. Kitty, Erika, I'm dumping you!"

"Meow! Does that mean I can have sex with Erika all the time?"

"Oh, Kitty, we can get married too!"

"Let's kick them out of our house, and we will turn Syr's workshop into a dungeon!"

"Deal!"

As I pinched my nose's bridge, Syr rubbed my back, knowing all the sarcasm I had to endure in my daily life. Of course, those two were going to react like that to prevent my joke from being successful. If they had an opportunity to turn anything I said against me, they would.

I sat back down in the booth with Syr and clarified my train of thought.

"All those cheese curds got to your brain. Seriously, for the next week, Syr and I will be a traditional couple. Her aunt is not aware of our crazy relationship, and Syr isn't quite ready to come out with it. I can understand why. It's not like we've been together for years, right."

"So, what does that mean? What do you want us to do?"

"That means that I'm Syr's exclusive boyfriend and probably will have to sleep in a separate room. Kitty and you, Erika, won't jump in my arms when you see me."

"Pfff... I never do that anyway. Kitty does."

"Meow! I don't mind. It sounds like a fun game, actually. But, what about us?"

"What about you?"

"Yeah... Can Erika and I be a lesbian couple and have sex everywhere in the inn?"

Scratching the back of my head, I turned to Syr for that one. That was a good question. I mean, going there pretending Syr was my only girlfriend was one thing, but preventing Kitty and Erika to act as a couple just because they were two girls was not really acceptable.

But Syr put our mind at ease.

"My aunt is very nice. She is not homophobic at all. You...you are doing this for me more than for her. I'm just not ready to tell her everything yet."

"Then Erika and I will be a super lesbian couple! Yay! Mark! You are not allowed to come to our room, and you can't touch us when we will be wearing our new sexy swimsuits and rubbing our sunscreen oiled bodies together!"

Ugh! Why did Kitty have to say that! I knew it would be hard for me to keep my hands off them, but if they were wearing sexy bikinis around me, that was going to be a different ball game. Knowing them, they would probably do everything they could to tease me.

"Kitty... You are evil!"

"I know! And it's going to be a lot more fun than I thought. See, Syr? Things are PERFECT!"

"Yes, but there is one more thing. You cannot call me Syr. And I cannot act as a maid either..."

"Oh... Making Mark suffer is easy, but that will be hard. What will you do if you are not a maid? You'll be super boring and all."

"Kitty! Be polite! Syr, I mean, Elizabeth will do just fine without her maid uniform. It's only for a week."

"We will see about that. Erika, now that we are a lesbian couple, can I grab your boobs?"

"No! Not here!"

"Aaah, come on! Just a little bit!"

"Kittyyyy! Stop!"

Oh boy! Would this really be a vacation?

Half an hour later, we boarded our big plane. Syr and I sat side by side, and the two nutjobs occupied the seats in front of us. Maybe I should have separated them to avoid an unwanted emergency landing.

Our aircraft finally took off, and we were on our way to a very warm island. We should have done that a long time ago. Working all the time wasn't fun, and a vacation at home was not a real vacation. There is nothing like being out of cellular range while digging toes in the burning sand.

After an hour of flight, Kitty got off her seat and headed toward the back, for a bathroom break, at least that was what I had supposed before Erika stood up as well. She stopped next to me and whispered something nasty in my ear.

"I'm going to have hot sex with Kitty in the bathroom... You can't follow us because you are not our boyfriend."

She ended her teasing with a lick on my ear. What a pest.

Syr was asleep on my shoulder, so there wasn't much I could do about this mental image that took shape in my mind, at least until we reached our destination.

***

"Where is my luggage?"

"Mine is not there either."

"Syr and I got ours already. Let's wait a bit longer. I'm sure it will come out."

"There is no more coming out from the conveyor... I need my luggage. All my clothes are in it!"

"Mine too!"

Well, I refrained not to laugh, but this made me smile. It looked like Erika and Kitty would have to adopt a minimalist lifestyle for a while because their belongings didn't make it. There were a bunch of other people in the same boat.

"Come on, let's go to the service desk and ask. Maybe they can help you. Kitty, stay here in case they come out."

"Okay... But watching this treadmill spinning around is making me dizzy."

"Hehe. We will be back."

The service desk staff was actually helpful. They managed to confirm that our missing suitcases were still in Canada. Apparently, the plane was too heavy, and they couldn't load them all. If there were no other problems, they should arrive tomorrow or the day after, even though they couldn't guarantee it.

Interestingly enough, Erika took it well. Because she spent her career managing supply chains for the different companies she worked for, to her, this was just a technical problem, and being emotional about this would be counterproductive.

Kitty, her, had a solution to everything.

"Meow! Does that mean I can walk around naked?"

The good news was that they had their essential items in their carry-on. They would be able to brush their teeth and clean themselves, which would be enough for now.

Resigned to our faith, we walked out of the airport and waited for Syr's aunt, who was supposed to come to pick us up. Right off the bat, I was happy. The warm wind brushing against my skin made me feel in paradise already, and the swaying palm tree leaves were always a comforting sight.

"Hey, Syr... What's her name, by the way?"

"My aunt? Michelle."

"Good to know."

"Oh, that's her over there in the little white van."

Syr immediately jogged ahead of us to meet her aunt. Kitty and Erika did the same right after, but it was mostly to ensure I would be stuck behind with the ungrateful task to carry the two suitcases.

There was a long hug between Syr and Michelle, followed by friendly ones with Kitty and Erika. When I got close enough, Syr could finally introduce me.

"Auntie Michelle, this is my boyfriend Mark."

"... Hi."

"Nice meeting you..."

No hug for me? Just a hesitant "Hi." That was not a very warm welcome.

Michelle was mid-forty, pretty, and lightly dressed to match the fantastic weather. Her tank top and white shorts allowed me to witness how tanned her skin was; compared to her, we all looked like canadian ghosts.

"Okay, let's go home, guys! You. Put the luggage in the trunk, and let's get going. I can't wait to show you my new Inn!"

"..."

Did she just address me as "you?" What did I do to her? I didn't like judging people by the cover, but her attitude was borderline rude. I hoped this was just a false start. Perhaps it was just a matter of getting to know her better.

A minute after I loaded the suitcases in the trunk, we were on our way to the inn, and auntie Michelle told us a bit more about it and what her plan was.

"I'm so glad you guys came. I bought that inn for cheap because the last hurricane slightly damaged it. I moved here a little while ago, and I waited for such an opportunity to present itself. It has ten rooms and a very nice terrace with an amazing view of the beach! You'll love it! It's not open yet, but maybe we will be able to before you leave."

"Mark, Theresa, Erika, and I will help you get started, for sure."

"Yes, I'm sure you, girls, will make a difference."

"You, girls?" What the hell? This time I didn't dream it; Michelle had totally dismissed me from the conversation. I turned to Syr, who was sitting next to me, and she just shrugged. She heard the same thing and didn't look too sure what to think of her aunt's behavior either.

Kitty was happy, though, and didn't worry about these kinds of interpersonal relationships issues. Sitting behind Michelle, she tapped her on the shoulder.

"By the way, auntie Michelle, my name is Theresa, but everybody calls me Kitty. I prefer Kitty."

"Kitty?"

"Yes, like the cat! Meow!"

"Haha. Okay. Somehow it fits you well. Theresa is kind of an odd name for a girl your age."

"I knooow! That's what I tell everyone!"

At least someone got along well with the aunt. I didn't care too much if Michelle wanted me to remain silent or not because I would express my ideas whether she liked it or not. It was not my usual character, but she pissed me off.

"You know, Michelle, it's your lucky day. Erika, here, is a wicked businesswoman. I'm sure she can help you get started with accounting and all."

"Absolutely! Mark's right. I've seen the scariest ledgers ever, and I always managed to fix them. For a small business like yours, it's going to be a breeze."

"I... I would like that, Erika. I never managed a business before."

"No worries! While S...Elizabeth has fun with the cooking, I will teach you the ropes of a successful business."

"Elizabeth always loved cooking. So...she still lives at your place?"

"Of course she does! I'll never let her go. Same with Kitty and Mark."

I poked Erika in the flank with my finger; she gave away too much detail for my taste. Syr's aunt already had a problem with me, and now that she heard we were all living together, it probably wasn't the best thing to comfort her.

"Hum.. okay."

"Err... Don't worry, Michelle! I have a huge house. We...we barely see each other."

Something tells me that Erika shouldn't have claimed the front seat of the car this time around.

***

About an hour later, Michelle announced that we were close to our final destination.

"Sooo, we turn right here, drive through this little jungle, and it will be right there, at the end of the path."

Spooky. That was pretty much the only word that came to my mind. No welcoming signs indicated the existence of an inn, the path was barely wide enough for one car to plow through the branches, and all sorts of debris completely covered the ground. The van was bouncing so much that Kitty had to grip Syr and Syr had to grip me; Erika tried to hold the handle above her window with her short arm.