It was early in the morning, too early. I could have stayed in bed and rested because, frankly, spending time with ALL the petgirls out of costume all at once wasn't easy. My little friends could be sexually demanding. At night, they gave Oreo and me some privacy, but it was a different story during the day. I never had as much sex over two days. I was wondering if there was a correlation between that and Oreo's cute BDSM outfit I borrowed. Maybe that new look had made me more desirable.
But no, I still woke up with Oreo at my side and, even if I was tired, I decided to accompany her to work along with the other pets who would be on duty today. The idea that I wouldn't be able to spend time with Oreo for the next few days and unable to explore our new relationship was a bit sad, but it was our reality. Seeing how happy she was to return to work, I couldn't do anything else but be okay with it.
Hand in hand, we walked in the awakening downtown area, heading towards the Cakes & Pets. Following closely behind us was Asha, Meeka, Misti, and Vix, and they were super silent and exhausted. Behind their unbreakable sex-machine image, they were actually vincible beings.
Lucy apparently wanted six pets at the café today, which was a bit unusual. There were the five accompanying me, and Savannah was supposed to meet us over there as well; she was the only one not living at the pethouse with us because she apparently had a nice place where to live already. Since I have never met her out of costume, I barely knew anything about her. Only Meeka seemed to know everything about our new little cheetah, but she kept telling us that Savannah would share what she wanted to share about her personal life whenever she would feel like it. It didn't help satiate our curiosity, but I couldn't say it was the wrong approach. It was up to Savannah to discuss her private life however she wanted.
We were also curious to see the new paint job at the café. It was part of why I decided to come this morning. Yesterday, Lucy had closed the shop for a full day to allow a renovation crew to complete the work without being slowed down by petgirl hugs and cuteness or a fox kicking a paint can. We all hoped for a new style to replace the previously boring one. Lucy was maybe very good at running the café, but, not to be mean, we all agreed that she wasn't a very good designer.
When we arrived there, Asha, Meeka, Misti, and Vix entered the shop, but I stayed outside with Oreo for a moment. I wrapped my arms around her waist, and she did the same.
"Aww, Oreo... I won't see you for three days. I'll miss you so much."
"Oh, you are not going to come to the café?"
"No, I mean, you, out of costume."
"It would still be me even if I wear my pet suit. I hope you'll spend time with me."
"I will."
It was our last chance to kiss for a while, so we got to it before it was too late. It was a bit heartbreaking; I just got my first girlfriend, and I had to let her go for an eternity. Because of that, I really didn't care about what people in the street would think about two cute girls kissing each other in public. I wouldn't miss my last opportunity to enjoy my lover one last time.
"Mmm... I love that, Clara, but Lucy will be angry if I'm late."
"Yes... Just kiss me one more time."
"Okay."
As we were struggling to let each other go, a small voice barely interrupted us.
"Hi Clara. Hi Oreo!"
"Hi Kitty."
"Are you a couple? I didn't know that."
"..."
It took me a second or two... but when I finally reconnected with reality and understood who I had just greeted on autopilot, an electric shock hit my brain. I quickly turned around and hid behind Oreo.
"K... KITTY!?"
"Well, yes. You just said hi to me. I have not shapeshifted."
"I... I know... but... What... what are you doing here?"
"Dah! I'm working here! You know... for the past two weeks! Is your brain alright?"
"But... but... but..."
"But what?"
"No... nobody told me!"
"What? But, you fed me several times and even played with me when I was bored."
"You... You are Savannah? I... I didn't know that."
"Hum... Not sure what to tell you. Oreo, you knew it was me, right?"
"Vaguely."
How did that happen? How come Kitty turned into a pet and worked for Lucy? Never in my life have I been intimidated this much by a girl, and now, she was one of the pets, one that I have fed and petted often during the past two weeks. How was I supposed to react to this? I wrapped my arms around Oreo to seek comfort.
"Aaah! Clara. I have to go, or else Lucy will be angry."
"Yes, same for me. Lucy told me that she would fire me if I were late."
Reluctantly, I let Oreo go. She gave me a quick last kiss before engulfing herself in the café, followed by Kitty. For a long moment, I stared at the front of the door, wondering if I still wanted to go in.
But I was no longer the old Clara. I didn't want to be that scared version of me anymore.
"Mmph! Let's go. Clara. Kitty is not a monster! There is no reason to be scared of her. She is just a bit... special."
As I was about to raise my hand to open the door, Lucy opened it before me.
"Clara? What are you doing standing in front of the door again? You always do that."
"Oh... But I was about to..."
"Come in, I need to talk to you about something."
"O... okay."
Once more, Lucy caught me playing leek in front of her café. One day, I would probably stop acting weird. But what now? What did she want to talk about? Did she hear that I was dating Oreo and wanted to reprimand me? Now that I was thinking about it, I didn't even know if Lucy had a policy in place against relationships between employees. If that were the case, it would be dramatic. If given a choice, Oreo would possibly choose the café over me. Or would she? And if she were to pick me, I certainly wouldn't let her. Above all else, I wanted Oreo to be happy, so losing her job as a café pet would make her very sad.
My resolve had vanished, and I sank into my usual bad habit of making up stories in my head. Why was this happening to me?
"I... I..."
"Uh? What is it, Clara?"
"You... you can't fire her!"
"... Okay... You lost me here. Fire who?"
"O... Oreo!"
"And why would I want to do that? Oreo is one of my best pets. I love her to death."
"Be... because... we... we are dating."
"... Really? Oreo and you are dating?"
"... Yes. But... I didn't think about the café and..."
"Woah! Slow down, Clara. You just went into a spin."
"..."
"Are you really dating Oreo?"
"Y... yes."
"Impressive!"
"..."
"And the girls know about it too?"
"Yes... They... they said I could and... Trixie was a bit jealous, and she said I was her girlfriend too, but Vix said no and..."