* The third tale in my Erotic Shorts collection, a variety of short stories that I write in between drafts and editing of larger projects.
Hector is persuaded by his mother to babysit her friend's cat so that the two of them could go on a day trip. The cat turned out to be something different from what he expected, and a lot more troublesome.
*
'Please, Hector. We've been looking forward to watching the play together and this is the only day we can go.'
Hector sighed and looked at the unfinished manuscript on his laptop's screen that he wanted to work on that morning. 'All right then, mother. If it's just taking care of Miss Feeny's precious cat for a day I'll take her up on her offer.'
'I'm so glad to hear it.' his mother said cheerfully. 'She's had terrible experiences with other sitters but I assured her you'd keep a good eye on her. I'll send you her address now.'
He put his phone down when she disconnected the call. 'I suppose I can write just as well in that rich woman's mansion.' he said and shut the lid of his laptop. 'And you earn a few more points with her, mother.'
***
A short while later he walked up to Miss Feeny's steel fence gate and pressed the buzzer. A click sounded a few seconds later. 'Yes, who is it?' asked the old voice.
'Miss Feeny? I'm Hector, Mona's son.'
'Ohhh, welcome! Come on in!' Miss Feeny said and the gate swung open with a soft whirring of the motors.
Hector looked around at the lush garden surrounding the estate and the many different beds of different plants on the grass field. It was the kind of lifestyle his mother wished for but his father didn't make that much money to afford it. One of the two glass and wood arched front doors opened as soon as he stepped onto the stone porch and Miss Feeny appeared in what he guessed was the rich folk's casual attire of expensive looking dress and elaborate hat.
'I'm glad you could come on such short notice.' she said and let him inside. 'The sitter who was supposed to come had to cancel because of a cold. I wouldn't want my dear Karina to catch a disease.'
Hector put down his backpack. 'I was free enough today so it's not a problem.'
'Mona said I could trust you to not make a mess of things.' Miss Feeny said and shook her head. 'Every time before when I left the house for a while and had a sitter come over, I found it in a mess and the sitters always blamed my poor, sweet Karina.' She looked at Hector. 'I know my dear girl would never do such a thing. She's so quiet and well behaved. That's why I'm very grateful to your mother for suggesting you come over. I feel much more at ease now leaving her for the day.'
Hector nodded. 'I don't see how a mess could be made apart from the occasional accident a cat might cause. Everything will be fine.' He looked around. 'Where is she now?'
Miss Feeny moved towards a doorway. 'She's in the lounge right now, her favourite room because she loves sleeping on the couch or watch television on it. It probably has to do with her being a very special breed that I received from a friend who works a lot with animals in some biology research thing or whatever. I could never really understand what exactly he does.'
Hector chuckled mentally at the thought of a cat watching TV all the time as if she was a comic character, then stared at the creature lying on her stomach on one of the large cream white leather couches and staring at a wildlife documentary on the large screen on the wall. One of her large black ears twitched and her long black tail swayed leisurely, but those were the only cat attributes the short haired blonde girl in tight shorts and white t-shirt displayed.
'Karina, sweetie, the sitter's here.' Miss Feeny cooed. 'I'll be going out, so take care until I'm back later this evening.'
The girl turned one ear back. 'Myaa.'
Hector opened his mouth and looked back at Miss Feeny but she turned towards the window. 'Ah, there's my ride.' she said and smiled at Hector. 'I know I can leave everything to you now, so I can spend a long relaxed day with your mother for once. It's been a while since I didn't have to worry about leaving the house. I left instructions for her care on the kitchen table and feel free to take what you want when you get thirsty or hungry.'
She left the room before Hector could find the words to ask what was going on and he stared back again at the slender girl stretching on the couch. She bent forward, then backward, and yawned long before sitting up on her knees. Her shirt didn't hide much of the shape of her perky breasts, or the small points that revealed she wore nothing else underneath.
'This is a joke, right?' Hector asked as she curled up her tail and licked it.
She licked one spot a couple of times, gazed lazily at him, then got up from the couch and ignored him as she walked out of the room.
He followed her after a short hesitation. 'Hey! What's going on?' he said while they entered the kitchen.
Karina opened the refrigerator, took out a carton of milk for cats, took the bowl from the counter with her name on it, filled it, and drank from it.
Hector put the carton back into the refrigerator and closed the door by force of habit. 'You can't really be a cat.' he said and grabbed the tip of her tail.
She dropped the bowl and hissed furiously at him at once, the fur on her tail and her hair standing up straight and her ears turned away flat. He jumped back fast while his heart pounded in shock.
Karina stomped as she walked away and wiggled the spilled milk from her bare feet a couple of times. Hector stared at the empty doorway while his heart still raced. 'What, the, fuck..?'
***
After cleaning up the mess in the kitchen, Hector checked the lounge to see if Karina was there and searched around when she wasn't. He found her in a cosy study at the back, where she sat between potted plants in a bay window and stared out the window at the back garden while her tail swayed in agitation. His mind still struggled with the notion that she looks human but her behaviour so far did strongly resemble that of a cat. He wondered if that bio research friend of Miss Feeny really made her possible or if it was still an elaborate ruse.
He sighed. Either way he had been rude. 'I'm sorry. I couldn't believe your tail was real, and honestly, I still have trouble believing it, but it's still no excuse for touching you inappropriately and I apologise.'
Karina's ear barely moved and he wondered if she understood or ignored him. Or maybe both. Only when her tail relaxed in her sway did he hope his intention had been clear. He remembered there were instructions on the kitchen table and went back to take a look.
The instructions were rather brief, stating meals were prepared for her and ready in the refrigeration, treats were stored in a cupboard but she shouldn't get more than one during the morning, afternoon, and evening, and not to let her out of the house. The only thing that he though was useful were the treats and he opened the cupboard, planning to use it to bribe his way back into her grace.
He gazed at the box with long and thin dried beef sausages. Those were just like the ones he bought for himself on occasion and not exactly meant for animal consumption. Out of curiosity what her meals were, he checked the refrigerator and found two covered plates with fried chicken and a juicy piece of steak, and fresh, stir fried vegetables. 'What about this is a normal meal for normal cats?' he said to himself, then looked at the carton of milk she had drunk earlier. That was definitely made for cats. It didn't help the doubts in his mind and he put the difference in food down for the moment as an effect of the mix of human and feline physiology. Taking a sausage from the box, he decided to just go with the flow and see whether it was all a joke or some strange reality he found himself in. Either way he could probably use it as inspiration for his writing.
Karina hadn't moved from her spot at the window and he approached her calmly, holding out the treat. 'It's not much, but I hope this will make you feel better.'
She glanced at it but kept still while looking out the window.
The only experience he had with grudges were those of a couple of women and they held them for a long time, and had no idea how long a cat could keep them. He placed the sausage on the windowsill close to her. 'I'll be in the lounge.' he said and left the study looking back once, but she still sat motionless.
At the lounge he sat down in the couch opposite of the one Karina had used, plugged his laptop in a power socket, and continued working on his manuscript to get some sense of normalcy.
A little later he noticed Karina as she silently entered the lounge, laid down on her couch, and turned on the TV to watch another nature program, all the while still ignoring him. But when she began eating her treat he smiled a little.
***
Hector had taken his laptop and had worked on his manuscript for a while when nature called. He put his laptop aside on the couch, went to the bathroom, and returned only to find Karina lying with her stomach on it. 'Ah! No! Bad cat!' he said and rushed at her. 'Off! That's not to lie on!'
Karina hissed sharply with her tail puffed up, jumped up and over the table between the couches, knocking a vase full of large flowers over, and jumped over the other couch and on top of a low book case, where she sat pouting on one side.
Hector groaned in frustration when he saw the page count had gone way up with pages full of gibberish. He slumped down in the couch and reloaded his last save, glad he had done one earlier but still unhappy about the last part he had lost. He consoled himself by the notion that she hadn't broken his laptop. 'Don't do that!' he said to her. 'You could have broken my laptop and I might have lost all my work since my last backup!'
Karina looked away and licked her wrist and the top of her hand.
