by Simon Archer
“We’ll be there. Just let me know when!” Abe shook my hand. I gave Gretchen a quick kiss on the hand to say ‘goodbye,’ and Kennedi pulled me away.
She led me past a hallway toward the next group of people, but a glance down the hall gave me an idea. I needed to show my gratitude to Kennedi somehow, and I had just the thing. I took her hand in mine and led her down the hall.
“Wait, where are you going?” she asked, but I didn’t answer.
There was a door on either side of the hallway, signs indicating one bathroom behind each door. Sitting in the center, looking businesslike yet incredibly bored, was a doorman.
I pulled Kennedi up close to me as we approached him.
“Hey, is there anyone in either of these two rooms?” I asked, mischief clear in my voice. The doorman looked up at me, suddenly intrigued, and nodded.
“Yeah, someone went in there a few minutes ago.” The man cleared his throat as he jabbed his thumb to our left, looking back and forth between Kennedi and myself. “This other one is empty, though.” He jutted his chin over to the right and set his jaw as he waited for us to elaborate.
I released Kennedi and quickly dug into my pocket, coming up with enough money to do the trick.
“That empty bathroom is out of commission for the immediate future,” I suggested, folding the bills and handing them over to him. He accepted the money easily.
“No skin off my back,” he replied lazily. “Go ahead. I’ll ensure no one goes in there.”
“Thank you,” I smirked before grabbing Kennedi’s wrist and leading her in through the door to the right. As the interaction with the doorman had progressed, she had sidled up closer and closer to me, quick to pick up the hint. Now, she was clutching my arm as I closed the door behind us, giggling into my ear with giddy excitement.
The bathroom was immaculately clean, with dark stone countertops and bronzed fixtures lining one wall, while the bathroom stalls lined the other. In the front corner, below an oversized mirror, was a flat countertop and a cushioned bench. The countertop was lined with a myriad of beauty products, and the red velvet cushion on the bench was the sole bright color in the room.
It was perfect.
I looked over at Kennedi and took in her appearance. The deep purple of her dress clung to her curves perfectly, and her tail swayed in anticipation. I slid my arm around her waist and pulled her in quickly, eliciting a squeal as I caught her by surprise.
“Clark!” she exclaimed, giggling some more as she regained her balance. Pressed up against me now, I couldn’t focus on anything else other than her, her breasts against my chest and her heart beating a rhythm against my skin.
“Kennedi,” I teased, lifting her up and taking the few steps necessary to reach the countertop. I used my free hand to swipe the products off onto the floor, and they clattered across the tile a lot louder than I had expected.
“Shh,” she giggled, and I propped her on the edge of the countertop and met her gaze.
“My apologies,” I chuckled. I grabbed her by the neck and gently eased her head to the side, kissing her up and down at random from her ear down to her shoulders. She shivered in response, and I let my hands roam across her body as I continued to kiss her. Her dress was soft beneath my fingers, but I knew her skin was softer, and when I found the bottom hem of her skirt, I immediately slipped my hands beneath the fabric and slid my way up to her hips, hiking up her skirt as I relished in the warmth of her skin.
Her giggles were more like moans now, as she let herself get wrapped up in the moment. I was pleasantly surprised to not find any more fabric beneath her dress.
“No underwear?” I whispered into her ear before pulling back to meet her gaze. She merely winked at me, but I didn’t actually need an answer to my question. I let one hand drift around to her inner thigh and worked my way up, the warmth beckoning me closer. All of the excitement must have affected her too, because she was more than ready for me, and I slipped two fingers inside of her, leaving my thumb to dance circles against the most sensitive part of her skin.
Kennedi grabbed at my shoulders, pulling herself upright to press up against my body. She began rocking up against me, gyrating against my moving fingers, moaning into my ear. She clawed into my back as I moved faster, pressing my thumb more firmly against her skin as I continued to press circles against her.
I could hear her breath quicken as her moans became sharper and breathier. I knew she was reaching her peak, just as I also knew it was too soon. She must have felt the same way, because she suddenly slammed her hand down onto my wrist to stop me.
“Slow down,” she whispered. I slid my fingers out, bringing them up to my mouth to lick them clean before dropping down to my knees, one of her legs on either side of my face.
“That looks like the opposite of slowing down,” she muttered, but I cut off her thoughts with a flick of my tongue. She gasped loudly as she sat up straight, but then she eased back against the mirror as she succumbed to my movements. I let my tongue flit across her skin, and her fingernails dug at me as she fought to stay with me.
The entire time I was down there, I felt my pants become more and more restricting as my body responded to her obvious pleasure. I reached a point where I just couldn’t wait any longer, and I wrestled with my pants before letting them drop to the floor. WIth one final drag of my tongue, I broke contact with her, wiping the excess moisture from my chin before stepping closer to her.
Kennedi’s eyes flashed with longing and hunger, and she reached down and wrapped her fingers around the length of me. She leaned in toward me, her nose merely touching mine as she stroked me slowly. My body reacted strongly, sending waves of pleasure through me as I stiffened beneath her palm. I ached for her, and when I couldn’t stand waiting another second, I removed her hand and took one final step forward.
She had been writhing with pleasure for so long by this point, that it was easy for me to slip inside of her, the warmth sending shockwaves of bliss coursing through my body. She shuddered as I hit the perfect spot inside of her, pulling herself closer to me so that my face was buried in her neck.
When I looked up, I saw myself in the mirror, Kennedi’s perfectly sculpted body blocking mine in the reflection. Not wanting to underutilize our private room, I quickly swept her off the countertop, letting myself break free of her for a brief moment. I let her get steady on her feet before flashing her a mischievous grin and whipping her around to face the mirror. Her tail whipped lazily between us as I watched the puzzled expression on her face get replaced with one of realization. She smirked back at me before taking a step backward, propping her elbows on the countertop and shaking her ass at me playfully. Glad we were on the same page, I ran my hands up her thighs and over her hips, lifting the hem of her dress up as I did so. I stepped forward to close the gap between us, and I found my target immediately, entering her with a quickness and a hunger that I hadn’t felt before.
With her tail brushing against my chest, I grabbed onto her hips, right at that perfect spot where they met her waist, and began thrusting hungrily into her, meeting her gaze in the mirror. Her eyes lit up as she watched me rock against her over and over, the unbidden moans permeating the space around us. I was quite confident we could be heard through the doorway, but in that moment, as the pressure built to intolerable levels, I could not muster up the energy to care.
Kennedi reached a hand between her legs, and I watched as she pleasured herself in the mirror. Her eyes closed as she let the sensations wash over her, and her fingers brushing against me down below sent me to the edge of climax almost immediately. I felt her hips begin to buck, and I held on tightly as I looked up at her face. Her eyes were locked with mine now, wide and expectant, and her mouth was open as she fought the screams that I knew were sitting in the base of her throat. Finally, I couldn’t take any more. With a firm hold on her hips, I thrusted fully within her, while she began to shake violently before me. Her gasps and squeals quickly turned into a full-on yell a
s the full force of the orgasm hit her. Her back arched as she locked eyes with me, and then began shivering and twitching with the aftershocks.
Drained, I slowly pulled back, breaking free. Kennedi whipped around and planted a kiss firmly on my lips before pulling away with a coy smile.
“Happy birthday,” she whispered, straightening the hem of her dress down. I turned my pants right-side out again and slipped them back on. She looked me over to make certain I was suitable to go back to my party before she slid her arm through mine, and we walked out. As we walked past the doorman, he winked at us but didn’t say a word. I nodded our thanks as Kennedi steered me back into the crowd.
We worked our way through the room, stopping to chat with various groups of people. We had made it clear across the room, close to the bar, when another set of more familiar faces appeared. It was Clint and Reina. Kennedi hugged Reina and the two of them immediately fell into deep conversation. Clint and I shook hands.
“Happy Birthday, Clark,” Clint told me with a smile. “How is it going so far?” He gestured around the party.
“Good to see you, Clint. It’s going well. I sure as hell wasn’t expecting it!” I told him. “I wasn’t sure you were still in town. Aren’t you slated to catch the traveling bug here soon?” Clint and I had run into each other at several of Leah’s UsForThem functions, and she’d told me how he had helped Reina when she was abandoned. Normally he traveled more than he was home, but for the last couple of months, he’d stayed in town.
“Yeah, I’ll be back on the road here in another month or so,” Clint informed me. “The lab here grew a lot quicker than I expected, so my time is best spent making sure it’s running smoothly before handing over the reins to management of some sort.”
“Biotech, right?” I wanted to confirm I knew his business.
“Right. We do biological R and D and surprisingly, a good number of forensic experiments and evaluations for court cases,” Clint explained.
“Quite the operation, it sounds like,” I replied. “Hey, are we going to see you at the Re-homing Open House event?” Leah’s event was coming up, and if I remembered correctly, she’d told me Clint had volunteered for that as well as many others.
“Absolutely!” Clint said. He smiled and glanced at Reina. “I’m really hoping she finds a home she can stay in permanently.”
“And you don’t think she could travel with you? I know you’ve considered it.” I only half understood why Clint hadn’t taken Reina in, even though he continuously paid the foundation for her care.
“I have thought about it, you’re right. It just doesn’t make sense in the end. The nature of my businesses won’t let her go half the places I do because of OSHA precautions. She would be stuck in hotel rooms, cars, lobbies, or at home alone for weeks on end. I just don’t want that for her.” Clint sounded almost torn in his explanation of why Reina couldn’t be his CG.
“I’m sorry to hear that, but I get it,” I started. “It’s actually nice to know you are looking forward instead of so many who’ve gotten caught up in ‘shiny penny syndrome’ and purchased a cat girl without really knowing how she would fit into their lives.”
“I’m sure someone will just fall in love with her at the event,” Clint said. “Hey, would you mind if I stopped by VGS occasionally to look in on her? Leah mentioned that she is working with Macy there sometimes.”
“Of course, swing by anytime. Macy has her working as a concierge currently. She’s good with people,” I reported.
“I appreciate that, Clark.” Clint smiled and looked at Reina once again. It really was too bad that he didn’t have a place in his life for her. I tried to imagine if I had been in his shoes when I found Kennedi in that nasty pawn shop. If I’d opted out of taking her with me, who knew where I’d be today?
“Darling, we need to keep moving,” Kennedi suddenly whispered in my ear.
“Sure thing,” I replied. I held out my hand for Clint to shake once again. “I’m being hauled away, but it was good to see you,” I told him. He shook my hand and nodded.
“Absolutely. I’m happy you got to make the rounds so we could tell you happy birthday!” Clint let go of my hand and put his arm around Reina, who had stepped up to his side. I reached for the back of her hand and kissed it.
“I’ll see you both very soon, no doubt,” I said as Kennedi started gently pulling me away again. As she led me through more people, I whispered in her ear.
“How was your chat with Reina? You two looked like you were talking a hundred miles per hour!”
“Three-hundred-thirty words per minute, to be more precise,” Kennedi told me.
“Of course, thank you. I wouldn’t want to miscalculate your chat ability!” I joked with her.
“That is only three times the average human rate of speech,” she said. She flipped her hair as she looked back over her shoulder at me. “It is a party after all!” I rolled my eyes and laughed at her. She was so damn cute when she did that!
In total, it took us over an hour to make it through the restaurant and back to our loungers up on the platform. I was more than ready for a drink by the time we got back, and to my surprise, a fresh one was waiting for me. I picked it up and held it in the air.
“Thank you, whoever did this!” I announced. I sat in my recliner, drink in hand, and took a deep breath. The band was playing classic rock and country music in the background, conversations were happening all around, and laughter was coming from the bar. The Sagebrush was a very happy and relaxing place to be at that very moment.
“Are you hungry yet?” Ellie looked over and asked me.
“I could eat,” I answered. “Is anyone else hungry?” I scanned our circle. Theo started laughing.
“Just knowing that Ellie and Bev took care of the food for this shindig is enough to make me hungry!” he burst out.
“Great point!” Charlie piped up. He turned to Ellie. “Will Ayla be taking food orders?” Ellie started shaking her head.
“Nope, not this time,” she started. “None of you get a choice of what to order!” She jumped up and bounced across the platform and down the stairs. She headed off to the kitchen area.
Not two minutes later, a line of waiters started exiting the kitchen, trays in hand. Ellie led them up onto the platform and took her seat. One-by-one, the waiters went around our circle. The first deposited place settings onto our mobile tables. The second provided napkins and wet wipes. The third waiter served a small salad. The fourth put a small bowl of steaming hot juice of some sort in the middle of our plates, and the fifth lined the outside of our plates with bite-sized, stuffed rolls. When the parade of waiters had passed, and they returned to the kitchen, the group of us just looked around at each other like we’d been caught in a whirlwind. Rosie was the first one to speak.
“I guess Ellie and Bev are nothing if not efficient!” She admired the procession. “That was fantastic!” Bev waved her hand over her head.
“That was absolutely ALL Ellie!” she announced. Ellie just smiled and shrugged at the lot of us.
“Eat! It’s new!” she directed. I loved trying the new concoctions that came out of Ellie and Bev’s kitchens.
“What is it?” I inquired as I stabbed one of the rolls with a fork.
“I’m not telling,” Ellie replied without a pause. She glanced over at Bev and made like she was zipping her mouth closed. Bev nodded back.
I looked down at the mystery food at the end of my fork and shrugged. I dipped it into the bowl of juice on my plate and popped it in my mouth. The crust on the roll was crunchy even though I’d just submerged it in liquid. When I bit through it, it felt like juice came pouring out of the roll. Then I tasted meat that had been marinated in a citrus of some sort. There was spice, and crunch, and softness all at the same time. I couldn’t pick out the individual ingredients after that, but it was delicious.
“What is it, Ellie?” I had to know. “It is absolutely amazing!” Ellie glanced around to be sure everyone had tried
it before answering.
“It was Bev’s idea, but we haven’t figured out what to call it yet,” she started. “The roll is a hard bread. The filling is micro-shredded pork that was marinated in lime and olive oil. It is mixed with red pepper flakes, swiss cheese, chives, and garlic.” She looked around to gauge our reactions.
“I know we just dipped them, but it tasted like the juice was already inside,” I commented. I saw Bev smile from the corner of my eye.
“I’m happy you didn’t notice them, but there are two small holes on either side of the roll to allow the juice to flow in. The juice itself is just lightly salted vegetarian soup broth with added bell pepper zest. I wanted to find a way to be able to combine the flavors inside the roll with the juice without the crust getting soggy from being dipped,” she explained while I popped another one in my mouth. Leah sat forward in her lounger to get Bev’s attention.
“You have GOT to add this to your catering menu, Bev!” Leah pleaded dramatically. “And please promise me I can serve it at the Open House event!” Bev smiled big and started nodding. She winked over at Ellie.
“I think we can make that happen, Leah,” Bev replied. She sat back in her recliner and started eating her own creation.
“Any idea for a name?” Ellie asked all of us. We pondered her question for a minute, and Krysta piped up with an option.
“Call them Zesty Bevork Rolls!” Krysta shouted excitedly. Ellie looked at her for a long second and then started nodding.
“I actually like that, Krysta!” Ellie praised. “Bev?”
“Has a nice ring to it and is still slightly descriptive,” Bev weighed in. “I think I like it too!” I laughed as I ate yet another roll.
“That was the easiest group decision ever made in the history of man!” I added after swallowing. Charlie started laughing too.
“If only all decisions were so easy!” he said. “Theo, it looks like you’re about to have another dish to peddle to the patrons at Belavi.” Theo, who to that point had been perfectly content eating his rolls, looked up at Charlie.