May Flash⚡Tale #1 - Kitty Ears 🐱

Couldn't resist playing around with the flash tale format this month... 😊

“Be good”, Angie always says, every Wednesday night when she goes out with the girls.

And when she comes back home, putting her keys on the kitchen counter, kissing Steve on the cheek, “Were you a good boy?” Playful, flirtatious. Funny how being away from Steve makes his girlfriend like him more.

Steve answers both questions the same way. “Of course.”

It’s a lie.

But it’s not the worst one he’s ever told. Steve doesn’t sneak out and blow the rent money on poker. He just spends a little time online, chatting. Role-playing. And it’s all made-up, it’s just some home-alone fun. What does it matter?

Steve isn’t stupid; he knows that Angie wouldn’t consider this ‘good boy’ behavior. So he doesn’t tell her, and that way they’re both happy.

“Be good,” says Angie, while Steve looks in the refrigerator, tapping his chin as if he hasn’t already DoorDashed his dinner.

He turns to her. “Of course.” He smiles. “You look nice.” He kisses her. “Don’t stay out too late.” The kiss is a little longer, a little harder, than usual, and he enjoys the look in Angie’s eyes. But it’s the chat room he’s thinking about as Angie walks away.

Once Angie has left, Steve counts to sixty, because sometimes she comes straight back, a forgotten phone or purse, and then he takes his laptop and lies down on the couch. Finds his favorite roleplay chat on Allo Talk, where people are always ready to play.

He settles in, chatting with the regulars. He’s popular there, or at least his avatar is popular. He’s witty online, but more importantly, he’s not a tease, he doesn’t get someone excited and then leave.

Someone called Kitty Pryde enters the chat room. Steve quickly image searches and finds a Marvel superhero dressed in black and gold, a red belt around her waist.

Kitty messages Steve immediately. She must be in a hurry. They’ll exchange pleasantries, then find a private space. He imagines telling her how he pulls off her red belt, and then he loosens his own.

His phone buzzes. Mexican food on its way. He likes to watch the DoorDash driver’s progress on the app. Four minutes and counting.

As expected, Kitty Pryde invites him to go to a private room.

Steve is ready to type his agreement when the doorbell buzzes.

“BRB.”

He gets up, but can’t resist waiting for a response, looking down at the screen. Sometimes people leave the room at the first sign of a delay; they’re impatient, they have no manners.

Kitty Pryde doesn’t leave. In fact, the typed reply tells Steve that he’s probably going to let the chimichanga get cold. He’ll be too busy typing to eat.

There’s a stiffness between his legs as he walks to open the door.

“Oh.” He looks at the girl standing there. Early twenties, brunette, wearing a tight pink sweater and blue jeans.

She’s pretty, but she’s also disappointing. She’s not holding a bag of food.

“Hi!” she says. She beams at him. “I’m Claudia.” It’s then that Steve notices that the woman is wearing cat ears on her head, and he immediately decides that she’s more late teens than early twenties.

Steve nods. “Hi.” And then he shakes his head. “Sorry, you’ve got the wrong…” He shrugs. The wrong what? He shrugs again. “I was expecting some food.” He reaches into his back pocket, but his phone, and the status of his chimichanga, are on the couch.

“You hungry?” asks Claudia brightly. The question is asked in a high, curious tone that adults don’t normally use with each other. She beams at him again. “I’ll fix you dinner, sweetie, don’t worry.” And before Steve has time to fully wonder why a complete stranger would show up at his front door and offer to make his dinner, Claudia giggles and adds, “Don’t worry. I’m a very good cook.” She winks and whispers, “I make the bestest grilled cheese,” which happens to be something Steve adored as a child. But didn’t every kid love grilled cheese?

Steve stares at the young woman. She sounds...strange. No, she sounds…as if she’s talking to the wrong person.

Claudia brushes at her hair with her fingers and Steve looks at the pink cat ears perched on her head.

“What’s the matter?” asks Claudia in a sing-song voice that Steve realizes is coated with condescension. She winks and reaches for his hand. “Cat got your tongue?” She giggles, and as she squeezes his hand, Steve understands with growing amazement that the woman is talking to him as if he were a little boy.

What kind of game is that? He stands in the doorway, imagining the conversation he’ll have with Angie on her return. But first he has to talk to the woman in front of him.

“I’m sorry,” he says, pulling his hand away. “I’m not…” He trails off. He’s not interested in a crazy woman coming inside? He only likes role-playing when it’s online? His hands dangle uselessly. “There’s been a misunderstanding. You’ve got the wrong place.” He gives the woman a pained look. “Did someone order this?”

Because while Claudia must be unhinged if she thinks that Steve is going to let her come inside his home, she’s also admittedly very pretty. She doesn’t look mentally ill, she just-

“Come on,” says Claudia briskly, rubbing her hands together. “Let me in and we can have fun.” She steps closer and seems surprised when Steve doesn’t get out of her way. She’s close enough so that he can smell her perfume – something fruity, reminding him of how the bathroom smells after one of Angie’s hot soaks in the tub. She’s close enough so that he can see the fuzzy pink parts of the woman’s cat ears headband.

She smiles at him, close enough for them to kiss. “You like my kitty ears?” She giggles lightly, and for a moment she seems more flirtatious than patronizing. “I know some people might think I look silly, but I just like playing, that’s all. I bet you like playing all kinds of fun games, don’t you.” She winks. “I can’t wait to play with you, I love playing with good boys.”

“No,” Steve replies, but his voice is weak, his protest barely more than a whisper. He thinks of his laptop, neglected on the couch. He thinks of Kitty Pryde, who might just be exploring other chat possibilities by now, but in truth, Allo Talk might as well be in a different universe now.

“Oh, you’re just hungry, poor sweetie. First things first, I’m gonna fix you that grilled cheese like I promised.” Claudia steps past him and says, “Angie did say you’d be starving.”

Steve watches as the woman enters his home. He shakes his head in confusion. “Angie?”

“Of course, silly.” Claudia laughs “Who else would organize a babysitter for you?” She looks at Steve with amusement. “Now, come on.” She beckons him with a curling finger and her tone is honey-sweet when she says, “I need a big boy to help me in the kitchen.”

TO BE CONTINUED…