Chapter 2

“Oh Simone, she was pretty wasn’t she? Not a pretty as you, though. Besides, she looks like she’s taken.”

Simone closed her eyes and purred. I gave her a bit more love, then moved on.

As I finished my shopping, Simone followed me around the store. She’d rub up against my leg as I walked, or if I crouched down, she’d bump her head against my thigh. She was such a sweetheart.

I finished my shopping and Simone and I walked to the front counter where Dante was waiting.

“I see you had help this time?”

“Yep. She scared the shit out of me at first. She was peering down at me like a gargoyle!”

“Ha! Yeah, you never know where you’ll find her.”

Dante rang up my groceries and set my bags on the counter.

“Hey, Char. Would you like to go out for dinner sometime?”

“I’ll be on my best behavior! You just seem like a nice woman and…”

At that moment, Simone jumped up on the counter, letting out a loud meow and causing us both to laugh.

“Dante, you seem like a sweet guy, but…”

“Is it because I’m black?” He joked.

“No, not at all! I hope you’d know by now that that is definitely not an issue. The problem is that you’re not a woman.”

“Ah! You got me there! That’s cool. Well, if you ever need a friend, I’m still interested in that. Friends can have dinner too, ya know.”

“Thank you. Yes, I’m always looking for friends.”

“Then let’s hang out sometime. We can be each other’s wingma…er, wing…person.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. He was such a sweet guy. I’m sure he’d have no trouble finding a sweet girl.

My dinner that night was excellent. I put away the leftovers for lunch tomorrow and stretched out on the couch in front of the tv. My mind wandered back to the girl I saw at the grocery store and then to Dante asking me out. I’d been living here a while now, but I hadn’t really thought about dating or even other women… or sex. I guess I was too preoccupied with getting settled in. Seeing that little hottie today got me thinking though. Maybe it was time to start thinking about dating?

I didn’t feel like cooking, so I decided to grab dinner at the little restaurant down the street. Even though my meal was excellent, I was still craving something else and I knew exactly what I needed…ice cream!

Luckily, there was an ice cream shop just a short distance away. I walked there, placed my order, and found a little table outside. As I was eating my delicious frozen dessert, I felt fur against my ankles followed by a little meow.

“Simone? It is you! What are you doing out? Does Dante know what you’re up to?”

She looked up at me and squinted her eyes. I leaned back in my chair and she leapt up onto my lap. She was purring loudly and stretched her front paws up onto my shoulder and rubbed her face against my cheek. I petted her head and soon she curled up on my lap.

I finished my ice cream and sat for a few minutes, enjoying the comfort of a sleeping cat on my lap.

“I need to get home, Simone. Can you get back home ok?”

She looked at me with sleepy eyes and lifted her head as if she was answering me. She jumped off my lap and began walking away. She looked back, meowed, then strolled off into the evening.

As I watched Simone slink off into the shadows, it made me wonder if I shouldn’t look into adopting a cat of my own? It would provide me with some companionship and I wouldn’t just be talking out loud to myself anymore. The more I thought about it though, the idea of becoming the crazy cat lady entered my thoughts. Ugh, maybe I really did need to start dating.

A week or so later, I found myself inside of the neighborhood Mexican restaurant. This place was to die for! It didn’t look like much from the outside, and the inside didn’t do it many favors either. It was small, with only a couple tables to sit and eat at, and the decor was basically non existent. The food though, was spectacular. The fact that the owner’s daughter was a total cutie didn’t hurt either!

I’d ordered one of my favorite dishes for takeout and when I arrived the store was empty and Maria, the total cutie I mentioned, was bagging up my order.

“Charlotte! Hola hermosa mujer!”

“Dinner for two tonight?”

“Nope. Just me, as always.”

“How is it that a pretty chica like you is single?”

“I just haven’t found the right…person yet. No one to put a ring on my finger like you have.”

“Ha! This? No, this is just a decoy. It keeps the creeps from hitting on me. Besides, men aren’t really my thing.”

“Uhm…I totally understand.”

Maria looked at me quizzically and held up a finger indicating me to wait a minute. She disappeared through the kitchen doors behind the counter, and came out from a door down the small hallway to the right.

She motioned me over to a table and we sat.

“You’re into women?”

“Uhm…yes. I just…I don’t advertise it a lot.”

“Are you just curious or…?”

“No. I had a girlfriend all through college. My curiosity is pretty much confirmed!”

“Oh my god, Charlotte!” She feigned fanning her face with her hand. “Would you like to go out sometime? I’ve thought you were beautiful since the first time I met you.”

“Same. And I thought you were married!”

Haha! I see your plan may have a bit of a hiccup.”

“Perhaps. So, is it a yes?”

“Yes, Maria. I’d love too.”

Maria’s smile lit up her face. We made plans for later in the week and she hugged me before I left with my food. I was really looking forward to our date.

Dinner with Maria was nice. She was easy to talk to and had a wonderful sense of humor. We laughed so much through dinner which really helped put me at ease. Afterwards we visited a few shops then stopped for some ice cream. It was getting late so I told her that I should probably get home. Maria offered to walk me back to my apartment and I graciously accepted. We took our time as we leisurely strolled towards my residence. It felt good getting out and spending time with another person tonight. I obviously wasn’t sure yet where things could go with Maria, but I was sure that I’d like to see her again.

As we approached my building, I noticed a familiar black cat perched on the steps.

“Simone, what are doing here!”

The look on Maria’s face threw me off guard.

“No. She belongs to Dante from the grocery store. What’s wrong?”

“I’m getting a bad feeling from that cat. Something isn’t right.”

“Really? It’s just Simone. She seems so sweet.”

I sat down next to Simone and scratched her behind her ears. Her eyes turned to slits as my fingernails ran through her fur.

“See. She’s adorable.”

“I can’t help it, Char. I’m getting bad vibes.”

I thought her reaction was a little odd, but I didn’t give it more thought.

“Maria, I’d like to thank you for tonight. I had a wonderful time!”

“Me too! Can we do this again?”

“I was hoping you’d ask. Yes, I’d love to!”

Maria took a hold of my hands. The smile on her face was radiant and I couldn’t help but smile back. Without hesitation, we both leaned in and our lips found the other’s. Her kiss was warm and gentle. Her full, soft lips pressed against mine and I melted into her. It had been so long since I had kissed another woman, and that familiar feeling of what this could lead to spread through my body.

“That was so nice, Charlotte.”

We stood staring into each other’s eyes. I was debating on asking her to come up when I heard her scream.

“Ouch! What the hell?!”

I looked down and saw three bloody cuts on her ankle. Just then I felt a pain on the back of my calf.

Simone had sliced open Maria’s ankle with her claws then bit me on the back of my leg.

“Simone?! What the hell? Maria, are you ok?”

“I will be. See, I told you that cat was bad!”

“I can’t believe she did that. I’m so sorry!”

“It’s not your fault. Damn, that’s definitely going to leave a mark. How is your leg? Did she get you too?”

“Yes, but not nearly as bad as your’s.”

“Eh, I’m not going to let it ruin my night. This was so nice, Char. Call me later?”

“I sure will. Good night, Maria.”

I waved to Maria as she walked away. I sat down on the steps leading to the entrance of my building and felt soft fur against my ankles.

“Simone, you little shit. What the hell was that stunt? You don’t scratch and bite people.”

She replied with a tiny little meow and started purring. She reached up and put her paws on my knees and lifted her head towards me. I shook my head.

“I see. You chased off my date and now you’re going to be cute?”

I leaned down and pressed my nose against hers. She made some cute cat sounds that let me know she was happy. I sat on the steps petting her until my leg started burning.

“Damn, Simone. Your bite mark is staring to hurt. You’d better run along. I’m going to go clean my wound that you gave me.”

I stood and walked up the steps. Simone meowed loudly and sat down on the bottom step. When I got to the top I turned back and saw Simone still sitting there, looking right at me.

“You’d better get home. Dante is going to be worried.”

Simone meowed and pranced up the stairs. She rubbed up against my leg then flopped over onto her side. I leaned over to pet her and she rolled over onto her back and let me pet her tummy. She was purring loudly and wiggling around like she was scratching her back on the sidewalk.

“You are just the most adorable little creature.”

I gave her some more scratches then told her I had to go get ready for bed. When I walked inside, she was still laying there.

Looking at the bite mark in my handheld mirror, it didn’t look like it even broke the skin. The burning sensation wasn’t terrible, but it was uncomfortable. I cleaned the area with soap and water, applied some triple antibiotic, and covered it with a band-aid.

It was Friday and I was feeling great! Things were going really well at work and things with Maria seemed even better. Maria and I had gone out again the night before and had a really fun time. I might have drank a bit too much, but sometimes you have to let loose a little. As I was walking back to my apartment from work, I was hit with the feeling that someone was watching me. I tried not to freak out and draw attention to my suspicions, but I had to see if I was right. I stopped at the window of a clothing boutique and pretended to be looking at the display. I casually glanced towards the direction I had just came from, but I didn’t see anyone. When I turned to continue on, I stopped immediately. A cute black cat was sitting in my path.

“Simone! Have you been following me?”

She let out a little meow that I took as a yes.

“I’m happy to see you again. How have you been? What kind of things have you been up to recently?”

I couldn’t believe that I was trying to carry on a conversation with a cat. I knelt down to pet her and she stretched up to meet me. She rubbed her face against my cheek then hopped up onto my shoulders.

“Simone? What are you doing. She was purring loudly and pressing her head against mine. I stood up and she didn’t lose her balance for a second.

“Are we really doing this?”

I started walking and she remained on my shoulders until she started meowing. I stopped and helped her off and held her in my arms. She wiggled around and got situated, then looked up at me with her slitted eyes like she was perfectly content. I walked back to my apartment with her like that, running my fingernails gently over her head.