Kitty

13

Leaves crunch under our feet as we make our way to the park, small conversations popping up between us.

"Books or movies?" I ask, glancing up at his wonderful eyes.

"Depends on the book or movie," he says, grinning down at me.

I narrow my eyes at him, waiting for a proper response.

"Movies, I guess. I can't focus long enough to read a book and I'll forget the storyline if I don't read the whole thing within a certain time. Now, my turn," he says, gazing up at the night sky. "Hmmm... cats or dogs?"

I cock an eyebrow, staring at him expectantly. He grins again, dimples showing.

"Cats?" He questions jokingly.

"Duh," I say, rolling my eyes.

We stroll along, taking our time and keeping up the conversation. When we reach the park, we sit down on the swings.

"Nate's having a party on Saturday," Jay says, glancing at me. "If you don't want to go, we could just stay at my place and chill, but..."

"I wouldn't mind going." I tell him, smiling nervously. "I've never gone to a party before... so, um, would you mind staying with me during most of it? I-I mean you don't have to, I just don't want to mess up in front of your friends or embarrass yo-"

"Nah I invited you so I could hang out with you there," he interrupts, giving me another smile. "You wouldn't embarrass me or mess up in front of my friends anyway, Leo. Don't worry though, okay? I'll stick with you."

I sigh with relief, slumping down in the swing.

"Can we go back now, Jay?"

Jay and I find my parents and his mother eating dinner without us.

"Wowww, really guys?" Jay says, throwing his hands up. They laugh and start dishing us some of the food, Jay and I grabbing a fork and sitting down.

We all finish dinner, our parents getting a head start, and my parents sit down in the living room to have tea with Cara. Jay and I sneak back to his room and decide to watch a movie on the small tv hung up across from his bed. In the middle of the movie, I run to the bathroom while Jay grabs some snacks. On the way back to Jay's room my parents tell me they're leaving, and I hug them goodbye to satisfy them.

Jay and I settle back down on his bed, merely inches away from each other. I try not to think of anything that involves us kissing or touching, but oh my god, it takes all my willpower.

Especially when he seems to scoot closer to 'share the snacks better'. I manage to watch the ending of the movie, then we decide to shower and brush our teeth before we decide to go to sleep or do something else.

I rummage in my sleepover bag, pulling out the change of clothes I brought. A gray hoodie with an orange cat on the front, and a pair of some comfortable shorts. And underwear. Duh.

After I finish with my wonderful shower in their very pretty bathroom, I realize I don't have a towel. Fuck.

"Jay?" I kind of holler, not wanting to full on yell since Cara could be sleeping.

I hear footsteps and somehow know they're Jay's. Maybe it's some kinda awesome ability from my cat form.

"Did you call for me?" He asks through the door. Hearing his voice while I'm naked does something to my heart.

"Um, yeah... where are the towels?" I say, fidgeting while standing on a bath mat.

"Oh, shit, my mom was washing them today. Let me check if they're done in the dryer." His footsteps fade away, giving me more time to shiver.

"Okay, I got you one," he says, returning outside the door. "Crack the door open and I'll give it to you."

I move the mat to the door so I don't drip water everywhere, unlock the door, and open it slightly. I reach my hand through, fingers outstretched for the towel. He gives it to me, our hands brushing. I jumped suddenly, shocked from it. That's where I messed up.

The door opens wider, disturbed from my sudden reaction. So I decide to freak out (of course), resulting in me slipping and falling. I brace for impact on the tile flooring, but I never collide with it.

"Are you okay?" Jay breathes out, one hand protecting the back of my head while the other wraps around my waist to keep me from touching the cold ground.

"Uhm, yeah," I whisper, very conscious of the mere inches between us. We stay in this weird position for a full five seconds, staring into each other's eyes, then Jay seems to snap out of it.

He coughs awkwardly, helping me up. I quickly wrap the towel around my waist, blushing from embarrassment.

Jay smiles nervously, backing out of the bathroom, then pauses.

"Leo. What in the world happened to you?" He says, staring at the mass bruising lining my sides. The gashes are covered, thankfully, otherwise he would probably be much more concerned.

I freeze anyway, hoping he won't connect the dots.

"Uh... I was in a fight today?" I say hesitantly, hoping he'll believe me.

"Ah, yeah, but I never knew he hurt you that bad." He says, obviously worried.

"No, it's fine, it was kinda my fault anyway," I say, still aware that I am mostly naked.

Jay seems to realize as well, and nods slightly, hesitant before leaving.

I shut the door quickly, locking it. I totally fucked up. Now Jay knows what I look like naked and that I'm bruised in the same way 'Kitty' is. Awesome.

The rest of the night is pretty silent between us. We decide to just go to bed which I am relieved by, still embarrassed from the bathroom incident. Although, as I'm falling asleep, I can't help but think a straight guy wouldn't hesitate to let go of a naked gay guy.