Cat House

7 | Derrick

Cheryl fell asleep in my arms. With her small stature and those cat ears, she looked like a kitten. The cat ears was a surprise but hey, whatever gets her in the mood.

I tried reaching for the remote on the table but my fingers couldn't reach and I didn't want to wake her.

This was far from my first time and I've had my fair share of freaks but this was something different. She was warm and her lips tasted of a sweet substance that lingered on my lips and I wanted more. My lips starved without her. She had the cutest button nose and for a single moment I was happy. I actually cared for someone. A girl. I couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. And a small part of that kinda made me angry. I'm vulnerable and I am never vulnerable.

But being with Cheryl made things exciting. I've never met someone like her and there is something underneath that happy, sweet layer. We are skin on skin but I still haven't touched her yet. Not until I figure out what she's hiding.

I close my eyes when I hear a car door slam. I jumped up waking Cheryl and hitting my foot on the table in the process. "What-"

"Get your clothes on!" I forced both legs in my jeans and tossed her sweater at her. We rushed trying to put our clothes on when I heard footsteps walking up toward the door. We barely got our clothes on and plopped on the couch when the doorknob turned and I heard the clicking of the lock and Jonah stepped inside holding a red slushie.

"Well hello," he said shutting the door. He looked us up and down and raised an eyebrow at me. Before I could speak Cheryl introduced herself.

"Hello, you must be Jonah. I've heard all about you. I'm Charlene, but you can call me Cheryl." She extended her hand and Jonah took it.

"So, Cheryl, what were you guys doing?" I could have wiped that grin right off his face, but I rolled my eyes.

"Dude, we were studying." It was a poor lie and Cheryl and Jonah both knew it. Cheryl ran her thumb over her locket and picked her bag up.

"I must be getting home. I have- things to tend too." She kissed me on the cheek and winked before picking up the grey cat that was hiding in the corner in fear, then headed out the door, leaving me and Jonah alone.

I walked to the kitchen and grabbed a cigarette from the carton on the counter and lit it. Jonah's eyes followed me. "So you're 'studying' now?" He sipped his slushie and I saw that his tongue was red. "Since when did you care about your grades hotshot?"

"Screw offff. I can study."

"I bet. Learning the chest size of some girl with your fly down comes in handy. Tell me, when is this quiz?" I looked down and saw that my zipper was down. Crap. I yanked it up and Jonah finished his slushie and threw it in the garbage. His hair was slicked back. Whether it's just grease or he puts product in it, I have no clue. He was obviously wearing a  long-sleeved grey shirt of mine with flames on the sleeves and black jeans and his beat-up Converse. He smelled of pizza and I saw he had a bruise on his left hand.

"What happened there?" I flicked my cigarette toward his swollen knuckle. He shrugged and grabbed a cigarette from the counter.

"I was with Jermaine and Felix and we went driving around and got pizza." I handed him my lighter. "After we ate we went downtown to meet up with some people and this douchebag wouldn't leave Amy alone after she asked twice and so I got involved."

Amy used to be our next-door neighbor when we were younger. Amy and Jonah were best friends but I knew he secretly liked her but after a while, she moved off and we never heard from her until a year ago when her parents split and she came back with her mom. I've seen her in the halls. She has grown up, that's for sure. Not the same kid I remember with a bob cut and a gap between her teeth. Her teeth are fixed, she has curly brown hair past her shoulders, and now her small eyes are hidden underneath pounds of makeup. She and Jonah run in two different social groups but I can tell the feelings have come back. I feel sorry for him. She's not my type anyway.

I blew an O at him. "What did she say?"

He took a long drag and held it. "Thanks, Joey," he exhaled.

"Joey? The Hell?" I finished my cigarette and walked past him to the living room switching the tv on. He wrinkled his face in disgust.

"Her friends were watching. Had to put a show on for them." I studied him for a moment. Jonah and I are alike in most aspects. We act like things don't hurt and we deal with it ourselves. Not the best coping mechanism but that's what we do. The only person we could really talk to was each other. Especially after mom and dad's divorce.

"Forget about her dude. She's not the same Amy you grew up with. Don't let her get to you." He put his cigarette in the ashtray.

"Enough with me. What's with you and that girl?" I flipped from a cartoon to some weird soap opera with this old dude in a coma. I had no idea what show it was, but I kept watching anyway.

"What girl?"

"Cheryl." Two ladies in overly priced outfits were crying over the old dude and holding on to one another. Weird.

"She's my girlfriend." Jonah had a shocked expression on his face.

"Your- what? You don't date and even if you do, you don't bring them home to bang them on the sofa?!"

"What's your point? And she's more than a booty call if that is what you are referring too. She's different."

"How different?" I was starting to get angry. "Whoa, calm down. You seem like you really care for this girl and I'm glad. Makes you actually care for something for once."

I watched as they pulled the plug on the old guy. "Look, I care but I wouldn't say I'm gonna marry the girl or anything. She keeps me on my toes, that's for sure. I like how mysterious she is."

"You sound hella gay." I flipped him off and he laughed. "From what I can tell she must make you some type of happy to have brought her home. Maybe you could introduce her to mom even."

I thought about that. Mom has only met one girl and that's because she caught us making out in the church's parking lot years ago when mom and dad were together and we went to church. I think we only went so that they can pray for their broken marriage to heal. I wonder what happened to that girl? I don't remember her name. "I'll think about it." I switched the tv off and stood up to stretch. Time for a nap. Jonah stood up as well, me taller than him by barely an inch.

"Yeah, unless she's crazy." We both laughed.