Meow, Meow

I’m sitting down at a table not too far from the entrance of Rosie’s. I choose it because it’s close enough to people so Narissa doesn’t feel uncomfortable but it’s far enough away so that we can have a relatively private conversation.

My head is full of a million and one thoughts as I sit and wait patiently. It’s not super long of wait before Narissa walks in, her stride tense and her brown, almost hazely eyes scanning the area.

Inside my chest my heart begins to race unsteadily. I stand up too quickly, making my seat almost topple to the ground. Before it does I grab it and set it back on its four legs. Breathing in deep, I walk towards her with a smile that covers up the feelings stuck in the back of my throat.

“Hey, Narissa, we’re over here.” I state with a smile, my stomach doing little flips at just being close to her.

She nods her head slightly, following me back to the table.

As we slip into our seats, her legs brush against mine under the table. My heart contracts tightly inside my chest, goosebumps rise on my skin, and I glance over at the bronzed beauty in front of me.

“Sorry about that.” I mumble, her eyes catching mine briefly before she shrugs and mumbles that it’s alright.

We just sit there for awhile.

As we do a male waiter comes by, giving her a menu. I tell her she can have anything because I’m buying. Of course, she adamantly refuses. After staring over the flimsy laminated paper for the longest, she ends up ordering a strawberry shake, which arrives quickly to the table.

Her eyes drift towards my ears and flicker ever so often between them and my tail. I can tell she’s thinking about things as she plays with her straw and reaches up to twist the coils missing from her ballerina bun.

I really don’t know what to say. Well, I do, but I don’t know how to form the correct string of words so I don’t scare her off from me again. I can’t have that happen. I really can’t. If she rejects me, I just don’t…

Sighing heavily, I pull my attention away from my thoughts about Narissa and on her physically. She’s sitting, leaning attentively over the table her eyes staring at me intensely.

I smile offhandedly, finding myself even more smitten with her simple beauty and her warm inviting aurora, despite the feistiness of her nature.

When her eyes catch mine, I inhale sharply, blurting in a slurred rush. “So, my birth name is Penelope. But I don’t do by that name, I go by Penny.”

“Penelope… Penny.” She blinks, testing out my name before smiling slowly. “It’s nice to meet you, again. I would tell you mine but you seem to already know it.”

Something inside me bursts with excitement at her smile. I can’t help but wriggle in my seat, unable to stay still. “Yeah, I guess I already do.” A soft chuckle escapes my lips.

A lengthening silence follows. My hands fumble around in my lap while her eyes stay trained on my ears.

I breathe deeply. “So, do you have any questions to ask before I tell you the long list of things I want to explain?”

Raising her eyebrow, she opens her mouth, pauses briefly, then goes straight into interrogation mode, “Why is no one staring at you, calling the police, or trying to take pictures? What the hell are you? And why were you naked in my bed?”

I sit their mouth agape, blinking. I’m not real sure which of her questions to answer first. And I’m a little overwhelmed that she asked three right after the other. Plus none of them are all that easy to answer.

After briefly replaying her questions in my head, I tackle them in the order she asked. “The reason no one is going crazy right now is because it’s spell. No one can see them. Except for a select few. You being one of them because you’re- you’re my mate. That’s not the reason I was in your bed, but it’s the reason I couldn’t control my shift. And as for what I am, I’m a shapeshifter.”

This time she is the one to just quietly and blink, her mouth forming a silent ‘o’. She leans away slightly, her hands falling away from the table.

I wait and give her some time to absorb what I just said. I know she has other questions. And I much rather answer her questions a few at a time than overwhelm her with my whole story at once.

“So, ummm, well…” She glances at my ears as they twitch tensely on my head. “What exactly does that mate thing mean?”

“Well, it’s like a spouse. Except different, really different.” I look away momentarily, trying to decide how much I should say right now and how much can wait. “Mates are especially two parts of the same whole. They share a very intense bond, that can only be broken by death. And they also share strengths, abilities, among other things. That’s why even with my spell you can still see my ears and tails.”

“Oh, wow.” She breathes, seeming rather more interested at this point than I expected her to be. She even shifts in her seat to lean closer once again. Her eyes dance across my face, and towards my ears, which are now standing up because I’m so excited.

“You can touch them if you want. I won’t bite.” I offer to lessen the intensity of the moment. I move over slowly to the other side of the table, sitting beside her and leaning towards her slightly.

She reaches out, hesitantly. I finally grab her hand and guide her fingers to my ears, pressing them against the orange and white fur that only she can see in this tiny little dessert café.

As she slowly pets my ear, I explain, trying not to purr or wriggle around too much. “I’m a shapeshifter. Or rather, I’m half shapeshifter. That’s why I keep the feline appendages when I transform into my human form. A lot of humans call us nekos for some reason.”

Her motions stop, she pushes her chair away from me. Her shoulders shake as she begins to laugh louder and louder until I swear everyone in the store is looking over at us like we’re idiots.

“You’ve-you’ve got to be kidding me?” She chokes out, pressing her hand to her mouth in some form of restraint. “This has to some crazy dream, it has to be.”

I shake my head feverishly. “It isn’t Narissa. For you I wish it was. But it’s not. I’m as real as you are. You have to believe me. I would do anything for you to believe me.” My words gets a little desperate towards the end. I whisper them, reaching out unconsciously to grab her about her wrist.

My heart quivers inside my chest, making me gasp. My emotions are in turmoil. I don’t know if I should wrap my arms around her or back away.

She stares into my face, uncertainty on her expression as she reaches out to touch my tail, my ears. Then suddenly her fingers wrap around the hand that was holding her wrist, giving it a squeeze and making tingles spread across my skin.

“I know you’re not.” She states quietly. “So tell me from the beginning. Tell me everything you need to tell me.”

My ears prick up. I smile, intertwining our hands tightly and beginning my story.

I start by telling her that humans are not the only beings on earth. Then I go on to reveal my race, of partial shapeshifters, and how exactly the mating process is for us. After that I tell her briefly about my family life and how I ended up as one of Luka’s personal servants. I pause every so often and ask if she has any questions. She always says no. I also try to be as clear as possible.

Once I’m finished I sigh, feeling incredibly lighter and a whole lot more vulnerable than I have been in a while. Usually I’m a really cautious person when it comes to things in my private life. So, having someone else know these things about me, especially my mate, feels really good. And really, really, really scary.

“Oh.” She mumbles, bringing her thumbnail to her lip and chewing on it thoughtfully. She tugs herself from my grasp and I can see the confusion and fear swimming behind her eyes.

“Sorry, that is a good bit of information to swallow.”

For a moment there’s nothing but silence, minus the restaurant noise going on around us.

Narissa breaks this silence first. “I’m sorry about everything. About Luka, the Tracker, about all the shit you’ve had to go through.”

I smile, my hand snaking out to glide against the smooth skin of her upper arm. “It’s alright. I survived, and I’m here with you so I think it was definitely worth it.”

Our eyes connect.

She looks at me with the deepest sadness, her lips quivering she glance away, brushing away my hand. “I’m also sorry about acting and saying what I did the other day. Obviously, I hurt you in some way, which I didn’t mean. I was scared, and didn’t really know what to do. And I had weird emotions going through me… I’m super sorry.”

My eyes water up, I sniffle, trying to hold in my tears. “It’s alright. You had every right to be scared and upset. I should never have been in there with you, knowing what I know about the process of mating.”

Wanting more intimacy, I shift a little closer, reaching out to run fingers against the side of her face and under her chin. I can feel the goose flesh rise on her skin, but I continue to feel her softness until she clears her throat and I pull away quickly.

“You’re taking all this better than I could have hoped.” I breathe, reluctantly getting up from my seat beside her and moving to the one across from her.

“Yeah, me too.” She admits with a chuckle, visibly relaxing a little and resting her hands on the table between us again. “I don’t know how I’m doing it either. My mind is telling me that you’re a freaking psycho and I should get away as fast as possible.”

Her words sting, I flinch, my hand falling to my lap and clenching tightly. But then she goes on to say something that makes me relieved and incredibly happy at the same time.

“But every other part of me is saying that you’re not, you genuinely care about me, and I should trust you. I don’t know why, but I do. So, I guess majority rules.”