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Chapter 23

Kitty

The summer after freshman year was a lot, to say the least. I got the internship of my dreams at The Tonight Show, rooming with some random fellow interns in some god-awful hole in Manhattan that cost more than a semester at Alden.

The hours were grueling. My friends were the other interns, whether I actually liked them or not. My apartment was basically a place to sleep and that’s it. But I was working toward my dream.

Guy had to go to development camp starting in July, and we wanted to maximize our time together. We didn’t tell my parents, but he moved in with me from the end of school until the end of June, much to the collective chagrin of my four other roommates. We were putting a hurting on that single toilet.

Still, we did our best. Our place was filthy, literally rat and roach-infested. Guy earned his keep by cleaning while we were all at the studio. Other than staying in shape for the season, he didn’t have many responsibilities. As neat as we tried to be, there was no use when my roommates and the other people in our building gave no fucks. Guy turned twenty-one and thus could drink and buy the rest of us booze. He’d sometimes kick trash bags on the street to see if they moved with rats when he was drunk. I hated when he did that. So fucking gross, but he thought it was funny.

“What if I started calling you my City Kitty?” he asked one night while we sat in a park, eating ice cream.

“I’m starting to think you like the actual city kitties more than you like me,” I said, referring to the rats.

“Never. But they are a close second,” he grinned. “My special little friends.”

It was so fucking hot in my room that summer. We didn’t have proper air conditioning. Guy bought me a fan when I moved in, and we slept with cold washcloths covering our naked bodies.

“I can’t believe you want to live in this squalor with me,” I told him late one night. “You’re about to be an NHL player for fuck’s sake.”

“As long as I’m with you, I don’t care where we are, Birdy.”

We both knew things were about to change. He’d be on the West Coast for about nine months out of the year.

“Counting the days til we play Boston,” he’d say. “I’ll get you the most public seat on the ice so I can see you screaming for me, Kitty.”

“And I’ll try to come see you with the Rangers, Isles, and Devils,” I promised. “It’ll depend on school.”

“I’ll personally write your professors. Say your grandma died or something,” he’d joke.

As soon as his jersey number was settled, he got me a Seattle jersey with his name on it.

“So everyone knows you’re mine,” he said.

“What about all the other people who will wear your jersey? Are they yours, too?” I teased.

“I’ll let you lead the harem,” he joked back. “You know it’s only you.”

Guy did his best to stay present in the early days of our long distance. He sent me a rat plushie to snuggle in his absence, and he got one for himself, obviously naming it “City Kitty.” He never actually called me that, but he loved messing with me about his rat friends. We FaceTimed every night, but it was pretty challenging. The time difference, his training schedule, my classes, and shows all added up to give us pretty small windows to talk. Somehow, it was harder to juggle than figuring out how to see each other when we were on campus.

And, as I’d predicted but hoped wouldn’t happen, we ran out of stuff to talk about. We’d tell each other the details of our days, just like we did when we were together, but it didn’t feel the same. The physical connection wasn’t everything in our relationship, but it was important. I remembered how he acknowledged that things wouldn’t be the same when he moved back to Quebec, and we’d just parted ways. There were days when I wished that was the choice we’d made this time around.

Fortunately, his first game lined up with my fall break, so he flew me out to see his NHL debut. He added a checked bag to my ticket so I wouldn’t have to leave my favorite hairspray at home. Little details like that made my heart do weird things. It was a turbulent flight, but that swoopy stomach feeling remained when I got off the plane. I stopped in the bathroom to freshen up. I hadn’t seen Guy since June, other than on my phone or computer screen. I was worried I’d somehow smell weird or something during my first time seeing him in four months.

I could see his smile at the arrivals gate from yards away. He’d texted me a picture of him in his outfit since he said he’d be “incognito.” Hard to miss the tall skinny muscly guy with a baseball cap on. He stood right in the last spot where he wouldn’t legally be required to go through security to get to me. He started prancing around as I got close, unable to contain himself. He really was a golden retriever, wagging his tail for me coming home to him. I ran the last few steps to get to him, jumping into his arms and wrapping my legs around his waist. I don’t know if I’ve ever hugged someone so hard in my life.

“I can’t believe I’ve gone this long without you,” he whispered in my ear.

“Me either,” I gasped under his crushing embrace. “I’m so happy to see you, baby.”

I put my nose in his neck, burying my face and breathing him in. He was still the same Guy.

A woman walked by and mused, “Young love,” as Guy pulled back and smashed his lips to mine. I turned his hat around backward to get it out of the way and rested my hands on his cheeks, feeling a little stubble.

“Let’s go get your bag so I can get you home,” he said, eyes sparkling.

He took me to his Tesla, a new purchase since becoming a pro, putting my bag in the trunk. He attacked me once we were in the car, kissing the living daylights out of me. His hands roamed my neck, my ribs, my waist, anywhere he could grab.

“I didn’t even ask how your flight was,” Guy laughed.

“We’ve talked enough, don’t you think? I just want to touch you and smell you and taste you and do all the things we can’t across the country.”

Guy put the car in gear, drawing my hand to his lips as we got on the highway. I don’t remember a single song on the radio on the drive to his place. I just stared at him. He was really next to me, finally.

Stepping into his huge Belltown apartment in Seattle was like walking into another world. We’d lived in actual filth in New York, and now he had this sexy, swanky bachelor pad. His fridge was stocked with healthy food and there was a bowl of fruit on the counter. His sheets were nice, with City Kitty sitting on top of his pillows. It was like suddenly, Guy was cosplaying as a grown-up. His entry-level contract had been generous, so he had the money. Why not use it?

Guy gave me the official tour of the condo, standing behind me in every room as I took in his new space, anxiously pacing from foot to foot. He’d obviously taken me on tours on FaceTime, but it wasn’t the same as actually being in his place and catching all the little details.

“You’re quiet, ma puce ,” he said as we looked out over Seattle. “What do you think?”

“It’s great, Guy,” was all I could manage.

He deflated for a second. “Great?”

“I’m so proud of you. I am. This is amazing. I just . . . I feel like I don’t know you anymore,” I said, tears choking my speech.

“Birdy,” he said, wrapping me up in his arms and stroking a thumb over my cheek. “I’m still me.”

“I know, but your life is so different than mine. How are we going to keep doing this? I’m already struggling with school and keeping up with you, and the season hasn’t even started yet.”

Guy nodded. “I know. It’s hard. I wish it was different. Should we talk less? Would that help you?”

“I don’t know. I don’t even want to think about it right now. I just want to be with you. I want to enjoy your game and cheer you on and have fun with the time we have.”

He held my chin in his hand. “I want that, too. We can talk about the hard stuff. We will. Promise.”

“But for now,” I said, putting my hands on his chest, “I think we’re way overdue for some love-making. I want to test out these grown-up sheets you’ve got.”

Guy grinned, sliding down my body. I thought he’d start pulling down the leggings I traveled in, but instead he threw me over his shoulder and carried me to the bedroom, clapping my ass as he went. He dropped me to my feet just inside his bedroom door, pressing me against the wall.

“I’ve missed you so much, Kitty Bird. You ready to do this?”

“Is it weird that I’m nervous?”

Guy looked at me. “Nervous, why?”

“What if my pussy smells or something? What if I’m rusty?”

Guy chuckled. “Kitty, if your pussy smelled bad, I’d put on a gas mask and go for it anyway.” I laughed at that. “I mean, I’d take you to the doctor later, but nothing could hold me back from you right now.”

I giggled, reaching up to kiss him and running my hands under his shirt. Our clothes were on the floor in an instant, tearing and zipping and unbuttoning while our mouths stayed smashed together. All the nerves melted into excitement, my body taking over where my mind drew a blank.

I’d forgotten all the little things I knew about Guy, like how he dropped his head back whenever I first touched him there, or how his pupils went big when he was so turned on, or how he groaned if I sucked his bottom lip. It was familiar and new, native and exotic being with him again.

I started to reach for him after he sat me on the bed and stood in front of me, but he shook his head.

“You first, ma puce . Always.”

He dropped to his knees and pulled my butt to the edge of the bed, putting my legs over his shoulders. Guy looked back up at my eyes and smiled.

“You’re perfect, Kitty.”

He kept his eyes on mine as he kissed down my inner thighs, letting me stay sitting up to watch as he teased all around my pussy with his mouth. I let him take his time, having wanted to have that moment for so long. I played with his hair, sweeping it to the side and running my fingers through it, admiring the man that was my always.

Before he could get to the good part, he kissed back up my body, stopping to suck on my nipples. The sensation was heavenly, but I needed him elsewhere.

“You’re playing with me,” I scolded him.

“I just need all of you at once. I can’t decide what part I like best.”

“Oh, well, don’t let me get in your way,” I said with a laugh.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m going to get you.”

“Then get to it,” I whined, scooting my pelvis forward to encourage him.

He pushed me back on the bed and gave me what I wanted, tugging and licking in just the way I like.

“I love your taste, baby. I missed it so bad,” he said, nuzzling my clit with his nose before diving back in. I begged for more, and more, and right there, the pleasure rising and peaking. My ears rang, my pulse pounded, and then I was there, holding onto his hair for dear life as he brought me over the edge.

“That’s my girl.” He grinned up at me, rising to his feet and jerking his cock. “Ready for me? I can’t wait a second longer.”

“Get in there, baby.”

With one smooth thrust, Guy filled me at the edge of the bed, holding my jaw to make me look at him as he did. That hot, possessive touch would always get me. His jaw clenched, his eyes rolled back, and then he found me again, pushing into me. I sat up on my elbows and rocked my hips to meet him, his eyes wild.

“Fuck, Kitty, I want to make it last.”

“Don’t,” I told him. “Give me everything. I need it all now.”

Scooping his hands under my back, he pushed us to the middle of the bed, driving into me with abandon. He was hitting me just right, his cock brushing that perfect spot inside me while getting the outside on the way in. All I could do was hold on for dear life as he gave me everything, squeezing his low back between my legs. He kept trying to say something but failed to get his words out.

“Kitty,” he warned.

“Yes, Guy. Go for me.”

“You. First,” he stuttered out, scraping his hands down to cup my ass for leverage, a move he knew drove me up the wall. I breathed out his name. “Do it for me, sweetheart. Come for me.”

And I was gone again, abs burning as I ground my pelvis into him. I came hard, lifting myself off the bed as I pressed my chest into his. He jerked inside me, pulsing and giving me everything he had as he kissed my neck, breathing hard.

“Kitty.”

“Guy.”

“I can’t stop coming,” he grunted, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Me either.” He collapsed on top of me, both of us still riding the waves of our orgasms.

“I don’t want to be without you anymore, Kitty. I love you too much,” he said, swallowing as he panted.

“Yeah,” I sighed, coming down from my high. He rolled off me and got a towel from his nightstand, sliding it under my butt and then pulling me to lay my head on his chest. His heart thumped under my ear.

It was so wonderful, yet there was something so sad about it all. We’d just be together for a few days, and then it would be over again. Back to life. Back to pretending like I was a whole person when he wasn’t around. Back to pretending like what we were doing was enough.