Page 3 of Tell Me Your Desires

Anya released her seatbelt and climbed out of her car. Her joints ached, and she stretched, bending to the left and right, working out the kinks.

“I’m getting too old to be out this late,” Anya muttered.

It wasn’t just the late nights for Anya anymore.

It was the feeling of being… unfulfilled.

Life as Lady A had given Anya her ‘second wind’ in life.

But at fifty-three, Anya wondered if there was more for her out there.

She punched in the code to unlock her door, simultaneously closing the garage door.

She went inside when she heard the secure thud of the door hitting the concrete.

Anya stood there momentarily, waiting for the lock to engage automatically.

Some would probably call Anya paranoid. But she knew the world beyond those doors well enough not to give a damn what anyone thought.

“Derek?” she called out. “I’m sorry I’m late!”

Anya kicked off her shoes, sliding her feet into her cozy slippers before padding into the kitchen.

Her movements were automatic. She had done this routine almost every night for the past four years.

No matter what time she came in, it remained the same.

She filled the kettle with fresh water, listened to the click of the stove as the burner ignited, and grabbed a yogurt out of the fridge while she waited for the water to boil.

The only thing missing at the moment was Derek.

He was usually right there, being very vocal about having to wait for Anya to get home.

“Derek?” she called out again. “Are you not speaking to me? I’ve already apologized for being late.

I know I promised I’d be home early tonight and that we’d watch a movie, but…

.” Anya sighed. “It was her birthday. What was I supposed to do? Say no?” Ugh.

You should have said no, Anya silently scolded herself.

“Meow.” A black cat jumped up onto the counter, looking up at Anya. “Meow, meow, mmmeow.”

Anya chuckled. Derek’s trilled meows always made her smile, as did his need to be petted. “Oh, you’re ready for your attention now?” Anya tsked.

“Meow.” Derek purred as he rubbed against Anya, and she stood there spooning yogurt into her mouth. “Meow?”

Anya dangled the yogurt in front of Derek’s face. “Want some? I’m pretty sure you’ve already had dinner. This is mine.”

“Meow, meow.”

Anya made a show of sighing dramatically before scraping the last of the yogurt out of the container. There was a fair amount on the end of the spoon, and she held it out for her spoiled brat of a cat.

“You owe me for that. No knocking anything off the mantle for at least a week.”

“Meow.” Derek finished the yogurt and went back to nudging Anya for pets. “Mowwww.”

Anya sighed. “I know. I shouldn’t have let things with Maisie go that far.”

“Meow.”

“Don’t judge me. She’s a beautiful young woman. She wanted to experience a night with me. I merely gave her what she paid for.”

“Mmmeow. Mew…meow.”

“Oh, sure. Focus on the young part. You’re so judgmental. You know, I didn’t judge you when you had ringworm and lost patches of fur. In fact, I helped you.”

Derek bumped Anya’s hand with his head, purring loudly as she scratched the back of his ear. He gave her little mews, lifting his butt high when her fingernails scratched the length of his shiny coat.

“You think I should apologize, don’t you?

” Derek stretched languidly before flopping onto his back and rolling around on the counter.

“Fine. If it makes you feel better, I will call and apologize. Then I’m taking a shower, getting into comfy PJs, and we’re going to watch what I want to watch tonight.

You always pick crime dramas. Yes, the women detectives are hot, but I think we need something a little more lighthearted tonight. ”

Anya took out her phone and found Maisie in her contacts.

With any luck, the call wouldn’t be answered.

I could just text. Anya glanced at Derek, who was currently licking himself.

He stopped briefly to stare at her, then began licking again.

Anya rolled her eyes. She’d never hear the end of it if she didn’t call.

So she pressed the call button and held her breath.

“Voicemail,” she told an uninterested Derek. “Yeah, I wouldn’t be interested either if I could do that to myself.”

Beep. “Maisie? It’s…Lady A. I wanted to apologize for tonight. I should never have allowed things to go as far as they did. I crossed the line.” Anya took a breath. “It’s something that will never happen again.”

Now what? How did you end a call like that? Goodnight seemed too casual. Goodbye seemed too formal and final. Maisie might think Anya wanted her fired. That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen. She opened her mouth to say something, but the line beeped again, cutting her off.

“Well… that works, I guess.” She picked Derek up, interrupting his ‘bath.’ He meowed irritably at her.

“Yeah, yeah. You can have your bath while I have mine. We’re going to watch one episode of A League of Their Own, and then we’re sleeping, so don’t even think about meowing at me for another episode. We both need our beauty sleep.”