Page 196 of The Friends and Rivals Collection

Conversations with the Cat

Zeus

With a belly full of fish and a sun-warmed spot on the blanket, the cat was ready for yet another nap.

He hadn’t quite hit his full allotment of sleep for the day.

He needed to catch up so he could be fully rested to sleep more tomorrow.

The man was sound asleep, and the cat considered draping himself over his master’s head.

Surely, the man would sleep better with a cat wrapped around him.

But then the woman flipped to her side, staring at him with big eyes. Was she going to stare him down? A cat?

Just try it.

But instead, she scratched between his ears.

Oh, baby. Do that again.

She obliged, stroking him more. He kicked up the noise box, purring at her.

“You’re loud,” she whispered under her breath.

Raising her hand, she scratched his chin. “You’re mighty handsome.”

Yep, keep it up.

“You’re a perfect pair,” she said, her eyes drifting from the feline to his master.

He rumbled louder, waiting for the woman to say more.

“A pair of lady-killers.” She sighed as she stroked his back. “What’s a girl to do?”

As she whispered, his feline thoughts drifted to a certain calico lady on the ninth story who might want to share a can of tuna with him at some point. He’d need to convince his master to take a trip on the elevator to her floor. He liked her whiskers. He liked her tail, too.

The woman’s eyes drifted to the man, his chest rising and falling, the look on his face serene.

“If things were different . . .”

She sighed.

“Maybe then . . .”

She rubbed his furry belly.

“But I don’t know how to make it all work.”

So good. The rubbing was so good. He tuned out the woman’s chatter, and eventually she stopped talking.

The man rustled, stretching his arms over his head, but still slept. The woman’s eyes widened as the man’s shirt rode up. Her breath seemed to catch as she stared at his stomach. Stared, and stared, and stared, as if it were a bird she wanted to devour.

Well, that made sense.

Birds were mighty tasty.

A few minutes later, the woman fell asleep, tangled up with the bird she wanted to eat.