Kitten - Pt. 2

She closed the door to the bedroom behind her; carefully. The hallway was empty, silent. She tip-toed her way to the bathroom and selected the number from her recents list.

“What’s wrong?” she asked into the phone, careful not to raise her voice too high.

“I can’t sleep... I just wanted to hear your voice.”

Coming from anyone else, the words would have made her gag. But somehow, the smooth voice that lulled her to sleep each night what seemed like a lifetime ago managed to pierce her skin and warm her blood. She smiled a small smile, only to herself.

“Why can’t you sleep?” she asked after a brief pause.

She heard him exhale deeply, covering the receiver in his weighted breath. And for some reason, that too made her smile. Imagining him in bed, alone, and knowing she was the only one on his mind gave her a sense of importance.. belonging.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I had some glasses of wine earlier. You think that would help me sleep.”

“You’d think.. but you’re not exactly normal.”

And so it began. She offering hurtful blows to his ego, tearing down his pride and he redoubling, defending, drawing closer. It was a dance they knew all too well. She loved the steps. But when the music ended, a blanket of silence fell over the conversation once again.

“I should probably go back to bed,” she said suddenly.

She heard him frown. “Oh, uhm, yeah. I guess you should.”

Though she knew she could very easily hang up, something inside wouldn’t let her so easily.

“Hey...” he said.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

She opened her mouth to retort with something smartly sarcastic, but instead just answered, “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, kitten.”

The sound of that name made her melt. But her defenses quickly kicked in. “I think you’ve had too much to drink. Go to bed.”

With that, she hung up. Just for good measure, she flushed the toilet and ran her hands under the tap. Then she carefully made her way back into her bed.

“Hmmph?” He rolled over to face her.

She pulled his face close, gave him a kiss, and wrapped her arms tightly around him. This is what she loved, the feeling of him next to her. The warmth of his body, the softness of his skin. His smell. The way he made her feel. She was his girl.

And his kitten.