I Unintentionally Became Her Kitten

Chapter 21: Taking Care of Alisha

Alisha returned with Matteo at almost nine o’clock. She was visibly tired but as usual refused to acknowledge it.

Matteo was dismissed and he went back out to the garage and I had to assume somewhere on the property, he and Tye parked since their cars weren’t with Alisha’s, but it wasn’t like they could grab a bus to come out here. There were still parts of the house I hadn’t explored and significant pieces of the outer property I hadn’t even acknowledged. As far as I knew, Alisha owned the surrounding land on all sides, but how far the property extended, I had no idea.

I happily approached Alisha once Matteo was gone. He still hadn’t said much of anything to me but his presence still made me nervous.

Alisha happily pulled me into a hug when I was close enough, which I returned. She smelled different than she did when she was freshly cleaned, but there was none of that harsh gunsmoke odor either so she had been safe. I didn’t even fully realize how much that worried me until then.

“Hello Kitten,” she said and ran her hand down my back. “I missed you, too.”

“I made salad,” I told her.

“You made salad? As in dinner?”

“Yes.” I buried my face against her neck for a moment before releasing her. “I didn’t want you to have to worry about me as soon as you came back,” I explained. “It’s the least I could do.”

The salads consisted of the prewashed lettuce, cranberries, walnuts, and blue cheese so it wasn’t exactly an arduous task to make them.

“You’re so sweet,” she told me and gave me a quick kiss on my forehead before moving deeper into the house.

Tye waited for her just outside the dining room.

When she was close enough he mumbled something to her that I couldn’t hear but she looked up at me, so whatever it was concerned me.

My heart sank. I didn’t want her to have to worry about my family drama. Or explain it to her either.

Then they parted ways, Tye heading toward me and the door.

I stepped out of his way and he gave me that respectful, almost friendly nod on his way out.

Once he was gone, I started to approach Alisha again.

She sighed heavily, and leaned her weight against the wall, looking far more tired than she initially let on.

“Let’s eat some food,” I told her.

She nodded and straightened herself back out.

We sat at the table together and I set down a bowl of salad that looked almost like what she usually did with them. I didn’t know the exact amounts but I tried to eyeball things to be as close as possible.

We ate in silence for a while before Alisha swallowed and then took a deep breath. “Is everything okay, Kitten?” she asked. “I don’t need to know details but I want to know you’re safe.”

I nodded. “I’m fine. I… got some texts earlier from someone from my old life,” I explained. “But I blocked their number already so things should be fine.”

“Okay,” she agreed. “Just be careful, okay? I don’t want you getting hurt.” She reached over to give me a few head pats which had their usual effect of helping me relax. “And try not to get the police’s attention. I know you’d never mean for it to happen, but they would do practically anything to get a warrant for my house.”

“I know,” I said. “I don’t think I’ll be getting into any trouble with the police anytime soon.”

“You are a good kitten,” she agreed.

We finished eating and I got up to clear the dishes.

“Would you like some tea?” I asked her. “I made cookies so we could have something a little sweet before bed.”

At her silence, I looked over to find her dozing off with her head resting against her hand, her phone on the table in front of her.

She was beyond simply over-tired. This was actual exhaustion. I put the dishes in the dishwasher and then gently shook her.

She woke with a start and blinked blearily around the room.

“You should get ready for bed,” I said softly.

“Right,” she agreed. “Sleep.”

I helped her out of the chair and followed behind as she went up the steps to the bedroom.

“Sorry, Kitten, I’m just a bit worn out,” she explained. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”

“What time did you wake up?” I asked. 

“I think three-thirty or so,” she mumbled.

She went straight to the bathroom and started the shower. I started to brush my teeth and looked up to find her stripping out of her clothing.

“Uh–” I suddenly felt very warm and spit out some toothpaste. “Are you okay with me being in here?” I asked.

“Mhhm,” she mumbled and stepped into the cubicle to pull the door shut behind her.

The water didn’t steam up the glass, a trait I had noticed before which was interesting. This also meant I could see everything she was doing on the other side and finally tore my eyes away when she started to reach for her soap.

Was she teasing me? Or did she just not care? I couldn’t imagine her being in the mood at the moment so… she must’ve just been that tired she wanted to get to bed as soon as possible.

The smell of her soap started to fill the room as I rinsed my toothpaste saliva down the drain and put my toothbrush away. I washed my face with cold water, wondering if I should shower, too, but I still felt clean from this morning.

Alisha came out of the shower just a few minutes later, smelling freshly clean and wrapped herself in a towel. I tried not to ogle her. She had a very nice body that I wanted to put my hands on, but I also knew better than to invade someone's personal space without permission. On top of that, I knew Alisha was exhausted.

She brushed her teeth while I combed through my hair briefly, rinsed her mouth out and then surprised me by putting an arm around me and pulling me closer.

“Thank you, Kitten,” she said sleepily.

“For what?” I asked and finished pulling some tangles free of my hair.

“For taking care of dinner tonight. And for making cookies. We can eat them tomorrow with some tea.”

I nodded. “It wasn't a big deal.” My proximity to her chest was making it a bit difficult to think. Her towel covered the important parts but it was rather teasing anyway.

She gave me a quick kiss and then left the bathroom.

I watched her go and finally put my hairbrush down to follow.

She disappeared into the closet, helping me calm down a bit. She wouldn't be getting dressed if she wanted something.

I sat on the edge of the bed and waited for her to come out again. She was dressed in pajamas when she did and did her usual routine of handing a set to me.

I quickly went into the closet to get dressed as well, tossing my dirty clothes in the hamper and came back out to find Alisha already in bed, her hair still dripping down the pillow cases.

I sighed and got in on the other side, avoiding any damp spots and got as close to her as I could.

“Kippy?” She mumbled sleepily as I did so, the word slurred a bit as she was already half asleep.

“Yeah it's me,” I reassured her.

“You're very sweet,” she mumbled and pulled me closer to her. The dampness of her skin was unpleasant at first but rapidly faded into background noise as she wrapped an arm around my waist. I held her hand for a long time until I heard her soft breathing shift into the long very quiet snores she usually had.

I settled into a somewhat more comfortable position but made sure I wasn't pulling away from her and went to sleep myself.

Alisha's alarm went off the next morning at the usual time. She got up and began getting ready while I blinked blearily. It was early enough the sky was still pretty dark and my instinct was to curl back up and sleep longer. But Alisha was up now and not having her in the bed made it feel quite lonely.

I slid myself off the bed and began to stumble my way downstairs to make coffee while Alisha brushed her hair out in the bathroom, attempting to tame the now frizzy mess. I never really thought about it but she put a lot of effort into maintaining her hair. Stella came over frequently to treat it with various things, sometimes things I recognized, like keratin treatments, and things I didn't, like whatever a number five Plex treatment meant. Last night was also the first time I'd seen her go to sleep without drying it and otherwise taking the time to comb moisturizer through it. She was just that tired.

I got to the kitchen and filled the coffee pot to start a brew before going back upstairs to get dressed.

Alisha came out of the bathroom her hair brushed out but still looking a bit frizzy and uncooperative. She gave me a little smile seeing me slipping into the closet.

“How is the Kitten today?” she asked. She sat on the edge of the bed as I got dressed around the corner.

“I'm good,” I said. “How about you?”

I came back fully dressed in the newer jacket and one of the pastel shirts she'd bought me.

She beckoned me closer with a finger so I went close to her. She pulled me even closer once within reach and kissed me passionately on the lips.

I returned the affection and began to get myself up on her lap to straddle her hips but it was difficult and I slid backwards just to have to plant my feet on the floor again.

Her smirk was mischievous as she guided me back to standing in front of her.

“It's a bit early to get too frisky,” she explained.

“You're just teasing me?” I asked.

“Yes,” she answered simply. “But you know I'll satiate you later.”

I blushed hotly and turned away, embarrassed at how easily she could do that to me.

“Or would you rather me leave you alone?” she asked.

“I didn't say that… I'm just gonna be distracted all day, now.”

She leaned forward to wrap her arms around my waist and pulled me back against her, gently kissing at my neck. “Doesn't that make it a bit fair? What do you think you do to me when you look this cute?”

I squirmed in her grip. It was too much and I needed to breathe. She released me so I could scamper a few steps away.

“Too much?” she asked.

I shivered, trying to cool off. “For the morning, yeah,” I admitted.

“Sorry, I'll keep my hands to myself.” She still patted the bed next to her.

I approached again and sat down, leaning my head against her shoulder. “What are your plans for today?” I asked in an attempt to distract myself.

“Making some rounds to collect revenue,” she said boredly. “Going to the Laundromat to get it clean and sorted and then I'm free for the rest of the day.”

I nodded. That didn't sound too bad.

“The thing is,” she continued. “Tye has the day off so I'll have to get someone else to stay at the house with you.”

“Oh…” I realized. I hadn't really thought about Tye ever having time off. I forgot that while he didn't have to do much during the day, it was still work and he would need freedom to relax somewhere else. “I mean, if it's just your routine, I could probably come with you. That way you wouldn’t have to worry about it.”

“Are you sure?” She pet my hair again, luxuriously stroking my blonde waves. “Its not a dangerous task but it's still illicit,” she said. “I don't want you to feel pressured to be a witness.”

I shook my head. “I'll be fine. It's just collecting money like the first time you brought me around right?”

“Yes. That exact routine.”

“Yeah, I'll come with and keep you company.” 

Her gaze was hesitant but she finally nodded. “Alright,” she pulled me even closer for a brief second before releasing me and standing. “I need to get Stella before we go but it shouldn't take too long. Is there anything you want to do when we're done for the day?”

I shook my head. “Not in particular,” I said. “I just enjoy spending time with you.”

She ruffled my hair briefly. “How about we get some dinner out?”

I nodded. That sounded like a date, and she'd already been teasing me so I probably had something special to look forward to tonight.

“Alright, I’m gonna get ready to go then,” she gave me one of those really quick and soft kisses on my forehead and went off down the stairs.