From then on, Kat practically lived at my apartment. She was there nearly every night, and only really went back to her own to get clothes and things when she needed them. We spent nearly every moment that neither of us were working together, and it was incredible. I never grew tired of her. I figured that if I had longer, I never would. It was amazing. I loved every minute.
Also, the sex was incredible. It had been so long since I had been with someone. Hell, before her, it had been forever since I had ever held someone’s hand or been kissed. I realized how touch-starved I had been, and I couldn’t get enough of her.
A few days after my confession, we were walking to Vienne’s in the morning, as we often did. As we passed by an alley, Kat suddenly stopped, and raised her hand.
“What’s up?” I asked, confused.
“Shhhhh,” was all she said in response, as she started to search the alley.
I gave her a confused look, but shushed up anyway.
She stalked over to a box, tossed carelessly to the side of the alley. She reached down and opened the box, and gasped. She reached in, and pulled out a small cat. The cat was brown, almost the same color as her hair. She immediately began cooing and fretting over it. I came over to get a better look.
The cat did not look well. It was very skinny, and its fur was matted and dirty. It clutched to Kat desperately, meowing weakly. She looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“We have to help it,” she said, desperately.
I nodded. “Let’s take it back to my apartment.”
We did, and we managed to scrounge up some leftover chicken for it to eat. After, we gave it a bath and got some of the mats out of its fur. When cleaned up, it was a very pretty cat, with a beautifully colored coat, if one that was clearly in need of some care.
After the cat was dry and clean, we sat on the couch and let it roam my apartment for a bit as we researched animal shelters and vets. It was shy at first, but before long. It jumped up and curled up on Kat’s lap. She looked at me, tears in her eyes again.
“My family had a cat when I was little that looked like this one,” she explained. “Her name was Mocha. She died when I was in high school and I’ve wanted another cat since.” She scratched the hat behind the ears, and I could hear the purring from next to her. “Can we keep it?”
“Kat, my building doesn’t allow pets.”
“Mine does! It can live at mine.”
“Are you ready to have a pet? You’re barely home anyway.”
She nodded eagerly. “Yes, I am. And well, that last part can be fixed.” She took my hand. “I wasn’t gonna ask this until next week but… Adrianne, will you move in with me?”
I flushed. I couldn’t get the words out as I felt tears start to come to my eyes, so I just nodded. She grinned, and kissed me. The cat on her lap made a disgruntled noise as she jostled it, and we both laughed.
The next few days were hectic. We packed up my apartment and took the cat to a vet nearby. We decided to name her Cappuccino (Chini for short), and Chini and I moved into Kat’s apartment. It was nice. Much nicer than mine had been. She had two bedrooms, a gorgeous kitchen, and even a small patio. It was a little farther away from Vienne’s and the store I was working at, but the bus stopped just down the road, and Kat would be able to drive me most of the time if I needed it anyway.
And plus, it meant I got to move in with my girlfriend, which I wasn’t about to pass up on.
After I had been moved in for a few days and Chini and I had gotten settled, Kat sat me down to talk about our plans. We had almost exactly four months left, and we were going to make the most of it.
“So Adrianne,” she started.
“So Kat.”
“There’s a few things that we have to do before you go. I’ve made a list, but I want your input too.” She pulled up the notes app on her phone, where she had a list of things for us to do together. I saw that “move in together” was already crossed off, as was “get a pet.” I scrolled through the list. A lot of it was things I would’ve expected. “Meet my family,” “dinner parties with my friends,” “go on a vacation.”
“This is sort of just me dumping out ideas,” she explained. “I’m gonna make a better plan, like actually organize everything and start booking things, but I want you to add anything if there’s something you want.”
“I just want to be with you,” I replied. “It doesn’t matter what we do as long as I’m with you.”
“Awwwww,” she teased, and I flushed. “No but really, that’s sweet, Adrianne. I’m sure you’ve been lots of places and done lots of things, but is there anywhere you’d like to go? Or go back to maybe?”
I thought for a moment. “Marseille. I ended up there once but… well I wasn’t in a good place to enjoy it.” She took my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “And I’ve heard so much about it, I’d like to go and see it when I can actually enjoy it.”
“Marseille it is then,” she said grinning.
“Wait, what do you-”
“That’s where we’re going to go on vacation together.”
I flushed. She kissed me, still grinning, and said “I’m gonna start making some concrete plans. Not just for Marseille, but for the rest of our time together. I know you just want to spend it together, and I do too, but there’s so much I want to do with you.” She kissed me again. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
The next day, when I got home from work, Kat greeted me excitedly.
“Adrianne!” She ran up and gave me a hug and a kiss. “So okay, I’ve been planning things. First of all…” she pulled out two slips of paper, and I saw that they were plane tickets. “We’re going to Marseille next month!” She was beaming at me, and her excitement was contagious. Before I could say anything, she continued.
“I also have been planning out what we’re going to do before the trip. It’s kind of broad, but…” she pulled out another, larger sheet of paper from somewhere. On it was a calendar filled with things to do. Most of them were listed more than once. “So I figured that most of it can be kind of flexible,” she explained. “Like if nobody can make a dinner party here,” she pointed at a date on the calendar, “we can do it here instead.”
I nodded along as she continued. She had a whole plan for the next few weeks. I really was just happy to be with her, no matter what that looked like, but if this was how she wanted to spend it, I was more than happy with that too.
And besides, it was nice to see her this excited. It was infectious, and she was adorable. She was talking quickly and with so much energy, just like the first time we met. Suddenly she trailed off and gave me a quizzical look.
“What?” she asked.
“Hm?” I replied, unsure what she meant.
“You’re looking at me weird,” she said. “Something’s wrong with your face, there’s like a crack in it.”
I realized I was grinning along with her, and at her words I rolled my eyes. “I’m smiling, you dork. Your energy is infectious,” I said, laughing. “And you’re adorable.”
She smiled even bigger and took my hand. “Does all this sound okay to you? I don’t want to just steamroll over whatever you-”
I interrupted her with a kiss. “It sounds wonderful, Kat. Thank you.”
When I pulled away, she was slightly flushed. “I will never get tired of that,” she said.
“Me neither,” I replied, and kissed her again. The kiss lasted longer this time, and when I pulled away she was red-faced and short of breath. She stood abruptly, grabbed my hand, and started pulling me away. “Where are we going?” I asked, suspecting I already knew the answer.
“Where do you think, dork?” she answered. I grinned as she led me to the bedroom.
A few days later, Kat was bustling about the kitchen, frantically preparing dinner. I was helping however I could, but she was doing so many things at once that I had no hope of following. I contented myself with setting the table and straightening our apartment.
Our apartment. I still wasn’t used to that. The thought made me smile.
I was finishing making the bed when Kat walked into the bedroom.
“Okay,” she said, letting out a big breath. “Dinner is in the oven. I’m gonna get changed before people start getting here.”
I nodded. “Okay, love. I will too.” She seemed nervous, so I reached out and took her hand. “You okay?”
“Just nervous,” she said, squeezing my hand. “It’s my first time hosting one of these. And it’s your first time meeting Andrew, and I just want everything to go perfect but there’s so much to do and I-”
“Hey, hey, take a deep breath,” I cut her off, trying to stop her spiral. “It’ll go great.”
She took a deep breath. “I know, I know. I’m just nervous, you know?”
“I know. I mean I am too. I’m meeting some of my girlfriend’s family for the first time. I haven’t done that in… to be honest, I don’t know how long. “ I squeezed her hand again. “But we’re together, and tonight’s gonna be fun. Okay?”
She nodded and smiled at me. “Okay.”
I sat on the bed and watched as she selected an outfit and got changed. She flushed slightly when she noticed me watching, and she put on a black turtleneck sweater with a red skirt that came down just above her knees, with black tights. She added some gold-colored layered necklaces, and she tied her hair to be half up in the back. I was still watching her as she started in on her makeup.
“What?” she asked as she drew on her eyeliner.
“Just watching you,” I replied. “You’re so beautiful.”
She flushed. “Didn’t you say you wanted to get changed, too?”
“Mhm. I should probably do that.”
I didn’t right away. Her flush got deeper, and after a minute or so she tossed a makeup sponge at me without looking, and said “Go get changed, you dork.”
I laughed, and she rolled her eyes, but I could see her stifling a grin.
Tonight, Kat and I were hosting a dinner party. Her friends and brother were coming over at her invitation, and she was clearly very nervous. I’d been trying to provide positivity and levity, but I was nervous too. The last time I had seen her friends, I had gotten very drunk, and it was my first time meeting her brother.
I selected a simple wintery sweaterdress, and started on my hair and makeup. Kat breezed by on her way to the kitchen as I was applying lipstick, and she stopped briefly to give me a peck on the cheek as she went to check on the food.
Just as I finished getting ready, there was a knock on the door.
“I’ll get it,” Kat called out before I could react, and I rushed towards the door to greet whoever it was.
Moon turned out to be the first to arrive. They were wearing leggings and a long sweater, their short hair starting to show dark at the roots. They embraced Kat, and went to hug me as well. I was surprised, but hugged them back, and I looked over Moon’s shoulder to see Kat equally surprised.
“Hey, lovebirds,” Moon said after the hugs. “Thanks for hosting.”
“Of course,” Kat replied. “You’re the first one here but you know your way around. Make yourself comfortable.”
Moon nodded, and headed off into the living room. Kat practically ran up to me and grabbed my hand excitedly.
“Moon hugged you!” she exclaimed.
“I noticed.”
“They never like my girlfriends. And they never hug any of our partners this early on.”
“So… is that good?”
She nodded excitedly. “You must’ve made a really good impression on them!” She squeezed my hand. “I’m proud of you. And I’m so glad they like you.”
“I am too. I was a little surprised by the hug though.”
“Do you want me to ask them to stop?”
“No, no. It was nice. A pleasant surprise.”
She squeezed my hand again, and before she could respond there was another knock at the door. It was Mateo and Kylie, already bickering about boys. Mateo wore tight pants and a loose top, again mostly unbuttoned. He didn’t have a jacket, and I thought he must have been cold considering the late winter chill. Kylie wore a short black dress with tights, and she was the first to actually be wearing a jacket. I took it from her to hang up, and she paused from berating Mateo about some boy named Dante to thank me and give me a quick hug and peck on the cheek. It was a lot less surprising from her. Mateo rolled his eyes at Kylie and gave me a quick fistbump as I walked past.
Mateo and Kylie headed off into the living room to join Moon. I glanced in after them and saw that Chini had already latched onto Moon and was curled up in their lap, snoozing the day away.
I busied myself with setting the table, and a few minutes later there was another knock at the door. Kat looked at me wide-eyed, and I could tell this was the part she was most nervous about. She quickly walked over to the door, and I gave her hand a quick squeeze before she opened it.
If I hadn’t already known that Andrew was four years younger than Kat, I might’ve thought they were twins. His hair was the same warm brown, his eyes the same brilliant green, and he even had the same smattering of freckles that Kat had. He was a few inches taller, and his flannel and jeans combo further contrasted him from his sister, but otherwise the two looked almost uncannily alike.
Andrew and Kat greeted each other with a hug.
“Hey Andy,” Kat said. “Thank you for coming.”
“Kitty’s first time hosting? I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” replied Andrew with a grin before he turned to face me. I didn’t miss the nicknames they used for each other. “And you must be Adrianne.” He stuck out a hand for me to shake. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Same to you,” I answered, shaking his hand. “So, do you have any embarrassing stories about her?”
He laughed, and Kat glared at me before laughing herself. “Plenty,” Andrew said. “But let’s save those for after I’ve had some wine.” He turned back to Kat and nudged her. “I like her,” he said, pointing over his shoulder at me, before heading into the living room as well.
Kat beamed at me and trotted up to me. “You’re doing amazing,” she said, giving me a quick kiss. “Dinner will be ready in like ten minutes. Can you go socialize while I finish up?”
I nodded back at her. “Yes ma’am,” I replied, and kissed her again. When we broke away I saw she was flushed, and I grinned mischievously at her.
She threw a kitchen towel at me, and said “Get outta here, dork.” I laughed and gave her the towel back before heading into the living room.
I was surprised at how easily Andrew fit into the group dynamic of Kat’s friends. It almost seemed like he was just another member of the group. He joined in on ribbing Mateo and Kylie about their boy troubles, and Moon seemed especially excited to see him. They almost jumped up to hug him, but stopped when Chini gave a disgruntled meow. He bent over and gave them a hug instead. Moon was beaming when he pulled away.
I did my best to settle into the group dynamic. I still felt like an outsider, but the group didn’t treat me as one. Andrew laughed along with my jokes, Mateo and Kylie asked me for my opinion on boy things (I had no idea how to respond most of the time), and Moon invited me to sit next to them. I absently scratched Chini behind the ears as we chatted.
With a start, I realized how happy I was. I felt warm and comfortable and safe in a way I hadn’t in ages. Kat’s friends, my friends, made me happy. That happiness intensified when Kat stuck her head in the room and smiled at us.
“Dinner’s ready, everyone,” she said, and we all stood eagerly.
Moon grabbed my sleeve, and I glanced back to see that Chini was still snoozing on their lap. “Help,” they said, gesturing to the cat.
I laughed and picked Chini out of their lap. She loudly complained, but I made her a little blanket nest and she quickly fell back asleep.
“Thank you, Adrianne. I obviously couldn’t disturb the cat.”
“Course not. Happy to help, Moon,” I replied, and they smiled at me.
I followed Moon into the kitchen, and most of our guests had already found seats at the table. Kat was bustling back and forth bringing food to the table, and I followed her back into the kitchen.
“Let me help,” I said to her, and her face softened.
“Okay, take this.”
Kat and I brought the rest of dinner to the table and started serving our friends. Dinner turned out to be chicken in a cream sauce with potatoes, broccoli, and garlic bread. I didn’t know a lot about cooking, but everyone agreed it was delicious. The conversation over dinner was lively and happy, with lots of laughter. The copious wine certainly didn’t hurt with that.
I felt happy. Happier than I had in as long as I could remember.
The conversation lasted quite a bit longer than the food. Kat had a hand on my thigh as she talked and laughed. She was so beautiful. I looked around the table, and I felt myself becoming overwhelmed with emotion. I excused myself and quickly stood up from the table, and headed down the hall to our bedroom. I felt tears spring to my eyes.
A few moments later, there was a knock at the doorframe. I looked up to see Kat standing there with concern in her eyes. She sat next to me on the bed and took my hand.
“What’s wrong, baby?” she asked, her voice thick with worry.
I took a moment to choke the words out. “I don’t want to leave.”
“I know, baby.”
“Your friends, our friends, are so amazing, and spending time all together makes me feel happier than I have in a long time. I don’t want to leave you all but that’s not even it. I haven’t felt welcome or like I belong anywhere in so long and it just fills me with so much gratitude and love that I don’t even know what to do with myself.”
She squeezed my hand. “I know, baby. I won’t pretend I know what it’s like, but we’re here right now, yeah? We still have plenty of time with them and with each other. Let’s enjoy it, okay?”
I nodded, and she dried my face with her sleeve. “Okay. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be a downer or anything-”
“Shhh, it’s okay, baby. You aren’t a downer.” She helped me stand and smoothed out my hair. “Are you okay to get back out there? If you need a few more minutes we can wait.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m okay. I just needed a minute.”
She smiled at me and squeezed my hand again, and we headed back into the dining kitchen.
I was surprised to see the table already cleared. Moon was doing dishes, and the rest were putting away leftovers, wiping the table, and otherwise cleaning. Kat rushed over to Moon.
“Hey stop that,” she said, swatting at their hands. “You don’t need to do that.”
Moon waved her away. “Yes I do,” they said, continuing to wash. “And besides, you can’t stop me anyway. And Andrew will help, won’t you?”
Andrew was already grabbing a towel and starting to dry the dishes. “Course I will. Kat, Adrianne, go sit down. We’ll clean up.”
“Grrrr,” Kat growled with mock anger. “Okay, okay, fine, we’ll wait in the living room.” She took my hand and headed in that direction.
“And no canoodling!” yelled Mateo. “We’re right here!”
Kat and I both flushed as our friends laughed. We sat in the living room, and Kat started scrolling through movies to find one to watch. She asked for my opinion on a couple, but I hadn’t seen most. I wasn’t sure whether that was because I just didn’t watch many movies, or because some of them didn’t exist in other realities I had been in. Probably both. She tabbed over to one movie and asked me what I thought, only to gasp when I shrugged.
“You’ve never seen Legally Blonde?” she exclaimed. I heard gasps from the other room as some of our friends repeated the question. I flushed and shrugged again.
“Okay, well, that’s what we’re watching then,” Kat continued. There was a chorus of agreements from the kitchen.
A few minutes later, everyone had made their way into the living room, and Kat started the movie. Clearly, everyone else had seen the movie many times, as they quoted along with several parts of the movie. We continued talking through the movie as well, and I didn’t end up watching too much of the actual movie.
By the time the movie was over, there were at least 4 empty bottles of wine. I hadn’t had much, considering the last time I drank, and Moon also abstained. Mateo and Kylie were wasted, Andrew had had a glass or two, and Kat was just past tipsy.
Andrew stood and stretched. “Alright, I think I’m gonna head home. Unfortunately I have work tomorrow.” There was a chorus of boos. “I know, I know. Mateo, Kylie, do you two want rides?”
“Mmmmmyeah, probably,” said Mateo, and Kylie nodded in agreement.
“Come on, then, you drunkards.” There were laughs as the two groaned and stood.
Goodbyes were exchanged between the friends, and then Andrew came up to Kat and I. “Take care of my sister, okay?” he said to me, as Kat went to hug goodbye to Mateo and Kylie.
I nodded. “I will.”
He smiled. “I know. I can tell you care a lot about her. And she cares about you. It’s good to see. You two are great together.” I flushed, and he grinned. “It was really nice to meet you.”
“You too,” I said. “Drive safe.”
He nodded as Kat came up to us. “Bye, Kitty. Thanks for hosting, it was a great time.”
“Thank you for coming!” she replied. She was grinning and bouncy, clearly enjoying the feeling of her buzz. She hugged him. “Love you, Andy. Drive safe.”
“Always.”
Andrew stopped to give Moon a hug and a goodbye as well, and they looked ecstatic at the embrace. I glanced at Kat, and she grinned at me knowingly.
Moon, Kat and I sat back down on the couch, and Kat put on another movie I had never heard of. It was a lot quieter now, but I was still warm and happy. Kat snuggled up against me and I put my arm around her and held her close. Moon ‘awwed’ and I flushed, and Kat gave them a gentle kick in response. Chini jumped up onto Kat’s lap, and before long both of them were asleep.
Moon looked over at us. “You two really are great together,” they said in a low voice so as not to wake Kat. “She really cares about you.”
“I really care about her,” I replied, and gently ran a hand through her hair.
Moon nodded. “Good. You better not hurt her.” They sighed. “She’s been through a lot. There’s a reason she loves so hard, you know.”
“There is?” I said, surprised.
Moon cocked their head. “If she hasn’t told you yet, she will when she’s ready.” Seeing the concern on my face, they hastened to continue. “It’s not anything she did wrong, if that’s what you’re worried about. But it’s not my story to share.”
I nodded, and they continued. “Anyway, be good to her, okay? She’s such an amazing person and she deserves to be happy.”
I looked down at her sleeping against me. “She is. And she does. I could never want to hurt her.”
Moon smiled softly at me. “I know you wouldn’t. I don’t think you’re a bad person, Adrianne.” They looked back to Kat. “But she could get hurt anyway. Maybe not even in a way that would be your fault. But she’s the most important person in my life and I’ve seen her hurt too many times.”
“Do you…?” I let the unfinished question hang in the air. They understood what I meant, and shook their head.
“No. I mean, not like that. I love her in the sense that she’s my best friend, more than that honestly, but not in the way you mean.” They sighed. “Did she tell you about my mom?”
I nodded, remembering that Moon’s mom had died when they and Kat were in college, and how Moon blamed themself for it.
“Did she also tell you that she was the only one there for me?” They looked away from Kat and towards me. “She’s always been there for me. No matter what it was about. I can always count on her, and sometimes she was the only one I could. She’s more than just my best friend, she’s family. So I have to look out for her.”
“Are we friends, Adrianne?” they asked after a few moments.
“I think so,” I replied, unsure where this was going.
“I think so, too. So please, don’t hurt her.”
I struggled to find the words to respond. I couldn’t promise them anything, knowing what my future held. But they clearly needed reassurance right now, and it was definitely true that I didn’t want to hurt Kat.
“I promise you, I will do whatever I can to avoid that,” I eventually got out.
They smiled at me. “Good.” They stood. “I’ll be right, gotta hit the little enby’s room.” They walked down the hall, and Chini decided to follow and jumped off of Kat’s lap.
As they left the room, I felt Kat begin to stir. I stroked her hair and brushed it out of her face.
“Are you awake, love?” I asked in a low voice.
“Mmm,” came the reply. I laughed softly and kissed the top of her head. She stretched and kissed me. “Is Moon still here?”
I nodded. “They’re in the bathroom.”
Moon returned a few minutes later. “Hey, sleepyhead,” they said with a smile when they saw Kat awake.
“Hey Moonie,” Kat said. “I hate to kick you out, but-”
“Nah you’re right. It’s late, and you clearly need to get to bed.”
Kat nodded, and gave Moon a hug. “Thank you for coming. It was a great time.” She flashed them a mischievous grin. “Andrew seemed to enjoy seeing you.”
Moon blushed furiously, and I found myself grinning as well. “You think so?” they asked. Kat and I both nodded, and Moon met my eyes. “You could tell?”
“Of course,” I replied. “I think he’s the only person on the planet who can’t.”
Kat nodded again. “He’s always been oblivious. I still think you should tell him.”
“Noooooooo,” Moon groaned out. “The only way that ends is things getting awkward and I don’t want that.”
“Okay, okay.” Kat was still grinning as they hugged Moon again. “Drive safe, text me when you’re home, okay?” They nodded. “Love you, Moonie.”
“Love you too, Kat,” they replied. “See you two later. Get some rest.”
Once Moon was out the door, Kat took my hands.
“I think tonight went great,” I began.
She nodded eagerly. “Me too. Did you have a good time?”
“The best time.” I smiled at her, and she beamed back. I kissed her softly. “How’re you feeling? You had quite a bit to drink.”
“Mmm. A bit wobbly, but that nap helped. Ready for bed?”
I nodded, and we quickly got ready for bed. Once we were under the covers, I turned to face her. “So Kat.”
“So Adrianne.”
“You know you can tell me anything, right?”
She looked at me, slightly confused. “Of course. Is something on your mind?”
I paused. “Moon mentioned that something happened to you. Something bad. I’m not trying to corner you or force it out, if you want to tell me you will when you’re ready and that’s fine. I just want you to know that you can tell me whenever you are.”
She smiled softly. “I know, Adrianne. But I appreciate it.” She kissed me on the nose. “Not tonight, it’s so late, but I’ll tell you soon, okay?”
“Whenever you’re ready, love.”
She kissed me again, on the lips this time. “When I’m ready. Besides, you’ve told me your biggest secret. I can tell you mine, too.”
“Mmkay,” I said, already falling asleep.
“You’re so cute,” she said, and I flushed. “Goodnight, baby. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
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