Chapter 9
Tim looked nervously in the mirror. “What do you think, guys?” he asked the two cats sitting in the doorway of his bedroom.
Cos gave him a disdainful look and began to wash one of his paws. Abbott meowed as though giving his opinion on Tim’s outfit. He chose to think that it sounded encouraging. He turned back to the mirror, smoothing the front of his nice blue shirt with his slim fingers. “This is the first date that Daddy’s been on in months,” he reminded his pets. “So I probably won’t be home until kind of late. Though not really, really late, because I have work in the morning. Though maybe we might come back a little earlier, if things go well…” he trailed off, then shook his head at himself in the mirror. “It’s only because Daddy hasn’t gotten any in a long time that he’s turning into a total slut,” he added at himself severely. “Sleeping with a guy on the first date. Geez. But I can’t help think about it. Adrian’s too hot, and it’s just been too darn long!”
Cos walked away from the doorway as though to show his contempt for this entire line of thinking, while Abbott came over to wind himself around Tim’s ankles good-naturedly. He leaned down to pet the cat, scratching at Abbott’s ears to make him purr. “You guys don’t have to worry about this anymore,” he said wryly, “I envy you. It’ll be a long time before I stop caring about having sex. A really long time.”
Abbott bumped his head into Tim’s leg, demanding more vigorous petting from his human slave. He laughed. “You don’t care, do you?” he said dryly as he gave Abbott what he wanted. “As long as you get yours, you don’t care that Daddy’s not getting any. Cats are so selfish. Why do we like you guys exactly?”
Abbot looked up at him and rubbed his face lovingly against Tim’s fingers, purring even more loudly. Tim sighed. “That’s exactly why,” he remarked. “You guys know how to play us like violins. Oh, well. At least you’re honestly selfish. And I love you, you big lug,” he tugged Abbott’s ears playfully before rising to his feet.
Abbott headed for the door, meowing loudly. Tim knew what that sound meant. The fat cat wanted his kitty dinner before Tim left to get human dinner. He went into the kitchen to get out the bowls and fill them with kibble, making sure that Cos strolled in and ate at least half of the half-filled bowl before he abandoned it. Cos never ate all of it, which pleased Abbott to no end because the black cat didn’t care if he finished the food off. The calico hungrily attacked what was left in Cos’s bowl as soon as the other cat left the kitchen.
Tim shook his head as Abbott ate it all and licked the bowl clean. Honestly, if only there were some way to put Abbott on a diet! But the fat cat hated diet cat food, and wouldn’t touch it. And when he didn’t get fed what he wanted, he’d follow Tim around all the time that he was home, yowling piteously until Tim gave in in a mixture of irritation and pity, and bought him the kind of cat food he liked. And even portion control of the regular food didn’t stop Abbott from being a big, fat cat. Adrian’s brother had speculated that it was partially because Abbott might have a thyroid problem, but Abbott detested the medication that Tim had tried to give him for it, and wouldn’t even take it wrapped up in treats. And since Abbott appeared to be perfectly healthy despite his size, he’d finally given up.
“You probably don’t have a thyroid problem,” he commented to Abbott now as the big feline finished licking Cos’s bowl clean. “You just have a greedy guts problem. Oh, well.”
Abbott blinked up at him in a satisfied manner. Tim shook his head. There was a knock at his front door, and he caught his breath. He laughed at himself internally as he walked down the hall to answer the door. He was acting just like a teenaged boy on his very first date. Silly, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. There was just something about Adrian…even more than his brother, Tim realized. While he’d always had a crush on his vet, it had been from a distance. If he’d divorced his wife to throw himself on Tim, he wasn’t sure how he’d have reacted. While it had been a harmless crush, he’d been able to indulge in innocent daydreams. But he recognized that if they’d ever come true he might not have been that thrilled about it.
He opened his door to reveal Adrian standing on his doorstep. His heart began to beat double time in his chest. Here was the reality, and it was much better than a silly daydream or crush. He smiled in greeting, a little shyly. He still felt rather like a teenage boy. “Hey, Adrian,” he said.
“Hey, Tim. You ready to go?” the vet asked.
“Yeah. Do I look okay?” he asked a bit anxiously.
Adrian’s eyes swept over him, and Tim’s breathing faltered. Oh, man, funny things were happening in the pit of his stomach. Especially when Adrian’s eyes came back to his, and the other man’s lips lifted in the slightest of smiles. “You look just fine,” he replied, and something in his voice made the front of Tim’s slacks get too tight. Oh, boy!
Abbott chose that moment to appear in the doorway and meow up at Adrian. The vet grinned and stooped down to pat the big cat’s head. “Hey, big fellah. You mind if I take your owner away for awhile?”
Abbott, who was in ecstasies over the petting, didn’t reply. He merely purred loudly and butted his head against Adrian’s fingers to tell him not to stop. Tim laughed, a little weakly. “It’s more like I’m their slave, Adrian. All cat owners are slaves. Willing slaves, but slaves nonetheless.”
Adrian shook his head as he straightened up at last. “Guess I’m not much of a cat guy,” he remarked. “I don’t understand letting an animal make you its slave.”
Tim chuckled wryly, his shoulders lifting in a helpless shrug. “We can’t help it,” he said as he carefully pushed Abbott back into his apartment with his foot and shut the door on the rather indignant animal’s face. “They just stand there looking cute, and we melt. We’re suckers, saps. I realize that. It doesn’t help the situation improve, though. I am in thrall to my cats, and that’s just the way it is.”
Adrian shook his head again, but a smile lingered on his lips. “I’ll just have to get used to that, if I’m going to date a cat owner,” he remarked as he and Tim started down the sidewalk together.
He liked the sound of that. “If it helps, Abbott likes you a lot,” he told Adrian.
The vet slid him a sideways look. “But not Costello?” His voice was dry.
Tim groaned. “Cos doesn’t like many people, and he loathes vets,” he said. “If it helps, he hates your brother, too.”
Adrian chuckled. “He’s an equal opportunity hater.”
“That’s it exactly. He’s an anti-social kitty.”
“I thought all cats were anti-social,” Adrian commented as they reached his car.
Tim laughed. “Are you serious? Look at Abbott!” he pointed out. “Abbott loves everybody indiscriminately.
Adrian’s lips quirked. “You have a point,” he said as Tim got into the passenger’s side of his car.
Adrian got into the driver’s side, and started the engine. Tim buckled his seat belt, an action that Adrian ostentatiously ignored. His own seat belt remained completely unbuckled. Tim didn’t say anything, though he slid his gaze sideways. Adrian looked straight ahead, he said: “I don’t like seat belts. Sorry.”
“No, it’s okay,” Tim replied hurriedly.
“Yeah, right. But I know that you’re just a worrywart type.”
He swallowed thickly. “Umm…”
“Don’t worry about it, Tim,” Adrian remarked in amusement. “If I wasn’t okay with it we wouldn’t be going out on a date.”
He felt better after that. At the restaurant, after they’d been seated, Adrian scanned the menu then set it down. “So what do we do here? ’he asked Tim. “Besides eat, that is. When I take guys out to dinner to get into their pants, we don’t do a lot of casual chit-chat.”
Tim eyed him. “So what do you talk about on a ’sex date’?” he asked.
Adrian shrugged. “We actually don’t do much talking, usually,” he said. “And when we do, it’s flirting more than anything else.”
“Well, there’s a lot more to talk about than just flirting,” Tim said severely.
Adrian looked at his face, and a smile drifted over his mouth. “You’re kind of cute, Tim,” he said.
He blinked. “I…am?”
Adrian nodded. “I’ve never met another guy quite like you before. You’re interesting. You kind of remind me of my mom.”
Tim looked horrified. “That does NOT make me want to keep dating you,” he said.
“What’s wrong?”
Tim shook his head. “You don’t compare a guy to your MOM, Adrian! Nobody wants to think that the guy they’re dating is dating you because you remind them of their mother! That’s too twisted, in a bad way.”
“Oh,” Adrian said in comprehension. “That’s not how I meant it. It’s only a superficial resemblance, because you’re kind of…okay, I’m probably going to get into big trouble for saying this…motherly. But not in a bad way. I guess I’m saying you’re a caretaker. Look at the way you baby and pamper your cats. They’re like your kids. You like to take care of people, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s kind of sweet, actually.”
Tim’s ire laid down a bit, even being called ’motherly’. He realized what Adrian was trying to say, a little bit incoherently. He reminded himself that the man had never been on another real date before this. He didn’t know how to talk normally to a date. And, yes, he was a caretaker. He admitted it. If Adrian didn’t think that there was anything wrong with it, he wasn’t going to worry about it. “That’s okay, as long as you never compare me to your mom again,” he remarked aloud. “That was just too weird.”
“Noted,” Adrian replied. “I’ll get the hang of this whole dating thing yet.”
“I’ll be happy to help you do that,” Tim assured him happily.
Tim looked nervously in the mirror. “What do you think, guys?” he asked the two cats sitting in the doorway of his bedroom.
Cos gave him a disdainful look and began to wash one of his paws. Abbott meowed as though giving his opinion on Tim’s outfit. He chose to think that it sounded encouraging. He turned back to the mirror, smoothing the front of his nice blue shirt with his slim fingers. “This is the first date that Daddy’s been on in months,” he reminded his pets. “So I probably won’t be home until kind of late. Though not really, really late, because I have work in the morning. Though maybe we might come back a little earlier, if things go well…” he trailed off, then shook his head at himself in the mirror. “It’s only because Daddy hasn’t gotten any in a long time that he’s turning into a total slut,” he added at himself severely. “Sleeping with a guy on the first date. Geez. But I can’t help think about it. Adrian’s too hot, and it’s just been too darn long!”
Cos walked away from the doorway as though to show his contempt for this entire line of thinking, while Abbott came over to wind himself around Tim’s ankles good-naturedly. He leaned down to pet the cat, scratching at Abbott’s ears to make him purr. “You guys don’t have to worry about this anymore,” he said wryly, “I envy you. It’ll be a long time before I stop caring about having sex. A really long time.”
Abbott bumped his head into Tim’s leg, demanding more vigorous petting from his human slave. He laughed. “You don’t care, do you?” he said dryly as he gave Abbott what he wanted. “As long as you get yours, you don’t care that Daddy’s not getting any. Cats are so selfish. Why do we like you guys exactly?”
Abbot looked up at him and rubbed his face lovingly against Tim’s fingers, purring even more loudly. Tim sighed. “That’s exactly why,” he remarked. “You guys know how to play us like violins. Oh, well. At least you’re honestly selfish. And I love you, you big lug,” he tugged Abbott’s ears playfully before rising to his feet.
Abbott headed for the door, meowing loudly. Tim knew what that sound meant. The fat cat wanted his kitty dinner before Tim left to get human dinner. He went into the kitchen to get out the bowls and fill them with kibble, making sure that Cos strolled in and ate at least half of the half-filled bowl before he abandoned it. Cos never ate all of it, which pleased Abbott to no end because the black cat didn’t care if he finished the food off. The calico hungrily attacked what was left in Cos’s bowl as soon as the other cat left the kitchen.
Tim shook his head as Abbott ate it all and licked the bowl clean. Honestly, if only there were some way to put Abbott on a diet! But the fat cat hated diet cat food, and wouldn’t touch it. And when he didn’t get fed what he wanted, he’d follow Tim around all the time that he was home, yowling piteously until Tim gave in in a mixture of irritation and pity, and bought him the kind of cat food he liked. And even portion control of the regular food didn’t stop Abbott from being a big, fat cat. Adrian’s brother had speculated that it was partially because Abbott might have a thyroid problem, but Abbott detested the medication that Tim had tried to give him for it, and wouldn’t even take it wrapped up in treats. And since Abbott appeared to be perfectly healthy despite his size, he’d finally given up.
“You probably don’t have a thyroid problem,” he commented to Abbott now as the big feline finished licking Cos’s bowl clean. “You just have a greedy guts problem. Oh, well.”
Abbott blinked up at him in a satisfied manner. Tim shook his head. There was a knock at his front door, and he caught his breath. He laughed at himself internally as he walked down the hall to answer the door. He was acting just like a teenaged boy on his very first date. Silly, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. There was just something about Adrian…even more than his brother, Tim realized. While he’d always had a crush on his vet, it had been from a distance. If he’d divorced his wife to throw himself on Tim, he wasn’t sure how he’d have reacted. While it had been a harmless crush, he’d been able to indulge in innocent daydreams. But he recognized that if they’d ever come true he might not have been that thrilled about it.
He opened his door to reveal Adrian standing on his doorstep. His heart began to beat double time in his chest. Here was the reality, and it was much better than a silly daydream or crush. He smiled in greeting, a little shyly. He still felt rather like a teenage boy. “Hey, Adrian,” he said.
“Hey, Tim. You ready to go?” the vet asked.
“Yeah. Do I look okay?” he asked a bit anxiously.
Adrian’s eyes swept over him, and Tim’s breathing faltered. Oh, man, funny things were happening in the pit of his stomach. Especially when Adrian’s eyes came back to his, and the other man’s lips lifted in the slightest of smiles. “You look just fine,” he replied, and something in his voice made the front of Tim’s slacks get too tight. Oh, boy!
Abbott chose that moment to appear in the doorway and meow up at Adrian. The vet grinned and stooped down to pat the big cat’s head. “Hey, big fellah. You mind if I take your owner away for awhile?”
Abbott, who was in ecstasies over the petting, didn’t reply. He merely purred loudly and butted his head against Adrian’s fingers to tell him not to stop. Tim laughed, a little weakly. “It’s more like I’m their slave, Adrian. All cat owners are slaves. Willing slaves, but slaves nonetheless.”
Adrian shook his head as he straightened up at last. “Guess I’m not much of a cat guy,” he remarked. “I don’t understand letting an animal make you its slave.”
Tim chuckled wryly, his shoulders lifting in a helpless shrug. “We can’t help it,” he said as he carefully pushed Abbott back into his apartment with his foot and shut the door on the rather indignant animal’s face. “They just stand there looking cute, and we melt. We’re suckers, saps. I realize that. It doesn’t help the situation improve, though. I am in thrall to my cats, and that’s just the way it is.”
Adrian shook his head again, but a smile lingered on his lips. “I’ll just have to get used to that, if I’m going to date a cat owner,” he remarked as he and Tim started down the sidewalk together.
He liked the sound of that. “If it helps, Abbott likes you a lot,” he told Adrian.
The vet slid him a sideways look. “But not Costello?” His voice was dry.
Tim groaned. “Cos doesn’t like many people, and he loathes vets,” he said. “If it helps, he hates your brother, too.”
Adrian chuckled. “He’s an equal opportunity hater.”
“That’s it exactly. He’s an anti-social kitty.”
“I thought all cats were anti-social,” Adrian commented as they reached his car.
Tim laughed. “Are you serious? Look at Abbott!” he pointed out. “Abbott loves everybody indiscriminately.
Adrian’s lips quirked. “You have a point,” he said as Tim got into the passenger’s side of his car.
Adrian got into the driver’s side, and started the engine. Tim buckled his seat belt, an action that Adrian ostentatiously ignored. His own seat belt remained completely unbuckled. Tim didn’t say anything, though he slid his gaze sideways. Adrian looked straight ahead, he said: “I don’t like seat belts. Sorry.”
“No, it’s okay,” Tim replied hurriedly.
“Yeah, right. But I know that you’re just a worrywart type.”
He swallowed thickly. “Umm…”
“Don’t worry about it, Tim,” Adrian remarked in amusement. “If I wasn’t okay with it we wouldn’t be going out on a date.”
He felt better after that. At the restaurant, after they’d been seated, Adrian scanned the menu then set it down. “So what do we do here? ’he asked Tim. “Besides eat, that is. When I take guys out to dinner to get into their pants, we don’t do a lot of casual chit-chat.”
Tim eyed him. “So what do you talk about on a ’sex date’?” he asked.
Adrian shrugged. “We actually don’t do much talking, usually,” he said. “And when we do, it’s flirting more than anything else.”
“Well, there’s a lot more to talk about than just flirting,” Tim said severely.
Adrian looked at his face, and a smile drifted over his mouth. “You’re kind of cute, Tim,” he said.
He blinked. “I…am?”
Adrian nodded. “I’ve never met another guy quite like you before. You’re interesting. You kind of remind me of my mom.”
Tim looked horrified. “That does NOT make me want to keep dating you,” he said.
“What’s wrong?”
Tim shook his head. “You don’t compare a guy to your MOM, Adrian! Nobody wants to think that the guy they’re dating is dating you because you remind them of their mother! That’s too twisted, in a bad way.”
“Oh,” Adrian said in comprehension. “That’s not how I meant it. It’s only a superficial resemblance, because you’re kind of…okay, I’m probably going to get into big trouble for saying this…motherly. But not in a bad way. I guess I’m saying you’re a caretaker. Look at the way you baby and pamper your cats. They’re like your kids. You like to take care of people, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s kind of sweet, actually.”
Tim’s ire laid down a bit, even being called ’motherly’. He realized what Adrian was trying to say, a little bit incoherently. He reminded himself that the man had never been on another real date before this. He didn’t know how to talk normally to a date. And, yes, he was a caretaker. He admitted it. If Adrian didn’t think that there was anything wrong with it, he wasn’t going to worry about it. “That’s okay, as long as you never compare me to your mom again,” he remarked aloud. “That was just too weird.”
“Noted,” Adrian replied. “I’ll get the hang of this whole dating thing yet.”
“I’ll be happy to help you do that,” Tim assured him happily.