“Of course I remember the no pet rule. I don’t have a cat. It’s just that I was so tired last night I went straight to bed without showering. I was around the cats yesterday. I’m sure that’s all it is.”
“Umm, I suppose that could be it.”
“It is.” Callie’s words were firm. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have a lot to do today.”
A few minutes later the front door closed and Callie returned. She planted her hands on her hips, and again, he wanted to scoop her into his arms and carry her to bed. He was pretty sure she wasn’t ready for that.
“You have to leave. Right now.”
He sighed. He had hoped she wouldn’t be difficult. “I will leave then.” He unknotted his towel, then handed it to her, before starting toward the front door.
“No, you can’t leave!” she frantically whispered.
“But I was only doing what you asked.”
“Not without clothes.”
“Then what would you have me wear?”
She nibbled her bottom lip. He had an incredible urge to nibble it, too.
“I’m not this Symtarian you’re looking for, I promise. I’ll go to town and buy you some clothes, but then you really do need to leave.”
“If you insist.”
“I do.”
“Then I will leave.”
“Good.” She nodded her head. “I need to get dressed.” She grabbed some things out of the drawers of a chipped and scarred chest, then went into the room where she’d gotten the towel. She started to close the door, but stopped to look back at him. “Don’t touch anything.”
“Of course not.”
She nodded again, then closed the door.
Very strange female. It must be the fact she was part Earthling. He tied the towel around his hips, glancing at a board with pictures all over it. It appeared to be modes of transportation, another dwelling, jewels, and an assortment of small animals. An odd picture to hang on one’s wall.
He wandered to the other room, looking around as he went. He hadn’t taken the time to inspect the dwelling last night. He’d only sensed it was a safe place. He could see that it was sparsely furnished with few personal items.
He wandered down a short hall to another room where there were lots of cabinets. He opened the first one. It seemed to hold containers in various sizes with names like garlic, salt, and pepper. Behind the next door there was a box, and a jar labeled peanut butter behind it. He pulled the box out.
“Cereal,” he read. “Tastes great and good for you.”
He knew the language. In fact his people spoke many dialects. He’d also studied Earth and their customs before he’d left New Symtaria. He knew they believed in free love. He frowned. Except he hadn’t sensed that Callie wanted to mate with him. Then again, that had been during a different time period. Maybe they had changed their minds. A shame if that were the case.
He tore the top off the box and grabbed a handful of the cereal. After putting some in his mouth, he began to chew. Not bad. Not as good as a juicy steak, but it would appease his hunger.
As he continued to eat, he wandered through the rest of Callie’s dwelling. There was a tall shelf that stood in one corner. He walked over to it. Cats of all shapes and sizes were arranged in a circle. Sitting in the middle of the little statues was a black jaguar. He smiled.
A bag sitting on a short table began to ring. He stepped closer, discovered how to open it, then brought out the object that was ringing.
It resembled one of the communication devices on New Symtaria. He flipped it open and it stopped ringing. Almost exactly like theirs.
“Yes,” he said after he brought it to his ear.
“Hello?”
“Hello.”
“Where’s Callie?”
“Getting dressed.”
“Getting dressed?”
“Yes, she was naked, but did not wish to continue not wearing clothes.” His brow creased. “I don’t know why. She has a magnificent body.”
“Callie Jordon? We’re talking about my best friend Callie, right? She was naked in front of you? I mean, I don’t have the wrong number, do I? As long as I’ve known her she’s never had a man in her house, let alone one that spent the night with her. You did spend the night with her, right. In her bed?”
“Yes, we slept in the same bed, with our naked bodies pressed against each other.”
“Maybe you’d better put Callie on the phone.”
“Of course.”
So the object was called a phone. He had thought they were larger, not as compact as this one. He carried it to the other room just as Callie came out.
“Phone,” he said, handing it to her.
She looked startled. “Yes, that is a phone.”
“She wants to talk to you.”
Her face paled. “You weren’t supposed to touch anything.”
“It was ringing.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“I see.”
“Tell whoever is on the phone I’m not here,” she whispered.
“You want me to lie?”
“Yes!” she whispered, gritting her teeth again.
“But I’ve already told the woman we slept together last night with our naked bodies pressed against each other.”
“You what!” she screamed, not even trying to keep her voice down.
Rogar had a feeling she was upset with him. He wasn’t sure why. He’d kept the towel knotted at his waist. That was another thing. There was nothing wrong with his body. Everything worked. Why would she not want to look upon his naked form?
“DeeDee, hi. No, no, he’s an old friend from…out of town.”
Rogar noted her shoulders relaxed and she didn’t seem quite as tense.
“Yes, pulling your leg. That’s Rogar. Quite the jokester. Nope, sorry, he’s leaving town this morning. Only wanted a place to crash for the night. Yes, on the sofa. Okay, talk to you later. Bye-bye.” She snapped the phone closed.
Callie glared at him. “You told her we slept naked together?”
“Did you want me to lie?”
“Yes, since I didn’t invite you into my bed.”
“Then I will lie next time.”
“There won’t be a next time because you’re leaving today.”
Rogar had a feeling getting Callie back to New Symtaria was going to be more difficult than even he had imagined.
She escaped to another room, returning a few minutes later with a long strip of white cloth that bore markings of some kind.
“You plan to bind me?” he asked. Not that it would do her any good. The cloth looked flimsy at best.
“That’s not a bad idea, but no, I need to get your measurements so I’ll know what size clothes to buy.”
He nodded.
“Put you arms out.”
He did as she asked, enjoying that she had moved closer. He liked the way she smelled. Not at all like a cat. No, this scent was clean and sweet. All too soon, she backed away to write his measurements on paper.
