Animal Café Ch. 19

"Acca! Wait for me! Why do the pets always walk so fast?"

What did she mean by, "I don't think you'll see what she looks like?" I knew for a fact that Lucy didn't allow the pets to bring their costumes to the pethouse because she wanted them to rest and live a little outside the café. So yes, I was confused. And was it possible that Oreo also had similar communication difficulties than I had? If that were to be true, I would really like to know why she was like that.

Accalia and I walked the three kilometers separating the college from the pethouse in record time. Good thing it was winter, the cold temperature prevented us from sweating too much. Along the way, we discussed our career choice and shared the same feeling that we were not ready to choose anything yet. At least Tim had given us useful pointers that would help us think about it. It was a bit silly to be in my twenties and not having a clue about what to do with my life yet. I would have to thank Lucy for getting me started with all of this. Somehow, despite my lack of confidence, I felt ready for this new chapter in my life.

When we reached the big insurance building, home of the pethouse, we got in the elevator and headed straight to the top floor. After the short ride, we were standing in front of the two big wooden doors, but Accalia asked me something using a more serious tone before we went in.

"Clara, if Oreo did what I think she did, you cannot tell Lucy because that will make her angry. All the pets know what Oreo is doing, but we just let her do what she likes. Okay?"

"O...okay?"

"Don't worry. You'll understand what we mean right away. It's nothing bad. Oreo is probably nervous about it too, but I will tell her that you won't say anything to Lucy."

Without giving me a chance to absorb this additional mystery, Accalia pushed the door open and announced our arrival.

"OREO! Clara and I are back!"

A silence greeted us. The girl giving life to the black and white rubber cat didn't seem to be around.

After kicking off our shoes and hanging our coats, Accalia climbed the big stairs.

"Come, Clara. I'm sure she is upstairs."

"Is she sleeping? Don't wake her up."

"I don't think she is sleeping, and even if she were, she would want you to wake her up."

I was getting a bit nervous now. Accalia acted very casually about this, but how could I not be anxious when she said that Oreo was not asleep, yet, not responding. What was going on? I wanted Accalia to explain to me what was going on.

"Acca! Wait! Tell me... I'm a bit scared now."

"Scared? Oh... sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Don't worry. As I said, there is nothing bad going on."

"But, why are you so evasive?"

"Aaah, you are right. Lucy told me that I had to be nice to you. When things are going too fast, you worry a lot. I'm sorry. Mmm... Let me think about this for a second... It's kind of hard to explain."

Once more, the petgirls understood the difficulties I had in coping with stressful situations. I was glad I had voiced my feelings because Accalia was getting a bit too intense, and I needed to take a step back. She liked to tease me, which was fine, but since I had never met Oreo out of costume, it was too much all at once.

"Okay, Clara. You know what. I'm sure she is in the bedroom. I will let you go see her by yourself, that way you'll be able to take all the time you need to meet her. I need to shower anyway. It will give you some quiet time together so you can get to know each other. I tell you, Oreo is super nice."

"But... What are you hiding from me?"

"Hehe. Oreo's secret. Go see her. You'll understand everything right away. Trust me, okay?"

"Mmm... okay."

Accalia pulled me in a hug and kissed my cheek before heading to the bathroom, leaving me alone with the closed bedroom door that I had to cross. It reminded me awfully of when I met Vix out of costume for the first time when the poor thing was recovering from a cold. It had ended up being an awkward moment, but it had also turned into something magical shortly after.

I knocked lightly on the door before cracking it open. Like that first time with Vix, the lights were turned off, and the curtains closed.

"Oreo? Are...are you sleeping?"

I didn't get an answer, but I heard something moving on the big bed.

"I'm coming in, okay? I'll open the curtain a little bit... so we can see each other."

Carefully walking on my tiptoes, just in case she really was asleep, I headed to the window and parted the curtains just enough to brighten the room.

When I turned around, my lungs stopped functioning, as it was too often the case when dealing with these petgirls who always put me through a whole range of emotions.

A small latex-covered someone rested on the bed. If it had been just that, I wouldn't have been this shocked; latex was good, and I loved it. But this time, there was more. Lying flat on her belly, she had her arms and legs restrained behind her back by what seemed to be leather cuffs. A matching black rubber blindfold covered her eyes, and a black ballgag, secured with leather straps running around her head, robbed her from her voice. A leather harness zigzagged around her shiny black torso. But the small cat ears on top of her head left no doubt about her identity.

"O... Oreo?"

"Mmmph!"

She nodded.

"Are... are you okay?"

"HmmHmm."

I didn't know what to do. All the vague information Accalia had provided me beforehand now made a lot more sense, but it didn't help me figure out where to go from there. I could barely comprehend what I was looking at. Part of me wanted to go to the bathroom to fetch Accalia, and the other part wanted to stay and absorb this new experience.

Oreo began to twist, push, and pull on her bonds and managed to roll to her side. Her gag moved oddly in her mouth as if she unsuccessfully tried to expel it.

"Do... Do you want... to talk?"

She nodded.

As I carefully approached the large bed, I noticed a funny sensation in my lower belly. Did I like what I was looking at that much? My love for shiny latex was something I had fully accepted, so it made sense that I liked what Oreo looked like. But all those little extras were not something I was familiar with, and I never had an opportunity to ask myself what I thought of it.

There was something about her cutely restrained body that just made me feel funny. I could sense it under my few layers of discomfort.

Since she had rolled away from me, I had to climb on the big mattress to meet her. The rubber harness she wore made her body look even thinner, but I found it quite cute. This costume was actually making it easier for me somehow. I was no longer intimidated by the latex pets, and this catsuit wasn't too far from what I was used to.

I knelt next to her.

"I... I'll... try to remove... your... gag?"

Oreo nodded again.

"O... okay... Don't move... okay?"

It was so strange. Trying not to touch her too much, fearing I don't know what, I reached behind her head to find the buckles. Carefully, I unfastened the straps, she had tightened them quite a bit, and then, I pulled the delicate harness off her face, making her rubber ears bounce adorably.

When I pulled the ballgag out of her mouth, Oreo let a little moan out while stretching her jaw.

"Aaaah..."

"O... Oreo?"

"... Y... yes..."

"... You... you are all... tied up."

"I... I know."

"O... okay."

It was so awkward. Oreo seemed as embarrassed as I was. It was the first time I heard her little voice, but somehow it matched what I had in mind for her. Despite that, I still wished Accalia was around to help me break the ice.

"Can... can I take your... blindfold... off?"

"... yes. If... if you want to."

The thin rubber blindfold perfectly following her face's shape certainly didn't allow any light in. For some obscure reason, not having had to meet her gaze so far made it easier for me, exactly like when I had to interact with the pets at the café for the first time. Their black eyes hiding their real eyes had been a lifesaver and had allowed me to get to know them without being oppressed by something intimidating.

This made me wonder if Oreo had done this on purpose to make it easier on me or just felt kinky. But since Oreo seemed very gentle and shy, non-threatening, I thought that revealing her eyes would be the right thing to do... or at least, something to do.

I slowly peeled the rubber sheet from Oreo's face and uncovered the most striking part of her human form, her eyes. They were closed at first, but she shyly blinked them open. She was very still. Her hood's eye holes were big enough for me to see her eyebrows and understand what Accalia had meant when she amusingly mimicked her friend in front of me earlier...

But her irises...

Oreo looked straight at me with her BEAUTIFUL dark-brown eyes. VERY dark. Other pets had dark eyes too, but nothing like this. It was as if I were looking at the most expensive black pearls in the world. Her white skin just made them stand out like crazy...

"O... Oreo..."

"... I... I know... My eyebrows... they are weird..."

"... No... That's... That's not it..."

"... no?"

"No... You are... so... so pretty!"

"..."

The tied-up catgirl gasped and then stopped breathing as if I had stabbed her in the guts. I didn't know what she was thinking exactly, but as my face turned beet-red after having admitted my real first impression, I wondered if I had said something too nice a bit too quickly.

Those words I just said... They had accidentally escaped my mouth for one particular reason. It was the absolute truth.

Every time I had met a pet outside its costume so far, I had always been impressed by how cute they all were. Trixie and Mistie with their blonde hair, Asha and Accalia with their dark skin and silky hair, Vix with her incredible adorability and friendliness, I was jealous of them all...

But, Oreo... her eyes... her voice... her tied up little body covered by a thin layer of black latex. She made my heart beat faster. There was this sensation in my chest that seemed to grow almost painfully the more I stared at her. It wasn't like anything else I had felt around any other pets before. Was this just because of this very unusual way that she had chosen to present herself to me? Was it just my body having trouble coping with all the concurrent emotions that rose inside of me?

"Do... do you... want to untie me?"

"... Oh... Yes. Sorry... I... I'll try."

Her little hesitant question snapped me out of my strange trance. I followed her smooth arms all the way to her delicate wrists and inspected her cuffs. Bondage was something I knew about from the internet, but I had never really thought much about it. Seeing it in real life was very different and intimidating.

Once I understood that an x-shaped strap attached to the D-rings of her cuffs was what kept her in this position, it was easy to free her up. Now that she was untied, Oreo knelt... and just stared at me some more with those amazing eyes.

"I... I like your... harness..."

"I love it too."

"Can... can I... touch it?"

"... yes."

I carefully extended my arms to visit her extremely sensual rubber harness. It fitted all her curves perfectly and significantly enhanced her breasts. As awkward as it was to think about this right now, there was something about her latex-covered chest that was just so attractive. Her suit seemed way thinner than her usual animal suit, I could even see her nipples through it.

Unconsciously, and perhaps because I had done that regularly with Trixie, my hands covered her breasts and gave them a little squeeze. It was so warm and so comfortable. But I had forgotten about something...

"Aaaah... C... Claraaa..."

Oreo looked like a pet, but she had no masks on this time around to keep her muted. I wasn't used to hearing a pet voicing its state of mind. It even made me wonder if, during all this time, when I had grabbed pet boobs, perhaps they had reacted just like Oreo did, but behind a mask that had prevented me from hearing them.

I quickly withdrew my arms back to my chest.

"I'm... I'm sorry... I didn't... mean to..."

"It's... it's okay... The other girls... they do that too... but you do it better..."

"..."

"Can... can you... hug me, now?"

Yes... It was the best idea ever. That precisely was what I needed at the moment, a comforting, reassuring hug from a cute pet.

As soon as I opened my arm, Oreo tossed herself on me and made me fall on my back. Having her on top of me confirmed that she was as light as when we did this at the café. Now that she was straddling me and pushing her head against my chest while squeezing my rib cage, I felt so happy because I understood that it was what I had wanted to do since the first second I discovered her tied-up body on the bed. I was very attracted to this new version of Oreo, even if I didn't know why.

After a long moment, she raised her body a bit, enough to look at me in the eyes... Again... That gaze... why was it so intense. There was something about her that I had never felt with anybody else. Even though shiny black latex covered most of her face, I could still see her eyes and mouth...

Her mouth... Those thin lips...

My hands that rested on her back gripped her harness and pulled her toward me.

Our lips locked...

"Mmmm..."

"Hmmm...:"

This was involuntary... this was a reflex... this was unexpected.

For a fraction of a second, I wondered why I had done this, or was it her that did it? Nevertheless, the sensation of our tongues slowly sliding on each other wiped my concerns. An insane amount of sexual hormones flooded my entire body, making me grip Oreo's harness even harder to make sure she wouldn't stop kissing me... I didn't want her to stop... in case she would hate me for having done this without asking first...

No... She was kissing me back so intentionally.

It was perfect.

***

Accalia had watched the scene discreetly from the hallway to make sure everything would go well for Clara and Oreo. She had pretended to be in the shower, but instead, her motherly instinct made her decide to monitor her two friends who had never met in case she had to intervene.

As expected, Oreo had tied herself up; she tended to do that when she felt lonely. The good news was that Clara had managed the situation beautifully, and it surprisingly escalated into something scorching and romantic.

The thing was that Accalia didn't decide to keep an eye on them because of Clara. She mostly did it because of her friend Oreo.

Clara was much stronger than she appeared. Her latest struggle with her family issues and the incredible way she bounced back on her feet after her meltdown was proof that she was smart enough to understand this cruel world and, with some guidance, make the best decisions for herself... for her own happiness.

But Oreo was nothing like that. Oreo had a tough time fitting in this world. She could barely identify herself to this society, feeling like an outsider, and even struggled to feel human, as her friends did outside the café. Oreo was fragile and needed support and protection, and this was why none of the pets would ever tell Lucy that she was wearing a latex catsuit at home and tied herself to feel safer.

This was why Accalia wanted to make sure Clara and Oreo got along. But what she saw just now, even if very unexpected, was probably the best thing that could have happened to Oreo.

There was no mistaking it... Accalia was certain of it... After thinking about it twice, it was not surprising because Clara and Oreo had so much in common.

What she saw was...

...Clara having her first real crush on a girl...

And Oreo seemed to feel the same way toward Clara.

One question remained... Would they both be smart enough to ever admit it to themselves?