Bast Pt. 01

So the first thing you've got to understand is that I wasn't really a cat person.

That's a little unfair. I never hated cats but I never really grew up around them. Life in my little Midwest town was a lot of things- tedious probably being the most important description that I could use, which would probably get me a lot of sympathetic nods from anyone else who grew up in my corner of America- and it involved a number of beloved family dogs, a lot of distant cows and one pet rat that died under particularly tragic circumstances (don't ask) but no cats in a meaningful sense.

So when the cat- grey furred, battered-looking, with a torn-up ear- jumped through my window into my tiny little studio apartment and meowed at me I didn't honestly have the faintest idea what to do.

I'd been experiencing a lot of that lately. I'd finished college, obtained my reasonable grades and my unreasonable amount of student debt and decided to try my luck in the big city. I'd scraped together a little in the way of savings, gotten a tiny apartment in a not-great part of town, and- after nearly burning through my remaining funds- scored a menial job involving data admin.

That had been six months ago, during which I'd learned a lot; that it was possible to survive on toast, rice and beans; that cut-price bookstores and long walks through the city were a great source of cheap entertainment; that you could, in fact, put up with a lot of abuse from your boss if the alternative was homelessness; and that when you reported screams during the night the police wouldn't often respond until far, far too late. The other important thing I'd learned was that you needed friends to make friends. I'd always considered myself to be comfortable being alone, but those six months were teaching me the difference between chosen isolation and the sort of isolation that wouldn't just stop when you got bored with it and needed to talk to someone.

In short I was lonely which was probably why, when the cat showed up, I did what I did.

Namely- after a few moments of stunned silence (Was this, I wondered, something that happens in cities like this, and people just don't talk about it?) I stood up and awkwardly tried to talk to it.

"Hello?" I muttered. "Um. Good kitty?"

The cat stared at me with the serene expression of an animal that had no interest in responding to such nonsense. Sighing, I reached out tentatively, my knuckles extended. Fraught seconds passed as it sniffed at me before it made a meowing noise and leant forward and rubbed against the outstretched hand.

"Okay," I murmured, tentatively reaching out to stroke it. It leaned further into the strokes and I nearly jumped when it's loud purr filled the room. I crouched and petted it for a little while as both of us relaxed. "Are you a stray?"

There was no answer from the cat of course- nothing beyond a slightly more aggressive purr as it arched its back- as I noticed a dark grey collar around its neck. Instead of a bell or identity tag there was a small little pendant attached to it, with the image of a woman with what looked to be a lion's head. Probably not a stray then. "Are you hungry?"

It gave off a sharp, sudden meow. I got up and moved over to the kitchen area before sorting through the cupboards. I heard a sound behind me and turned to see the cat sitting atop the bench, watching me intently as I sorted through cans of beans, Tupperware containers of rice, old potatoes and-

"Ah." I pulled out a can of tuna I'd bought at discount some time ago. I checked the expiry date; still good. "I guess you can have this." Another meow, this one quite a bit more insistent, as I found a small dish to serve. The cat ate the offering as I attended to my own needs, cracking an egg over some bubbling pot noodles to make an impromptu dinner. I sat on my battered couch and ate my noodles. After a while the cat came up and demanded more affection.

I gave it. Like I said earlier I wasn't a cat person. But I was lonely- petting that cat was probably the most physical contact I'd had since arriving in the city. I supposed then and there I could understand the stories about little old ladies and their cats.

While petting the cat I looked up the pendant on the internet. It turned out to be the image of the goddess Bast, an old Egyptian goddess of...well, cats. I chuckled as I rubbed its head. "Are you a goddess? If you are, you have to tell me. It's the law."

Bast- I decided that this was her name- didn't bother to respond. Eventually she left, possibly answering some ancient cat instinct, possibly out of boredom. I was surprised at how disappointed I was to see she leave; disappointed enough that I went out and splurged on a little more tuna, just in case. Sure enough she came back a few days later and I fed and petted her again. Then a few days after that. Soon enough Bast was something of a semi-regular at my place; pawing and meowing at the window from time to time. It says a lot about how I was back then that those arrivals pretty much became the highlight of my week. I would make a point of checking the window first thing after getting out of bed in the morning or when I had come home from work.

There was a knock at the door and I opened it to find Efe there. She was the youngest of a pair of Nigerian sisters that lived next door to me. I sometimes received their mail while they were out and they did the same for me; this is, I had learned, what passed for close neighbours in the city.

I got on well with Efe. She was pretty and smiled at me sometimes when we met in the hall. Once I'd received a knock on the door to find her with a crock-pot of something beefy and so spicy it made my eyes water from five feet away; they'd overcooked, she said, and did I want any? I did and the stew- mixed with a lot of rice- lasted me for a delicious week. Ever since then I'd made a point to say hello to her in the hall.

Efe was smiling at me now. She was gorgeous- both sisters were gorgeous, with dark skin and pleasantly buxom figures. Efe was a little shorter, a little skinnier, a little less generous in the chest and the hip but made up for it by being friendly. I didn't have designs on her, mind. She was a lot younger than me- I was pretty sure she was just out of high school while I had finished college a year ago. Moreover, I got the impression that her sister Kayin- much closer to my own age- didn't particularly approve of me. She certainly gave me the odd sour look when we bumped into each other in the hallway.

Besides, she was hot- they both were incredibly hot- and I was a skinny white boy who could barely make rent. I figured my chances were slim to none.

Still, it was always great to see her. She was dressed in a green hoody and jeans, her braids tucked back into a tail. "Efe. What's up?"

"You got a package?" She held up a delivery card.

"Right!" Wait a moment." I stepped away from the door and grabbed the small cardboard pack from my chipped and unbalanced coffee table and turned back to her.

To my surprise she'd stepped into the studio, her smile growing wider. "You have a cat?"

"Yeah," I murmured, suddenly- painfully- conscious of the discarded clothes, the unwashed dishes and the suspicious number of tissues I had left in the nearest waste-basket. "She's not really mine. She just shows up from time to time."

"She is adorable." She bent down low as the cat rose from her spot on my couch and sauntered over to her. "Does she have a name?"

"I call her Bast."

"Cute. She- what?"

"Sorry?" I asked, but she ignored me. She suddenly crouched on her knees and picked up the grey cat, cradling it in her arms.

"Hmmm?" She muttered something to the cat, who simply continued to stare at her. "Really?" She looked back at me for a moment and then back at the cat. "I guess so. He does."

"Efe?"

"Okay." She blinked and smiled at me. "Hey. Can I use your bathroom?"

"Sure." I didn't want to point out that her own bathroom was literally next door. "Go ahead."

"Okay then." She brushed past me and into my tiny bathroom.

I looked down at Bast. The cat looked back up at me through half-lidded eyes. "Guess you're good with introducing me to the ladies, huh?"

She gave a flick of its tail and then stalked away over to the window. A moment later Bast was gone.

The bathroom door opened. I turned and-

"Hello."

My mouth hit the floor.

Efe was standing naked in my shitty little studio apartment.

Her body was dark and voluptuous and perfect. Her breasts were large and proud on her chest, her nipples a slightly darker shade of brown than the rest of her. Her hips flared nicely from a relatively slim waist before tapering down to long, gorgeous legs. Her bush was untrimmed, the dark pubes flaring out from her sex, and I could see the hint of her lower lips as she shifted nervously.

She was still wearing that smile, eyes gleaming, like her taking off her clothes was a private joke between us; like we'd both agreed to do something a little bit silly and were having a moment of shared embarrassment.

I didn't say anything- my brain had short circuited the moment I'd seen her- and the moment of silence stretched out between us. She fidgeted, one hand coming up to clutch her arm, her smile wavering, before she mumbled, "Do you like me?"

"What? Yes." I was still lost in her body, my brain still trying to account for everything that had happened. "You're gorgeous."

Relief shone in her eyes. "Good." She stepped forward and kissed me.

Her lips were soft and warm and welcoming. So was the rest of her, as my arms slid awkwardly around her and I found my hands grasping pleasant handfuls of her body. Her brown eyes peered into mine. It was only after I started to kiss her back- it was only after my hands slid down from her back to her ass, fingers lightly digging into her round, dark flesh, that they closed shut.

We made out in my apartment for a long time. It was long enough for our kisses to move from tentative to passionate; enough for her to mould herself against me, to make soft little moans as my hands slid from her ass to explore those beautiful, heavy breasts that pressed softly against my chest. I was the one who broke the kiss first, to ease back and stare at her. "That was..."

"Wonderful." That shy smile was back. "I liked it."

"More?"

"If you want?" Efe looked away even as she pressed herself anew against me. "I want to take care of you."

"Okay." I swallowed, still uncertain despite her blatant enticements. "Come here." I lead her to my sad little single bed. She sat down on it as I shucked off my shirt and pants, before lowering my boxers. I waited for a moment but there was nothing but approval as she eyed my pale, lanky frame.

I gently pushed her back as I got atop of her. Her braids clicked on the pillow and her breasts wobbled deliciously. Her generous hips opened up as I balanced between them, my cock pressing against her soft, round stomach. We kissed again as I pressed her against the bed, straddling her while my fingers traced against her breasts, toying with her nipples. More time passed as I lost myself in the touch of her body, in the slow moans from her mouth, in the heat from between her thighs.

Eventually I shifted, my head lowering as my lips began a slow tour of her body. I started with her slender neck, before moving to graze on those wonderful breasts. She gasped as one of my lips pursed around her dark nipples- first one, then the other- before laying kisses on her soft stomach and then...

"You don't have to," she gasped as I kissed her inner thighs. "If you don't want to. I'm meant to take care of you."

"I want to," I murmured, and then began to tease the edges of her cunt in earnest. I knew that I wasn't an attractive guy- at least to most girls, it seemed- and so I had made damn sure to get good at oral. From the way she moaned and grabbed her breasts with her hands, from the way she tensed and shuddered after less than a minute, I'd clearly done something right.

I got up and grinned like a conquering hero as she came down from her orgasm and stared at me with the languid, happy expression of a satisfied woman. I rummaged through my dresser to find an ancient condom and slid it on.

A few seconds later I was in her arms again, lining myself up with her. She hissed as I eased my cockhead past her tight cunt, and then-

"Are you a virgin?" I muttered in surprise, feeling unexpected resistance.

"I was," she said, her expression apologetic. "Until just now. Please don't stop."

I pushed deeper into her and felt something give way even as she bit her lip. A moment later I was gently working my cock insider her cunt, taking it as slow and as gently as I could. She sighed and panted and moaned as she took her first cock, eyes closed and legs wrapped around my waist.

Even with the slow pace, even with the care, there was no way I could have lasted too long; not after such a long dry spell and not with such a gorgeous girl beneath me. I let out a long groan of my own as I filled up the condom and pleasure wracked my body. I sagged into her arms, my limbs drained of strength.

A few seconds passed before she whispered, "That was nice."

"Glad you liked it." I hated the idea of leaving that soft and welcoming body but eased myself up to strip off the condom. "It didn't hurt too much?"

"No. A little. But it felt nice."

"Good." I took at moment to eye her beautiful body, once again, post-orgasmic satisfaction still fogging my brain. "I loved it."

She smile grew even brighter. "We can do it again if you want."

I felt a surge of renewed lust at that- yes please- even as I said, "Give me a few minutes, at least...you sure I don't have to be anywhere?"

A frowned. "I have to meet my sister in a half hour but I can be late-"

I felt a sudden jolt of apprehension at the thought of Kayin finding her sister missing, figuring out somehow I was responsible and then- "Um. If you've going to meet your sister then you should still go."

"Okay." She seemed a little put off but got up and went over to the bathroom. I heard the rustle of clothing and then she said, "But you want to do this again, yes?"

"Sure."

"Good." She stepped into the studio main room and smiled, wearing nothing but a blue bra. I looked at the mixture of saliva and arousal coating her upper thighs and felt my erection twitch. "As often as you want."

"Okay." I paused. "You're pretty forward for a girl who was a virgin a half-hour ago."

She shrugged and pulled up her jeans, those dark beautiful thighs vanishing behind denim. "I guess."

I paused and nearly asked, What made you decide to give it to me? But my self-preservation instincts strangled the question in the crib and instead I said, "I'm not complaining."

She beamed at that as though she was the lucky one. "I am so glad." She leant forward and hesitantly kissed me on the lips before murmuring, "I can come over tomorrow when you get back form work. My sister-"

"You don't have to tell Kayin," I said quickly. "Let's keep it a secret?"

"Okay. Oh! I forgot the mail." She reached over, grabbed the amazon package and left without a backward glance, as though giving up her virginity to her next-door neighbour was just another thing that happened.