Feliformia Ch. 12

"Hey, thanks! Why are you wearing a bikini with cat ears?"

Kitty turned around and wriggled her butt in front of Mae, displaying the other body part she had missed.

"And a tail! This is our official waitress uniform! You must wear it too! Ack!"

Erika roughly grabbed Kitty by her collar and pulled her away from the new girl. If we wanted to have a chance to keep her employed for more than two minutes, it was probably not the time to ask her to wear a sexy bikini and ears.

"We are not going to make her wear this! Think with your head, Kitty!"

"Aww, why?"

"Yeah? Why?"

Kitty protesting was a given since she wanted to see cute girls wearing bikinis, but Mae asking the same question was not something any of us had expected. This caused all of us to stare at her, mainly me, who came to the Caribbean expressly to see cute swimsuits on perfectly tanned girls. Would my secret wish be granted?

"Why are you all staring at me? If you are wearing this as a uniform, I should too. I love wearing a bikini, and it's always too hot here."

"Well... in that case. S...Elizabeth... Do you have another kit that she could try?"

"... no... well..."

"Oof... What kind of tone was that? That wasn't convincing... Do you have one or not?"

As Erika further questioned Syr due to her shaky answer, Syr's cheek turned bright red, and her hands crossed in front of her chest. It was a pure unexplained embarrassment.

"Well... I do... but..."

"But what? What's the matter?"

Instead of answering, Syr leaned toward Erika and whispered something in her ear.

"HA! You made one for yourself to wear in front of Mark later? Kinky!"

"Sshhhh! Why did you say it out loud!? I told you not to! Now he knooows!"

"Calm down! Mark is not that important. Mae seems to be your size. Just go get it so she can try it on."

As usual, when Erika made fun of me, I knew it wasn't serious, but I felt a bit of pain knowing that I was about to miss an opportunity to see Syr wearing a sexy catgirl outfit. Since the first day I met her, I've never seen her wearing cat ears again. It wasn't her thing.

With some smoke coming out of her ears, Syr went upstairs to fetch the mysterious extra outfit. Poor Michelle. This sudden flow of sexy catgirls must have been hard for her to digest. I didn't know what she had in mind for her inn, but felinity was certainly not a concept she had expected to embrace.

"Alright, I can't wait for our first clients. I'm going to the curb with my sign. Come get me when you have enough customers, okay?"

"You are quite confident that you can catch people's attention. That's good."

"Yes, I am! Alright, see you in a bit!"

The small Asian girl grabbed the sign, which looked even bigger in her hands, and disappeared through the door. Amusingly, Mae patted her on the head as if she was a small pet. Again, how come they had built such chemistry this quickly? It was scary.

While we were waiting for Syr to come back, Michelle showed Mae around, leaving me alone with Erika, who threw herself in my arms after making sure nobody would see us.

"You are breaking the rules, Erika!"

"I know! But I'm happy!"

"You do look happy. Does your little muddy adventure from last night have anything to do with it?"

"Yes! Your idea was great. Kitty loved it, and so did I. I got closer to her. She is way smarter than she let us believe, you know."

"Oh, I know. I know. Trust me."

I squeezed Erika in my arms and rubbed her back.

There was something about our little group. No matter what happened and what challenges we faced, we always found a way to get along and love each other. Occasionally, I wished to have more quiet time, but during moments like these, when we were teasing, playing, loving, and joking, it really made me feel fulfilled.

Part 3

"Elizabeth! We need two more cathead sandwiches and another shrimp skewer."

"Yes! Right away!"

"Michelle, do we have any more Old Castle beer?"

"No. We ran out. This is ridiculous."

"It's okay. We will just sell them something else. So, Erika? How is it going?"

"Someone, PLEASE! Go tell Kitty to come back here. I don't know what she is doing up there on the curb, but she is sending us way too many clients. We can't keep up!"

"I'll go get her."

"Thanks Mark!"

Chaos! That was the only way to describe what was happening at the inn right now. Erika, Elizabeth, Michelle, and Mae were having a hard time keeping up with the operation.

Mae was one impressive waitress, though. Not only had she accepted to wear this "uniform," which was merely a sexy bikini with cat ears, tail, cute cuffs, and a collar, but on top of that, she was a machine. Her energy level was off the chart, and being the only one who really knew what she was doing, she directed everybody around with a smile.

As I walked along the path leading to the main road where Kitty was posted with her big sign to attract new clients, two more cars loaded with people headed toward the Cats of the Caribbean inn. The number of clients that we got since its opening was absurd. The dining room was full, the terrace outside was packed, and people were even okay with standing around and drinking on the beach.

So far, the cathead sandwich was our bestseller, so much that Syr was about to send me back to the grocery store to get more ingredients before running out.

It was very entertaining to see Erika serving people. At first, she was very self-conscious about wearing this sexy outfit in front of strangers, but the sheer amount of work forced her to forget what she looked like. Amusingly, her lack of patience with the client was somehow helping. When the small five foot two red-haired woman entered the dining room while yelling, "Who ordered this freakin' sandwich?" instead of trying to remember who it was, people thought she was adorable. Good thing they didn't know she was actually pissed.

On the other hand, Mae was the dream girl, always smiling, always friendly with the clients, and there was never a single problem that she couldn't resolve. She was a master at using her womanly charm to get more tips. I stopped counting how many selfies she took with clients while pushing her generous chest forward.

When I approached the road, I found Kitty leaning against a car that had stopped to talk to her. I waited for her to finish her social work, admiring her butt that was sticking out nicely, and sure enough, the driver headed toward the inn; another successfully charmed client.

"Hey, Cathead. That's enough for now. There are too many clients."

"Really?"

"Yes, I don't know how you did it, but it worked. Let's walk back to the inn."

"Okay, but you carry my sign. And it was easy. I just showed my boob crack to the males and flirted with the females."

"I can see the boobs working for guys, but flirting with the females? Really?"

"Yes. Every female has an inner lesbian."

"Alright. If you say so."

As usual, Kitty had her very own special interpretation of reality, but she always proved us wrong, so I wouldn't start arguing with her today; I knew better.

"So, Kitty, I wanted to tell you... You were right about Mae. Without her, we would have been in big trouble. She is running the dining room like a champ. I don't know how you managed to sense that, but it was a good thing."

"I didn't sense anything. I just thought she was cute and wanted to see her wearing a small catgirl bikini."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"I'm sure she is a lesbian."

"Haha. Where does that come from? I don't think she is a lesbian, no. You should see her rubbing her sexy body on the male customers to get more money out of them."

"I'll ask her. I'm sure she is."

"Don't ask her that, Kitty. Common... be nice. It's her first day. Give her a break."

"Why not? I need to know if I can have sex with her."

"Aaaah! Seriously? That's all you think about? Corrupting all the cute girls you meet?"

"No... cute guys too, but Mae is just way cuter than everybody else so far."

"Ah, whatever, catbutt... Go help Erika now. She is going to lose her shit and murder a client if you don't help."

"Meow! I would love to see that! Blood everywhere while she is eating his guts like a hyena."

As Kitty happily headed toward Erika to grab her almost naked butt, I made my way to the kitchen to find out if Syr still needed my help. But as soon as I set foot in her domain, I realized that her usual maid manners had vanished.

"Mark! It is imperative that you go back to the grocery store right away. We are about to run out of salami for our cathead sandwich, among other things."

"Okay, I'll bring Kitty back here. We can slice her up. She is delicious."

"This is no time for humorous behavior! Take this list and go to the store at once!"

"Hehe. Yes, Mistress!"

"..."

"Okay... okay! No humorous behavior. I get it. I'll be back in about thirty minutes if everything goes well."

"Do not delay!"

As I walked through the inn, heading for the door, I could really appreciate how packed this place was. Mae was making random drinks at the bar, Erika was scolding a client who had grabbed her tail, and Kitty was explaining to a group of men that she saw a creature in the kitchen a while ago, a big one based on the way she was opening her arms as if she were telling a fishing tale.

The only one who wasn't around anymore was Michelle, so I asked Mae out of curiosity.

"Hey, did you see Michelle? She was there a moment ago. It's her inn, and she should help you a bit more than that."

"She said she went to rest. But it's okay. Everything is under control. I've worked in busier places than this."

"To rest!? Seriously!? No way! I don't care if she hates me even more, but I'm not going to let her get away with this. Letting all the girls work their ass off while resting. Come on, give me a break!"

Mae just shrugged and resumed her work, clearly not wanting to get involved in a conflict she knew nothing about.

I climbed the stairs and headed straight to Michelle's bedroom, but just as I was going to bang on her door, I realized that it was cracked open already, so I pushed it open slowly with a couple of fingers.

She was there, sitting on the floor under the window, hugging her knees with her face down.

"Hey? What do you think you are doing?"

"Oh! Great... you again!"

"Wait a minute... are you crying?"

"Whatever! Why do you care?"

Cold as ever. I let a long sigh out and sat on the floor next to her.

"Alright. Do you want to tell me what your problem is?"

"I'm fine. Just taking a break. I'm a bit overwhelmed, that's all."

"No, I mean, why do you hate me? Is it just because I'm dating your niece?"

"She is more my daughter than my niece. And yes, you are not the first guy who will break her heart."

"... And why would you say something so mean?"

"Look, Elizabeth is beautiful. I know that. But she is more than that. She is sensitive, she has a heavy past, and she will do everything she can to feel loved. I don't think you can understand that. I'm sure you are attracted to her, but she will need more than that to be happy. When you go get the newer model, it will hurt her badly. I don't want her to suffer again."

Wow...

"Well... Michelle... I only have one thing to tell you."

"..."

"Go fuck yourself, you arrogant bitch!"

"WHAT!?"

"Oh, don't give me that offended attitude! That is exactly what you are. An arrogant bitch. You know NOTHING about my relationship with Elizabeth, and you know nothing about her friends either. You just use your motherly love as a pretense to feel better about yourself. I don't know why you are alone on this island, but I suspect it has something to do with this. You are so scared to lose her and end up alone that you are ready to keep her as a psychological inmate. Sure, there is a chance that I will break her heart one day, who knows, but does that mean she should not date anybody just to avoid suffering? This is blatantly stupid."

"..."

"You are not that special, Michelle. Me too, I know all about Elizabeth's past. I know about her parents' tragic death. But you know what? Kitty, Erika, and I support her as much as we can. And she returns the favor too. Your niece takes care of us better than anybody had done before, and it makes all of us happy. Now, tell me how this is a bad thing? Haaa, you know what. Stay here and cry while she and her friends are doing the impossible for you right now. I don't have time to waste on people who just want to put us down in their own selfish interest."

Enough was enough. I put up with this shitty attitude for way too long. If it meant that I would have to sleep somewhere else tonight, so be it. I was done giving my best to someone who didn't deserve it.

But as I was about to exit the room...

"WAIT!"

"What? I don't have time for this. I have to go to the store to buy food to save your inn."

"I'm... I'm sorry..."

"Oh...Sorry? I think I didn't understand that correctly... Can you repeat?"

"I said, I'm sorry, Mark!"

"For what? For treating me like shit because I fixed your inn?"

"Well... yeah... But for not trusting you... with my niece, you know. You are right... I'm just scared for her."

"Bullshit. You are scared for yourself, and you know it."

"Aaaah! What do you want me to say!?"

"Nothing! Just listen to Elizabeth when she talks to you. If she says that she loves me, just try to be happy for her instead of making her life a nightmare. She is not an idiot. She can think for herself and make her own choices. When you ignore me or treat me like shit, I don't care, but it makes her sad when you do it in front of her, and THAT I care."

"MMmph! I don't know how to fix this..."

"For a start, why don't you get off your lazy butt and go work as hard as they do. They are saving your inn right now."

"Aaah! Okay, okay."

Michelle stood up and dragged her feet toward the door, carrying a burden of shame and humiliation. This discussion was far to be over, but there were more pressing things to attend to, which was why I encouraged her some more.

"FASTER!"

"EEEK!"

***

The rest of the day was an absolute blur. I went back to the grocery store to get what Syr had requested but still received a nasty stare because it took me a bit longer than the thirty minutes ETA I had given her. Michelle kept a low profile and assisted as much as she could while Kitty and Mae were now best friends forever.

And then, there was Erika...

"EVERYBODY OUT! WE ARE CLOSED! I'M FUCKING DONE WITH YOU! OUT! OUT!"

The few remaining intoxicated clients happily walked out of the inn, not taking too seriously what a small woman dressed up like a sexy cat was ordering them to do. Only I knew that disobeying Erika would be a very bad idea. She even shoved the last client out before slamming the door shut behind him.

"Aaaaaah! Finally! They are all gone!"

"Meow! That was fun!"

"Fun? Kitty, you did nothing. You just chatted with people all day long."

"Yes, and they bought a lot more food and drinks because of me."

"Mmm! Whatever!"

From behind, Mae wrapped her arms around Kitty's frail body, making her very happy, and rocked slowly with her. She was pleased about her first workday at the Cats of the Caribbean, where she had made new friends.

"Well, I loved working here, guys! I hope you thought I was good enough."

"Are you kidding, Mae? You are like a waitress superstar."

"Awww. Thanks, Erika!"

As everybody was busy congratulating each other, Syr came out of the kitchen and walked directly to me, dragging her feet. Her forehead landed on my chest, and her arms had no more energy to hug me. I had never seen her so drained.

"You worked very hard, didn't you?"

"... Cathead sandwich... shrimp skewers... nachos..."

"Hahaha. We know what you'll dream about tonight."

"Can we go to bed, Mark... I need to sleep."

"Sure. Go ahead first. I'll be there in a few minutes. Still have a couple of things to finish."

"Okay."

She had given her all, and exhaustion had taken residence in her body. I wondered what Michelle would do when we would go back home; if business kept being good like this, she would need to hire a cook.

As I observed Syr crawling up the stairs at snail pace, I realized something else. Mae was still around, smiling and holding Kitty, but I had no idea what her plan was. I didn't even know how she got here in the first place this morning.

"Mae? Do you need a ride home?"

"No, Kitty said that I must sleep here."

"That you must...?"

"If that is okay with everybody. If you want me to work tomorrow, I mean, I can stay. It's the easiest."

I turned to Kitty and gave her a very special stare. She acted all innocent and justified herself pointlessly. We all knew she had a different goal in mind other than being hospitable.

"Whaaat? We have plenty of empty rooms, right?"

"... Right! Whatever cat face... I give up."

"Whaaaaat? What did I dooo?"

***

Before going to bed, I went for a walk to collect the garbage from the outdoor bins and make sure nothing odd was going on. When I came back inside a few minutes later, I began to turn the lights off, but then a little voice reprimanded me.

"Hey! I'm still here, you know!"

"Oh, Erika? I thought you went to bed already."

"Nope, still counting our cash. It was a dream day."

"Do you need help?"

"Nah, I'm pretty much done."

Still wearing her small red bikini with cat ears, Erika was sitting in the darkest corner of the dining room, stacking all the paper money inside a metal cash box. It wasn't surprising since she was the type of person who wouldn't sleep well if she had not completed all her tasks perfectly. She had a plan and was following it to the letter.

Somehow, I found it a little bit unfair; Syr and Kitty went to sleep already, Michelle and Mae did the same, and they left Erika behind. I wouldn't be surprised if red-haired had told them that she didn't need help, but still, she probably would have appreciated some company.

So instead of going to bed like the others, I headed to the bar and grabbed a bottle of whiskey and two shot glasses. When I placed it on the table in front of Erika, it made her smile. We then engaged in a relaxed conversation.

"I like how you think, Mark. Giving me alcohol in exchange for sex."

"Pff... just tried to be nice. I wasn't asking for sex."

"Liar. You miss having sex with me."

"Syr is keeping me satisfied. I'll have all the fun I want with you once we are back home. I can wait."

"What if you don't?"

"Are you planning on staying here forever?"

"No, what if I don't have sex with you ever again? I would be happy with Kitty alone. She is keeping me very satisfied since we got here."

While chuckling, I filled our two small glasses with whiskey.

"Then, who would you drink with?"

"I dunno... I could go to random pubs and find suitable drinking buddies."

"Right."

Being around Erika was a never-ending game of sarcasm. This little woman was not only smart about everything business-related; she also had an intelligent sense of humor.

...and always spontaneous.

For no apparent reason, she got off her seat and climbed on top of me. Having her almost naked body in my arms like this felt right but so wrong at the same time.

"Erika, what if Michelle sees you straddling me like this."

"Then we will murder her with a blunt object."

"Why does it have to be a blunt object?"

"She deserves it after having destroyed our vacation. We ended up working like demons instead of relaxing on the beach."

"Hehe. I can see in your face that you loved managing a business again. Don't even try to make me believe otherwise."

"Pfff..."

Erika reached my crotch and unzipped my Bermuda shorts before plunging her hand inside to squeeze my dick.