After a while, meows slowly turned into moans, and that was his cue to either go downstairs and join or take his time and explore more on his own, especially since it sounded like Luis was being rewarded for his efforts.
Goran crawled toward the light and stopped in his tracks when he discovered a suspended walkway that was completely see-through, with the bottom promising him a painful death if the parts hadn’t been screwed together right. But he reached inside, pushed at the floor, and then crawled inside with his stomach cramping. Adrenaline rushed through his veins as he slowly moved across the pipe-like corridor and reached a room filled with plush toys.
Goran jumped right in there with a squeal he’d be embarrassed about in different circumstances. It felt like he was back on a big family trip to IKEA years ago. His parents went off to buy furniture, and he was left in the play area with a huge pool of colorful balls. He sighed and just lay in the lake of toys for a while, but when the room became a bit too hot for his liking, he went out through a round tunnel, all the way up a plush-covered ladder. He stretched as he crawled into a small space with red walls but froze when he noticed someone several spheres away, just looking out a huge window.
It was Ollie, the last person Goran imagined ignoring the sexual play that was going on somewhere downstairs. Slightly bent forward, Ollie stayed motionless, clad in a long-sleeved shirt made of thin cotton and a pair of sandy-colored shorts. His cat ears were off despite this blatantly being cat time.
Goran approached him as quietly as he could, feeling much more comfortable doing this as a cat than actually trying to talk to the human icicle. As he got closer, Ollie hadn’t moved and only uttered a long sigh. Goran froze, watching Ollie’s back while trying not to breathe, but moments passed, and he understood that he hadn’t been spotted. Ollie must have been deep in his thoughts, and Goran couldn’t resist the temptation to touch him. In one abrupt leap, he pounced on Ollie and pushed him on the plush floor.
Ollie’s blue eyes were wide, and he stiffened before pushing back hard. “What the hell?”
Goran stilled but then quickly gathered his wits and meowed, as if he couldn’t understand language. He pushed Ollie back down again and nuzzled his cheek, his heart already thudding from the proximity of the fragrant skin that he didn’t get to touch.
Ollie bit his bottom lip and sat up, cuddling up against the wall, as if he expected Goran to hit him. “Don’t.”
Goran sat back, deflated. “It’s cat time,” he said, finding it hard to communicate this in any other way.
“We’re not really cats,” hissed Ollie through clenched teeth and shook his head, tossing his beautiful blond locks. “That’s not all I am.”
Goran pouted. “Duh. But you like it, right?”
Ollie briefly slipped out that pink tongue that had felt so good on Goran’s cock, but his face was tense, and he looked through the window again. From up here, they could see most of the gardens around the cattery. “I guess... everything has pros and cons.”
Goran took off the cat ears and leaned back against the soft, sand-colored wall. “I suppose I know what you mean.” He watched Ollie’s tense face, surprised that for the first time since the day he arrived, the rejection wasn’t complete and final. Maybe there was a chance of communication and mending things here? Goran didn’t say such words often, but he finally managed to mutter, “I’m sorry.”
Ollie glanced his way, but his shoulders were still hunched as if there was a weight on them that Ollie couldn’t bear anymore. “What for?”
Goran dared to look into Ollie’s eyes. “I had a lot of time to think about this. I’d even say too much time. We all have our own reasons to be here, and I suppose mine aren’t any better than everyone else’s. So yeah, you’ve been a dick too, but I haven’t really been nice either.”
Ollie swallowed hard and brushed his fingers up and down the front of his neck. “You are rude sometimes, but maybe we’re just all uncomfortable that you’re not entirely wrong a lot of the time.”
Goran had to put a lot of effort into not smiling smugly, but he managed. “I haven’t even been here a month. I usually don’t care what others think, but it’s hitting home that I’ll have no one else to talk to for a long time, and I don’t actually want everyone to hate me.” It felt weird to say it out loud. Would Ollie mock him for it? Take advantage of it?
Ollie’s face revealed nothing, but he shrugged in the end. “I guess I’m a bit envious that this is just a stepping stone for you. There’s stuff you want to go back to as soon as you’re done, right?”
Goran swallowed. “I really need the money, but it’s not like I’m not enjoying myself. My parents’ business is in a lot of debt right now, and I need to help them out.” He was too embarrassed to mention that the whole thing had been his fault in the first place.
“Do they know you’re gay?” asked Ollie, brushing his finger over the matte plexiglas in front of them. It felt as if they were protected from the world around them. Even from the harsh sunlight.
Goran sighed. “Yeah, but I wouldn’t actually tell them I pretend to be a sex-loving cat for money.”
Ollie smirked. “They don’t need to know everything. Luis just doesn’t want to see some things, even if you put them right in front of him. You think he’s doing it on purpose?”
“Doing what? From what I’ve gathered, you’ve been here the longest, so I imagine you know most about him.” Goran sat closer and they looked out the window together. It felt … nice. Very unlike just ogling Ollie at the pool. This was also the first time he and Ollie had a conversation that hadn’t immediately escalated into an argument.
“Yes. I was his first cat. He actually talked to me before that.”
“So how long have you actually been here?”
“Two years?” Ollie combed back his hair and looked at Goran. “It’s been a while.”
Goran blinked, flooded by this revelation and all that it meant. Ollie hadn’t watched the news or spoken to his family for so long? “Will he give you more money if you stay? I mean… it must be tempting, but still…”
Ollie slouched. “It’s not about the money. I could leave any time, but I don’t want to. It’s so peaceful here most of the time. I don’t need to worry about anything as long as I stay.”
“But I’m sure the money will help once you leave, right?” Goran elbowed him gently.
Ollie smiled and rubbed his forehead. “I have money. I could get a good job through my parents’ connections too, but I’ve been here for such a long time now that I don’t even know how much gas costs.”
Goran stalled. “So you have money, and you’re doing this anyway? And you don’t even like being a cat all that much?”
“I didn’t say I don’t like being a cat. I just like being a man as well. Maybe more.” Ollie sighed, not looking at Goran, as if he wasn’t aware how shocking his words were.
“So you’re like, what’s the word…” Goran snorted and snapped his fingers, searching for the right term in his mind. “I know! A trust fund baby? Going through an existential crisis, even though you’re loaded?”
Ollie blinked and stared at Goran, pulling away from the touch as if he’d just been stabbed with an ice pick. “Oh, so no problem is as important as not having enough in your bank account?”
Goran winced. “That’s not what I meant, but you have to admit to having it easy. You could leave here any time, you’d have lots of money and your parents’ support. Come on! What is there to mope about?”
Ollie quickly got to his knees and crawled toward the round exit. His face flushed as he looked back at Goran. “You don’t know shit about me!”
“Ollie, come on! I’m trying to get it! I told you stuff too.” Goran groaned and bumped his forehead against the soft wall. How did everyone else know what to say all the time? Did they just lie about what they thought to get brownie points?
“And I didn’t laugh at you,” hissed Ollie, leaving as if Gorann had just threatened him with a load
ed gun. The swish of him entering the spiral slide leading all the way down told Goran that whatever he might say next would not reach Ollie’s ears anymore.
Goran lay back on the floor and rubbed his face. What a failure. And it wasn’t even about getting into Ollie’s pants anymore. The truth was, he didn’t want to be considered an asshole by the only people he could talk to. He wanted at least some of the guys to like him, and Ollie was slowly becoming Goran’s little personal project that he couldn’t crack.
He reached to the white headband with cat ears left on the floor and picked it up. At least he’d have an excuse to talk to Ollie again. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more Ollie was avoiding in the real world than just having to get a job. With the cattery so isolated, Goran’s empathy for others was on a slow but steady rise, and he was beginning to understand that, despite his declarations, Ollie wasn’t happy here at all.
Chapter 9
Ollie jumped into the pool and shuddered at the cool grip of the water enveloping him completely. The sky was dark above him, but with the small underwater lamps still on, the insides of the pool shimmered with an eerie blue light as he dove all the way to the bottom of the tank. Ollie swam not much above it, enjoying the soft brush of his curls against his neck. His mind kept rewinding the horrible moment from earlier repeatedly. He should have known that opening up to Goran would not be a good idea. Nobody wanted to listen to what he really had to say. People wanted only happy thoughts. They didn’t care for the truth or the real man inside Ollie the cat, Ollie the happy party guy. Every time he forgot it, he couldn’t count on anything less than a slap in the face.
A pair of feet dipped into the water far away, and Ollie swore in his mind. He wanted to be alone for once and not always bothered by someone. Wasn’t everyone busy watching Clove play some new game anyway?
He ignored the movement and slowly emerged from the water, blowing out air before taking a deep breath. The stars were bright tonight, even though the mansion was so close to the city.
Goran sat at the edge of the pool, his expression unreadable, though Ollie liked to imagine it revealed a sense of guilt. A guy shouldn’t be allowed to look this good when his mouth always spewed so much nastiness. But there was no denying that the blue glow on Goran’s nicely toned arms had Ollie looking at them for a moment too long.
He pushed his legs against the wall of the pool and started swimming back, intent on ignoring Goran completely. Hot as he was, Goran did not deserve Ollie’s attention after what he’d said earlier that day. Ollie couldn’t believe he’d trusted him with a secret. Who did Goran think he was anyway? Did he consider himself all that just because he had a sob story of wanting to help his parents? Ollie had his reasons to be in the cattery, and he didn’t need to explain them to anyone.
“You lost your ears,” Goran said.
“It’s my shedding time,” Ollie grumbled.
“Shedding?”
Ollie frowned. Was Goran making fun of him, or did he really not know the word? “You know, losing... fur. It’s not funny anymore now that I had to explain it,” he said, swimming past Goran.
“Ahh… okay. So… you don’t want the ears?” Goran waved the headband in his hand. Not only was he deaf to signals that he was being rude, but he clearly didn’t know when his cue to leave was either.
Ollie groaned, squeezing his hands into fists. “What do you want now?”
Goran exhaled loudly and watched him from under his bangs. “I wanted to say I’m sorry. Again. I might have used a wrong word. You have every right to stay at the cattery as long as you want if you like it here so much.” He put the headband aside and slid into the water, making Ollie’s heart skip a beat for no reason at all.
He knew he should ignore Goran and swim toward the shore, but he just kept himself over the surface, eyes glued to Goran’s handsome face. Goran stole a glance toward the house where everyone else was, as if they were doing something illicit when they were just swimming like any of the other guys would have. There was nothing weird about this at all.
“Can I tell you a secret?” Goran whispered when he got closer.
Ollie swallowed the rock that formed in his throat, unable to tear his eyes away from Goran. His heart thumped. “Yes...”
“I really want you to like me, because you’re so pretty. I’ll only have so much time here with you, and I don’t want to waste it.” He looked into Ollie’s eyes in a way so different from Luis, as if he could see inside Ollie, as if he was pushing tiny hooks into Ollie’s skin and pulling him closer.
“Because I’m pretty?” repeated Ollie. “You must think my personality is just as horrible as I think yours is.”
“You’re not letting me find out.” Goran’s gaze was captivating, but the touch of his fingers on Ollie’s pec was like an electric shock to his system.
Ollie exhaled, instinctively leaning into the touch. This was bad. Goran was getting into his head again, and he would use each of Ollie’s weaknesses against him. If Ollie wanted to survive this, he needed Goran out of the cattery for good. He couldn’t constantly deal with this kind of pressure, and if Goran was intent on undermining him at every turn, it was war.
“Okay. Maybe I should let you,” he whispered as an idea popped up in his head.
“You have to admit it though. You did like sucking me off…” Goran leaned closer, and even the water around them seemed warmer when he pressed his lips to Ollie’s. With Ollie pulling away instantly, the contact only lasted a split second, but a jolt of arousal radiated all over Ollie’s balls. He gasped, swimming farther away in the water. He knew this was yet another attempt at manipulating him, and he wouldn’t lose this round
“It’s a nice cock,” he agreed in the end. There was no point to lie.
The smug smile on Goran’s face was as handsome as it was infuriating. “We could have another go sometime. Just the two of us.”
Ollie swallowed, fighting against the pull that made him gravitate closer to Goran. His brain was screaming in alarm. This was a trap. Goran smelled Ollie’s weakness and followed it like a shark would a bleeding man in the ocean. He’d try to make Ollie fall for him and have Luis make Ollie leave.
This sealed the decision Ollie already made. “Maybe we should get to know each other better?”
Instead of smug, Goran’s smile became wider, only making Ollie more skittish. He expected to see a chink in Goran’s armor, to see disappointment at friendship offered instead of sex. Yet here Goran was, happy as a kid in Disneyland.
“I’d really like that.”
Ollie chewed on his lip, watching him with anxiety gripping at his heart. “I’m tired of constantly being in the company of the same people.”
Goran sighed. “I know. Don’t get me wrong, it’s amazing here, but I don’t know how you lasted more than half a year.”
“You know, it’s been two years for me already,” reminded Ollie.
Goran watched him while circling Ollie slowly. “What do you like about it so much? The easy life?”
Ollie swam a bit closer to Goran, wondering whether he should be truthful or not, but in the end, the truth wasn’t that much of a secret. “I thought no one would judge me here.”
“For wanting to pretend you’re a cat?” Goran snorted. “That’s for sure.”
Ollie smirked, but his eyes strayed to the house, where the huge windows reflected the game screened on the huge plasma television in the living room. Was he ready to leave the safety of the cattery just to get rid of an enemy? Yes. Yes, he was.
“Let’s do something outside.”
Goran whistled, but he pushed away his wet hair, showing his glistening eyes. “Naughty kitty…” He wasn’t saying no.
Ollie smiled despite the uneasiness he was starting to feel again. No one would notice them gone for a few hours from the huge mansion and gardens, and even if they did, there was no way Luis would make Ollie leave. They had too much history. Goran, on the other hand… he could even be remo
ved from the house for disobeying such a cardinal rule. Ollie could have Goran buy something outside and then tell on him so that Luis uncovered the truth. In the worst-case scenario, Ollie could even call from a payphone outside and tell Luis he’d tried to stop Goran from making a mistake and tagged along to stop him in the end. He knew how to put on a show. It was a risky bargain, and it would not be pretty, but it could work.
“I can be,” he whispered,
“Let’s do it.” Goran grinned and dove under the water. Before Ollie knew what was happening, Goran grabbed his ankle and pulled him under.
Ollie swallowed a gulp of water and kicked about in panic. “What the hell? You could have drowned me!” he hissed as soon as he could breathe again.
Goran just laughed and waved his hand before swimming over to the edge of the pool, his broad, tan back a sight to behold. “I’m a lifeguard. You’re safe with me.”
Ollie frowned and followed him out of the water. His brain instantly created a brief fantasy of Goran saving him from the ocean and waking up to a mouth-to-mouth, as if Ollie’s life was only good enough for a stupid romantic comedy. “Really?”
Goran pulled himself up by the wall, the muscles of his back only getting more pronounced. “Really. In Croatia. I’m not gonna be in the US forever.”
“So you’ll be going back to Europe after you’re done here?” Ollie pushed back his wet locks, trying to not think too much about what was to happen tonight. The weight of his rash decision was slowly sinking in, but he couldn’t change his mind now, could he?”
Goran reached out his hand to Ollie with a smile. “Let’s go. I’ll tell you all about it.”
Ollie could hardly breathe when Goran stood up, confronting Ollie with his muscled thighs and the dark body hair he longed to touch. This guy was driving him crazy. Even the stunt Ollie was now about to pull off was bordering on insane.
Could he still change his mind?
Chapter 10
It was a bit strange to see Goran fully clothed, not to mention sitting next to him on a bus. Ollie hadn’t been out for so long that even hearing a group of women chattering at the front of the bus made him anxious. Everything was so unfamiliar and uninviting from the dirty floor to the rough-looking man singing something at the back.
The Cattery (M/M contemporary sweet kinky romance) Page 8
