Kitten Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Bath Time

Daniel

“Are you alright?”

I jerked awake.  Roxa was leaning over me so that her face was just inches from mine.  If she’d had any cleavage, I could’ve ogled it through the neck of her shirt that hung just loosely enough to be indecent at this angle.  I could feel a sticky track down my cheek.  Had I been drooling?

“I’m fine,” I grumbled, rubbing my face.  Truth be told I felt like crap, but I wasn’t about to tell Roxa that.

“You’re not fine,” she insisted, perching on the edge of the couch I had passed out on.  “Did you even feed Chaz last night?”

“Of course I fed him.  I’m not that careless.”

“You just decided to head back out and work until you passed out from exhaustion.  You’re going to make yourself sick.”

“Some stuff came up.”

“No, just shut up for a minute, Danny.”

I blinked.  I’d never seen Roxa so angry.  ‘Is she that worried about me?’

“You need to take a break.  In fact, I’m grounding you.  Go back to your apartment and get some rest.  You’re not allowed to leave until I think you’re fit to work.”

“I’m not some-!”

“Daniel!”

I swallowed my objections.  ‘She’s scary when she’s angry.’

She stood and held out her hand.  Her expression softened a bit, but it was still that of the stern mother.  “I’ll walk you to your apartment.  If you need anything, there’ll be someone waiting outside your door.”

‘Which means, “I don’t want you to run off, so I’m walking you there and posting guards at your door.”  Not that I could’ve gone against her anyway.’

I took her hand and let her lead me back to my apartment.

Chaz

I took a deep breath.  Daniel hadn’t been sleeping in his bed much over the past several days, but it still smelled like him.  I had his sheets wound around me as I lay in his bed.  He’d be back soon to make breakfast.  He always made sure to come back in time to make breakfast.

I reluctantly disentangled myself from his sheets and arranged them in a haphazard way that I hoped was similar enough to how they had been that Daniel wouldn’t notice.

‘I’m not sure why I’m trying so hard.  He’s barely been in his bed at all.  And when he does sleep in it he just hits the mattress and passes out.  He probably would never notice anyway.’

I shuffled back to my room to get dressed.  As I was pulling on a shirt, I heard the door open.

“Just get some rest,” said Roxa.

I quickly fixed my clothes and went out into the hallway to see what was going on.  Roxa never came home with Daniel this early in the morning.

“I’m not a kid,” grumbled Daniel.  His voice sounded ragged.

“You’re acting like one.  Just stay here and spend some quality time with Chaz.  I’m sure he won’t mind a little more attention.”

I came into sight of the front door, blushing a bit at Roxa’s comment.  “Good morning,” I mumbled.

Daniel almost seemed to smile.  My stomach clenched.

“Chaz, would you do me a favor?” asked Roxa.  She was smiling, but her smile seemed strained.  “Keep an eye on this idiot.  Make sure he doesn’t kill himself before I come back.”

I nodded.

Daniel sighed and pushed past me toward the kitchen.  I quickly turned to follow him.

“Wait,” I said timidly.  “You look exhausted.  I can make us breakfast.”

The front door shut, and Daniel glanced back at me.  There were dark circles under his eyes.  “You know how to cook?”

“I’ve been watching you do it.”

He laughed.  “Just grab two bowls and a box of cereal.  I can barely keep my eyes open.”  He plopped down into a chair and rested his head on the table.

I did as asked, my cheeks burning.  Cooking couldn’t be that hard.  Did he think I couldn’t do it?

Daniel

Chaz seemed upset.  I wasn’t sure exactly why, but he spoke even less than usual and refused to look at me at all, a frown fixed on his face.

“You’re going to give yourself wrinkles,” I warned around a mouthful of cereal.

“Does it matter?” he shot back.  There was a heat to his voice that confused me.

‘I’m too tired to be trying to follow a teenager’s thought process,’ I grumbled inwardly.  Aloud I said, “Only if you don’t want to look like a prune before you hit thirty.  Most women don’t like prunes.  Most men too, if you’re into that.”

He dropped his spoon, his face turning a brilliant red color.  Trembling visibly, he stood up and ran out of the kitchen.

‘Damn it!’

I quickly abandoned my breakfast to chase after him.  “Chaz, wait!  I’m sorry!  I didn’t mean to upset you!”

“Like hell you didn’t!” he practically screamed as he slammed his door.

“Chaz, please!”  I leaned against his doorframe, feeling suddenly dizzy.  “I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have said something like that.  I was being stupid.”

I slid to the floor as I listened to the silence.  I was so tired.  My eyes closed against my will, and everything went dark.

Chaz

I rubbed the tears from my eyes.  ‘It didn’t mean anything to him.  He just thinks I’m . . .’

I rolled off my bed so fast my head spun for a moment.  ‘I should apologize for reacting like that.  I’m acting like a kid.’

I opened the door to find Daniel curled up on the floor.  His chest rose and fell slowly with the relaxed breathing of sleep.  My breath caught.  I dropped to my knees beside him, unsure what to do.

‘He passed out?  He’s still breathing, but . . . Should I leave him here or try to move him?  Would moving him wake him up?’

He made a soft noise, something between a grunt and a whimper.  “Don’t . . . not like that . . . Goddamn that . . . Roxa . . .”

I jerked upright, blushing.  ‘He’s dreaming about her?  And cussing at her?  Does he like her or doesn’t he?’

I blew out a breath and made my decision.

Daniel

I woke to find a pillow under my head and a blanket draped carefully over me.  I was lying on the floor outside of Chaz’s room.  I sat up and stretched.  My body was sore all over.

‘Note to self: no more sleeping on the floor.’

“You’re awake.”

Chaz was sitting on his bed staring at me with those startlingly green eyes.  He leaned back on his hands, never breaking eye contact.

‘That’s new.’

“You tucked me in, right?” I asked as I gingerly eased myself to my feet.  “Thanks.”

His cheeks turned a nice shade of pink, but he still didn’t look away from me.  “I would’ve moved you to your bed, but you’re heavy.”

I snorted.  “I’m taller than you.  Of course you can’t carry me.”

“You were mumbling in your sleep.  Were you have weird dreams?”

I paused, thinking.  I had the distinct impression that Roxa had been in my dream, but I couldn’t remember anything else.  “Probably.  I can’t remember it now though.  What time is it?”

“Almost noon.  You’re a really sound sleeper.  I think I accidently kicked you while I was trying to get the blanket and pillow but you didn’t even stir.”

I shrugged and turned to head toward the kitchen.  “I was tired.  I wouldn’t have noticed if the apartment burned down.”

I heard him laugh and hop off the bed to follow me.  “You should sleep more.  It can’t be good to be that tired.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll have plenty of time for sleep while I’m grounded.”

“Grounded?”

“Didn’t Roxa say that earlier?  She grounded me.”

I glanced back in time to catch Chaz making a face.  “Is she your mother?”

I snorted and began assembling the supplies for sandwiches.  “That woman is crazy.  She does care though.  That’s pretty rare in my line of work.”

Chaz sat at the table and watched me intently.  “What exactly do you do?”

“I get things for people that they can’t get on their own.”

He frowned.  “That’s pretty vague.”

“I’m not too picky about what my clients want.  As long as I get paid, it really doesn’t matter.”

His eyes widened.  “You’re not doing something illegal, are you?”

“And if I am?”

Silence.  I set Chaz’s sandwich in front of him and sat down with mine.  He picked up his sandwich and took a bite.

“I guess it makes sense,” he muttered around a full mouth.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.  It’s gross.”

He swallowed and flashed a smile.  “You aren’t who I expected you to be at all.  Why did you even buy me?”

I blushed.  “Like hell if I know.  I just couldn’t leave you there.  Shit, I wouldn’t even have been there if Roxa hadn’t sent me on a wild goose chase.”

His smile was gone.  “Why don’t you like sex?”

I gagged.  “Good God!  That has nothing to do with you-!”

“Doesn’t it?  You didn’t buy me to rape me, so I want to know why.”

“Drop it.”

“Please?”

“I said drop it!”

He wilted.  “I just want to understand you better.  I don’t like sex either.  My mother is a whore.”

I blinked.  This was the first time he had ever talked about where he came from.  I was almost afraid that if I breathed too loud I’d scare him back into his shell.

“She had men at all hours,” he continued.  “Sometimes, while she was passed out from the drugs or the alcohol, her clients would try to play with me.  I learned quickly that I had to either be strong enough to defend myself or quick enough to hide.  None of them ever actually raped me, but I can remember one that came close.  I hate men.  I hate my mother too.  Sex is disgusting.”

With that, he stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth and escaped back to his room.

Chaz

I laid on my bed with my knees tucked up to my chest, waiting.  How would Daniel respond to my outburst?

‘Why did I tell him all of that?  He never asked.  I never should have brought it up.’

I closed my eyes.  It was all too easy to remember that man.  I didn’t know his name.  I didn’t care who he was or where he came from.  Some nights I still woke to the horrible sensation of his hands on my body, his lips suffocating me, the rancid stink of him.

I shivered.

“Mind if I come in?”

I didn’t move.  “Do you want to come sit on the bed?  That way you won’t be leaning over me like a creep.”

Daniel climbed onto the bed and sat cross legged beside me.  “I had just entered high school.  Some friends of mine were screwing around with a porn website one night.  They kept trying to find a girl that would get me up, but they couldn’t.  I just found the pictures to be gross.  Then one of them said I must be gay.”

I sat up and looked at his face.  His eyes were unfocused and distant.  For the first time, I got a good look at them.  They were brown, but not an ugly brown.

“So, of course, their next idea was to find some gay porn for me to see if that worked.  It didn’t.  I got fed up and left the room, but they thought I was just going to jerk off or something.  They kept teasing me about it until I finally managed to escape.  The next day I kept getting weird looks, and that afternoon one of the older guys cornered me in the locker room.”  Daniel smiled a sad smile that made my heart ache.  “Remembering makes me sick.  But it wasn’t long after that that I started dabbling in less than legal activities.  I guess I was trying to run away from my problems.  That’s all I’ve ever known how to do really.”

I looked down at my hands.  “I’m sorry.”

“Why?  I’m actually happy right now.  I never thought I’d tell anyone about that.  Or that you’d talk about your past.  Thank you for trusting me.”

My cheeks burned.  “It’s not like I trust you or anything.  I just wanted to know why you hated sex.”

He chuckled and patted my head.  “And now you know.  Do me a favor and don’t tell anybody.  Roxa would flip if she knew I kept this from her.”

I glanced up at him.  “You haven’t told her?”

“Why would I?”

“Because she would’ve kept bugging you about it until she got an answer.”

He laughed heartily this time.  “She bugged the hell out of me for a month after she found out I didn’t like sex.  In the end I told her that I accidentally walked in on my parents once and got scarred for life or something like that.”

I almost smiled.  “You complain about her, but you actually like her, right?”

“Some days are better than others with her.  I don’t hate her though.  She’s good company sometimes.”

“What about me?”

He paused, giving me a measured look.  “I wouldn’t keep you around if I didn’t like you.  I’m not one of those long suffering types.”

On impulse, I hugged him.  His body went stiff, but then he relaxed.  He placed one hand on my head, ruffling my hair.  After a few moments of quiet, he said, “You stink.  Have you been bathing?”

I pulled away quickly, blushing brilliantly.  “Of course I have!”

“With soap?”

I refused to look him in the eye.

“Alright, come on.”  He stood up and grabbed my hand.

“W-wait!” I protested.  “What are you doing?”

“If you’re going to live with me, you’re going to bathe with soap.  How old are you anyway?”

“I’m fifteen!  I can wash myself!”

He gave me a gentle shove into the bathroom and closed the door, trapping me in there with him.  “I know you can.  I only plan on doing this to you once.  Go ahead and strip.  If it makes you feel better, I’ll turn around.”

I groped around for a way to escape this situation.  “Isn’t this weird?  We’re both guys.”

“If you were I girl I’d get Roxa to do this.  Or would you rather have her see your naked ass anyway?”

My face turned crimson.  “T-turn around already!”

He held up his hands and turned to face the door.  I slowly pulled off my clothes, my heart racing all the while.

‘Calm down!  I just have to let him wash me once, and then he’ll leave me alone.  He’ll never have to see me naked again if I don’t want him too.’

I glanced at Daniel and caught him pulling his shirt off.  “Why are you undressing too?!” I nearly squeaked.

“I don’t want to get my shirt wet,” he replied nonchalantly.  “My pants are staying on.”

If it was possible to die from mortification, I wasn’t far from it.  I did notice his back though.  It was obvious he wasn’t ripped, but there was a certain strength still there.  His shoulder blades came back at just the right angle as he stood up straight.  He always had good posture.

‘Is that because he’s confident in himself?  Or is it that he wants everyone else to think he’s confident?’

“Are you done yet?” he asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“Are you really going to watch me bathe?”

“I promise you don’t have anything I don’t have.  It’s not that big of a deal.  If it makes you feel any better, I’m not going to enjoy this at all.”

“You’re weird.”

He turned to face me, and I instinctively moved to cover myself.  “Get in, you little snot.”

I did as asked, still blushing like a fool.  ‘He has a way of making “you little snot” sound like a term of endearment.  He’s so strange!’

Daniel reached around me to turn on the water and waited for it to warm up.  “You’re starting to put on a little weight,” he commented.  “You’re not as bony now as you were when I first saw you.”

“It’s not that surprising.  You’ve been feeding me regular meals.”

“It’s just good to see it’s doing you some good.  Though your attitude still needs improvement.”

I jerked my head up to look at his face and caught him grinning.  “Weirdo,” I mumbled, blushing.

“Whatever you say, Kid.”

Before I could get in another word, he sprayed me down, making sure to drench me through.  I spluttered and tried to escape when he turned the water on my hair.

“Do you have lice or dandruff or anything like that?” he asked, holding me in place easily.

“No!  Quit it!  You’re getting it in my face!”

“Relax.  It’s just water.”

He ignored my complaints for a few more moments, then let the shower head drop.  He grabbed two bottles, one black, the other clear with dark brown liquid.  He handed the clear bottle to me.

“I’ll let you soap up your body.  I’m not really interested in feeling you up.  You can use your hands or the sponge.  Roxa made me get one a while back, but I haven’t used it once.  I think she just wanted to keep one here for when she wanted to hide from Salvatore.”

I couldn’t even put two words together to form a response.  Instead, I poured some of the dark brown liquid into my hand and began soaping up my body.  I felt awkward with him there, but he didn’t seem bothered at all.

While I was doing that, Daniel poured some of the liquid out of the black bottle and began working it through my hair.

“What are you doing?” I demanded, shying away from him.

“Washing your hair,” he answered.  “Quit squirming.”

“I already told you I don’t have lice!”

“Not having lice is not the same thing as having clean hair.  Just hold still.”

I gave in in the end.  What else could I do?

‘It does feel kind of good though.  Maybe it’s not so bad to let him wash me . . .’

My cheeks burned, but I didn’t struggle anymore.

“Your hair is getting really shaggy too,” Daniel said.  “I guess the last time it was cut might have been right before they dragged you out onto the stage.  I’ll see about trimming it once you dry off.”

“Why are you doing this for me?” I whispered.  The words simply slipped through my lips of their own accord.  For a moment I hoped he hadn’t heard.

“I told you, if you’re going to live with me, you’re going to be clean.”  He smiled kindly.  “Now, close your eyes.  It’ll burn if you get soap in them.”

I hesitated.  How far did I trust him?  He’d seen me naked plenty of times and never made a move to touch me.  But if I closed my eyes, I’d be vulnerable.  He could do almost anything to me.

I closed my eyes.

Daniel

I couldn’t help but smile.  Chaz was such a weird kid.  He’d been alternating between smiling to himself when he thought I wasn’t looking and blushing for all he was worth.

‘I guess he likes being clean and not having his hair in his face.  He’s such a kid!  But I guess that’s part of what I like about him.  I haven’t seen innocence like that for a while.’

I shook my head and went to take my shower.  I was going to go to bed early tonight.

‘That should be fun.  Hey, maybe I’ll even get enough sleep to dream.  That might be a nice change.’

I turned on the water and washed the day away.