Eat cherries

The cat tail slipped through her fingers, its carefully groomed, soft white fur so smooth it could escape her grasp with the slightest lapse.

It brushed her calf intermittently, swaying unsteadily.

Xu Fengluan wasn’t in a hurry, teasing it as she had with Fat Cat earlier, catching and releasing it leisurely.

Clearly, compared to Fat Cat’s agility, this “cat” was far clumsier, dodging cautiously only to be caught again. The bell around its neck jingled incessantly, even the cat ears swaying with the motion. @Infinite Good Stories, Exclusively at Jinjiang Literature City

The living room’s dim light, cast solely by the projector, blurred everything into a hazy ambiance.

Liu Tingsong kept her eyes lowered, her ears flushed red against her porcelain skin, starkly vivid. The fine, soft fuzz on her earlobes trembled faintly, suppressing her shyness. She subtly twisted her waist, guiding the tail back into Xu’s palm.

“Little cat…” Xu, amused, chuckled almost in a whisper.

The light fell only on half her body, hiding her hand gripping the tail in shadow, while her clear, smiling eyes gleamed with deliberate mischief.

With their roles reversed, everything seemed justified, the teased one willingly indulging, eager to please.

“This doesn’t feel like withdrawal.”

Though she said this, Xu didn’t release the tail, tugging it and drawing a muffled hum from Liu. Mist gathered in Liu’s eyes, making her look even more pitiful.

She raised her hand, gesturing quickly as if to say something, then, realizing Xu wouldn’t understand, leaned in to kiss Xu’s lips.

Xu tilted her chin up, neither initiating nor resisting, letting Liu take what she wanted.

As if holding that tail gave her the right to stop being so guarded.

The phone on the side lit up suddenly, its buzzing echoing in the spacious living room. The real cat meowed, as if woken.

Neither paid it mind, too occupied.

But whoever it was persisted, call after call, as if some urgent matter demanded attention.

Xu dodged Liu’s lingering kisses, grabbing the phone.

The moment she answered, Chu Cheng’s exaggerated voice blared, “Why’d you take so long to pick up?!”

“You’re about to miss your best friend’s life-changing moment!”

What nonsense.

Xu frowned, saying instinctively, “You went on a blind date today?”

It wasn’t impossible. Chu Cheng had come out to her family recently, but her parents, unaccepting, kept booking her therapy or dragging her to blind dates, much to her annoyance.

“Blind date? What blind date?!”

“Don’t taint my pure love with that nonsense. This is love at first sight!”

“God, my soulmate’s here!”

Her voice poured through the speaker.

Xu remained languid, showing little interest in her friend’s “life-changing moment,” saying, “Love at first sight? So you don’t even know them?”

Chu Cheng faltered, laughing awkwardly, “Well, not exactly a stranger…”

“Oh?” Xu tilted her head, ear against the phone, eyes still on Liu.

The tail, tugged downward repeatedly, seemed ready to slip off. Xu raised her hand, startling Liu, whose legs buckled, nearly collapsing into her arms.

Water droplets, from who-knows-where, dripped onto Xu’s calf and foot, not cold but warm.

Suppressed sounds, trapped between Liu’s pursed lips, reddened her eyes further.

Her only cover was Xu’s oversized white shirt, loose from her recent weight loss, yet still outlining her graceful figure. Without an apron, the thin fabric revealed dark marks beneath, her loose hair failing to hide what Xu had already seen through.

“My God, you don’t know what I went through!”

“Remember S University’s anniversary?”

At those words, Liu froze, glancing cautiously at Xu.

But the oblivious caller kept ranting.

“Didn’t we agree to meet at the warehouse?”

Xu hummed, listening.

“Then a new band moved in.”

Xu thought, then asked, “That Shark band?”

“Yes!” Chu Cheng slapped her thigh. “The Shark band!”

She shouted, word by word, “I! Fell! For! Their! Drummer!”

“Oh…” Xu’s response was far cooler than Chu’s excitement.

“What’s with you?!” Chu snapped. “Why aren’t you invested?”

“Fine, fine, I’m invested.”

“How’d you fall for them?” Xu asked, half-hearted.

Her attention elsewhere, Liu grabbed a wet wipe, carefully cleaning Xu’s fingers. Her focused, lowered eyes were captivating, almost torturous.

Noticing Xu’s distraction, Liu seemed to sulk, releasing Xu’s wrist and unbuttoning the shirt one by one.

Xu snapped back, her gaze shifting down, then up, meeting Liu’s intent eyes, silently repeating with her lips.

*Look at me.*

*Baby, look at me.*

The shirt opened, revealing a slightly bony neck, soft curves, and a taut waist from tension.

Liu swept her hair aside, baring more.

She looked at Xu, her gaze dodging yet suppressing shyness, silently urging.

“Feng?” Chu, mid-rant, noticed the silence and called out.

Xu licked her dry lips, managing, “I’m here.”

Unclear if she meant Chu or Liu.

Both answered in their own ways.

Chu exhaled, continuing, “Thought you hung up. Can’t you care about your friend’s love life?”

“Thanks to my patience, I talked them into bringing their gear to my bar. Proves I’m me, and they get a chance to perform, show their skills.”

“I didn’t think much of it, had my staff arrange it. Almost forgot today, nearly went hiking, but they called to confirm.” Chu sighed in relief.

Xu didn’t reply, pressed closer by Liu, who held her head, pulling her in. Vision, scent, and touch were consumed by Liu, her hearing fading as if sinking into warm water.

The tail stayed in her hand, never released, as if she couldn’t get enough.

Unconscious tugs continued, the tail straining to break free.

Liu patted Xu’s head, as if saying *be good*, then reached down, pressing it back bit by bit.

The tail shook harder.

Muffled hums mixed with rapid breaths. Xu’s fingers wove through Liu’s hair, gently tugging the white tips.

“They’re pretty good. You should check them out if you’re free.”

“But that’s not the point.”

“The point is their drummer. God, you know what love at first sight is?”

“I was standing below the stage, heart pounding.”

“For the first time in my life, I felt this. I’m in love.”

“You’ve got to help me chase them.”

Xu barely heard, lost in Chu’s chatter. Despite her resolve to break free, she kept falling back.

The call ended unnoticed. The opera hit a tense climax, faces on screen fraught with unease.

The fruit came in handy again. Xu, who’d refused earlier, now asked Liu to feed her.

Liu, ever indulgent, especially now, complied.

Cherries, still wet, were fed one by one. Xu’s breathing deepened, handling the small fruit carefully. And the cat tail, larger than a cherry?

Who knew how long Liu had fussed in private to wear it.

The music swelled. Fat Cat, fed up with being woken, crawled from the blanket, glanced at Liu and Xu, and meowed inexplicably.

Ignored, it padded to its food, ate, drank, and sauntered to its bed.

Too early to sleep, preparations unfinished.

With a tail flick, it curled up, grooming leisurely.

Xu mirrored it, but unlike Fat Cat’s initiative, Liu’s collapse from exhaustion pressed the tail against Xu’s face, mingling with cherry juice and water on her lips.

Xu’s jaw tensed, pressing Liu’s leg down.

The night deepened, the projector stopped, its light faint. Wind rattled the heavy curtains, unable to part them.

Outside, the moon shone, gradually veiled by thin clouds, its outline fading.

Outside a lively bar, an excited Chu Cheng made call after call, repeating her story to Xu over and over.

After who-knows-how-long, Liu’s knees, pressed against the sofa, were rubbed red.

Xu, sated, pulled the limp Liu into her arms, muttering, “Sister, I’m so full.”

“Can’t drink anymore.”

Liu tried to cover Xu’s mouth but touched wet fingers. From brow to neck, Xu was drenched.

Liu, exhausted, reached for tissues, wiping Xu clean bit by bit.

In the corner, the cat ignored them, accustomed to tuning out such sounds, curled in its bed, meowing in a dream, hind legs kicking.

The night grew darker, swallowing everything until it vanished.

On the sofa, the two embraced silently, falling asleep in each other’s arms.