GENRE: Gay Romance
LENGTH: 4,875 words
RATING:

Sequel to #IceCreamSundae

Alexi is more than happy to support Eli’s ASMR projects, so when their boyfriend suggests a date at a newly-opened cat café to do some research and record some cats purring, they agree right away. The café is full of cats ready to be adopted, but Alexi’s home situation isn’t ideal for pets. At least they can get their fix while out on a nice date.

Except when Alexi and Eli arrive at the café, Alexi’s heart is won over by not one, but two kittens, whose bond reminds them of their own relationship with Eli. Will one hour with these furry friend be enough for them? Or will Alexi and Eli have to evaluate if they’re both ready to become cat dads?

EXCERPT:

Perhaps spurred by Alexi’s creative endeavors, Eli took out his pocket recorder again and settled into the middle of the cuddling area. He sat cross-legged with his hands relaxed in his lap, his comfortable perceiving posture. Whenever he wanted to focus on the soundscape around him, he would close his eyes and let his body go slack as he sat like that. “Gimme five minutes,” he mumbled, chin to his chest.

“Mkay,” Alexi said, finding their own comfy place to sit. “But while you do that, I’ma play with more of these kitties.”

“Please do!” Eli said, briefly lifting his head and opening his eyes to smile at Alexi. “It’ll give me a more accurate sense of the ambiance!”

Alexi chuckled. They scooted over to give Eli a quick kiss. “You’re a nerd,” they said affectionately.

Eli smiled wider. “I have a degree in my nerddom and I get paid for it, which makes me a professional, thank you very much.”

“Then professionally listen to me play with cats.”

“Will do.” Eli sat back, closed his eyes again, and exhaled to relax his body. Alexi contemplated kissing him again, but aside from not wanting to distract the other visitors they knew that now Eli was truly focused and wouldn’t want to be interrupted. The best thing to do was give him as many examples of sounds one might hear in a cat café as possible for his ASMR.

There were an abundance of cat toys that made some sort of noise. There were wands that had tiny bells on them in addition to feathers or ribbons, balls that rattled as they rolled across the floor, squeaky mice, and a few toys that had some kind of crinkling plastic under their fabric exteriors. Different cats came over for different toys, but Alexi like the feather wand with the tiny bells. They could get cats to do flips for it and the soft thump of them hitting the floor was yet another sound for Eli to absorb.

Eli emerged from his trance with the gleam of inspiration in his eyes. “Perfect,” he said. “We’re going to have to raid a pet store or something so I can get clean recordings of the toy noises ‘cause I don’t think we have time for that.” He held up his recorder and grinned. “Now it’s time to record some purring.”

The cats in Alexi’s vicinity were disappointed that playtime was over, and a few redirected their energy into wrestling matches or trotted over to inspect the little device Eli was holding out to other cats. Through all of this, Cemil and Oz had not moved from their safe and cozy bed. Alexi couldn’t believe no one else had gone over to at least pet or talk to them. They seemed so chill, but maybe that was the problem. People wanted the more lively kittens or affectionate older cats. And while adopting two cats at once was certainly more responsibility, since they were best friends there would be no guilt about leaving them alone at home while their owners went to work or school or something, so it seemed like a good deal. If Alexi didn’t distrust his dad so much he would take the two of them home in a heartbeat ...