“You know I value your opinion. I listened to what you had to say, both times, about Kwan. I don’t want to lose out on… on you. I care about you already, Harley. You.”
He picked his shoe up and smacked it against the bars again and then pitched it behind him. “How? How do I know that? He was touching you. He had his hand on you.”
“Where did I sleep last night?”
He crossed his arms and stared at the floor.
“Who did I play with and pet until he was purring for me last night? Who came down my throat? Was it Kwan?”
His cheek ticked.
“Have I ever missed a call from you that I didn’t return?”
He covered his face with his hands.
“What do you need, kitty, to stop thinking I’m going to drop you?”
His shoulders slumped.
“Do you want me to keep trying?”
He flinched like I’d gone over there and beat on the cage.
“Harley. Words,” I said, louder than I should’ve.
“You want to stop, don’t you? You have all this dog stuff.” He glared between his fingers at me. “You want an excuse.”
“No, I don’t. I have the sweetest kitten, and I want to keep him, but I will not do this again. Do you understand?” I got to my feet, all at once as tired as if I’d worked a double. My stomach rumbled because I’d eaten too quickly.
“Brad….”
“I’ve got a sweet kitten who is usually a good man, too.” I took a step back from him and shoved my hands in my pockets.
“Brad!”
He smacked both hands to the top of the kennel and there was a high-pitched clang.
I turned and wanted to smile, and also wanted to snarl in exasperation. I didn’t like doing things like this, but positive reinforcement, sucking his dick, hadn’t done the trick. “I think you need a time-out from the Kwan situation.”
“You want us to take a relationship break?” He sounded so upset that I spun around. His face was scrunched, and I hated to see a couple of tears tracking down his cheeks. “I knew this was coming.”
My gut sank and it cut me up to see Harley hurt, but there was no way I was going to let him out and cuddle him. It hadn’t worked last night, and I was doing something different this time.
“Nope, but oh, say an hour in the kennel might cool you down, feisty cat. And then you’re going to apologize to Kwan.”
His mouth fell open for a few seconds and then his jaw trembled. After a moment he squeaked, “I won’t.”
“You will, or you’ll sit in there for two hours, and you won’t appreciate what happens afterward.”
He hissed at me.
“Okay. I’ll be back in one hour.” I took another step away because I wanted to get him out and hold him. “I’m bringing Kwan with me. You can either get out and be a good kitty and say your sorries to him, or you stay in there and watch me toss the ball for him.”
“And fuck him?” he said nastily.
My resolve swiftly returned. Yes, this attitude had to be curbed, and now. “What do you imagine is going on here, Harley? I mean, think about it before you open your mouth to me again about this. You’re going beyond taking out your frustrations. You’re insulting me as your owner, and you’re insulting me as a person.”
His bottom lip stuck out farther, but I didn’t think he was doing it on purpose. He was upset, and I was actually fucking mad at him, sort of, that I couldn’t go over there and pull him out. I didn’t want him feeling this way, but nothing else I’d done had driven this irrational jealousy out of him.
