The Cat Gets Accused
DELILAH
Ididn’t know Talia would bring up this ‘no sex’ thing, but it’s a great distraction from the Safe Haven garbage. It brings people around to talking about something they can plan and get involved in. She is a brilliant tactician—something Mickey says frequently, but I never see at home.
“Why do you want a boring ass ‘PG-13 only’ hang out?” Sari interjects. “We’re adults, not pre-teens at church camp.”
They ignore her snark because people notice the stick passing motif, and she doesn’t have it.
Tamara takes it, thinking for a moment. “Some of us may be oversharing because of peer pressure. Not that anyone is forcing it, but when you see everyone sharing the same things and buzz about how awesome it is, you unconsciously shift to writing up what you think people want to read. No one wants to bore people, or worse, get ignored.”
That’s her fucking problem? Not enough people are praising her sexcapades?!
My mate smiles at the woman for the first time. “That was well spoken and possibly true, Tamara. Thank you for pointing that out.”
I reach for the stick. The ridiculous redhead gives it to me and I wait until the murmuring stops. “I share what I feel like sharing. If something light and happy seems right, I will share it. If something dark seems right, I share it. What I don’t want is to feel responsible for making other people change what they share.” I wrinkle my nose and grumble. “I’d like to stop saying sharing now, if that’s okay.”
Rita gives me a small smile. “I don’t think I’d like feeling that way, either.”
“Anything I perceive is inappropriate for the entire community, I don’t post publicly. I’ll share it privately or not at all.” Talia tilts her head, waiting for commentary on that statement.
My line’s pretty liberal, so there’s not a lot I don’t post. Well, until recently. I was hiding Taurus for a long time to keep certain folks from losing the plot. I’m not going to argue with that because I feel the same way—mostly. I have to be more present than her and obviously, I’m not quite as sticky about what I believe to be too private. But her line is valid, so I’m glad she said it.
Sari arches a brow. “I agree with Deli. I’m not willing to allow others to decide what events I write about. It’s up to each person to decide to read or delete.”
I have to hide a smile when Tamara gives the coyote a frustrated glance. “I’m not saying the shift is anyone’s fault. I have very sexual relationships with my family, but that’s not all I write about. However, it’s easier to post things when people give youfeedback and encouragement. Right now, racy stuff gets the most up votes, and it’s daunting to put yourself out there without positive reinforcement.”
Michaela holds her hand out and I hand her the stick, though I think half of this conversation has gotten away from her and all of us. Our community problems do not hinge on people not getting enough ‘thumbs up’ symbols on our social media. That’s not where the bodies are buried, but much like the Shane issue for Michaela, this is one for Tamara.
“I treat The Zoo like a karaoke bar. I sing, I imagine, and I drink with friends and family. Nothing more, nothing less,” the bubbly blond says. She gets up and grabs a big wad of her chocolate and flops down in her chair. “I don’t think that’s bad.”
Shit, now we’ve hit one of her land mines.
“I view it as a new ‘Dirty Deeds’. Man, I miss that place,” Tamara sighs. “It was better, but that’s how I see The Zoo.”
Lily rolls her eyes. Tamara was unwelcome at Dirty Deeds and those of us here who were welcome knew what the gossip about her was. She’s living in a dream world.
“Talia, is that all you wanted to say about a new event place?” Lily asks, directing the conversation away from a past that will get us all in trouble.
Talia nods. “I want to make friends and have fun—leave the dirty stuff at the door. I’m ready for personal issues now.”
“No, no,” I shake my head. “I want to get back to the original question: what’s wrong and how do we fix it?”
Marina raises her hand, and I blink.
Not what I expected, but okay.
“I’m not here a lot and mostly when I do share it’s with Ward. I’d like to know how to interact more with other people.”
Sari raises her hand as several people nod. She doesn’t wait for the stick; she plows through before Michaela can give it to her. “I asked that question of several people, didn’t I, Rita? I wanted to figure out how to do that.”
It takes everything in me not to double over with laughter. Sari has no—repeat, no—problem with approaching anyone or making friends. She has revealed she pre-prepped the others for this meeting, though, so I can use that.
“I chat with someone if I’m interested in what they’re doing or saying at the time. After a while, you end up friends and having adventures. That’s how it’s always worked for me,” Sari says, her eyes yellow as they glare at me.
That’s an acceptable way of saying I court them until they let Wilde fuck them, but okay.
I won’t let her provoke me, though, so I nod. “It has always worked that way in the past. People connect and if they hit it off, they continue hanging together.”
