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Catherine moved along with the throng of teenagers escaping Central High School for the weekend. The chilly, overcast, autumn day smelled damp, like coming rain. She dug her car keys from her pocket and slung them around one finger on their ring, looking for Mouse. The first time Mouse had asked for a ride home, Catherine had almost refused. Not because she didn’t want to spend more time with the other girl, but because she really, really did. Fortunately Catherine had agreed and after a few weeks, she was Mouse’s primary transport after school.
When she didn’t see the younger girl, Catherine threaded through to the back of the lot where she preferred to park. She was rewarded with the sight of Mouse leaning against the side of her car, nose in a book. Catherine wondered if the girl knew just how cute she was in her mustard yellow skirt and grey leggings, worn black t-shirt and teal cardigan. Catherine grit her teeth and tried not to think about what a cute little nerd Mouse was.
“Need to make any stops before I take you home?” Catherine asked, and felt a small thrill when Mouse jumped in surprise.
“Um, no thanks. But thanks. For asking.”
Catherine always asked. Sometimes Mouse’s mom asked her to stop at the store on the way. Catherine unlocked the car, then reached across and unlocked Mouse’s side. She wondered if she should give Mouse a key to her car. She wondered if that was too forward. Mouse was almost old enough to have her license, but didn’t seem keen on learning to drive. Catherine was happy enough to chauffeur the girl.
Catherine turned on the heat and let the car idle for a while. It was mid October and just cold enough to warrant the wait. Besides, the parking lot would be a mess far a few minutes more.
“Ready for the weekend?” Catherine asked. It was a silly question, but she liked to hear Mouse talk.
“I guess.” Mouse closed her book and rested it on her lap. It was an uncharacteristic reply. Though Mouse was shy and quiet at school, she was more animated when it was just the two of them.
“Is something wrong?”
Mouse shook her head. She seemed about to say something, then shook her head again.
“Oh. Okay then.” Catherine bit her tongue on her disappointment. She hoped she hadn't done something wrong. After a few minutes more, the lot thinned out and she put the car in gear.
Mouse lived with her mom a little way out of town, down a gravel road off a side street lined with trees. It was a small house, a little worn, a little cluttered, but Catherine liked it. Mouse spent the drive starting out the window, lost in thought. Mouse was often lost in thought, so Catherine turned on the radio and tried not to pout. They were friends, but Mouse didn’t owe her conversation if she didn’t want to talk.
As Catherine turned onto the gravel road, the clouds that had threatened rain all day started delivering on that promise.
“Oh,” said Mouse in a delighted tone. Even just that little word made Catherine smile and she cursed herself. Mouse was a cute, innocent girl, a friend, not someone Catherine should be pinning after. Nonetheless, she grinned like a even as the rain quickly became a deluge and Mouse made small, happy noises.
Catherine pulled up in front of Mouse’s house. There was no garage, not even a carport. She got as close to the front door as she could without parking on the lawn. Still, it was several yards between the car and the door. Mouse was in for a soaking.
“Can we wait a few minutes and see if it lets up?” Mouse asked.
“Sure thing.” Catherine put the car in park and cranked up the heat. She rolled her window down just a bit and stuck her fingers out the top. The smell of rain filled the car.
Mouse sighed. “That’s nice. You love the rain too, right?”
Catherine gave Mouse a look. They’d only met at the beginning of the school year. They were friends, they’d gotten to know each other, but Catherine couldn’t recall having every said anything to Mouse about rain.
“How do you know that?”
Mouse grinned and shrugged. “It’s rained on the way home three times this year, and each time you smile and roll your windows down.”
“Oh.” Catherine blushed.
They were silent a few moments. The rain pounded the roof of the car.
“I don’t think it’s letting up.” Mouse said.
“You going to make a run for it?”
Mouse shrunk in on herself. “I love getting rained on, but not soaked.” She looked at Catherine and her eyes went wide. “Do you want to come in for a minute? I’ll make hot chocolate.”
Catherine had accepted invitations to hang out after school several times since driving Mouse home, and a handful of invitations to dinner. Her parents gave her a lot of latitude as far as staying out, especially on a Friday. Besides, she couldn’t say no to those eyes.
“Brat,” Catherine muttered.
Mouse’s grin widened. “Is that a yes?”
“What about the rain?”
Mouse looked through the windshield. “It’s not that bad.”
Catherine snorted.
“The hot chocolate will help?”
Catherine relented. She really didn’t mind getting rained on. Besides, spending more time with Mouse was always nice. “All right.”
It seemed the rain only came down harder the moment they got out of the car. The girls hurried across the lawn and Catherine was nearly soaked though before they were halfway there.
“Should have got my keys out before,” Mouse muttered as she dug in the pocket of her skirt frantically.
It seemed to Catherine that it took longer than necessary for Mouse to find her keys, but she didn’t think scolding her friend would make the process any faster, so she kept her thought to herself. By the time the door was unlocked and they were inside, Catherine was soaked through to her underpanties.
For a few moments, they stood just inside the front door, dripping wet.
“Maybe we should have waited?” Mouse looked at Catherine apologetically.
Catherine shrugged then chuckled.
“Come on,” said Mouse. “I’ll get us some towels and you can throw your clothes in the dryer.”
Catherine had been prepared to call off the hot chocolate and scurry back to the car so as not to drip water all over Mouse’s mom’s house, but Mouse grabbed her hand and Catherine followed her to the tiny laundry room off the bedroom hallway. Mouse opened the dryer before pulling off her cardigan and hanging it up to dry. Catherine expected her to fetch some towels and was stunned when Mouse pulled her sodden old t-shirt off instead. Catherine’s eyes went wide and her heart pitter-pat. Mouse was a short girl with a round belly. Her tan bra was nothing fancy, but it hugged her swelling breasts gently and the sight tightened Catherine low in her belly.
The shirt splatted into the dryer before Mouse unzipped the back of her skirt and let it fall. Catherine clenched her jaw and put her hands behind her back to keep them out of trouble. She’d seen Mouse in short shorts and tank tops and always appreciated the view without making it awkward. Just that moment, though, Catherine found it difficult not to stare. When Mouse began wiggling out of her sodden leggings, Catherine swallowed hard and took a step back. Mouse tossed the clothes in the dryer before she realized Catherine was still dressed.
Down to her bra and pink underpanties, Mouse looked at Catherine, blushing suddenly.
“What’s wrong?” Mouse’s voice was small and uncertain.
“N-nothing,” said Catherine. “I just… I thought you were getting towels.”
Mouse gasped. “Right, sorry.”
Mouse hurried from the little laundry room and Catherine watched her go, bottom bouncing in wet, pink underpanties. Once Mouse was out of reach, Catherine sighed and relaxed. For a moment, she considered waiting until Mouse came back with the towels, but she was getting cold in her soaked clothes, so she fished out her wallet and keys and set them on the little shelf above the dryer before stripping down to her black underpanties. She almost wished she’d worn a bra, but refused to cover herself as Mouse returned with the promised towels. They were both girls and just because she was hyper aware of her blossoming crush on the other girl didn’t mean she had to be embarrassed.
Mouse held out a small stack of towels. Catherine snatched one and immediately began drying off. The thick, terry cloth helped enormously and soon she was mostly dry and quite nearly warm. They got the clothes and towels in the dryer and Catherine was quite nearly comfortable with their near nudity when Mouse looked at her with wide eyes and rubbed a hand on her bare thigh, nervously.
“Catherine, are you mad at me?”
“What?” Catherine was distracted by the adorable uncertainty of the other girl. She wanted to reassure her and hung her and kiss the top of her head, so she put her hands behind her back again.
Mouse looked up at her, blushed, and looked down again. “I’d understand. It’s my fault you got soaked. I know you think I’m a brat, but…” She shrugged and sniffled.
“In a cute way, promise.”
Mouse swayed side to side. “You think I’m cute?”
Catherine swallowed hard. “Um…”
“Does that mean you’re not going to spank me?”
Catherine bit her tongue.
Mouse looked up at her again with wide eyes and a mischievous smile.
Catherine felt the breath gust from her. “Keep teasing me and maybe I will.”
Mouse giggled. “Come on. I’ve got pajamas that might fit you.”
In Mouse’s bedroom, Catherine didn’t have to wait long before a variety of options lay on the bed. Catherine was taller and skinnier than Mouse, but an oversized shirt functioned as a suitable nightgown. With the shirt falling nearly to her knees, Catherine felt comfortable enough pulling her still wet underpanties off. She thought she caught Mouse watching, but when she looked Mouse was busy unhooking her bra with her back turned.
“I’m just going to put this… uh… in the dryer,” Catherine said and left quickly. A few minutes later, they were in the kitchen, each clad in t-shirt and sweat pants, listening to the rain.
“Thanks for coming in for hot chocolate,” Mouse said. “I didn’t think it would be such a hassle.”
Catherine shook her head. “It’s not a hassle.”
Mouse busied herself melting chocolate and whipping cream. After a few minutes more, they sat at the kitchen table, sipping their drinks.
“This is incredible,” Catherine said as the sweet drink coated her throat. “Where’d you learn to make this?”
“Mom taught me.”
Catherine took another drink, longer and slower this time.
“Is it worth getting soaked for?”
Catherine nodded. “Absolutely.”
After the first, the dryer was still running, so Mouse made them each a second. Catherine suggested they sit on the covered porch in back and they cuddled close on the porch swing, under a quilt, watching as the rain slackened. The buzzing of the dryer finishing was muted.
“Guess I better get going,” Catherine said.
Mouse sighed. “Would you… I mean, you could stay a bit. If…”
Catherine was sorely tempted, but she shook her head. “I shouldn’t.” Mouse had no idea what she wanted to do with her, do to her.
“Okay.” Mouse stood and led the way back instead. “I’ll get your clothes. Would you rinse the mugs?”
“Sure.” Catherine let her gaze linger on Mouse as the girl left. Even in a baggy t-shirt and ratty sweatpants, she was adorable. Catherine thought about the teasing comment, about not spanking her, and wondered if she might. With a shake of her head, Catherine did as she’d been asked and rinsed the mugs clean.
Mouse returned with Catherine’s clothes in a neat little stack, her black underpanties on top. Catherine blushed but Mouse didn’t seem to notice. Catherine took them and spent a moment wondering if she should change now or ask to borrow the pajamas when she remembered her wallet and keys.
“Your wallet is in you pants pocket,” Mouse said.
“Thanks. What about my keys?”
Mouse to a step back the raised her right hand, allowing Catherine’s keys to dangle from a finger. Catherine tucked her clothes under one arm and reached for the keys, but Mouse stepped back again, expression turning mischievous.
Catherine grinned. “Very cute. But I really do need to get going.”
Mouse shrugged. “Then come and get them.”
Catherine’s stride and arms were longer than Mouse’s and when she lunged for the keys, Mouse was caught off guard. She squeaked and backpedaled and just barely stayed out of reach. There was a moment when they looked at each other, uncertain and still. Then Mouse turned and ran. Catherine pursued. She caught the other girl just at her bedroom door, wrapping her arms around her, pining her. Catherine’s chin was just above Mouse’s head. Both of them were breathing hard.
“Please give me my keys back.” Catherine felt her voice in her chest.
Outside, the rain picked up again.
“They’re right here.” Mouse jingled the keys in her hand.
Just as Catherine moved to take them, Mouse wriggled free enough to stuff the keys down the front of her sweatpants. Catherine reached before thinking better of it, then stopped.
“You brat,” Catherine muttered.
Mouse laughed, voice breathy.
“You think I won’t reach down your pants?”
Mouse swallowed hard. Catherine could feel it through her chest. Her heart picked up speed.
“Maybe?” Mouse squeaked.
“Or maybe I really should spank you first for being such a brat.”
“Um…” Mouse whispered. “Would you? I mean… you wouldn’t.”
With her left hand, Catherine took hold of both Mouse’s wrists and held the smaller girl close to her chest. Her right hand she pulled free and rested it at her side. By turning just a bit, Catherine exposed enough of Mouse’s pajama-clad bottom cheek. Mouse’s breath was audible under the rain on the rooftop. Catherine changed her mind a dozen times. Finally, she put her hand on Mouse’s bottom with just enough speed to pat her gently.
“Give me my keys, Mouse.”
Mouse cleared her throat nervously. “No.”
Catherine patted her friend’s bottom more firmly. “Give me my keys.”
Mouse giggled. “You know where they are.”
Catherine swatted Mouse’s butt. Mouse gasped but Catherine was certain she’d given Mouse harder high fives.
“Are you going to give them back?”
“I… um… no.”
Catherine swatted her three times, quickly. “How about now?”
“Can’t make me.”
Catherine gave her another three, a little firmer. “This is your last warning, brat.” Catherine nearly choked on her words. She wanted to give Mouse a chance to back out, to tell her to stop. She also wanted to drag the girl to her bed and… well, she wasn’t quite sure what, but she was certain she’d enjoy figuring it out.
“Doesn’t hurt,” Mouse whispered.
Catherine spanked Mouse and the crack of her palm made them both jump. Catherine expected Mouse to pull away, but she didn’t. If anything, she leaned into her. With her tongue between her teeth, Catherine put her right hand inside the waist of Mouse’s pajama pants and slid it around to the front where Mouse had stuffed the keys. For a moment, Catherine’s fingers brushed the warm metal of the key ring, then the keys slipped and fell down Mouse’s pant leg, jingling to the floor.
Mouse giggled. Catherine joined her.
“You still going to spank me?”
Catherine considered, but was distracted by the warmth at Mouse’s waist. Curious, she shifted her hand ever so slightly and Mouse gasped. Catherine realized that Mouse wasn’t just warm, she was damp too. Feeling bold, she cupped her fingers and slid her hand down until she was holding Mouse’s warmth gently. Mouse melted against Catherine’s chest.
“Why are you so…” Catherine cleared her throat. “Why are you so wet, Mouse?”
“Maybe… maybe because my sweet kitty has captured me.” Even breathless, Mouse’s voice delightful. “Maybe because she spanked me and might again. Maybe because she’s so close to doing what I’ve… what I’ve wanted since I first saw her.”
Catherine lowered her head to Mouse’s neck. She hesitated, then kissed her quickly.
“You want me to spank you?”
Mouse nodded.
Catherine squeezed gently and Mouse gasped. “You want me to… to touch you?”
Mouse nodded.
Catherine probed at Mouse’s underpanties just as she had her own on numerous occasions, until she found the cleft and ran a finger up and down. Mouse gave a small, high groan. Her underpanties quickly developed a slick line where Catherine touched her.
“Such a naughty, naughty Mouse.”
Catherine withdrew her hand and Mouse whined. She put her hands on Mouse’s shoulders and steered the girl into her bedroom. Catherine hadn’t spent much time in Mouse’s room. It was small and cozy with several bookshelves and a cluttered dresser and a nightstand with a candle on a saucer. Catherine sat on the bed and took Mouse by the hips.
“What…” Mouse whispered.
Catherine hooked her thumbs into the waist of Mouse’s pajamas. “First, I’m going to spank you. Then I’m going to… to give you what I… I’ve also wanted.” She looked up at Mouse. “Is that all right?”
Mouse’s eyes were wide and bright. She bit her lower lip and nodded. Thunder tumbled in the distance. Though it was still early afternoon, the bedroom was dim.
Catherine pulled Mouse’s pants down past her hips, then let them fall, revealing pale blue underpanties. The scent of the girl was stronger without the pants. Catherine put her hands on Mouse’s hips and took a deep breath, then leaned forward and kissed her, just below the waistband. Mouse took half a step back, but Catherine slid her left hand to Mouse’s bottom to hold her. She put her lips to that slick line and kissed again. Mouse’s knees wavered. Catherine spanked her sharply with her left hand. Mouse gasped. Catherine licked her through the fabric of her underpanties and Mouse gasped again.
“Come here,” Catherine growled, and pulled Mouse to her. Soon Mouse lay over Catherine’s lap, partially in her side, like she might curl around Catherine’s waist. Catherine put her left hand on a Mouse’s back and her right on her bottom. Through the window she saw a flicker of light and for a moment feared Mouse’s mother was coming home. A few moments later thunder rolled overhead.
“When will your mom be home?” Catherine asked.
Mouse giggled. “Why? Scared she’ll catch us and spank your butt?”
Catherine smacked Mouse’s bottom and the girl squealed. She put a hand back to protect herself, so Catherine wrestled her wrist out of the way, then, feeling confident and daring, pulled Mouse’s underpanties down, revealing her plump bottom. She spanked Mouse, first her left cheek, then her right. Even in the dim light, she could see the rosy cast of the spanking.
“Please tell me,” Catherine said.
Mouse nodded. “Tomorrow morning. She’s out of town for a meeting.”
Catherine breathed a sigh of relief, then spanked Mouse’s bare bottom, alternating cheeks. “You could have told me that earlier,” she scolded. “You could have asked for a spanking instead of being a brat.” Catherine kept up a quick rhythm. She could feel Mouse’s body tensing, her squirming and kicking increasing in intensity. “You could have told me you liked me instead of being so… darn… cute!”
She spanked faster and harder the longer she went, wondering how long Mouse could hold out.
“Owieee!” Mouse’s composure broke and she dissolved into sobs, collapsed over Catherine’s lap, splayed and sweating.
Catherine stopped mid swing and leaned back. She took a moment to catch her breath, then rubbed Mouse’s bottom in slow, gentle circles. Her breathing slowed. She watched her hand as it moved over the rosy, splotchy skin of Mouse’s bottom. It wasn’t long before Catherine could feel Mouse’s damp through her pajama pants, and she slipped her fingers between Mouse’s thighs. Mouse gasped and shifted just enough that Catherine got her middle finger on Mouse’s nub and her thumb at her opening. She ran each digit in slow circles, delighting in Mouse’s little squeaks and grunts and gasps, doing her best to hold a steady rhythm as Mouse squirmed and rocked against her hand. Mouse grunted and gasped and Catherine couldn’t help but see the similarities between when the spanking and now. And when Mouse cried out, high and pulsing, thighs squeezing against Catherine’s hand, the two were almost indistinguishable.
Catherine pulled her hand free and held Mouse over her lap, letting the girl lie there for a while, catching her breath.
Eventually, Mouse pushed to her knees. She looked at Catherine with a lazy smile. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”
Catherine smiled in return and stripped the borrowed pajamas off. The girls stretched out on the bed next to each other, nude. Mouse curled on her side, put one leg over Catherine’s waist and cupping her right breast in one hand.
Catherine chuckled. “Feeling possessive?”
Mouse nodded. “Mine.” She put her head against Catherine’s chest and took her left nipple in her mouth. Catherine gasped at the sudden thrill. Mouse pinched Catherine’s right nipple, then rolled it between her fingers. She sucked at Catherine’s left, and for moments that might have been forever, Catherine was consumed with breath-stealing pleasure.
“Thank you,” Mouse said.
Catherine had to take several deep breaths before she realized her nipples had been released. She had small breasts and hadn’t thought anyone would do to them what a Mouse had.
“I… For… for what?”
“For this. Cuddling and spanking and… and sex. I wasn’t sure you liked me like this.”
Catherine nodded. “I definitely do. I wasn’t sure you liked me either.”
A crack of thunder split the sky above them and the girls held tight to each other. When it passed, they laughed, but didn’t let go.
After a while, Catherine had a thought. “Would your mom really spank me?”
“Definitely. She likes you, but if she caught us like this she’d paddle our bare bottoms. She thinks I’m too young to… you know.”
“Does she… I mean, when’s the last time she spanked you?”
“Hmm. About a month ago, I think.”
“Wow. That’s rough.”
“Nah. Mom loves me and the spankings help me stay on track. I’m going to be top of my class and go to college and get a doctorate in engineering. But I get distracted sometimes.”
“Oh.” Catherine wondered if maybe Mouse would want her to help keep key on track in college. She didn’t have big plans for after high school. Maybe she could follow Mouse and…
“But yeah. She’d paddle your bare butt and kiss your forehead and send you home,” said Mouse. Or maybe to the corner. So we’ll have to be… circumspect. But you can stay the night if you want.”
“I can?”
“Sure. Like I said, mom won’t be back until tomorrow.”
Catherine considered. Naked cuddling was far better than anything else she might have done on a Friday night, but what if Mouse’s mom came home early?
Mouse put her lips back on Catherine’s nipple. She ran her fingers up and down her torso, getting ever closer to the curls below her belly button. Catherine swallowed hard and made herself speak.
“I will, but only if you text your mom and make sure it’s okay.”
Mouse released Catherine’s nipple and licked it before giggling. “You afraid of my mom?”
Catherine nodded. “I’ve never been spanked. I don’t want my first to be from my girlfriend’s mom.”
“Are we girlfriends?” Mouse teased.
Catherine spanked her bottom.
They got out of bed long enough for Catherine to text her parents to let them know she was staring at a friend’s and for Mouse to text her mom and ask if Catherine could stay over. They took the time to wipe up any puddles from the rain they’d tracked in and pick up their discarded clothes. Catherine put her keys in her pocket. Neither got dressed.
“Hmm. I’m hungry,” Mouse said. “How about a frozen pizza?”
“I prefer them cooked,” Catherine said.
Mouse rolled her eyes. Once the pizza was in the oven, they sat on the couch and cuddled under a blanket.
“What did you mean?” Mouse said. Catherine gave her a look. “You said you didn’t want your first spanking to be from mom. Does that mean… do you want…”
Catherine laughed. “If anybody is going to spank me, I want it to be you.” She squirmed and shifted until she stretched out over Mouse’s lap, pushing the blanket to the floor.
Mouse put a hand on Catherin’s naked bottom. “You sure?”
Catherine looked over her shoulder at Mouse. “One of us is about to get spanked. You or me. Decide quickly, little Mouse.
Mouse spanked Catherine like she’d been doing it for years. Catherine did her best not to squirm and kick too much, but she couldn’t help squalling and crying as Mouse lit her backside on fire. She’d never been spanked before. It was new and awful and amazing all at once. The sting was nearly unbearable, but Mouse had been able to take it, so Catherine grit her teeth. The sting became a fire and soon the fire consumed her. She was slick with sweat and stinging all over and then came the tears. She hadn’t thought she’d cry.
“Oh, oh, ow… Mouse, please…”
Catherine gasped at the shock when the next spank didn’t come. She slumped, exhausted, over Mouse’s lap. She wondered if this was how Mouse had felt.
“Is my sweet Kitty all right?” Mouse murmured.
Catherine realized Mouse was rubbing her bottom gently and the soothing gentleness swirled amid the heart-pounding intensity of the spanking. Her skin felt a quarter-size too small and the fire of the spanking shifted to her loins. She was just about to push up to her knees when Mouse’s fingers slipped between her thighs. She gasped and groaned and squirmed. She thought Mouse would do as she had and use her fingers on Catherine’s most delicate of spots. Instead, Mouse patted her thigh sharply.
“Up you get, Catherine.”
“Hmm?” Catherine looked over her shoulder, confused.
“On your back,” Mouse said, and poked the tip of her tongue between her lips. “I… I want you on your back.”
Catherine complied, struggling against loose joints and swimming thoughts. She let Mouse push her to reclining the couch, legs spread, so Mouse could kneel on the floor before her. She remembered the heady smell of Mouse’s nethers and sighed. She slouched when Mouse put her hands under either thigh and pulled her closer. She gasped when the other girl’s mouth closed on her lips and her tongue probed and flicked. She grabbed on to the couch cushions for support and tried not to buck and squirm as Mouse licked and sucked and occasionally nibbled at her. She felt herself building, like approaching the edge of a cliff, nervous and excited, ready but hesitant, willing but not quite able to leap over the edge on her own. Then Mouse’s clever tongue pressed in a long, sure stroke and Catherine found herself tumbling end over end, crying out, into the weightless void.
Mouse giggled. “You’re beautiful when you’re crying out in ecstasy.”
Somewhere, on the other side of the universe, the oven chimed. Catherine didn’t have the energy to pay it any mind. Instead, she shivered in the aftershocks of orgasmic joy. Sometime later, Mouse took her hand and pulled her to her feet.
“Come on. Let’s have a shower while the pizza cools.”
Under the warm spray of the shower, Catherine regained herself. She shampooed her hair and cleaned her nethers and helped Mouse do the same. Then they stood together for a while, Catherine with her back to the smooth tile, Mouse with her back to Catherine.
Eventually they wrapped up in towels and went back to the kitchen and shared a pizza.
Mouse’s phone buzzed while Catherine rinsed their dishes.
“Oh, hi mom. How’s the meeting?”
“Hello, Maureen. The meeting is boring but necessary. Is Catherine there?”
“Yup. Say hi, Catherine.”
Catherine looked up from the dishes to find Mouse holding her phone up. “Hi, Mrs. O’Connor.”
“Hello, Catherine. Thanks for staying with Maureen tonight. I know she doesn’t like being home alone.”
Catherine raised an eyebrow at Mouse, who blushed. “Sure thing. Any time.”
“All right. Well, you two behave. There’s pizza in the freezer. I’ll see you tomorrow. Love you Mo.”
“Love you too, mom.”
It was only six o’clock. Catherine and Mouse snuggled on the couch, under the blanket, and Mouse found something to play on the television as the rainstorm pattered upon the rooftop. Loose and relaxed, aching and satisfied, Catherine let her mind wander, one arm around Mouse’s shoulders, feet up on the coffee table, one of Mouse’s hands resting casually on her lap.
Then Mouse ran a finger in small circles high on Catherine’s thigh.
Catherine squeezed Mouse’s shoulders. “Again?”
“We’ve got all night,” Mouse said.