It was the grand opening of Megakat Tower. The tallest, most expensive building built, and Mayor Manx was busy taking all the credit for all the work, but that should have gone to Deputy Mayor Callie Briggs. She had signed all bills, filled out all the forms and even wrote out the mayor's press release.

But tonight was different-tonight she was a guest of honor and she was glad that Manx hadn't forgotten about all her hard work. As she drove toward the tower, she felt in her heart that something wonderful was about to happen.

Callie was so caught up in her thoughts that she almost didn't hear her cell phone ring. Reaching into her purse, Callie pulled out her phone and answered it.

It was Mayor Manx. "Callie, you better get here soon, Mr. Young isn't a man of patience." he said on the other end. Callie didn't need to be reminded, but she first needed to pick up two kats that had asked for a ride. Felina and Ulysses Feral.

Commander Feral paced in his bedroom, waiting for Felina. His dress uniform was rather uncomfortable, and he was worried about what his niece was going to show up in. He had wanted her to wear her uniform, but she had insisted on more formal, not to mention feminine, attire. Feral supposed it would be good for the contributors to see them as regular kats, not just uniforms, but that was what bothered him.

Felina was pleasing to the eyes and she even caught the eyes of a few women now and then. Feral was worried that she might get hooked up with the wrong guy and get knocked up. These parties always had some guy trying to make a move on a girl.

"Well, Uncle, will this do?" Felina's voice came from behind him. Feral turned, and he just kept his mouth from dropping open.

Felina stepped into the office and slowly turned in front of her uncle so he could inspect her new dress. It was a black dress with a gold fringe around the neck, and it shimmered in the light. The dress fit her perfectly. Low-heeled pumps of the same glittering material and a her mother's gold string necklace completed the effect. Felina looked at Feral expectantly.

"You look beautiful, and I'm very glad to be your escort tonight. Shall we go?" With more grace than Felina ever thought he could muster, Commander Feral offered his niece his arm. She gently slipped her arm through his, and together they boarded the elevator and descended to the ground floor, where they waited outside for Callie to pick them up.

When Callie drove up, she couldn't help but stare at Felina. She looked completely different, not like she did in uniform. This was a brand new she-kat standing beside the commander.

As Commander Feral opened the car door for Felina, he smiled and said, "After you, Felina."

"Thank you, uncle," she smiled and fastened her seat belt. Commander Feral took the front seat, but saw lovely Callie looked. She had really gone all out for this. Her hair was freshly styled, falling straighter down her back more than normal. A light green eyeshadow set off her bright green eyes, making them seem to glitter. Her lips were a deep red by contrast, reminding him of a painting he saw of her ancestor Queen Callista at the Megakat art fair.

The commander however saw that she was wearing an overcoat that hid her dress, but he knew he would see that dress later tonight. So he climbed in and buckled up.

There were two other kats at the opening, Jake Clawson and Chance Furlong. They had been called here by the mayor to be valets for the night. They would have said no, but when they saw the check the mayor wrote out, they said yes. So here they were, parking the cars of the guests, and then running back to wait for the next guests to drive up.

Mayor Manx walked out to inspect their work, and he was pleased by it. "I really appreciate your help tonight, boys," he smiled. "I must say that you two would make better valets then junk kats."

"Oh, that's great to hear," Jake said, but he was being sarcastic.

Just at that very moment, Callie drove up with Commander Feral and Felina. The commander hopped out of the car and opened Callie's door, leaving Felina in the back seat. His niece sat there pouting and gnashing her teeth, so she had to get out herself.

"At least you could have done was open my door," Felina spat.

Commander Feral looked surprised by Felina's rant, so he quickly apologized and took her inside, leaving Callie with the mayor and Jake and Chance.

Jake walked up to Callie with a smile that she always saw. "Evening, Callie!" Jake said. "Please, allow me to be of service."

Now if there was one thing all she-kats liked, it was a man who always ready to do his job, and Jake was one of them. Callie just stood there smiling at him, and he started to look a little worried.

Callie's smile fell when she saw Jake's expression. "What's wrong?" she asked, as he fiddled with his neck tie.

"Nothing," he lied, "I just-"

Callie's smile returned and even grew a little as she watched him check her out. If he thinks I look good with this coat on, then wait till he sees this. she thought impishly

She unbuttoned her coat and shrugged it off, throwing it to Chance who caught it. The dress was a dark red that was held up by two thin shoulder straps. The bodice was fitted to her form but still loose enough to allow her to breathe. The hem of the dress was a few inches above her knee on one side but ran up diagonally to above mid-thigh on the other side.

The dress she had chosen was not completely appropriate for the event she was about to attend, but for the first time Callie didn't really care. When she heard that Jake was going to be one of the valets, she felt like the choice of what to wear had been taken out of her paws. But since Chance and the mayor was here, she felt a little upset. But to be honest, it was Jake's eye she really wanted to catch. And it looked like she had succeeded with flying colors.

Jake's eyes were not only admiring her, but her dress as well. He swallowed hard as Callie's new position allowed him to get an eyeful of her cleavage. Surely she had to know what kind of view she was giving him.

With a gentle smile, Callie handed Jake her keys. "Let's hope you don't return it with a dented door like the last valet did," she said, then walked off to join the commander and Felina.

Jake's mouth dropped and his heart started beating like a drum. Wow, if that wasn't so hot, Id think Callie was flirting with me. Jake thought with a smile.

Mayor Manx, despite his old age was unable to keep his eyes off of Callie as he followed her to the opening party. Now Chance and Jake were alone.

"Whatever you do, don't let her down..." Chance said, unable to get Callie in that dress out of his head. Jake was still standing there, rooted like a tree. "You got that right," he sighed.

Once Callie and Mayor Manx entered the penthouse suite, the party was already booming. The bar was serving drinks and the music filled the room. But there was one kat Callie didn't want to see here, it was Lt. Steele.

"Hey there beautiful.." he smiled, taking a sip of his red wine, "This is a dream come true. Would you like to dance or have a drink with me first?"

"Lt Steele..." she sighed. "I'm very busy right now.."

"Yeah you are," he groaned, but still was smiling. He was clearly drunk, but so far he was able to control himself around the other guests.

Mayor Manx saw that if Lt. Steele didn't stop bothering Callie, then it would ruin his chance to make a good impression around Mr. Young.

"Ah Callie!" Mayor Manx said, stepping in between them them.

"Yes, Mayor Manx!" Callie said quickly, pasting on a wide smile for his benefit.

Manx ran his paws down his expensively tailored tuxedo, flicking off a piece of lint that only he could see. "I'm sorry about Lt. Steele bothering you, but I really need you two to be on your best behavior." His eyes looked around the room, picking out Mr. Young and other kats he knew had money to spare and he made careful mental notes about schmoozing them up later, after they were at least a little inebriated. Then he took Callie by the hand. "Would you like a drink Callie, hmm?"

Callie wasn't all that fond of red wine, but if there was some Jack Daniels-which she loved-then she would have a drink. "Sure," she shrugged.

After a drink with Mayor Manx, Callie was led over to Mr. Young and three kats she had never met.

"Mr. Young, I want you to meet Miss. Callie Briggs, the deputy mayor of MegaKat City," he smiled. Mr. Young looked her over, smiled and held out his hand. "Pleased to meet you," he said politely.

"It's an honor, Mr. Young," she replied, shaking Mr. Young's paw warmly. "I have heard a lot about the Young family."

Now Callie talked a few minutes with Mr. Young about family history, then he asked if she wanted a drink, Callie nodded. She had a small glass of white wine and then dismissed herself.

"Hey, Callie," Lt. Steele belched loudly. Was there ever a end to his constant rudeness? "Would you care to share a table with me?" he asked. Callie shook her head and walked off, leaving him to finish his drink.

Commander Feral was glad when he was allowed to drift off and get something to eat and drink. There was plenty of food and drinks, so everyone was encouraged to mingle and trade information that way.

Since he hadn't taken the time to eat, he was famished and made his way to the huge buffet table to get himself something to munch on. As he grabbed a small plate and filled it with a variety of things he muttered to himself. "I hate these events."

"Tell me about it." A silvery voice murmured at his side.

Feral glanced to his right and met a pair of bewitching emerald eyes staring at him in mild amusement. The she-kat had a powerful built, was six inches shorter than himself, had silver colored fur and beautiful auburn hair that was held in an elaborate ponytail. She was dressed in a uniform from Dagwood City.

"I'm Kate La Fleur," She said warmly as she continued to load a plate she was holding.

"Ulysses Feral." Feral said with a nod as he turned back to loading his own plate.

Kate smiled. "It's an honor to meet you, Commander. I've heard a lot about you." she said commiserating with him.

Felina was a little shocked to see her uncle with a lovely she-kat, but he did have that effect on most girls he met. In the corner of her eye, she saw Lt. Steele make another move on Callie.

"Hey... I can really show you the latest dance, Miss Briggs," he groaned, totally drunk from all the wine he had been drinking. Callie had lost her cool with Steele and her only reply was, "Get a life looser."

Now if you think Lt. Steele would have learned his lesson, then you are wrong. Without thinking he said the most vile, disgusting thing Callie had ever heard. "Well, if I didn't know any better I would say that dress was made for a whore like you," then with a drunk smile he threw his drink in her face. Callie's eye shadow was washed off with red wine and her dress got soaked.

Callie felt her heart tare in two. She had never been so insulted in all her life, so with tears running down her cheeks, she ran out of the room crying. Many guests were stunned to see what befell the deputy mayor, and Felina was the first to act.

"You're a sick pervert Steele!" she shouted, slapping him across the face. Lt. Steele fell backwards and Mr. Young and Mayor Manx only frowned at him. Steele could tell he was in big trouble.

"Would it help to say I'm sorry?" he asked, but nothing he said would save his hide.

When Callie made it to the parking lot, she couldn't see her car, but she did see Jake. He stood leaning against the wall just waiting for something to happen. Looking over, the tom saw Callie walking up to him. Her eye shadow was gone and her dress smelled like red wine. Jake then noticed how upset she was and figured something bad happened at the party.

"Callie? Are you alright?" he asked. Callie shook her head. "No. Lt. Steele insulted me and ruined a lovely party for me. I just want to go home-NOW." She then looked him in the eye and asked, "Could you drive me?"

"Sure," he said softly. Jake felt angry that Lt. Steele had hurt Callie's feelings, but right now he was going to take care of her.

As Jake sat in the drivers seat, he remained very quiet, but Callie broke the silence.

"How was your night, Jake?" she asked, sparking up a conversation with him.

"Oh...pretty lame," he replied.

"But I bet you don't normally drive pretty girls around on the clock, though..." Jake was able to smile, because she was right, but Callie wanted a answer. "Do you?" she added.

Jake felt a little nervous, but he said, "Well, no...but my shift as a valet is over now, so it's all good." But he didn't take his eye off the road, and all Callie wanted was for him to look at her. Then a wicked idea popped into her head.

"I see..." she smiled, then pulled her left shoulder strap down her arm to let her cleavage to show more. She felt very naughty for doing this, but it felt so good to tease him a little.

Callie purred then leaned in beside his head and whispered seductively in his ear, "Jake? Do you find me attractive?"

Jake turned his head to look at her, but his eyes quickly traveled to her chest. His face turned red and he fumbled his words. "I-uhh-need to," Callie found this amusing.

"Well?" she asked with a smile. Finally Jake found the words he was trying to say. "Yes, you're a very lovely girl and Lt. Steele can only see that when it comes to the thought of getting it on."

Callie's smile became brighter and she couldn't help but feel drawn to Jake. Was he the kat for her? Or was she only thinking that because of the wine she drank? Whatever the reason it was, she loved it.

A few minutes later Jake and Callie arrived at her apartment. He parked on the curb and quickly got out and opened Callie's door like a gentleman. The deputy mayor was touched by his good manners and she undid her seat belt.

"Thanks for driving me, Jake," Callie sighed, tired from all that happened today. She then hugged Jake, who was surprised by her sudden action, but he kind of liked-No! He loved it.

Still, something was missing.

Music to dance to. Jake thought to himself. "Callie, would you honor me with a dance?" he asked.

Callie felt her heart flutter, as the very question was music to her ears. "Yes," she giggled.

Jake pulled out a small Sony CD player and inserted a disk. Then the music started. Callie flowed gracefully into the rhythm of the waltz. She loved to dance, but it was a pleasure that was usually denied her. Jake's movements were a little rigid at first, but as he gained confidence in himself the steps and turns came much more naturally to him. The purr she had been holding back would be denied no longer and it welled up from deep in her chest.

Jake nearly missed a step when he both felt and heard Callie start to purr, recovering himself and getting back on rhythm. While not exactly experienced in these matters, he knew that a purr like this could never be faked. It both soothed and excited him, a fact that made him clutch Callie just a little tighter. For the first time in his life, he was glad his mother and father had forced those dancing lessons on him.

I love her. he thought to himself.

I love him. Callie thought to herself.

When the waltz was over, Callie was sure that Jake would stop dancing with her, but he led her through a tango more intricate than she thought she was capable of. But with him as her partner she flew through the steps, giving herself over to the music fully. By the time he dipped her low to the ground to end the dance, her heart was racing for more than one reason.

"Jake, I love you," Callie said as she looked him straight in the eyes. Jake wasn't expecting this. At first he thought of this as just a way to cheer Callie up, but after dancing with her. He no longer thought of her as just a friend, but something much, much more. Jake thought about it more in his head and replied back.

"I-I love you too, Callie," Jake said, before their lips met and they shared their first kiss. The kiss was full of love and Callie now knew in her heart that Jake was her true love. What started out as friends became something much better.

And they never would worry about what their friends would say, because they had the bond of love, and it was unbreakable.

THE END.