CB: Cat and Mouse, -IV-
She's leaning against the railing, a pair of black binoculars up to her eyes, watching the horses race around their little circular track. It seems, though, that for once she's not betting on them. I walk up and stand next to her, and she doesn't comment for a long moment before saying, "I thought stalking was illegal."
"It's not really stalking, is it?"
She glances at me, a faint curl of her painted lips the only response she gives me to that question, and my body starts to itch for her. It happened when I woke up, which is what had me thrashing against Jette to get off the Bebop and after her, but once I'd healed a bit, it seemed to disappear.
Until a few weeks ago, when I thought I saw her on an advertisement for swimsuits, and my body went cold and stiff. And then the itch started again.
"So would you mind telling me what you're really doing here, Spike?" she lets the binoculars hang down around her neck, "and don't say looking for me. Unless there's some bounty on my head that I don't know about?"
"No. No bounty," I reply, finding my eyes forcing themselves away from her. I can't stand to look at her for long, because I stop thinking, and I'm not going to be able to get her back if I can't think straight.
She's too smart for that. She's never been a puppy that would follow me around.
She's much more like a cat, achingly independent, but domesticated all the same. I lean against the railing, hands spread to bear up my weight as I watch the race she was just watching, and finally see the single ticket clutched in her hand.
She arches a brow at me, and I chuckle. "You never change, do you, Faye?" I ask in a soft voice.
"No," comes her quiet response, "no I suppose I don't." She turns to face the race as well, and leans on the railing, but one of her hands lands right on top of mine. I turn to look over at her, and find that she isn't paying any attention to me… her entire being seems focused on the horse race.
And then the thundering hoof beats come to an end, and they're announcing the winner over the loudspeaker. I start to say something, but she hushes me. "Oh my god," she says quietly, the pale, smaller hand on mine gripping it tightly as she turns towards me, voice raising as she repeats, "Oh my god! Spike… I won!"
In another moment, I find myself with my arms full of her, and she's holding tightly onto me, and I close my eyes and soak in her warmth and the smell of her hair before she pulls away and starts jumping up and down excitedly.
"But how much have you lost today?" I can't help but ask as she struts her way over to the cashier.
"Nothing. That was my only bet," she says in a proud, stubborn voice. "Come on, Spiegel," she turns to cast an appraising glance over her shoulder, "I think this is cause for a celebration."
