Did Renee lace my punch with something? I don't know, and I don't want to find out what it was if she did. But why else would I have jumped into Dren's arms like we were newlyweds, then started freaking out the moment we got into my bedroom? Someone must have slipped something into my drink.
He looked like he was clueless too. That I did not understand. Dren looked like the kind of guy who would have had a million girlfriends back home. Could it really be possible that I wasn't the only virgin in the relationship?
Silently thanking Renee for this excuse to calm down in private, I held up Renee's present bag and said, "I'm just gonna go… change into this."
"You do that," he said. Was it just me, or did he seem to relax at the idea of me leaving the room?
Once I was in the connecting bathroom (because of my wounds, Elliot had given me the only room in the café with a connecting bathroom so I wouldn't have to walk too far when I needed to go), I looked myself in the mirror and started shouting, "Stupid, stupid, STUPID! Why would I ever think someone like him would ever want someone like me?"
"You're such a drama queen, kitty," he called.
"Were you eavesdropping on me?"
"No… it's just that you're shouting at the top of your lungs."
"Uh… well… um… you see… the thing is…" I could feel my knees buckling under me as my body began to sway. Of course Dren picked up on this. He ran in and caught me seconds before I hit the ground.
Of course it was a little bit embarrassing, because my dress was halfway off, revealing my pink lace bra with strawberries (it was my favorite, so I only wore it on special days – like my birthday!).
"I'll let you change in peace," he said, putting me down safely and walking out. After he was gone, I took my time in changing, feeling the silk against my barely-covered body (geez, Renee, you couldn't have bought me pajamas?).
"Hey, Zoey, are you still alive? You've been in there for an awfully long time."
"Uh… yeah! Never been better. I'm coming out right now." When I walked out of that bathroom, I swear, I thought his jaw was going to drop to the South Pole.
"You hate it, don't you? Oh, I just knew you'd hate it. It's so not me. I'm changing back."
"Now why on Earth would you want to do that?" Now that was the reaction I was looking for. My cat instincts kicked in and I tackled him onto the bed.
We kissed and kissed, and just as things were really heating up, I looked down at myself and saw black paws instead of hands. Then I realized Renee's beautiful silk dress was gone, and black fur had replaced it.
I tried to talk, but all that came out were meows. "Meow! Meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow, meow meow meow meow meow meow meow!" "Dren! I don't know what's happened to me, but I turned into a cat!"
"Zoey, what the heck? Where did you go?"
"Meow meow." "Down here."
"What? A cat! She looks just like Zoey."
"Meow meow meow
meow meow meow!" "That's because it is me!"
"I don't speak cat."
"Meow meow meow. Meow meow meow meow meow meow." "Oh brother. This is going nowhere."
"I'm confused. Zoey is gone, and a really cute black cat is in her place."
"Meow meow meow meow meow meow." "This should be obvious."
"Well, as cute as you are cat, I have to get rid of you. It's my girlfriend's eighteenth birthday, and if you're gone, maybe she'll come out of hiding and…"
"Meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow. Meow meow meow meow meow?" "Apparently I have to take matters into my own hands. Or should I say paws?"
I jumped onto his chest and kissed him. That caused me to turn back into normal.
"Whoa. Did a cat just kiss me?"
"It was me, you idiot!" I slapped him on the face.
"I'm sorry, but like I said, you were speaking cat and I don't speak cat!"
"No, I'm sorry. I guess I should have told you. When I get really excited or embarrassed, I turn completely into a cat. Not just ears and tail. A full cat."
"Well, nice to know. Do you want to get back to where we were before you turned into a cat?" He was obviously trying hard not to smile, but a playful grin was creeping onto his face.
Any other time I would have automatically said no, that the mood was ruined, and changed back into my regular clothes and went back downstairs to join the party (or whatever was left of it). But instead, I pulled back the covers and got under the bed, motioning for him to join me.
Now that he understood. Which just proves that Cyniclon boys are still boys underneath the pointy ears and fangs and weird clothing choices.
"I love you, Zoey," he murmured.
"I love you too, Dren," I whispered back. And if I knew him (and I did know him, and soon would know him in the biblical sense), his heart was probably exploding in his chest just from those five simple words.
He opened his mouth to say something, but I shut him up with a kiss. "Don't talk," I said. "Just kiss me."
And he happily did. And then one thing led to another, and that thing led to another thing, and…
Basically, to put it bluntly, I lost my virginity that night. And looking back now, I don't regret it in the slightest.