Barry's Old Warehouse, Warehouse District, Monday Afternoon

[spin_kick_snap]

All of Kathy's cleaning yesterday had paid off and the warehouse was much more livable today. All the broken furniture had been tossed, though very little had been moved in to replace it, and everything that could be swept, scrubbed, or tidied had been. Kathy had ended up crashing up in the loft in a nest of pillows and blankets that she'd managed to scrounge from various stores around the island and Ikea. The loft itself was more of an open platform jutting out from a wall than a proper room, so Kathy hadn't even tried to make it resemble a bedroom. If anything, it was a colorful blanket fort with two hammocks strung in the corners. It was truly ridiculous, but she loved it. She'd also destroyed the stairs leading up to loft, replacing it with a knotted rope that dangled from the ceiling all the way to the floor. Eventually, she'd add a ladder and some kind of pulley system to help get other people up, but last night she'd slept more soundly than she had since Mexico, up in the air where nothing could get to her.

This morning had involved a run to JGoB's for frosted cranberry scones slathered with creamy honey-butter and now she was wandering the warehouse, debating how much furniture she'd actually need to replace and where it would all go while waiting for Dante to show up with the hair dye.

Not a bad Monday, overall.

[For the guy mentioned but also open!]

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

"Whatever happened to 'I just give orgasms'?" Kathy snorted, with her usual excellent mimicry of Dante's voice. "Mmmhmmm."

[rebelseekspizza]

"The cats just needed a place," Dante protested.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Because your beds and the desks and the bureaus certainly weren't enough room," Kathy said with a sage nod, fighting off a smile. "That's ridiculous."

[rebelseekspizza]

Dante squinted at her. "Whatever you're doing with your face," he said, "Stop it."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy immediately adopted a sadder and more solemn expression. "It's just my face," she protested. "Don't you like my face?"

[rebelseekspizza]

"Not when you're doing stuff with it," Dante said, pointing at it.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Fucking liar," Kathy said, bursting into giggles. "I can name a bunch of things you like my face doing. I'd offer to remind you, but you said I'm not allowed to start shit."

[rebelseekspizza]

"Other stuff!" Dante exclaimed, rolling his eyes at her.

[spin_kick_snap]

"You mean like expressions?" Kathy asked. "The things your face just does normally in the course of feeling emotions? Those things?"

Smart ass.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Yeah, stop doing those," Dante informed her, sliding his fingers into her waistband.

[spin_kick_snap]

"How you gonna make me?" Kathy asked, looking up at him with a rebellious tilt to her chin. Her lips curved into a smile.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Like... this."

Sliding his hands under her shirt and tickling her!

[spin_kick_snap]

"Oh my god you are such an asshole!" Kathy squealed, trying in vain to get away from his hands. "Let go, you bra--ahahahaha! I THOUGHT I WASN'T SUPPOSED TO FLAIL AROUND WITH BLEACH IN MY HAIR!"

[rebelseekspizza]

"What're you gonna do, get the color outta my hair?" Dante cackled, not letting up.

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'll bite you is what I'm going to do!" Kathy threatened, still wiggling in his grip. He'd been smart enough to go under her top, so she couldn't even slip out of her clothes and break free.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Uh huh," Dante said.

Abruptly, he flattened the palms of his hands against her lower back, pulling her in.

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy, intent on trying to get free, was taken by surprise by this maneuver. It was anybody's guess to figure out which played more a role in keeping her upright: her unnatural dexterity or Dante's grip. Suddenly she was pressed right up in his personal space, no longer being tickled.

"Might I hope this is mercy?" she asked.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Not quite," Dante said.

And kissed her very, very carefully, so he didn't get bleach on his face.

[spin_kick_snap]

Who needed mercy? Kissing was infinitely better.

She stayed very still, also worried about getting bleach in his face, with only her hands moving, trying to slide under his shirt and up over his chest. She liked the feel of his skin under her palms, warm and taut over muscle, his heartbeat thudding against her fingertips.

And, okay, she did bite him. But only a little bit and his lower lip had it coming.