Shelter Pet Pt. 01

"Sounds good." I paused for a second. "Can I take it in a kitty bowl on the floor? I want to experience a little of everything during my trial weekend."

"Sure, if you're ready for that."

I crawled over and brushed my cheek against Mandy's leg. Occasionally, she would take a break from stirring to reach down and stroke my hair. I was treated to about three minutes of intermittent petting before my bowl was placed on the floor next to the table.

I heard the clink of Mandy's spoon. I was still trying to determine the best angle of attack for not getting my face all messy. I thought I did a pretty good job in the end, though she still had to wipe me clean.

*

I was being extra careful as we traipsed down the stairs to the barn, since the rolled up cuffs on Mandy's loaner overalls kept wanting to come loose.

"You should probably bring some boots or old shoes if you decide to stay the summer. For now, I'll just give you the clean jobs."

"OK. Thanks." I followed Mandy past the rows of stalls that had been converted to little kitty communes. "What kind of farm was this?"

"Dairy farm. Belonged to my uncle Don. Never married or had any kids, so he left it to me." Mandy plucked up a tiny kitten and handed it to me along with a bottle.

"And you converted it to an animal shelter?" The kitten was sucking at the bottle while I held her in the crook of my arm.

"Jeff and Willow helped. He's a whiz with carpentry. Loves to build stuff." Mandy was scooping cat food from a large plastic drum and dispensing it into bowls as we walked along.

"Like the cat climber?"

"Nah, that was built by my previous tenant, Dakota. Jeff is good, but she was a genius. I think her family built custom furniture or something."

"I'd like to try it out before I go." The kitten in my arms had drunk her fill and was now curling up for a nap.

"You sure about that? You don't have to." Mandy lifted the sleeping kitten from my arms and put her back in with the rest of her litter.

"No, I want to."

"Why don't you run through the shower first, Brianna. You smell like cat."

I stuck my tongue out at her.

*

I sat down on the part of the cat climber Mandy pointed out. It was nicely padded and comfortable. At first, I had it the wrong way around and she had to show me how it worked. It was like sitting on a high-back dining room chair, only backwards. My legs were forced apart by the back as I straddled the seat. My hands clenched at straps that looked like they were meant to be buckled. Mandy was busy stroking my hair.

"OK, Brianna, I won't do anything that will hurt you. But if you get scared, you can say slow down or stop, and I will." Mandy stood beside me holding what looked like a short length of braided rope in her hand. About a third of the way down, the rope strands were no longer braided, but hanging free. Each strand ended in a little knot.

"What is that?"

"You like it? I braided it myself from paracord. Found the plans on the internet."

"Looks scary."

"It can be, but not today. I promised I wouldn't hurt you. Do you think you can trust me?" Mandy stroked my cheek.

I thought about that for a moment. My clothes were in the front closet, along with my car keys. The deadbolt on the front door didn't require a key from the inside. The gravel driveway might sting a little if I were running barefoot, but it wouldn't be enough to stop me. And, Mandy had left my hands unbuckled. "OK, I trust you."

I shivered as I felt the knotted ends of the paracord brush against my bare shoulder. "You OK?" Mandy asked. I felt the knots moving over the width of my back to the opposite side before falling free.

"Mmm-hmm," was my response as she repeated the maneuver in the opposite direction. Drop -- brush -- fall, went the knots. Drop -- brush -- fall. After the third repetition my shivering stopped. Drop -- brush -- fall. "Mmm."

"Oooh." The knots began making lazy figure-eights on my back. They started at the top of one shoulder, did an s-curve while traveling to the small of my back, then reversed direction to come up in another s-curve. Finally, the knots leapt up from the opposite shoulder. Drop, swish, swish, leap. Drop, swish, swish, leap. "Mmm."

The swishing stopped. I sucked in a quick breath as I felt the knots return, this time on my backside. Mandy was true to her word, and it wasn't a hard slap. My guess was that she had simply picked up the ends and let them fall against my ass. The knots were then dragged up my back until they leapt off my shoulders. "Mmm." She did it again.

"You like?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"That's probably enough for now. Come sit with me on the couch and we can talk it over." Mandy offered her hand as I rose on wobbly knees.

"That was amazing," I said. I settled in and rested my head on her thigh. She was stroking my hair. "So, that's not all you do, right?"

"No. I can do it much harder for people that need it. You're not ready for that."

"You think I ever will be?"

"I don't know, Brianna. You seemed very receptive to what I was doing. If I had to guess, I'd say by the end of the summer we might be getting a bit rougher." Mandy was twirling my hair around her finger and letting it fall.

"But won't it hurt?"

"Sure it will. But by then you won't care."

"Sounds kind of crazy."

"It does if you've never experienced it." Mandy had switched from twirling my hair, back to stroking it. "Trust me, lots of people like it."

"Hmm," was my last coherent thought as I drifted off.

*

I came around to find Yoshimi wrapped around my head, purring, and the smell of something wonderful wafting over from the kitchen. "What time is it?"

"Four in the afternoon."

"Wow."

"I let you sleep, I thought you might need it. I've got salad made and I'll have chicken pot pies ready in a couple of minutes. Care to join me?"

"Sounds great."

*

Monday, May 28th

Mandy helped me get my dorm room packed up. I told her I could do it myself, but she insisted. It was a lot easier throwing everything into the back of her van instead of trying to arrange it just so in my car. I saw my roommate only briefly. I think she was a little intimidated by Mandy.

"You're sure about this summer, Brianna?" Mandy asked, as we gathered up the last of my stuff.

"Yes, it's what I want to do. Thank you so much for offering."

"Don't thank me yet. You may change your mind once you've done litterbox duty in the barn." She smiled a wry smile.

I gave her a squeeze and rested my head on her shoulder. No sooner had I done that, than my roommate and her boyfriend walked in for one last look around. Neither one of them said a word. I offered them a little wave while standing arm in arm with Mandy. That was the extent of our exchange.

*

Afterword

I hope you are enjoying the story so far, and that the streamlined style is working. I have two more parts planned for these characters as they spent their summer together. The next installment gets more physical.

Just for fun, have you figured out where Yoshimi got her name? I threw in a plush toy as a clue.

As always, thanks for reading.

-WP-