Part 4
The Sun rose over the bordello and was shining high overhead before anything condescended to finally start stirring. Star woke up and wondered why her pillow was so furry, when she realized that she had been drooling on Percy's chest. Raising one hand to her throbbing head, she slowly gathered her senses to remember the impromptu 'Save the World' party that had gone on last night.
Carefully, she tried to sit up. It was a failure on two counts. First off, her head tried to explode the moment she sat up. The second problem was a direct result of the first. The pain in her head caused her to thump back down on the bed, accidentally elbowing Percy in the nose. The burly biker woke up swinging. Star barely got out of the line of fire in time.
"Whoa Honey! Time out." She dodged a flying fist. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pop you in the nose."
"Huh? What? …Oh." Percy smiled. "Hi."
"Hi yourself. Do you always wake up like that?" Watching him rub his nose, she couldn't help but smile sheepishly. "Never mind don't answer that. How's your head this morning?"
Groggily Percy looked up at the little blonde and ran one hand up and down the soft skin on her back. "My head is fine. Thanks for asking."
"Mmm.. no problem. You want some breakfast?" Star arched her back, pressing herself firmly up against him. The warm strength that emanated from the man was in no way diminished by sobriety.
"Yup." Percy grinned. "Time to rally the troops." He scratched his chest and winked. "How's your head?" Instead of an answer he was rewarded with a warm wet kiss.
"Getting better by the second." She said softly, once she came up for air. "Do you think anybody else is up?"
"Do you want to flip a coin to see who has to go wake up Mique?" The big man asked like he'd rather stop a rampaging bull.
"Wakes up ugly does he? So does Melly. Maybe we should send one of the girls." Star laughed at the mental image the idea invoked. "On second thought, maybe I'd better go."
Wrapping a blue silk kimono around her slim frame, she paused to give the biker another quick peck before trudging up the stairs to the room at the end of the hall. She opened the door and almost had to sigh at how cute her sister looked curled around the smaller furry form in bed with her. 'I wonder what happened here' she mused. 'Ah what the hell…' She kicked the end of the bed.
Opening one eye, Melly looked up at her sister blearily. "Go 'way Star. I'm sleeping."
"Is that all?" Star enquired archly, looking pointedly at the bed.
Coming fully awake, Melly swore softly. Other than where Mique was casually draped across her, she was completely bare.
Mel looked up at her sister and then back down at the cat man. "Hey he's a manx." She said with a stupid smile. "I mean… I thought he had a tail."
"And that's all you're going to say, am I right?" Star shook her head in mock disgust. "Better wake Fuzzy there up. Percy's getting things ready to move out, and he wants to talk to him."
"Fuzzy? Oh, he's gonna love that." She reached out and gave Mique a gentle shake. "Mique… wake up."
Mewing like a kitten, Mique stirred slowly. His first impression, after the dull thudding in his head, was the warm breast under his whiskers. "God! I've died and gone to titty heaven." He murmured and cuddled even closer.
"Mique!" Melly fairly hissed his name and gave him a little push. "Not now. Percy's looking for you."
"Okay mom I'm awake." Mique stretched moving slowly and opened his eyes to meet Melly's gaze. "Shit!" He slowly looked over his shoulder at Star. "Have I been bad?"
"You ever anything else?" she smirked at him. "I'm going down for breakfast, you two get your stories straight and then come down."
Melly watched her sister saunter out the door. Sometimes Star was a real pain, not that that had anything to do with the immediate situation. Look down, she realized that Mique was looking at her again. "What?"
"Are you sore at all?" He asked. Since he hadn't been beaten to a pulp the only thing he could surmise was that although things had gotten friendly, very friendly, he hadn't done anything to be drawn and quartered for… Yet.
"Asshole. Are you?" She saw the look in his eyes as he opened his mouth to answer, and forestalled the rude comment she just knew was coming. "Never mind. I don't need to know. Nothing happened, it couldn't have." Her tone was positive, too much so really. It was almost as if she were daring him to disagree with her.
Not that she intended to give him the chance to. Disentangling herself, she got out of the bed. As she looked around for her clothes, she started to laugh helplessly. Both her clothes and Mique's lay in a straight line, one piece at a time, between the door and the bed.
"Oh Ha Ha, very funny." Mique gathered the little bit masculine pride he had left and cradled his tender skull in his paws. He was certain now that he hadn't made it past third base. Otherwise he'd have been a floor mat by now. "Still friends?"
"Always." There was no trace of hesitation in her voice. "Even when you piss me off. Now get your lazy butt out of bed, there's a world to be saved."
"Yes Ma'am!" Mique saluted and rolled to the far side of the bed. "Oh by the way…" He said with a smirk as he watched Melly pull her clothes back on. "Very nice…"
Caught in the act of bending over to put on her socks, Melly shot him a dirty look. "Shithead. You're not supposed to look, you know. C'mon. Time's a wasting. I'll see you downstairs." Groaning as she straightened up too fast, she jerked the door open. As she went out the door, she was muttering under her breath. "Damn teeth have fur on them."
Dragging on his jeans and the sleeveless sweatshirt, Mique tried to catch her attention. "Honey, sleep with a catman, wake up with fur on your teeth."
Melly turned and shot him another dirty look, but never said a word. Discretion being the better part of valor and all that, she continued out the door. Oddly enough the hallway was a hive of activity. There were fully a dozen of the girls running this way and that, most of them in jeans and carrying backpacks. 'What the hell was Star up to now?' Looking askance at all the commotion, she hurried off to find her sister.
The rumble of bikes thundered up from the small parking lot. Mique barely had a chance to wolf down the toast that was shoved into his paws before he was flying down the highway on a chopper with Melly hanging on for all she was worth .
Once they'd been on the road a while, Melly relaxed enough to look around. Star had shut the whole house down by the look of things. The girls were scattered through the pack on the backs of the bikes, and her sister was clinging to Percy like a burr. Tapping Mique on the shoulder, she hollered against the wind "Do you know where we're going?"
"West!" The wind whipped away any further conversation.
"West," she muttered to herself "West. The mountains, and god forbid… Mom." Leaning into Mique's back, she tried not to think about that. There was no reason they would have to stop there, no reason at all.
The small town met the embrace of the cadre of motormen like a friendly hug. Cradled in the foothills, a small army of eager attendants raced out to wipe down windshields and fuel up the rumbling Harleys in line for fuel.
A trip into the gas bar to use the washrooms, and grab some munchies at the counter gave Star and Melly the chance to talk.
"You better hope Mom isn't out and about." Melly's voice was dry. "Why'd we have to stop here for crying out loud?"
"Oh, c'mon Mel. It's the last place to get gas before we get into the Parks. Where else would we stop? Besides, Mom won't be anywhere near here. Its Saturday morning, she's probably still got those TaiChi classes." Star spoke briskly, unwilling to even contemplate running into her mother.
Karma being what it is, both of the sisters looked up just in time to see a lemon yellow Honda Accord float into the gas station and cough to a stop.
Mel looked at the little car in disbelief. "She's still driving right up until she's running on fumes. Daddy must still belong to the Auto Club. Is there anywhere to hide in here?" She looked around the little station in desperation. It looked like the restroom was their only option.
Mique took it upon himself to wander up to his favorite human and wrap one arm around her waist. "Hey babe, who's the chick?"
That earned him his first solid smack in the back of the head that day. "That's no chick, it's Mom…" the magnitude of horror this fact engendered was evident in Melly's voice and behaviour. Ducking down behind him, she whispered plaintively "Save me."
(c) 2000 S. Day & M.C. Sak