Sovrano

Tequila

"Come on, Tequila, it's time for your bath!" I huffed as I leaned down on my hands and knees, blindly grasping under my bed for my cat. A soft paw with very sharp claws batted my hand away and a low meow came from under the bed. I sneezed repeatedly as my hand stirred up the dust under my bed. I had to clean under there at one point or another. Who knows what else could be living there? Not to mention all the things that either I've shoved under there or Tequi;a probably dragged in there to play with.

"Okay, Quila, this wouldn't have happened if you didn't go outside and decide to roll in the mud. Now, out!" I groaned and I pulled her out by her paw. Tequila meowed and tried to scrabble away, but the hardwood floors gave her no traction, and her long, gray fur didn't help either. Even if it was caked in dried mud.

I held my stubborn kitty in my gloved hands (AKA my defense against claws) and walked towards the bathroom. Kicking the door shut behind me, I set Tequila down on the floor of the small bathroom and she immediately slinked down low with her white belly touching the ground, and tried to look for an escape. "Nuh-uh Missy, you're not getting out of here that easy," I told her while wagging my finger like a parent scolding their child. My arm rose up to wipe away the short strands of hair that were clinging to my sweaty face. God, getting her in the bathroom was hard enough, but washing her? That was practically impossible. After feeding Tequila her favorite treats that were reserved for baths and vet visits, I filled the bathtub up with a few inches of warm water, and dimmed the lights. Then, I played Tequila's favorite song, (Shake me down by Cage the Elephant) and sat her in the tub gently.

All hell broke loose when her fuzzy bean toe touched the water. Tequila let out an angry mreowl and thrashed in my arms, swiping her dangerously sharp claws at anything and everything she could hit. I hissed as she caught my cheek and damn well nearly dropped her in the tub. I began talking to her in soothing tones as I slowly lowered her down into the tub.

"It's okay, baby. You're okay! Look at you, you're doing so well," I cooed and she slowly stopped wriggling in my arms. The water slowly turned brown as I wet her fur and rubbed cat shampoo all over her back. When I tried to rub her tummy, Tequila let out a warning growl and I halted. Good enough.

I wasted no time getting Tequila out and drying her off with a towel. Trust me, you wouldn't either if you had to frequently bathe a mischievous little feline that enjoyed mud and the outdoors, yet absolutely despised water as all cats do.

A knock was sounded at my front door and I stood up from my kneeling position on the ground, straightening out my sweatpants and purple flannel. As I opened the bathroom door, Tequila zoomed out of the bathroom and went to hide under my bed. I walked quickly across my studio apartment and reached for the lock. I noticed that I was still wearing those ugly bright green gloves that were meant for protecting your hands when using bleach, or in this case cat claws, and stripped them off only to toss them in a corner.

"Hello?" I questioned as I opened the door and wiped my sweaty hands on my flannel. When I looked up I was startled to come face to chest with a very, very muscular man. "Umm..." My eyes slowly trailed up until they met his face. I took in his tan skin, dark hair and well-sculpted facial features. His dark brown eyes were framed with long eyelashes, his cheeks were freckled with semi-light freckles, and his hollow cheeks were covered with stubble. I closed my eyes and shook my head a little before snapping them back open and realizing how weird that must have looked.

He leaned forward a little bit, amusement obvious in his gaze, and I narrowed my eyes as I stared straight up at him. "You have a scratch," his hand reached out to touch my cheek and I backed my face away from it. Who the hell? "Right there," he finally said, brushing my cheek with his thumb before he leaned back. I stared at him blankly for point two seconds before opening my mouth.

"Okay? So you came here from wherever to tell me that I have a scratch on my face? How the fuck did you even know? Who the hell are you?" I asked him, my arms folding in front of my chest and disbelief evident in my tone of voice. He smirked and his dark brown eyes looked me up and down, probably taking in my outfit, before landing back on my face.

"I'm Bastiano DeRose, your new neighbor," he said, a faint accent tinging his words. He leaned a little to the side and I caught sight of the once-empty apartment across the hall from me fully furnished. I opened my mouth to say something, I'm not sure what, and blinked in surprise as Tequila made her presence known as she ran past me and squeezed out the front door, her slightly damp fur brushing past my calve where my sweatpants rose up.

"Tequila!" I screeched as she ran straight into Bastiano DeRose's new apartment.