When I finally woke up, everything instantly snapped into focus. I was in my bed, still wearing my dress. Was I really that out of it last night? The events of that night replayed in my head as I slid myself out of bed. Kate kissed me… no, it was more than a kiss. So much more. But then she ran away! Tears began to fill my eyes as countless fears about our friendship surged into my head. I stumbled my way downstairs, not even bothering to get out of my wrinkled dress. I just needed a hug. A lot of hugs. Mom didn’t even have time to say good morning before I crushed myself into her. She stopped whatever she was doing to gently hold me as I cried.

“We were so worried about you, Nicole,” she cooed, “you were so unresponsive last night…”

“I’m sorry,” I choked.

“Do you think you can finish telling us what happened?” she asked softly.

“Kate kissed me…” I breathed.

“And then what happened?” Mom continued.

“She ran out of the house and drove away!” I wailed.

“It sounds like she didn’t mean to do it, sweetie,” Mom consoled me.

“I know, but this could change our friendship forever!” I began to sob harder.

Mom just cooed softly into my ear. “It’s going to be okay.”

I sniffled. “I need to go see her. I need to tell her that I’m not angry… that we can deal with this.”

Since I was calming down a bit, Mom loosened her grip on me. I felt another pair of arms retreat as well. Daddy was here too.

“I know you two can make amends,” Mom said, “I’ve never seen two girls as close as you and Kate are.”

I blushed deeply. “Mom… I think that’s the problem. I think Kate… loves me,” I said, the last two words almost coming out as a whisper.

“I’d be surprised if she didn’t, sweetie. You’re very easy to love,” Mom smiled, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“That’s not what I mean! I think Kate is in love with me!” I cried.

“You gathered that just from a kiss?” she asked.

“It wasn’t just a kiss, Mom!” I declared, “It was so much more…”

“So it was that kind of kiss,” she said, looking wistfully at Daddy for a moment, then back to me. “Try to calm down a little more before walking over, okay?”

I nodded slowly. I should probably get out of the dress, too. I’d ruined it enough already. I gave both of my parents giant hugs to calm me down a little more and then headed upstairs to change my clothes and fix my face so that it didn’t look like I had been crying so much recently.

Steeling myself, I left the house to walk to Kate’s. It was about as far away as school was, so it didn’t take me terribly long to get there. My heart caught in my throat upon seeing that Kate’s car was parked in front. She was here! I timidly rang the doorbell, and waited. I almost wanted to whimper when I saw that Kate’s Mom, not Kate herself, opened the door.

“Why, hello Nicole!” she greeted me, putting on a smile. It helped to put me at ease.

“Hi Kristen,” I replied. Kate and I were so close that her Mom eventually insisted on me calling her by her first name. “I’m sorry for coming unannounced…”

“It’s no problem at all. Please, come in,” she motioned me inside, and I gratefully followed. I decided to get right to business.

“Is Kate here?” I asked, almost as a squeak. Kristen’s smile fell apart almost immediately.

“I’m so sorry, Nicole. She left about an hour ago,” she told me.

…What? Kate was gone? No! 

“Where did she go!?” I demanded.

Kristen quickly acted on my hysterics and hugged me. “She’s staying with her cousin Jenny for the weekend,” she explained.

“No, no, no, no, no,” I started to cry.

“Did something happen between you two?” Kristen asked. I let out another sob as I nodded into her chest.

“You poor girls. Kate was as broken up as you are when she stormed in the house last night. She wouldn’t tell me what happened, just that she had arranged to stay with Jenny.”

“Why didn’t you stop her!?” I cried.

“I know I don’t know what happened last night, but Kate left her phone here. She’s isolating herself for a while because needs some time away from things to sort out her own thoughts. You do, too,” she said softly.

“My thoughts are sorted out! I just… I just want Kate back!” I sobbed.

“She’ll be back on Monday,” Kristen assured me.

“But…” I started.

“No buts,” she said in her “Mom” tone. I sniffled.

“You’ll tell me when she’s back, right?” I asked.

“Of course I will. You just think about what you’re going to say to her when that time comes, okay?” 

I nodded. Since I was calming down, Kristen handed me a tissue. I gratefully used it to blot the tears off my face, removing at least some of the evidence of my latest crying spell. “Thank you for comforting me,” I told her, “I know I’m being a little overbearing…”

“Oh, no,” she let out a laugh, “you’re positively tame compared to how I broke down when something like this happened with my high school best friend.”

“You’re still friends, right?” I asked in a tiny voice.

“Of course we are. The thing is that friends fight sometimes, and sometimes something bigger happens. If you and Kate can patch things up with each other, your friendship will be stronger for it,” Kristen assured me.

“But what if we can’t?” I was ready to cry all over again.

“Then the world is going to end, because I’ve seen your friendship with Kate grow for your entire lives and I know there is nothing that can truly separate you two,” she smiled. Her words instilled enough hope in me to rush into another hug.

“Thank you again. For everything,” I told her.

“You’re very welcome, Nicole. You’re practically a second daughter to me,” she said. For the first time all day, I managed to smile.

“I think that maybe I should go home before Mom gets worried,” I admitted after we finished our hug.

“Are you sure you’re up to walking?” she asked.

I nodded. “It’ll give me more time with just my thoughts.”

“Okay. Have a safe trip,” she said, smiling again.

“I will. Thank you again,” I told her. With another wave, I left the house in somewhat higher spirits than I expected to. I tried my best to think about Monday while I made my way home. Everything would be fixed on Monday. Mom was waiting for me when I got back, and she was more than happy to give me a hug.

“Kristen told me what happened,” she started, saving me the trouble of explaining.

“This is hurting her too,” I said softly. “She’s over there hating herself for what she did, and I can’t help her!”

“There, there. Everything will be okay on Monday,” she cooed into my ear. I just leaned into her and tried not to start crying again.

“I just want to see her again,” I said.

“I’m sure you’re in her thoughts as well.”

“I hope so,” I nodded. I heard the phone ring, but I didn’t pay attention to it. Mom seemed to, though, so I let go of her to allow her to pick up the phone.

“Hello?” she started. It sounded like Alex on the other side, and she was asking to talk to me. Mom nodded and handed me the phone.

“Alex?” I asked.

“Hey Nikki,” she answered.

“You wanted to talk?” I asked, trying not to let my somberness sneak into my voice.

“Well… it’s about Kate, really. She told all of us that she wanted all of us to get together today, but none of us have heard from her. I was kind of hoping that you might have.”

I barely held back a sob. “Something… happened between us. She’s gone to stay with her cousin for the weekend.”

“Oh, wow. It must have been something big for her to react like that!”

“Yeah…” I agreed. A short sob escaped my throat.

“I’m not helping you, am I?” she asked meekly.

“It’s not your fault,” I assured her.

“Well, how about the four of us get together for a trip to the mall? You sound like you could use some retail therapy!” Alex chimed.

“I really don’t feel like going out right now,” I sighed.

“Then we’ll come to you!” she said. She sounded like she was grinning.

“I can’t let you sacrifice your day for me!” I gasped.

“With Kate gone, our day’s already shot. Besides, you’re sad and a sad Nikki needs hugs!”

“You’re sure it’s okay with you?” I almost whispered.

“We’re your friends, and we’ll always be there for you. Okay?”

I sniffled. “Okay. Thank you.”

“I’ll be there with the gang as soon as I can,” she told me.

“Bye Alex,” I said.

“Bye Nikki!” came her answer, before she hung up. Mom got my attention while I was putting the phone back.

“Did everything go okay with Alex?” she asked.

“She’s going to come over with Jane and Kelly to make sure I’m never short on hugs today,” I said.

“That’s so sweet of them,” Mom smiled.

“And it will let you go on with your day instead of just catering to my needs,” I said, feeling guilty for my instincts. Mom just pulled me into another hug.

“Don’t you dare think for even a moment that we won’t make sure our daughter is happy and feels loved,” she told me.

“She’s right, kitten,” I heard Daddy’s voice say, “you’ll always be our priority when you’re upset.”

I felt my heart fill with their love. I worked to bring Daddy into our hug. “And… and you’ll always be mine when I’m happy,” I finally managed to say. 

“I’ll hold you to that,” Daddy said lovingly, joining our family embrace.

“I love you so much!” I cried, openly sobbing into the nearest shoulder. Both of my parents made soothing sounds until I calmed down again. I eventually decided to just wait in the living room for my friends to get here, but it wasn’t long before the doorbell was ringing! Since I was nearby, I decided to answer it. Before I could even say hello, I had one, then two, then three girls hugging me! I couldn’t help but sigh at the love I felt from my friends. It wasn’t the kind of love that I knew Kate held for me, but it was love nonetheless.

“See? I told you we should do this! It’s working already!” Jane laughed.

“Hugs solve everything!” Alex cheered.

“Come on, we’re overwhelming the poor girl,” Kelly said with a giggle, “let’s at least get inside.”

“Alright. Careful, everyone,” Alex commanded. Suddenly, I found myself being ushered along into the house, all the while with my friends still holding me! I heard the door close in our wake, but I had no idea where I was going until we were deposited on the living room couch. Only then did they let go of me. I gave them a small smile.

“You’re taking this hugging thing seriously,” I said.

“You can’t deny that hugging is serious business,” Alex said.

I shook my head. “No, I can’t. Thank you so much for coming.”

“What are friends for?” Jane asked.

“We can’t bear to see you be so upset. When you’re happy, you’re so vibrant that it makes all of us happy too!” Kelly continued.

“So you’re not allowed to be sad. Got it?” Alex grinned. 

I leaned on Jane’s shoulder, since she was closest. She responded by hugging me again. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

I closed my eyes, debating for a moment whether or not I should tell them. It might be breaking Kate’s trust, but I had a feeling that it would get out either way since it was causing such a stir. I ultimately decided that they should know.

“Kate… kissed me last night.” I said. There, it was out.

“Aaaand then she freaked out and ran away?” Kelly asked.

“Uh huh,” I nodded slowly.

Alex sighed. “And to think I thought I was actually joking about you two lezzing it up…”

And just like that, I was ready to cry all over again. Kelly heard my sob and joined Jane in hugging me again. “Alex!” she practically hissed, “Now is not the time for those kinds of jokes!”

“I do hate to say this, Nikki, but I’m not surprised that this happened,” Jane said.

“…What?” I squeaked out.

“Well… you couldn’t see the looks she gave you when you weren’t looking,” she said softly.

“She loves me,” I whispered, fighting off more sobs.

“So she lost control while you were cuddling?” Kelly surmised.

“I was just purring and licking her and then someone was kissing me…” I told them. “…it… it was the most wonderful kiss I’d ever had.”

“Are you…?” Alex started.

“No, I don’t like girls that way,” I said. Maybe this would be easier if I did...

Kelly laughed. “That’s more obvious than your ears, Nikki. Kate clearly did this on accident.”

“But she ran off before I could tell her that I wasn’t angry!” I cried.

“It sounds like you’ll get your chance on Monday,” Jane said.

“But I want to tell her now…” I said.

“I’m betting that Kate will eventually realize she overreacted and come home early, though,” Alex said.

“I hope so,” I said. Jane and Kelly’s hugs were doing their job, and I snuggled further into Jane, resting my head on her lap. Alex took the opportunity to start stroking my hair. I heard Kelly laugh.

“Looks like Jane’s getting all the attention this time!” she giggled.

I stuck my tongue out at her. “She was closest.”

“The early bird gets the worm!” Jane joined in the laughing.

“Mmmm,” I let out a small groan, “you guys are making it hard to stay sad…”

“That’s the idea!” Alex chimed, giving my head a good scratch.

“But still, I guess we won’t get any purrs from you today, huh?” Kelly asked.

“I don’t think so… but I am starting to feel tired,” I said.

“Today’s been hard on you, hasn’t it?” Jane asked.

“Uh huh,” I nodded, another tear falling down my cheek. Alex wiped it away and finally joined in the group hug again.

“We’ll always be here for each other,” Jane said. I sat up a bit and gave her a slow, deliberate lick.

“I love you guys,” I softly smiled. It really was hard to stay sad when there was so much love around me.

“Let me guess: Jane was closest again?” Kelly asked expectantly. I gave her and Alex a lick too before resting my head on Jane’s lap again. I yawned.

“I think she’s falling asleep,” Alex said.

“Your lap makes a good pillow…” I said, shifting my position to something a little more comfortable. I felt safe enough in my beloved friend’s arms that I was soon fast asleep.

I woke up later in the afternoon to find that I was still on the couch. My friends seemed to be absent, but a blanket had been gently draped over me. After performing my obligatory stretch, I got up and went to find someone. I soon learned that each of my friends had to leave during my nap for one reason for another, although Mom claimed that they were hesitant to leave me alone. I wasn’t torn up about it; I didn’t expect them to stay the entire day anyway. They had lives too, after all. Plus, Mom was preparing me a big plate of my favorite comfort foods for dinner, so I was doing okay. With my parents ready and willing to keep me company, I made it through the night with minimal issues. By the time I got to bed to sleep for real, I really felt like I could handle waiting until Monday.

>^..^<~~~~~<^..^>~~~~~>^..^<~~~~~<^..^>~~~~~>^..^<

I woke up the next morning in relatively brighter spirits. My parents seemed oddly happy about something too as I gave and received my morning hugs. They got happier when they saw that I was feeling a bit better about things. Monday was closer, after all! We went about our morning with occasional breaks to hug until the doorbell rang.

“Why don’t you go answer that, sweetie?” Mom asked, as we had just finished a hug.

“We’re expecting someone?” I asked.

“No,” she said, lightly placing her hand on my head, “you are.”

“Okay…” I said. Now that I was genuinely confused, I went to go answer the door. I knew it couldn’t be Kate, but I was still surprised to see John greet me! 

“Hey there,” he said, smiling.

“Hi,” I said, feeling my mood shoot up a few notches.

“I, well, heard that you might want some company,” he continued, giving me a hug. He closed the door behind himself once he was fully inside.

“My parents called you, didn’t they?” I asked.

He nodded. “I thought that this weekend was for you and the girls, but your Mom called me and asked me to come over since you were feeling down.”

I tenderly hugged him. “Thank you.”

“I’m here for you, okay?” he said. The girls told me the same thing yesterday. I felt so lucky to have such close friends. After I thanked Mom for getting John here, I sat with him in the living room.

“Thank you again for being here,” I told him once we were situated, “it’s hard for me to be alone right now.”

He took my hand gently. “Are you willing to talk about it?”

I blushed deeply. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to tell John what happened between Kate and I. It was easy to tell the girls, since I was certain that Kate would have told them herself… but she wouldn’t tell John. She was always willing to support our relationship, despite her growing love for me. She wouldn’t have wanted to make John feel like she was competition.

“Kate and I had a fight,” I finally decided to say, “we both kind of overreacted about something and she ran off with her cousin for the weekend before I could apologize to her. I’m scared that we can never be friends again.”

John squeezed my hand slightly. “It sounds like you two have some talking to do.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” I said solemnly.

“But I know that you’ll be able to stay friends. You mean that much to each other,” he said with enough of a smile that I couldn’t help but smile back.

“When she gets back, I’m going to march to her house and refuse to leave until we’re friends again!” I declared.

John laughed. “Now that sounds more like the Nikki I know.”

“Trust me. I was an absolute wreck on Friday. I’m doing a lot better now,” I assured him.

“It’s closer to Monday, right?” he observed.

I nodded, leaning into his chest. “But I’m going to get so nervous right before I go to her house.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” he asked. My heart fluttered at his willingness to help me.

“I’d love for you to be there, but this is something I have to do alone.”

“I understand,” he said. Silence prevailed for a while after that, with us just enjoying the fact that we were with each other. I eventually started to feel a little drowsy before the phone rang across the house and woke me right up. A few moments later, Mom came into the room, saying that it was for me. Confused once again, I took the phone.

“Hello?” I asked.

“Hey girlfriend!” Alex’s voice called out.

“Hi Alex,” I answered.

“Feeling better today?” she asked.

“A lot,” I smiled.

“We’re sorry for running out on you while you were asleep. Things just came up,” she explained.

“It’s okay,” I assured her, “my parents kept me all hugged out for the evening.”

“We can come over again if you need us,” she offered.

“Don’t worry about me today. I really am doing better, and I’ve got John here to keep me company.”

“And tomorrow’s the promised day, right?”

“Why don’t we meet at the mall on Monday after Kate and I patch things up? All of us.”

“That sounds like a great idea! I’ll start spreading the word.”

“Thanks, Alex.”

“No problem! Have fun with John, okay?”

I let out a giggle. My first in a long time. “I’ll try.”

“See you on Monday!” were her last words before hanging up. Mom retrieved the phone from me before I sat with John again.

“Was that something good?” he asked.

“When Kate and I make up tomorrow, we’re all going to meet at the mall. Are you free?” I asked.

“Of course. It’s Spring break!” he laughed.

“Good,” I smiled, sitting closer to him. Before I reached him, though, he gently took my tail and placed it in his lap. He was lucky that it was long enough to get there without lifting my skirt!

“You know, I keep forgetting that you’ve got this little thing,” he said. He was obviously getting our subject away from Kate, so I just smiled at him.

“Well, I’ve gotten really good at keeping it out of the way,” I told him.

“You’re always hiding it under a skirt, after all,” he observed.

“It’s always a little uncomfortable to have my tail sticking out of a hole. It prefers to be free!” I chimed.

John laughed. “Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear anything but skirts and dresses.”

“Well, duh. I’m a girl!” I grinned. I liked this subject.

“I don’t think that could be any more obvious,” he grinned back.

“Gee, I wonder why?” I asked.

He kissed my forehead. “I wonder indeed.”

I followed up his kiss with a genuine one, gleefully happy that he was keeping me company today and doing such a good job at keeping my mind off of Kate.

“So, I forgot to ask. Do you even have any pants or jeans?”

I giggled. “I do, but I really only wear them when I’m working in the garage with my Daddy.”

John raised his eyebrow, causing me to furrow my brow. He quickly composed himself once he saw my look. “Oh, sorry. It’s just that it’s hard to imagine you getting down and dirty in the garage.”

“You of all people should know that I’m definitely not a normal girl,” I gently chided him.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met a girl quite as unique and special as you,” he agreed.

I smiled at him. “Well, would you like to see what we work on?”

“I’d like that,” he smiled back.

“Then wait here for a sec. I’m not going to get this outfit dirty,” I laughed, running upstairs.  I quickly changed into one of my “working” outfits and went back down to see John. I gave a short twirl for him. “See? I do have jeans.”

“Consider myself proved--- wait, even your sneakers have heels?” he asked, surprised.

I burst out laughing. “I thought you’d have realized by now that I don’t own a single flat shoe!”

He shook his head. “You and your feline feet.”

“Kate hates them!” I grinned, before realizing where my mind had gone again. John quickly saw my mood swing backward and hugged me.

“Come on, you were going to show me the garage, right?” he asked.

“…Uh huh. Let’s go,” I said, pulling him along. I busied myself with thoughts of the beautiful Bug waiting for us to keep myself from crying along the way. By the end of our short walk, I had managed to compose myself enough to introduce my Bug in all her glory. I gave him a good tour, showing him everything that Daddy and I had done to get her working well again.

“We’ve been fixing her up for a few years now,” I explained once I had finished, “once I finally get my license, she’ll be mine.”

“Sounds like quite the father-daughter project,” John said.

“I relish every moment I spend out here with Daddy. I’m kind of sad that we’re nearly done,” I said wistfully.

“What’s left?” he asked.

“All that’s really left is to repaint it, really. There’s some damage to the paint here and there, but the engine is golden right now.”

“What color are you thinking of?”

“I’m thinking yellow.”

“Matching your eyes, huh?”

“Why not?” I grinned.

“I would say they’re distinctive, but they aren’t the only features of yours that are,” he said.

I giggled, “You could say that.”

“But this is really cool. I mean, yeah, the car’s going to end up pretty girly, but I have a feeling that you don’t care one bit about that. My girlfriend knows more about cars than I do!” he laughed.

“And you’d better not forget it!” I told him with mock authority.

“I won’t. In fact, this might help me with that spell to attract you,” he mused.

“Huh?”

“Well, a significant part of your identity is wrapped around you working on this car with your Dad. It’s these kinds of things that I need to reference in order to make the spell work,” he explained.

“And once you find enough things for the spell to really narrow down to just me, it’ll work?” I asked.

“Exactly,” he said.

“No wonder it’s so tough,” I frowned.

“I dunno. I like the challenge,” he said.

I wondered if we’d ever be close enough for him to know enough about me to complete the spell. Of course, I desperately wanted to be that close to a guy… close enough to be able to say that we were in love. I smiled just thinking about it, suddenly feeling affectionate enough to give John a nice, big hug.

“I hope we can finish that spell,” I said honestly.

“Me too, but I don’t think I can ever know enough about you to finish it unless our relationship becomes one built around love,” he told me.

“Then let’s just keep going and see where we go,” I said softly.

“Yeah” he answered.

“Thank you for being here for me,” I said, hugging him tighter.

“You don’t need to thank me, really.”

“Yes, I do,” I smiled, kissing his cheek. He didn’t answer me, instead just holding me in our embrace for some time. I almost relaxed enough to start purring when I heard the door open. I couldn’t suppress my squeal of surprise at the sudden sound.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Mom said knowingly, “but there’s someone here for you, sweetie.”

“Who is it?” I asked, but Mom was already gone. I turned to John. “Can you wait in the living room for me?”

“Of course,” he replied. We left the garage together and then went our separate ways. I trotted to the kitchen, which was where guests usually waited around just after getting in.

Who I saw sitting at the counter, however, completely threw me for a loop.

“…Kate?” I squeaked. I wasn’t prepared for this! Not this soon!

“Hey Nikki,” she said, seemingly at a loss for words herself.

“You’re, um… home early,” I said.

“Yes,” she said softly, “I think we need to talk.”

Now that was one thing we could both agree on. “Um, Can you wait for me in my room? John’s here, and I need to explain what’s going on.”

“Okay,” she said, standing up. She started walking toward my room while I went to see John. He smiled at me for a second, before seeing my expression.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Kate’s here early,” I told him.

“Should I go home?” he asked.

“I think so,” I frowned, “we’re going to be a while.”

“Alright, but if the worst happens, I can come right back. Okay?”

I hugged him. “Okay. Thank you again for keeping me company.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, “and I truly hope that you can Kate can patch things up.”

“Me too,” I whispered.

After sharing our goodbyes, I slowly made my way up to my room. Kate was sitting on my bed, but I didn’t say anything to her quite yet. Instead, I turned around and locked my door. I turned back to her and smiled weakly.

“Neither of us are leaving this room until things are settled,” I told her, sounding much less confident than I wanted to. Kate stood up and walked toward me.

“Nikki, I’m sorry,” she said. She looked about ready to burst into tears.

“I know,” I said softly.

“What I did was stupid and impulsive, and I really hope you’re not mad about it,” she explained.

Now seemed like the perfect chance to really spell out to her how I felt.

“Of course I’m mad!” I exclaimed. Kate looked visibly shocked.

“Nikki…”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me you were Bi?” I demanded, “I thought there were no secrets between us!”

Now, I was about ready to cry. Kate looked genuinely surprised. “You mean… you aren’t mad about the kiss?”

“I… I can’t be mad about the kiss. It’s as much my fault as it was yours,” I admitted.

“Don’t blame yourself. Please,” Kate pleaded, “it was all my fault. I should have controlled myself better.”

“And I encouraged you by being extra loving that night!”

“Nikki... it really isn’t your fault,” she said again, “I’m… I’m the one who loves you.”

I blushed. “Your kiss said it all.”

“I didn’t want this to happen!” she cried, “You have something good going with John, and I can’t ruin it!”

“You haven’t,” I assured her.

“Thank god…” she breathed, wiping away her tears.

“But, I had no idea that you had such strong feelings for me. That kiss…” I said, touching my lips, “I’ve never felt such passion in my entire life.”

“My feelings for you have been growing stronger and stronger every day,” Kate admitted, “I’ve always felt something for you, but everything changed when you finally became yourself. Even though you were still upset over being part cat, you were still so much happier. You were happy and glowing and so beautiful! I tried my hardest, but I couldn’t keep my feelings hidden. When we were cuddling that night, my passion just exploded. Before I realized what was happening, I was kissing you. When you responded… I just couldn’t stop myself. It was so great to finally be kissing you that I just couldn’t stop!”

“Kate, it’s okay!” I exclaimed, moving closer to her.

“Part of me selfishly hoped that you might love me back, but you responded to me involuntarily, didn’t you? You were completely relaxed and purring…”

I nodded. “All that I could think about at the time was that I was being kissed and that it… it felt wonderful.”

Kate smiled softly at my blush. “You started purring in the middle of it, didn’t you?”

My blush intensified. “Your kiss was so powerful that I just knew that you were deeply in love with me.”

“…I’m sorry that you had to find out like this. I really am,” she said.

“You could have told me,” I said, finally starting to cry myself.

“I was scared. I didn’t want my feelings for you to change our friendship.”

“Well, they have, and I don’t care! Kate… I love you too. I know it’s not the kind of love you have for me, but it’s still real! We’ve been through so much together, and I can’t imagine life without you. Please… keep being my best friend.”

Kate smiled widely, despite the tears still streaking down her cheeks. “I’m not going anywhere.”

My smile must have been wide enough to split my face in half. I let out a happy laugh and burst into a spontaneous purr before literally throwing myself against my best friend. She hugged me right back, laughing and crying right with me.

“Well, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you start purring without someone touching you,” she said after a while.

“You have no idea how happy I am right now,” I sighed, crushing myself further into her.

“I think I have an idea. I couldn’t bear to lose you either, Nikki,” she said.

“I’m so glad you’re back!” I cried, moving from hugging to licking.

“Nikki! Yikes! I think you might be too happy!” she squealed.

“You aren’t getting away from me!” I laughed, continuing to lick her. I held her tight until I was satisfied that I had shown her enough of my love. We finally sat down on my bed, ready to talk some more.

“So… how is this going to work now?” I asked.

“Well, I guess I just need to be more careful. I don’t want to lose myself and start kissing you again,” Kate said.

“But it’s fine if I get completely relaxed first,” I told her.

“I couldn’t take advantage of you like that. You’re helpless when you’re that relaxed and happy!”

“But I can’t just stop being affectionate…” I sighed.

“Then don’t stop. Please. I love it when you lick me,” she said, blushing.

“So all that talk about being embarrassed wasn’t true?”

She nodded. “I didn’t want you to get suspicious.”

I leaned closer to her and gave her another few licks. “But you don’t need to worry about that anymore.”

“I can’t believe you’re so okay with this,” she said.

I hugged myself against her. “You’re too special to me to lose over a thing as simple as love.”

“Then we’ll make this work,” she declared.

“Yes, we will,” I agreed. I let go of her, but continued to lean on her shoulder. “So, why did you come back early?”

Kate laughed. “Jenny scolded me for overreacting when we got to her place. I knew she was right, but I was too scared to go back and face you. Still, she managed to heckle me enough to make me ask her to take me back.”

“I’m glad you came back early,” I said.

“Me too,” she smiled. I started to purr again, and it only got louder when she hugged me closer to her.

“This is nice,” I sighed, enjoying the moment.

“It is,” Kate agreed. We fell backwards on my bed, just snuggling with each other. I began to lick her again, reveling in my happiness. I half expected Kate to kiss me again, but she promised that she wouldn’t. I knew that it was safe to be so affectionate with her, and I enjoyed it as much as she did. Eventually, I stopped licking her and just lay with her on my bed.

“You know, you’ve set a really high bar for John’s kisses,” I giggled.

“Oh, have I?” Kate asked.

“Well, your kiss was so good that it made me purr, after all,” I said.

“I guess I’ve got a world record,” Kate giggled back.

“You’ll always be the first person to make me purr with a kiss,” I said lovingly.

“I’ll happily take that award,” she replied, pulling me into another hug. I gave her a few more licks before we started to talk the rest of the night away.

It didn’t matter that we talked about absolutely nothing. I had my Kate back.

>^..^<~~~~~<^..^>~~~~~>^..^<~~~~~<^..^>~~~~~>^..^<

“Come on, Nikki, everyone’s waiting for us!” Kate called, pulling me through the mall.

“Geez, you don’t have to pull so hard!” I squealed, barely keeping up with my energetic friend.

“I beg to differ,” she laughed. It wasn’t long before we found the rest of our group. Alex, Jane, Kelly, and John were all waiting for us with smiles on their faces.

“There are the guests of honor!” Alex called out, “Come on!”

We squealed to a stop right in front of the group.

“Oh, I ought to warn you, Nikki is absolutely giddy today. Expect tons of licks!” Kate laughed.

“Hey! You promised that you wouldn’t warn them!” I said in mock anger.

“Sorry. Had my fingers crossed,” she stuck her tongue out.

I shrugged. “Oh well,” I said, before darting to everyone and giving them a good lick. Well, except for John. He got a nice greeting kiss… and then I licked him anyway.

“Sounds like you two made up just fine,” Kelly said.

“We’re closer than ever!” I chimed, hugging myself against Kate.

“Yep! Sounds like things are just fine,” Jane smiled.

“Looks like things are more than just fine,” John added.

“They’re awesome!” I cheered. I promptly pulled everyone into a huge group hug. I felt so lucky to have such amazing friends and such a great boyfriend… and I knew that this circle of my closest friends would only grow larger. Even now, I felt closer than ever to all of them, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. As I gave my friends another round of licks, only one thing was on my mind.

My name is Nicole Leona, and I love my life!