Page 59 of The P*ssy Next Door
And start they did, with a fierce intensity that would have put any football rivalry to shame. Teams were chosen, kittens were claimed as mascots, and the battle began.
And real it got, with the first casualty coming mere minutes into a heated round of Footballopoly.
“No!” Isak cried, lunging for his sleek gray kitten as it darted across the board, scattering houses and hotels in its wake. “Vito Catlione, come back!”
Penelope dissolved into giggles, leaning against Everett for support. “Vito Catlione? You named your kitten after the Godfather?”
Isak shot her a sheepish grin, finally capturing the wayward feline. “This is clearly a kitten you can't refuse.”
As the game progressed, so did the kitten-induced chaos.
Jules's cat kept swiping the dice whenever anyone rolled, and it was hilarious to see her mock outrage. “Now, Marie Purrie, that is no way to win the hearts and minds of the people.”
But it was Willa's kitten, a tiny tan fluffball she'd named Captain Purrcard, who stole the show. With a mischievous glint in his eye, he pounced on Flynn, sinking his tiny claws into my brother's ass, which had him jumping to his feet, giving Gryff a chance to steal the pillow right out from under Flynn.
“Oh no, Captain!” Willa laughed, trying to detach the cat from his prey. “You must honor the football butts, not destroy them.”
Watching Willa with my family, seeing the joy and love that radiated from her, only made me fall harder.
Gryff's tabby, dubbed Catzilla, made a break for the snack table, upending a bowl of popcorn and leaving a trail of buttery paw prints in his wake. That's when Willa declared a short break for everyone to feed their charges with the kitten food she had DoorDashed to us.
As the night wore on and the kittens began to doze off in our laps, the trash talk and laughter gave way to whispers and giggles, none of us wanting to disturb their slumber, and we switched gears into a game of silent charades.
It was in those quieter moments, watching Willa cradle a tiny ball of fluff against her chest, her face soft with tenderness, that I felt the most comfortable.She made me laugh, made me think, made me want to be a better man.
“Alright, team,” my dad whispered, cradling a sleeping calico against his chest. “We've got this. Kingmans see the game through, even at a volume level suitable for napping kittens. But if any of you wake up Catsanova here, you're out of the game.”
The lot of us exchanged silent grins, our competitive spirits rising to the challenge.
What followed was a battle of wits and stealth, with exaggerated gestures and barely suppressed laughter filling the room. Trixie and Penelope proved to be masters of the silent clue, while Jules's interpretations bordered on the surreal, and Kelsey literally guessed every single charade before everyone else.
But it was Willa who awed me, her face alight with happiness as she acted out clue after clue, her movements fluid and graceful even in the confined space.I'd never seen anything more beautiful.
The final round drew to a close, Declan and Kelsey were declared the winners, and the kittens began to stir, so we called it a night. Everyone gently returned their cats back to the box, now made more comfortable with several scarves to line it.
Isak almost snuck out with Vito Catlione, but my dad caught him and made him put the furball back with the others. He and Jules were the last to leave.
“Thank you,” Willa murmured, her arms tight around Jules. “For everything. I've never felt so…”
“Loved?” Jules finished, her smile soft and knowing. “That's because you are, Willa. You're one of us now.”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat, my eyes stinging with sudden emotion. Jules was right. Willa was a part of this family, a part of my heart.
And as we gathered up the kittens and said our goodbyes, I knew I'd do whatever it took to keep her there, right by my side.
Where she belonged.
We drove the few blocks back to my house, the streets quiet and dark, and I couldn't keep the grin off my face the whole way.This night, this perfect, chaotic, wonderful night, was everything I ever needed.
When we got out of the car, Willa paused at the door from the garage to the house. “I'm not sure how Seven is going to react to having all these kittens around. We might have to keep them in your room and him out.”
“Ooph. He isn't going to like that.” When we got inside, the box under my arm, Seven was perched on the back of the couch like he'd been waiting for us all night. Except, he didn't give either Willa or me a second look. His eyes fixated on the box.
“Let's see what he does.” Willa sat on the couch and had me hand her the box. She carefully opened the lid and Seven looked down and then very carefully crawled inside and laid in the middle of the sleeping fuzzbutts.
“Well, would you look at that,” Willa laughed, shaking her head in amazement. “I think someone's feeling paternal.”Seven began to groom the nearest kitten, his rough tongue smoothing over downy fur.
“I'm pretty sure he's decided those kittens are his.”