Dreams of California, Chapter 1
It seemed to be a perfectly bleak night, the kind one thought only existed in the curious worlds of cinema, right up until it happened to them.
A pitch-black sky, whipping rain, rumbling thunder and arcs of crackling lightning, joined together to greet the cougar driver and his vehicle as he moved along the long, lone stretch of highway.
Vira stared grimly out, his strong paws clasped tightly upon the leather-bound wheel as he kept his brown eyes upon what little road his yellow car-lights laid out before him. But those eyes were beginning to tire, and it was growing harder to open those eyes with each wave of fatigue that pulled at his eyelids. He was beginning to question it would have been preferable to just allow it to happen, to allow himself to be pulled into that blissful, deadly utopia... maybe...
Then a sign appeared ahead, through that dense summer rain- Hotel L'Amour, written out in the sort of dancing red and yellow lights one'd expect in Vegas. With a light spin of his wheel, the cougar drove himself into the parking lot that materialized immediately afterwards, rendered visible in the sign's light, and finally, parked his car and killed the engine with a rattle of keys. But he didn't get out immediately. Instead, Vira sat there in his car for a few beats, staring at the tall, brightly-lit hotel that existed alone along the dark desert highway. Thought of California. And tried not to think of Tess.
~ ~ ~
The cougar popped the door of his car open and stepped outside into the driving rain, the soles of his boots slapping a beat onto the wet concrete as the big cat quickly made his way inside, shouldering through a thick black entrance-way and into a broad, cool lobby.
On his right- a sitting room with red couches, glass tables, and glass walls overlooking the parking lot, the highway, and the desert that stretched out beyond.
On his left- a clean hallway leading to a silent steel elevator that sat staring at him with its glistening buttons... and directly ahead of him, a welcoming desk where a tall, beautiful cat stood waiting, smiling sharp white teeth at the big cougar in the beige coat as she leaned behind that desk, one blue eye shining like a sapphire, the other concealed behind a gray eye-patch. Her hair was white, pulled back into a long ponytail- her fur was white, too, with big patches of gray and black, and the tops of her breasts peeked from the crisp blue suit with gold buttons that she wore. Feeling uncomfortable in her presence and at the heavy smell of perfume, and something else that he couldn't quite pick up through the aromatic stench that hung in the air, Vira strode stiffly up to the desk, eyeing her cautiously as he pulled out his beaten-up wallet and flipped it open. "How much for a night?"
"Free." Her smile seemed so genuine that Nate was almost sure he had misheard her. He blinked his dark eyes quickly, round ears twitching, asked again-
"Free." the feline repeated with just the same amount of cheerfulness, pulling out a pamphlet and holding it across the desk to the puma, who now had a frown creasing his muzzle as he accepted it. "For all guests new to our business. Welcome to Hotel L'Amour." She bobbed her head in a little nod of welcome and smiled with those teeth of hers again. Her soft-looking paw re-materialized, gave him keys next. "Room 15." she purred, her voice soft and silky and suggesting something more as she leaned closer and whispered through her fangs in a way that made Vira swallow. "We hope you enjoy your stay." She smiled.
"I..." He looked down at the paper and the silver keys clasped in his paw, stuffed his wallet back into his pants. He wasn't expecting to agree with such a suggestion at night, but... "I'm sure I will." he replied, trying his own husky touch to his voice. He dropped the pamphlet and the keys into an inner pocket of his coat, and gave her a nod of his head. "Have a goodnight." he said, and turned away from the desk, heading for the elevator.
But just as he pressed a button and the doors slid open, something in the hallway to his right side caught in the corner of his eye, and Nate turned to see what new discovery he had made... two bats, slender and gray-furred, stood shoulder to shoulder at the center of that hallway, both dressed in identical blue uniforms and skirts, both silently watching him with their glistening red eyes. He stared right back at them, and then as the elevator doors began to close, stuffed a paw in between the doors to open them again, and slipped inside.
He set himself against the farthest wall of the machine once it jumped into action, directly facing the sealed doors as the elevator moved, his ropy tail lashing and his muscles tense as he thought of California and Tess and the eye-patch and the free room and the two bats, the thoughts beginning to jumble as another wave of weariness washed over him and his heartbeat began to increase.
Like cracks across sun-yellow earth, a scowl broke out across the cougar's broad, hardened face.
~ ~ ~
The bed of the large, large room he had found himself the temporary owner of could have fit a giant comfortably, the cool sheets feeling better than any female's touch or a shot of whiskey ever could at just that moment. He had stripped down to his briefs, his long, muscular body loose and exposed to the open air and gray atmosphere of the late night, his tail draped against his leg, his tattooed paws tucked beneath the fluffy white pillows, his muzzle curved into a small smile as the sleep his body had been needing finally took control, and his heart steadied. It wasn't long before he was dreaming of her, of Tess, of her long, red, bushy tail that curled at the tip. Of her white teeth, those prominent incisors that poked just beneath her lip, that winning smile. Her soft, lissome body, her gentle touch. Her warm paws, massaging his chest, her hot mouth meeting his.
The delicious, excitable voice that rang out in the street that first time they had met; her from the ground below, a suitcase tucked beneath her arm, and him from his apartment window, still in his striped bathrobe.
For the first time in a long time, he didn't think of how she died, of the horrible stories in the newspapers and on television. How she had been found in little bloody pieces of skin and fur in the shower drain of a psychopathic massage therapist. How her murderer had kept one of her eyes in his drawer, in a plastic bag sealed to keep it fresh. One such website reporting the event even had photographs... He didn't think of how he had never saw her again, after dropping her off at her house after their last date.
And how she had spoken of California.
_California. _
Now that... that he also dreamed of. She had spoken of it with such longing.
_I'll be there soon, Tessy... _