Dorsai - Jan

Pulling it under her chin, she hugged it and started rubbing it's ears – the resulting purr could be heard across the room. I could see her start to cry, and had to point out to her that if she started crying, she was likely to upset the cat by getting it wet.

After a bit, she set it down, and launched herself into my arms, crying on my shoulder and hugging me ferociously as she thanked me.

When she'd finally calmed down, and dried her eyes, she picked it up again, and looked it over before asking me "What do I name her?"

"Well, she's got that dark spot on her pink nose – how about Booger?", I offered, teasing.

Kelly got an indignant look, and said "We are NOT naming this cat 'Booger'! How about 'Tiger', for the stripes?"

I just gave her the fisheye, and said "Sure – nobody's ever done *that* before!"

She thought a moment, and offered "Tigger?"

"To cute."

"What, then?"

"Who says you have to name her now? Give her a little time, and then name her – might turn out she's a feline Einstein or something, then you've got a name for her."

She thought that over, and finally agreed, before holding my hand as we went into the den, where we'd set up a small tree – more out of a desire not to have to clean up after a big tree, than anything else.

Kelly sat on the couch with the kitten, and I went into the kitchen to load a carafe with some coffee, and load a plate with some muffins. Back in the den, I saw that Kelly had gotten up, and was rummaging around the presents under the tree – with the kitten helping. She found a package that I'd wrapped for the cat: "To: Spot" – she opened it, and found the collar and tags I'd gotten – the little fuzzball was ready to go, with all of her shots taken care of. Kelly hugged me, pulled out another package, and handed it to me. It was from her, and when I opened it, I found that she'd gotten me a nice Tag Huer watch, stainless steel, to replace the ratty old Casio I'd had for so long. I quickly got it adjusted, and put it on – that sucker was heavy, and felt good on my wrist. I kissed her, and pulled out a package for her.

She opened it to find the gold bracelet I'd bought – made of fairly thick links, it looked like a small chain around her wrist when she put it on. I could see from her face that she was delighted with it, and she quickly kissed me in thanks.

Next, it was the cat's turn again – one of those climbing poles, with platforms, for her to play on.

Kelly's next gift to me was an electronic organizer – something that I'd wanted, but simply hadn't gotten around to getting for myself. It was a top of the line model, and I couldn't help but play with it a few seconds – Kelly knew me, and waited patiently – before giving her a hug and kiss, and giving her my thanks.

The next package she opened held a dress – black, that flowed off one shoulder to a bodice that would make it painfully clear that she was female, before flowing down to accentuate her slender hips and fanning out into a skirt that would fall to her ankles. I'd meticulously snuck measurements of her over the past couple of months, and knew that it would fit her like a second skin – and that there wasn't a way in the world for her to wear either a bra or panties with it. Even before the alterations, it had cost me nearly a thousand dollars – and knowing how she would look in it, it was worth every penny to me. She stood up and held it against herself, before heading back into the bedroom where she could examine herself in a mirror. When she came back, it was without the dress, and she told me "That is so beautiful – I think I can see what you think I would look like in it, and I LIKE it. But where am I going to wear something like that?"

I smiled, and said "You're going to your Senior Prom, aren't you? At least, I hope you are – I've already made plans for us that night. You*do* want me to take you, right?"

She promptly teared up, and hugged me before digging out another package for the cat – several small toys for her to play with; Kelly opened one of them, and sure enough, the kitten went to town with it.

She hugged me again, and handed me what was her last gift to me – an album of photos she'd had taken at one of those glamour photo places. As I leafed through it – in absolute awe at how they'd been able to bring out the best of her – I found out that she'd apparently been to more than one place: toward the back the photos were of her in lingerie, and in a variety of come-hither poses. I looked up at her, and could see the concern on her face about what I might think about all of it. I looked at her, then at the photos, and back to her again, finally saying "I've always known you were a beautiful person, inside and out. But these – these only prove it, beyond any question or doubt! Looking at some of these – not just the ones in the back, but in the front, too – it nearly takes my breath away."

At that, I could see her relax, and quickly took her into my arms, and thanking her, before kissing her and letting her go.

The last gift I pulled out for her was, ostensibly, from Santa Claus.

She saw that, and gave me a Goober look, while I did my best 'Who? *Me*?" impression. When I handed it to her, the weight surprised her, and she gave me a questioning look. I just shrugged my shoulders, and said "Beats me. Open it, and find out what Santa thinks of you."

She gave me another dirty look, and tore into it – a girl after my own heart: 'screw the wrapping, what IS it?' – and found that it was a necklace. It started as a gold mail band around the throat; but as it dropped to the shoulders and chest, it tapered to a kind of very fine fringe – the effect was that it would look as though it were growing up, out of her, when she wore it.

She seemed to realize what it would look like on her, and took my hand to lead me back to the bedroom – where I found that she'd hung up the dress, to make sure the cat didn't get to it. I put the necklace on her, and stood back as she held the dress up against herself in front of the full-length mirror. Only then did she get the full effect of the bracelet, dress, and necklace – and reacted by gasping. After a moment, she turned to look at me, and I just smiled, telling her "I think this will all work, when you wear it to the Prom, don't you?". She could only nod in reply before turning back to examine herself again.

After a bit, she was able to pull herself away from the mirror; as I watched her, it seemed that she was moving in slow motion – at least, until she got the dress hung up again, next to my tuxedo (I did enough formal social events that I'd finally broken down and bought one). Only then did she return to normal speed, as she launched herself at me, knocking me back onto the bed, where she straddled my waist as she showered my face with kisses before telling me "That is going to knock every one there off their feet – I'm going to look like a million dollars!"

"Nope. Not good enough.", I replied.

She frowned at me, and I explained"You've got more class and style than anyone else I can think of. To show it all off, you need to look like ten million dollars – at least!"

She grinned down at me, and said "Yeah, maybe – but when I walk in with YOU, they'll know where the rest is!"

I smiled back at her, and she lay down on me. We cuddled like that for several minutes – until the cat showed up, and started rubbing up against us and purring to beat the band. We both laughed as her soft fur tickled us, and got up to go back into the den – kitten neatly tucked into the crook of Kelly's arm – where we had our coffee and muffins as we watched the Christmas Day parades.

With neither of us being particularly religious or traditional, lunch was leftovers that I reheated. The kitten insisted that what we were eating was good for cats, too, but Kelly firmly kept her on the floor as we ate. The cat finally retaliated by ambushing Kelly's feet and toes, making her giggle at the tickling sensation. When Kelly got up and took the dishes into the kitchen, she found the food and water dishes that I'd gotten – and saw that I'd laid in a proper supply of quality food, as well. When she got back into the den, she kissed me and thanked me again before laying down on the couch, her head on my lap. I put my hand on her stomach – she promptly moved it to her breast – and we stayed there like that for a couple of hours, just listening to music and enjoying having each other there. Eventually, the cat got tired, and climbed up onto the couch, too – then deciding that Kelly's belly would make a dandy napping spot, thank you very much. In just a couple of minutes, we could both hear the little beast purring, loud and hard.