Must Love Cat: A Sapphic Novella

By DJ Krimmer

Emily

I like simplicity, calmness and I love routine. So you can imagine how much I disliked having to find a new place to live and a new roommate. River is cluttered, she is a tornado of personality, sarcasm and nerdiness that makes my left eye twitch. Not to mention her hellcat, Gizmo, who wants to kill me in my sleep. B

• Language: English
• Publisher: DJ Krimmer
• Release date: Aug 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9781088251638

Book preview

Prologue

PRESENT DAY  - EMILY

I wipe my running nose on my stupid tie-dye hoodie sleeve as I shove the remaining knick-knacks into the cardboard box. Looking towards the bare bed, I see Gizmo looking at me. His one good eye looks around in concern as he lets out a timid meow.  

I’m going to miss you, little guy. I choke out as I scratch him behind his black ear. I know we started off rough, but you truly stole my heart. The tears continue to fall on my face. Well, what your mom hadn’t already stolen. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. How did everything go so wrong so fast?  

Emily. My body straightens at her voice from behind me. Refusing to turn around and look at her, I focus on Gizmo’s ear. Your brother is outside with the truck. Do you want me to help you?  

No, I say coldly. I don’t need your help. Just leave me be. I’ll be out of your life soon.  

I hear the small intake of air as she speaks. Emmy, please– 

Don’t ‘Emmy’ me, River, I growl as I whip around and glare at the beautiful blonde standing in my doorway. She also wears a tie-dye hoodie, and I feel like ripping mine off and setting it on fire. You made your choice. I shove past her, bumping her shoulder as I walk out of what was once our room and out of the loft, I had called home for all these months.  

I shouldn’t be mad at River. I should’ve known better than to get involved with her. I was a fucking idiot, giving my heart so openly to a woman who, I knew if her back were ever against the wall, she would throw me out. I knew all of this but dove in anyway because I had fallen madly in love with her. 

Chapter One

SIX MONTHS AGO - EMILY

Roommate Wanted :

Young professional female seeking the same to share 2br 2bt loft in downtown art district.

MUST LOVE CAT

Must keep area clean

Nonsmoker/No Drugs

No Parties/Loud Music

Responsible for half the bills but can have the assigned parking space

6-month lease

This one doesn’t sound too bad, Kenneth, my best friend, says as he looks over my shoulder at the listing on my tablet. Kenneth is moving to the other side of the world, okay, maybe not the other side of the world, but going from our little apartment here in Houston to fucking eleven hours away in El Paso, he may as well be in another world.  

I cannot live there. I glare at the beautiful man. His golden skin and dark, perfectly messy hair are somehow illuminated in the sunlight. He’s gorgeous as far as humans are concerned: tall, well-built, angular jaw and dimples that seemed to get him whatever he wanted. 

Kenneth rolls his brown eyes as he looks at me, raising a thick, black eyebrow. Why Em? It’s perfect. It’s a modern loft, in the art district, and you get an assigned parking spot. We know how you love designations.  

Is he joking? Does he not see the giant red flag that is smacking me in the face? "Must Love Cat?" I gesture to the ad, using my fingers to zoom in on the words. 

He looks at me with complete confusion which only fuels my irritation. What? He asks, letting out a small chuckle. You like cats, what about that one weird cat you fed for like three years in college?  

"Georgia O’Cat was a beautiful, timeless treasure that you have no right calling weird. I snap as I poke him in the chest. She was eccentric, and had she not had such a strong desire to put dead things on my bed, I would’ve let her stay inside."

Either way, Kenneth pinches the bridge of his nose as if he regrets bringing up my old feline companion. You like cats, she obviously has a cat, it's a perfect match.

"Yes, I like cats, not cat. She should’ve written ‘must love cats’. She didn’t, that error is atrocious and the fact that you think I can just live with someone that is willing to show the world that they are so freely able to butcher proper grammar makes me wonder how I’ve stayed friends with you for eighteen years."  

Kenneth is silent for a beat before laughing loudly at me. His large hand pats my back, causing me to squirm and sigh loudly. I am not someone who enjoys human contact, not because I don’t want it, I have basic human needs and desires. But most were not able to handle the rules when engaging in displays of physical affection with me so the frequency in which I allow people to touch me has gotten less and less. 

Kenneth is the exception to the rule. I don’t enjoy that he is the exception since he often forgets about my rules due to his overly stimulated mind, but I give him a pass since he’s the one that has been protecting me from bullies since we met in the fourth grade.

I’ve always been just a few shades light of normal as my grandmother would put it. But as a toddler and a child, I was just seen as shy or spoiled. I needed to be forced into more social situations, even though I would get so terrified I would wet my pants or start screaming. I needed to go to the special