Change (Kitsune) (5 page)

"Is there anything else I can get for you?" The waitress asked. I just shook my head, still unable to speak, while Izzy answered.

"I think we're good for now. Thanks,"

We spoke little while we ate and as we left the restaurant we both got into my car, leaving Izzy's car parked at the restaurant for the time being. We went to several chain stores first with no luck, before we decided we’d have to switch to boutique shops if we had any hope of finding anything like the boots I had pictured in mind. I wanted something at least knee high but possibly as tall as mid-thigh, and with at least three-inch heels, in good, black leather if I could get it. They would be spendy but a good quality pair of boots would last years, and that would make them worth the money. 

As soon as I walked in the door of the first boot and shoe shop the harsh scent of chemicals in the air almost overwhelmed me. I hesitated at the door a moment before stepping inside, I’d been in this shop too many times to count and I’d never smelled anything like this before, it confused me. It made me want to snort or sneeze to try to clear the scent from my nose. It was all I could do to keep my distaste of the strong odor off my face while we browsed through the store's selection. I spotted a pair of boots that were kind of close to but not quite what I wanted, and asked the clerk to bring out a pair in my size so that I could try them on, even though I was afraid they weren't nearly as tall as I wanted. The slender blond girl was smiling pleasantly when she brought me the box. I sat down and rested the box on my lap to open it.

I lifted the lid and a burst of scent rushed into my face, that first blast of scent hits your nose when you break the seal on a package of coffee. It was the same chemical smell that had hit me when we walked into the store. Suddenly I knew, it wasn't the store itself that suddenly had a new smell, but rather it was my nose picking up scents that I’d never even noticed before. It was a struggle, but I did my best to ignore it.

I slid my feet into the boots and zipped closed the zipper that ran up the back of my calves to where the boots stopped before standing and walking around to see how they felt on my feet. I rocked back and forth, flexing the muscles in my feet, trying to get a feel for how they would wear over time and trying to determine if they felt good enough to overlook the fact that they weren't anywhere near as tall as I wanted as they only came up to mid-calf on me.

When I turned back toward Isabel to ask her opinion, I heard it, a quiet voice I couldn't place, "Come on, just get 'em, it's time for my lunch and I want out of here!" I glanced around, unsure if someone had slipped up behind me and was playing a joke but the only other person, besides Izzy and I, in the shop was the clerk who had gotten the boots for me, and she was standing back at the counter where she had been when we walked in. She appeared busy with something on the counter but I could tell she was watching us out of the corner of her eye. I wondered briefly if she’d made the comment before I decided to ignore her and turned back to Isabel, pretending I hadn't heard anything. "What do you think?"

She made a considering face for a moment before she answered.

"Well, they're not really what you wanted, but they look good. If you want those, get them. Or we can always keep looking, and come back if we don't find anything better." I walked over to the full-length mirror again and looked them over from several angles while I considered them. I liked them but they just weren't what I wanted. They wouldn't complete the outfit I had in mind, they would merely go with it. Deciding not to get them, I took the boots off and carefully put them back in the box the way I had found them. I thanked the clerk and told her they weren't quite what I had in mind but that I’d be back if I changed my mind and we left the shop without my hearing any other strange comments.

Our next stop was another boutique shop. This time I was prepared for the harsh chemical smell and it didn't bother me quite so badly. I got lucky and in this shop I found a great pair of boots. They were almost exactly what I had in mind, only even better. These were black leather, had three and a half inch heels, they came up to mid-thigh and they fit me perfectly. Better than anything I’d imagined. When I tried them on, I noticed that the leather was a little stiff but I knew it would soften with a little wear and I knew it meant it was a good quality leather that would last well and be worth the price. I was so glad to have found them, because it meant no more shops with the harsh chemical smell and that, best yet, I wouldn't need to go back to the first shop where I probably would have seen the girl who seemed to be muttering rude things behind me.

Having found my boots didn’t have any more shopping to do, Izzy and I decided to split up until later and we went back to our own places, agreeing to meet at nine at the nightclub we’d picked out for our evening's fun. I dropped her off at her car before I drove home.

Once I reached my third floor apartment, I thumbed the lock on the door and stepped inside. As soon as I closed the door behind me I dropped my shopping bag just inside and started immediately stripping. I suddenly felt the need to shower right away. I had to wash off all the random scents I could still smell clinging to my skin from the things and people I had encountered today, plus it would give my hair a chance to dry before I had to style it.

I was in the shower when I opened the bottle of shampoo I’d been using for the last couple of weeks, I was overwhelmed by the strong scent coming from what I had previously thought was only lightly scented product. I struggled for a minute with the window above the tub surround. I finally managed to break the seal that had formed when the sill had been painted over before I moved in, and let some fresh air in to the room, or rather, letting some of the heavily perfumed air in the bathroom out the window. Even then, I rushed the rest of my shower in order to escape the room before the perfumes could give me a headache.

I dressed in a light weight soft green tank top and darker green shorts in a slightly heavier fabric to wear around the house, just in case someone should knock on the door or I should need to step outside for some reason before I got dressed to go out. I had a couple of hours until then and I still had to eat, I didn't want to risk getting anything on my dancing clothes.

It was as I was standing in front of the mirror brushing the tangles out of my shoulder length hair so that it could dry, that I noticed the small scar near the my hairline. It was a left over from when I'd run into a low hanging limb while chasing Cameron when I was about six. I'd had to have six stitches to close the wound and I still smiled at the memory of milking it for all the sympathy I could get from my older brother, who’d felt guilty for having been teasing me to begin with. It wasn't really something I paid much attention to anymore but it seemed smaller than it had been. I would have sworn it was at least an inch long, and now it seemed to be only slightly over half an inch. I'd have to remember to ask someone about that.

I met Izzy outside the front door of The Spark the dance club was the current hottest spot in town. It was located a bit out of the way, about twenty minutes east of town, but it was worth the drive. You could count on the music to be the latest and hottest dance mixes and the crowd was always ready for some fun.

I'd dressed carefully for the evening, in short, black leather hot pants that left several inches of bare thigh between the bottom of the shorts that appeared to be painted on and the tops of my new boots, I’d paired them with a leather halter top the color of fresh blood. Normally I couldn't have gotten away with a halter top, I'm just too top heavy go without wearing a bra, and even a halter bra's straps always manage show, I find that tacky and I refuse to go out in public wearing my underwear on display. But I'd recently found that with leather tops the leather's stiff enough that it contains and shapes my bust quite effectively. Izzy was dressed in pastels of silk and lace, a cute little pale pink summer dress with spaghetti straps and lots of ruffles and flounces. If it weren't for the low cut of her neckline and the short length of her skirt, the dress could have been made for a little girl. I couldn't have worn it, but she had that petite body that not only pulled it off, but made it look good. Standing together, we looked like contestants in a naughty and nice outfit contest.

We paid the cover charge and stopped at the bar to get a couple drinks on our way to the dance floor. I asked for a fruity blended drink. It was something that didn't have a high alcohol content but would give me something cool to drink for a little while as we would be finding a table so that we could sit and scope out who all had showed up for a bit before moving out on to the dance floor. I wanted to get a feel for the attitude of the place before I got involved in it.

It was about nine thirty when they cranked up the music to get everyone dancing. Don't get me wrong, it was already loud just not nightclub loud. When they turned it up I began to feel as though I had been jammed inside one of the speakers. I could feel the music vibrate through me and at times I felt deafened by the beat of the drums, but I was determined to ignore it and enjoy the night with Izzy. The music hadn't been turned loud for more than a song or two when I finished my drink. I set the empty glass on the table for the waitress to pick up on her next round and I moved out onto the dance floor.

The floor was already crowded, most people were dancing without partners or just as often in pairs or groups of friends, but there were only a few couples, at least so far, but it was still early. As I danced my way toward the middle of the dance floor I watched the people around me while I moved to the beat of the music that made me feel like my entire body was moving on its own. I could smell the strong odor of alcohol, the scent of sweaty bodies as they moved in the tight space, and the even stronger aromas of the colognes and perfumes that people surrounding me were wearing. I blocked it out and focused on the music and moving my body to the rhythm.

I was almost completely absorbed in the song and my dancing when it started. I heard *Geez, I can't stand him, I can't wait till I can escape this night from hell and go home!* As if someone had whispered it into my ear. I turned, looking to see if someone had snuck up behind me and whispered in my ear, and that's when I realized, it couldn't be someone speaking to me, it had been whispered, not yelled, and there was no way a whisper would be heard in here, not with the music this loud. Even speaking normally was impossible to hear in here. It had to have been inside my head, but that wasn't possible.

I'd almost decided that I must have imagined it when another voice echoed through my head *I'm going to find the hottest guy here and take him home, I'll make that sorry ass pay for sleeping with that skanky whore!* I knew this couldn’t be something as easy to explain as my hearing improving. It was almost as though I was hearing people's thoughts, but I wondered how that could be possible. Unable to come to a definitive conclusion that made sense to me, I did my best to ignore the phenomenon and went on with my dancing.

A few minutes later I jumped several inches when Izzy came up behind me and tapped my shoulder to get my attention. I turned and smiled at her realizing she was just letting me know she was joining me on the floor and she started dancing to the blasting music beside me. We danced together for a few songs and then we sat down at another empty table to catch our breath for a few minutes. We caught the attention of a passing waitress and ordered ourselves new drinks. We shouted back and forth for a few minutes but soon gave up and made only occasional comments to each other about the people around us and how some of them were dressed or acting.

I left the money for my drink and tip with Izzy and made a quick trip to the ladies room. While I was washing my hands and checking my make up in the mirror it happened again. I heard a quiet voice in my head just as I had several times today, *What on earth is he thinking? I can't believe he just said that to me!* I was no longer surprised by the occasional bits that ran through my head, and I didn't even bother to look around me. Besides, it could have been any one of several women checking their reflections in the bathroom mirrors, I didn’t want to try to figure it out, I just quickly dried my hands and went back out to join Izzy.

When I got back to our table I found that our drinks had arrived, I picked mine up off the table and took a sip as I sat down beside her, "Did I miss anything good?" I shouted to her as I leaned back in the padded bench seat and rested the hand holding my glass on my thigh.

"Nah, nothing worth mentioning," She replied, her eyes still on the crowd in front of us. Half the reason we go out is the fun of people watching. It gives us something to talk about for weeks, with what some people will do while drinking and dancing. As I watched the crowd become more flamboyant as they became more intoxicated, I noticed that I wasn't feeling any of the usual effects from the alcohol. Generally by now I would be at least a little fuzzy, not drunk, but not sober either. But I wasn't feeling any of it. It was as if I were drinking water.

It took me a little bit longer than Izzy to finish this round, and she motioned to me that she was going to head out on to the dance floor when she set her empty drink down. I nodded my understanding as she moved into the crowd of bodies in the middle of the room. The crowd was much larger now than it had been when we arrived and the group on the dance floor was now about half couples and half singles or groups of dancers.

I finished my second drink and set my glass down on the table, moving to join Izzy on the dance floor. I was walking out on the dance floor when one of the women already on the floor bumped into me, as she hit me I heard another voice in my head, *Shake it, Baby! Maybe I can talk this hottie into going home with me tonight!* I didn't know if it was the woman who bumped into me and I didn't care anymore, between the voices in my head and the music beating through my body I wasn't sure how much longer I could take it.