I Unintentionally Became Her Kitten

Chapter 74: Spa Plans and Spontaneous Shopping

I woke to the smell of coffee. Alisha and I had swapped at some point in the very late night, or very early morning, so I could get some sleep too.

I picked my head up, appreciating both that I could smell coffee again, and that there was coffee to be had, evidently.Alisha was still staring skeptically at the mini coffee machine, but it was working so she must have figured it out.

I sat up, feeling tired still, but also a little relieved to have an excuse to be awake. There had been more disturbing dreams throughout the night and Alisha had soothed me back to sleep each time with some pets. She was so amazing.

There was that old thought of, she deserves better than me, but I did my best to shake it off. She did seem to really like me, regardless of my opinions about myself. And at this point, there wasn't someone else she could trust to understand her. There were still things I didn't understand. 

I started to slide off the bed and she looked over. “Do you want some coffee?” she asked.

I nodded. “If it isn’t too troublesome,” I told her.

“I’ll split it with you for now,” she said.

I made a confused face, evidently, by how she explained. 

“They only gave us one regular and one decaf. But I know you drink regular.”

I nodded. I couldn’t argue with that. She had watched me drink enough coffee to know better if I offered to take the decaf. 

“We can get some breakfast somewhere in a bit anyway,” she continued. “And more coffee.”

I rubbed my eyes, clearing out the grit from the corners. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” I glanced over to her side of the bed, where she had rolled out last night. The gun was gone again. She probably had it on her person somewhere. Mine was still on the nightstand. 

I wondered if I should get in the habit of keeping it on my person even if we weren’t actively wandering about to do some illicit activities. Probably at least if Tye or Matteo wasn’t with us. I’d be Alisha’s security…

Did that make me Tye’s subordinate? My eyes narrowed, turning that thought over. That would be a strange development. For now, I was Alisha’s partner, and that was what I would treat myself as until something changed. That meant I had an obligation to protect her.

I should get an outfit with pants today, or see about getting a thigh holster like Alisha mentioned. Or maybe just a purse. Something to put the sidearm in that didn’t involve a length of ribbon cutting into my thigh if I wasn’t careful.

“What do you want to do today, other than breakfast?” I asked and started to get myself together, running my fingers through my hair since I didn’t have a hair brush. My sundress was tossed on the table where Alisha’s purse also was and I grabbed it to start to get changed doing so in front of her since… well… it wasn’t exactly anything she hadn’t seen before. 

Her eyes still lingered a bit as I did so, making me feel a little blushy, but I kept things under control.

I finally turned to look at her with a pointed expression.

“What?” she asked.

“I asked what you wanted to do today,” I repeated.

The pink blush that took over her face was rather cute and I couldn’t help but snicker. 

“Maybe tonight,” I offered. She had bled me dry yesterday and I wasn’t ready to go another round yet.

“I know,” she said and rubbed her face briefly, looking rather flustered for once. “Today,” she took a deep breath and then took the time to divide the coffee between two cups. “We should get some clothes and… my hair could use proper styling. We could see if somewhere will take an appointment… and if its a full salon and spa we could get some mani-pedis too… maybe some facials, you know.”

“Like a spa day?” I asked.

“Yeah, like a spa day. I haven’t had a spa day in over a decade either,” she agreed. 

“I’ve never had a spa day,” I commented. 

She gave me a pitying look. “We’re having a spa day,” she decided and handed me the paper cup of coffee.

I drank it, sitting on the foot of the bed. It was not good coffee, somehow both super acrid and watery. Both beans and machine were subpar.

“Let's get good coffee first.”

She nodded in agreement.

We used the business center’s computer to find a spa Alisha would find suitable, and a cafe to grab some breakfast at.

I didn't put much opinion in on spa things, only requested I would not have to get naked in front of strangers. Alisha readily agreed to this and we got on our way once she called them on the burner phone and made an appointment for us.

We stopped at a Starmaid’s on the corner and got some coffee and I also chose a chocolate croissant to nibble on as we walked and she chose a plain croissant. Someone behind her mentioned it was pronounced krahs-ahn in a mock French accent, and she turned her head a bit to glare them down.  They had, admittedly, been annoying the heck out of me too since their sense of personal space seemed to be vastly tighter than mine and I felt rather trapped between Alisha and them.

They were too lost in their own conversation to notice Alisha’s hostility though and she let it go, simply standing aside to wait for our coffee. They were white people, obviously a little bit wealthier and Alisha and I were a bit disheveled still. We were lacking our usual bathroom stuff. Alisha didn’t have any makeup so the tiredness still showed on her face, and while she had done the same as me and run her fingers through her hair, it still had a wavy pattern that was obviously from getting put up in a braid yesterday.

I watched her run her fingers through it and examine the length closely. She really was worried about it. We’d washed and conditioned with hotel soap yesterday, which wasn’t going to be as gentle as the fancy bottles she had at her house. I was glad to get out of the café and away from those snooty people. 

“Do you speak French?” I asked once we were far enough away.

“Not fluently,” she said. “Enough to get by while travelling but not enough to be conversational.”

I nodded. “Those people were obnoxious,” I told her.

“Yes, but that’s what people do,” she agreed. “Should we take a cab to the spa?” she asked. “We have a while before the appointment.”

“We can walk,” I told her. “Unless you get tired.”

“I’ll be fine.”

We walked quite a ways. It was a distance to the spa, but we were in no hurry, even stopping a few times to look at some clothing in a window or a purse. I finally saw one that caught my eye and stopped to point it out.

Alisha looked it over, and smiled a little to herself. It was a smooth black leather and a simple rectangle other than two triangles that protruded on each top corner and a gold latch in a triangular shape centered on it.

“A cat purse?” she questioned.

“It's cute,” I protested. 

She patted my head and went to go in the shop.

“Eh–you don't have to–” but she pulled me in behind her and went about purchasing the small bag.

“You really need this,” she said and discreetly transferred the gun from her purse into mine and then handed it to me.

“Thank you,” I managed and adjusted the strap to hang over my shoulder. It was far more comfortable than a crude thigh holster. She then handed me my burner phone and I slid it in as well.

“You're very welcome.” She gave me a quick kiss on the top of my head before we left the small shop.

We walked on and she stopped in another store, browsing their dresses for several minutes. I watched her do so, curious as to how exactly she went about getting clothes. That dress shop she had taken me to, (RIP that beautiful dress), had been quite a rich person shop. This one was too, there was a bouncer type guy eyeing us here and there as she was gently running her hand over the various fabrics while a separate salesperson was waiting to help us if she gave any indication of it.

When she did look up and meet her eye, she came over, plastering on one of those professional smiles.

“Do you do alterations on-site?” Alisha asked her.

“We do,” the saleslady confirmed. “Would you like to try something on?”

Alisha nodded and then looked at me. “Why don’t you take a look around as well?” she asked. “We’ll be here a few more days so you’ll need another change of clothes.”

I nodded my agreement and set off to browse in a section with something closer to my size. With a brief check I found we still had a couple hours before our appointment started. I could take my time to browse if I wanted, though the bouncer-like man was eyeing me with more suspicion now. I instinctively checked to make sure my purse wasn’t hanging open, but no. Even if I did leave the flap open and everything, it didn’t show the weapon inside. It was deep enough and I had clipped the holster onto the interior pocket so it didn’t slide around. So it wasn’t that he saw I had a weapon that made him nervous.

I swallowed a little. Had he clocked me? Was he trying to find an excuse to kick me out of the store? Or was he just… being a jerk because he could. My hand shook a little as I did my best to casually flick through a couple pairs of pants. They were black denim and felt sturdy under my fingers, more sturdy than any they’d had at the MaxMart. My back was still tense, but I pulled a pair down that would be around my size.

Alisha was in a dress that the saleswoman was pinching in at the seams, and marking with a tiny pencil, much like the dress-man had done for me. When she met my eyes, she flicked hers a little, an invitation to come over if I wanted to.

I looked back at the rack of black denim. And selected a second pair to try on if the first was a little off. I had no idea how the sizes ran in this brand. 

I approached with caution, and the sales woman looked up from her final markings.

“Would you like to try those on as well?” she asked.

I nodded. I felt like my teeth had glued themselves together painfully. It took a conscious effort to unclench my jaw muscles. 

She let me in the changing room next to the one Alisha had been using. I set my purse down on the bench in there. The tiny room was so clean. And it was a proper room, too, with a full door that had no gaps or anything, and two full length mirrors with a few different light switches next to it. I blinked at them and with some amount of curiosity flicked one, to find it turned on a slightly different set of lights with a slightly different temperature color. Alisha knew how to sniff out fancy places, I realized. I peeled the MaxMart dress off and pulled the first pair of pants on, finding the waistband rather loose, but the thigh and knee areas were a good fit.

The second pair, the thigh and knee areas were too tight but the waistband fit. I sighed. I hated clothes shopping so much. Especially pants. My legs weren’t quite shaped like a woman’s should be so pants never really fit me quite right. I pulled my dress back on, feeling embarrassed.

When I opened the door, Alisha was anxiously clicking through her phone’s non-existent messages. She looked up. “Do you need another size?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No, they just don’t have the right cut.” I went to return them to the rack but she put a hand on my arm.

“Was there one that was just a little big in one area?” she asked.

“This ones is just a bit loose in the waistband,” I informed her. I then realized she was asking if I wanted them adjusted. “Oh, but you don’t need to spend money on an alteration,” I told her.

“The alteration is free,” she said.

“Huh?” I then hurried to look at the price tag on the pants and nearly dropped them out of horror. Three hundred dollars for a pair of pants? I didn’t need a pair of black denim pants that badly.

I went to put them back but she didn’t let go of my arm.

“It’s okay, Kitten,” she told me again. “You need clothing.”

“Yes but I don’t need–” I stopped myself as the saleswoman came back.

She presented Alisha with the dress and showed her the adjusted seam.”

“Thank you,” Alisha told her. “And could you do a few items for my companion as well?” she asked. 

“Of course, did you have anything in mind?” the saleswoman asked me.

I froze up, feeling on the spot. “Uhm– I just don’t–” I started to feel my face heat up. How did people talk in stores like this? Was it okay for me to tell her I needed to browse more or would she start doing that pushy salesperson thing where she’d start grabbing random products and try to convince me to try them.

Alisha adjusted her hand from my forearm to my shoulder. “How about you find a shirt to go with those pants?” she asked me.

I nodded and started to wander off again as Alisha turned to the saleswoman and asked a question about when they’d be getting new stock in.

Once a little ways away I released a breath, and then went to where I’d gotten the pants from and hung the smaller of the two sizes back up. Alisha had willingly engaged in a pointless conversation, I knew, so I could be free of the saleswoman breathing down my neck.

The bouncer was still watching me. It was gradually occurring to me that Alisha and I were their only customers and we weren’t exactly dressed to go shopping in a place like this. Maybe it was a class thing, I realized. Yes we were wearing dresses but they were obviously cheap vacation style dresses. Alisha could hold herself in a way to imply she belonged in here but I didn’t have that skill. Whatever microgestures she had learned during her childhood travels weren’t familiar to me. I looked over, seeing the way she stood with her arms carefully folded and her fingernails displayed, even if they weren’t painted. I looked at my nails briefly. They were clean and trimmed… could I pull off that pose if I tried? Alisha did file her nails occasionally, but it wasn’t really part of her daily routine. Would it land the same way if I did it? It was a very… rich person kind of gesture. I shook my head to clear the thought away. It was more than just making one gesture that was so obviously to show off a manicure. I’d have to watch her when she was in rich-person mode.  Right now, though, there were clothes to be found. I just needed an outfit. I started to look through their tops, finding most of the blouses to be a bit too loud for me. Most were either in very bold colors or with what I found to be ugly patterns, though there was a certain type of person that would like to wear them. 

I found some more business-like shirts and I examined them. There were a few in a plain white just with some different flares or ruffles here or there. I chose the most basic one and held it up against me to determine the size.

This was what I decided to try on. The saleswoman happily let me step past her back into the changing room and I once again swapped clothes. The pants were still a bit big and the shirt fit me around the shoulders but the waist and hips area was off. 

I cracked the door open uncertainly, finding Alisha still talking about things I would expect to hear someone ramble on about in one of these stores, but I didn’t really expect it from her, it wasn’t really her personality, but she was holding the saleswoman’s attention pretty completely as she did so.

Was she distracting this woman specifically so I could do my shopping in peace? That was something I would believe her to do, more than discuss in detail about how it was such a shame that the coral color was going out already and now animal-prints were coming back.

I looked around briefly. There were a lot of animal prints about and lots of suede where I might expect leather. I stood behind the saleswoman until Alisha made eye contact with me. There was a question in her expression and I nodded, so she smiled. “Did you find something?” she asked finally and the saleswoman turned her attention to me.

“Yes, I think they do need a little adjustment though,” I said. 

The saleswoman looked me over and then came with her little pins and things. “Let’s see…” Her hands tugged on the waistband at the back. It was an awkward moment as I froze up and let her pinch it this way and that and make her little marks. And then she moved on to the shirt, making a few more marks along the side seams and otherwise giving it a thorough look over. She did not turn me, but rather took her time walking around me in a circle before nodding. “That should do it,” she determined.

“Thank you,” I said and went back into the changing room to swap back to the dress and handed the new clothing over to her when I came back out.

She took it off into a back room and I looked at Alisha as we waited. “Are you sure it’s okay to spend so much money? I thought you had an upper spending limit.”

“On my card,” she said. She adjusted herself to show me the interior of her purse and held the envelope she had stashed the cash Tye gave her open.

I blinked. Were those mostly hundred dollar bills? Tye just had that much money lying around.

“In this life, you have emergency stashes,” Alisha explained.

I glanced at the security man but he had taken to staring at someone eyeing the store from out on the street.

“Still. He just gave that to you?” I asked.

“I told him where to grab one of mine so even if something were to happen and I couldn’t return, he’d still get his money back.” She put the cash away.

“And if we get mugged?” I asked.

She gave me a look.

“Right, dumb question.” Alisha knew how to handle herself. I did not, but I wasn’t the one carrying the money.

The saleswoman came back with my clothes and showed me the new seams before folding them neatly and asking, “is there anything I can help you wonderful ladies with?”

“That’ll be all, thank you,” Alisha told her. “How much do I owe you?”

The saleswoman wandered back over to a counter where a register was. Alisha followed her and I trailed behind. There was some typing on the other side and then she looked up. “It’s sixteen-eighty-five and thirty cents.”

I did feel that ever present guilt over the money but Alisha pulled the cash out, counted it out and even made an effort to give exact change, which was a bit fruitless. The saleswoman gave her change back and we were free to get out of that place.

The security man continued to eye us as we left. I pressed a little closer to Alisha as he did so.

“Sorry, Kitten,” Alisha told me. “I didn’t mean to drag you in there without warning.”

“It’s okay. I know we need more clothing. Though… three hundred dollars for a pair of pants is a lot.”

“It’s no big deal,” she reassured me. “And those are pretty polished so they can replace the dress that got ruined.”

I nodded. “I’m going to miss that dress.” It was so comfy. 

She pulled me a little closer, our bag of spoils still clutched in her other hand. “We’ll get you more,” she reassured, and gave my hand a little squeeze. “Though you need to be careful, if you get too cute, I might pounce on you when I shouldn’t.”

I blushed. “I know you can control yourself,” I said.

“So far,” she teased. She squeezed my hand again. “Anyway, we should get to the spa.”