NOVEL NEXT Ch 12: What’s the worst that could happen if I asked for help buttoning my shirt?
“Alright, it fits, but I need to cut the opening for your tail first. Want to go show your friend out there before you take it off?”
“Oh, sure,” I said, spinning in the mirror, watching the frills of the dress dance as I did. I knew I should show her, but pulling away from the mirror was so hard. “Kalia, do you want to come back here?” I asked.
There was nothing at first, but soon I heard the steps of her boots on the floor and saw her head peeking around the corner of the barrier. For a moment, I thought I saw a slight blush on her face.
“You look great!” she said, finally rounding the corner completely.
“Yeah, I do,” I said. I knew I should’ve thanked her for the compliment, but I was so elated, felt so on top of the world, it just seemed right to agree.
“Good, glad the financier agrees. Now, shoo while she gets undressed! Only one person in the changing room at a time.”
“Okay,” Kalia said, still looked over me as she stepped back. “I’ll see you in a sec?
“Yeah!” I said, very aware that my tail was still swishing back and forth. She couldn’t see behind me anyway, so it was fine.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t too awkward, or stimulating, to undress in front of Elash the second time. The orgasm hadn’t calmed me down, but seeing myself in the mirror had. Sure, I looked good, but, well, not in
that way, not to myself at least. I did feel a touch of excitement as Elash left though, picking up both the underwear and my cloak from the ground, leaving me back there alone, naked, little bits of me still visible through the not-quite-opaque leaf wall.“Did you like it?” Kalia said. “I hoped you would.”
“I did!” I said, thankful for a little distraction from my situation. “It was…”
“Like you always imagined?”
“Better.”
I couldn’t see anything other than the vague outline through the branches, but I thought I felt her smile. “I’m glad. I’m just getting you two outfits today, one for day wear and one for jobs, but that’s just cause it’s what’s available off the rack. Once we get some more money, I’ll commission you some proper tailored clothes.”
“Two should be enough for now, I think.” Was that right? I was used to multiple clothing changes a day, but I also didn’t think I’d be exercising as much as before either.
I wanted to keep talking, but I couldn’t find anything to to talk about really. It’s always a little hard, talking to someone new, especially when you’re just waiting around. It didn’t help that there were so many things I felt like we still needed to talk about, a sort of decision paralysis. But soon enough, I heard Elash announce she was coming back in.
“These should fit fine, so I’m just gonna leave them back here with you,” she said as I covered myself up again. “I’ll go take care of payment up front with Elash.” She took one last good look as I reached for the bundle of new clothes.
“You should come back sometime,” she added, swirling green eyes still poring over me. “If that’s okay with you and your friend.”
I just nodded, half out of my own mind at the suggestion. I wasn’t sure that’s what Kalia had in mind when she made the offer to let Elash look it me, but as for myself I definitely wasn’t opposed to the idea. She looked for only a moment more, and then turned around, speaking in their other shared language yet again.
The dress was in the clothes pile she gave me, I guess to wear out if I wanted to, but I needed to try on the other things anyway. It was a vest of some sort, a pair of black pants that looked suspiciously close to yoga pants with a button-fastened cutout up top for my tail, and then a bunch of other accessories, gloves and even some things that looked like shin pads?
I started putting it on the best way I could figure. The pants stretched like yoga pants, something I wasn’t expecting considering the technology I’d seen so far, and they had little built in socks at the bottom that left my heel and toes exposed. No shoes either, I realized.
Once I had them pulled up and buttoned though, the pants fit well enough, and I moved on to the matching gloves. Same stretchy material, going up about halfway up my upper arms. “Shirt next, I guess,” I said to myself. If you could call it a shirt, that was. It really was more like a long, earthy-green vest, no sleeves, a very deep v-shaped collar, and… no way to fasten it? Unless I was blind, there was no button, no zipper, no latch. The vest was just sort of hanging there, open, like my boobs.
I was missing something, obviously. There were a handful of other pieces, including those shin guards, but I needed help one way or another. And I came up with an idea, a fun idea, a stupid idea.
“Elash,” I shouted as I rounded the corner, shirt flapping to my sides as I did. “I need some help with this part!” I figured I’d shown them off to Elash already, and Kalia would be seeing them soon enough anyways, so why not have a little more fun before we left?
I’d expected Elash to be staring at me, which she was, and Kalia to be staring at me too, which she wasn’t, instead engrossed in counting out some coins. The other three patrons that had entered the shop since I’d gone into the back, were, however, staring my way.
It made sense of course, since I’d just shouted, “Hey look at me!” for all intents and purposes, but it didn’t stop me from being scared stiff, my face from burning red, or me turning tail and screaming as I ran back to the changing booth. In that order.