Alisha drove us. The rental was a decent car. Nothing fancy like she was used to but also not a car that was purely transportive. The seats had warrs and were comfy, the radio worked like a radio should, and there was still a decent smoothness to the ride.
Tye had refused to be told where we'd be. He said sothing about, ‘the less anyone knows, the better.’ Alisha had agreed with him on this. Which ant we were truly alone beside the burner phones. Even those, contact was supposed to be as least as possible. Tye would only ssage us if there was a significant problem and he was the only one with the burner phone’s numbers. Alisha’s phones had been disposed of so there was no way to track their activity, either. It all felt so surreal still. Yesterday this ti I was getting ready to have lunch with Mr. Santos in a pretty dress. And now I was fleeing the city with Alisha wearing borrowed sweatpants and a plain T-shirt.
This was the first issue we'd be addressing, even before we found a place to stay the night.
We were driving fairly blindly as well, in a western direction away from the coast, but without knowing exactly where we'd end up. Yes, we had burner phones, but those phones did not have GPS.
Instead Alisha drove in the vague direction of another city, almost two hundred miles away, and which was a bit larger.
The first exit that promised stores she pulled off at.
“We can go to MaxMart,” I told her. “They have clothes we can get just to get through the next day or so.”
She nodded and followed the large signs for it.
“Actually, they might have a GPS for the car too, if that’s sothing you want.” MaxMart had a bit of everything. It was cheap stuff, not necessarily built to last, but we only needed to hold ourselves together until we heard news. Also… we would not stand out in these awkward clothes in that place. (I still had no underwear or a bra so my boobs and Alisha’s boobs, I was sure, felt quite naked.)
I also happened to know my exact bra size there which ant I wouldn’t have to go through the hassle of trying things on over and over again while people judged my choices.
“A GPs might be a good idea,” Alisha agreed. “There would be nothing worse than getting lost on the way back.”
I nodded. She pulled into the parking lot and avoided a liquor bottle in the middle of the road.
And then we walked inside. I felt weird. Alisha was definitely a little uncomfortable as the entire store was brightly lit and there were so many people. I forgot how unpleasant the shopping experience at a MaxMart could be.
We browsed the clothing, at least avoiding being too close to any other shoppers. I noticed Alisha treated them with quite a bit of scrutiny and she never turned her back toward people, which was difficult when in such an open place like this where people were everywhere.
I stayed by her side as much as I could as she looked over the options with distaste. “Do they have nothing… sturdier?” she asked and slid her hand inside a shirt to test the drape. This ant her hand was visible through the paper-thin material.
I was grateful there were no employees nearby that she might try to ask. It wasn't exactly like they'd know.
“We just need clothes for today,” I reassured her. “We can go shopping again later at sowhere that has sothing a bit more suitable for you.”
She nodded. Apparently this was a reasonable compromise. I just knew if we walked in sowhere in our current outfits, people would not treat her like the wealthy person she was. And getting thrown out of places for looking holess was a very real thing.
“How about sothing like those?” I asked and redirected her attention to so sundresses up on the wall. They were definitely more boho than her usual outfits but they would fit in on a beach with no problem. And we were going on a vacation… kind of.
She examined them and once again ran her hand under the material. “I suppose this would work,” she said. “It's opaque enough, I suppose.”
She selected a pastel purple one and continued an examination of it.
I looked over the options and chose a similar sundress though mine was a bit longer and had so short sleeves rather than just so straps.
“And underwear, right?” I asked.
We moved to the other sections and Alisha was even more confused by the selection here. It occurred to she had always had soone to help get her sized. Which ant… I'd need to help her with this. I grabbed a bra in my own size and then tried to help her guesstimate hers in their less than luxurious brands. And then we went to the changing stalls, which were flimsy, kind of terrifying things and were unmanned. The doors of all but one were closed and locked but soone had used a coat hanger to prop one open. This was the one we slid into. I went to drop the spoils on the provided bench but stopped, seeing how much gri was on it.
Ew. I forgot how gross these places could be. Alisha was holding her arms, looking like she wanted to disappear from this place. I hung the clothes instead and started to undress to try on the dress so she’d feel a little more confident doing so herself. After a mont she followed my example. Her clothes were as simple as mine and she had no undergarnts either. The dress did suit her fairly well around the bust and hips but the waist was still too big, a fact she seed rather annoyed by.
“You could maybe tie a ribbon around it?” I suggested and reached over to pinch in the seam to see how it would look just getting clipped tighter. It wouldn’t be bad. If we had so safety pins or sothing even that could work.
“A ribbon?” she considered. “Would they sell those here?” she asked.
“Yes,” I told her. “They have pretty much everything.”
I then helped her get the bras off the hangers to try them on. She struggled with them a lot, complaining about the underwire jabbing her sides, or the band being too tight or loose. It took a long ti for us to find one she deed suitable. “Not perfect,” she observed, doing her best to adjust the shoulder straps to an exact length that was comfortable. It was a bra that looked a bit like I would expect a grandma to wear, geared toward comfort, and she seed disappointed with the lift but she was also frustrated and tired and probably ready to give up entirely.
I hesitated to even start suggesting underwear. I knew my size at least.
We went through the underwear and found so that would fit her reasonably. Then, I took her to the arts and crafts section to find a reasonably wide ribbon to use as a belt tie. She looked over each spool and finally selected a plain white one about two inches thick.
“I think this should do for today, right?” I asked. “And the GPS,” I said and went over to the electronic departnt, the deepest part of the store, and looked around there. An employee was quick to co over and I explained to him what we needed.
“I’ve never sold one of those,” he comnted but unlocked the case behind the counter to get the box out and handed it over.
Alisha nodded and we headed back to the front of the store when I saw the sumr hats and stopped. Alisha wouldn’t want to be recognized, naturally. And I’d never seen her wear a hat so probably nobody else had either. She followed my gaze and slowed down to look with .
“You want a hat?” she asked.
I shook my head and picked a wide-brimd one with so but not a lot of structure. “They protect from the sun,” I told her. “And prying eyes.” I set it on her head and she froze briefly. “Here,” I told her and adjusted her hair to go over her shoulder and then pulled her in front of the mirror.
She examined her reflection and then plucked a pair of sunglasses off a nearby display to slide on her face.
“How about that? Am I still,” she dropped her voice, “Ms. Takeno of the underworld?”
I was tempted to tell her the sunglasses made her a little more intimidating than not, and could draw more attention, but with them that iconic piercing gaze was shielded and she looked a bit more Japanese than Japanese-European.
“I think it suits you,” I decided. “When you’re not dealing with jerks.”
She smiled, and pulled closer. “Such a sweet thing,” she mumbled, and then selected another pair of sunglasses and offered them to . They had pink-gold wire fras with amber-reflective lenses. “How does that feel?” she asked.
I leaned to intrude in the mirror’s reflection in front of her. They were very round lenses but not oversized and hid the harsh cheekbones I dearly wished I could shave away.
“I think they’re cute,” I told her.
“Let’s get them, then. You shouldn’t be entirely recognizable either.”
I pulled them off, feeling the shift in my vision back to cheap fluorescent lighting.
We gathered our things and went through the checkout. Alisha paid with cash from a thick stack Tye had provided her. I felt a little uncomfortable about the total, as usual, but I was getting more used to being provided for. I just hoped I wouldn’t beco a useless lay-about if this kind of treatnt kept up.
Before we left, we went into the family bathroom to get changed. She braided her hair down the side into sothing she called a french fishtail braid, which did hide so of the absurdly chemically treated nature of it. So of her darker roots showed more on the upper part, but more importantly, from behind, her hair was just a white blonde styled to the side, which changed her silhouette so she was less likely to be recognized from behind.
With the sundress, and the ribbon I helped cut with a knife from her purse, and the hat and sunglasses, she looked like a basic rich woman enjoying a beach side vacation. We were heading away from the coast, but it was still a look suited for the hot weather.
My style was similar, sundress and sunglasses. It was a light flowy thing, even if the material felt a little sticky for so reason.
Alisha gave herself a thorough look over, particularly where the bandage was still plastered to her back underneath everything. Of the few items we had, she had brought a large bottle of ibuprofen swiped from Tye’s drug stash, and she had been taking them, though not as excessively as I expected. I rembered vividly that piece of glass pulling free of her skin and the way Tye had shoved his fingers into the wound to control the bleeding after. It was honestly quite amazing she had been stitched up so quickly and so well, and now the main concern was any sign of infection. She should be taking antibiotics, too, I considered. But there were limits to what they could get their hands on without drawing attention. I didn’t suppose there was a large blackmarket need for antibiotics since they weren’t addictive, had no high only unpleasant side-effects, and still needed a prescription; which ant there wasn’t a reason for Alisha’s people to have them hanging around.
“I can’t see it,” I inford her.
“Thank you, Kitten,” she told , and relaxed a little. “This is a strange ti.”
I nodded. “I think it’s going to be fun,” I told her. “Not the best circumstances but we’ll get to spend so bonding ti together.” How often did the two of us get to properly go on a date? Mostly, we had als together, and that was our dating life. It would be so very nice to get to do so proper couple things with her.
She pulled close, sinking her fingers into the hair behind my ears. The sensation made lt a little but she got even closer and her lips moved briefly.
I closed my eyes, understanding and let her kiss . If only I had lower standards, I might’ve tried to get her clothes off, but instead, just let her invade my mouth with her tongue, and ran my hands down her back and did everything in my power to not make gross makeout sounds, even if we were getting a bit sloppy.
“How does your head feel?” she asked when she pulled away.
“It's still a little sore,” I managed, a little breathless and blushing furiously.
“Hmm,” she trailed her fingers away from my hair and instead ran a couple along my jawbone. “Once we find a bed, you might be getting thrown down on it, you understand?” she asked. “In that dress…” There was a noticeable shudder down her spine when she said this.
My face went even hotter. “I-I wouldn’t struggle,” I managed. “But can we get out of here?” I asked, “this is making feel gross.” We were alone, yes, but this was still a public bathroom and there was still a public poop sll to it. And I didn’t really want anyone thinking we were getting up to any mischief in here either.
She gave a final peck on the forehead and reorganized her things and our older clothes. This included the sidearms we’d been carrying, since dresses didn’t have waistbands to put them in. I was also purseless, which ant that would be another item I should acquire when we were in a more suitable location for Alisha. She was very relieved when we left, and happily drove out of the parking lot.
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