RAQUEL'S TRADE
Part Four: Girls' Night Out
by Dr. Mercurious
Kayleigh lived alone, but not by choice. She'd grown up in a big family -- four brothers and three sisters -- and missed always having someone around to talk to or have fun with. Unfortunately, cops such as herself made for poor roommates simply because of their crazy hours. It certainly didn't help their housekeeping abilities; the mound of clothing gleaned from the untamed wilderness of her floor was a testament to that.
Thinking about her family brought a lump to her throat, as it always did. You'd think I'd know better by now, she cursed. She hadn't been welcome back home since she'd 'come out'; only her cousin Mike and her brother Sam still bothered with her. It hurt a lot.
Figures, she thought sourly. The date of the millennium, three hours to get ready, no clothes to wear and I'm depressed about something that I can't change. She concentrated on Raquel. Those toned thighs, that washboard stomach...and the two heads, of course. She wondered what it would be like, having a two-headed tigress go down on her. Knock it off, she told herself sternly as she added another dress to the slightly quivering pile of laundry. She said she's only curious, remember? Kayleigh knew full well what her fellow lesbians had to say about fems who thought that way, and none of them were complimentary. Then again, they had different unkind things to say about lesbians like Kayleigh who wore her black hair in a long braid, didn't have a pink triangle anywhere on her person, and thought Ellen Degeneres deserved to have her show canceled.
The final article of clothing had been rescued from her floor and added to her laundry basket. Very firmly, she put all depressing thoughts from her mind and focused instead on images of Raquel. In no time at all she was not only smiling but wagging as well.
#
Raquel held up another dress like a prison guard holding a prisoner on its way to the electric chair. "How about this one?" She'd decided to talk to Cyndi with her left head for the most part, since it seemed to put the porcupine girl at ease.
Cyndi stood at the doorway to Raquel's bedroom, hands planted firmly on hips. "It's got potential," she begrudged. "Pass it over here." Raquel did with a wince; it was the third most revealing outfit in her closet. Cyndi looked it over and tossed it on the 'reject pile'. "Nah, the tail-hole is stretched out," She snorted. "Without a tail, it'll show half your butt-crack."
"Oops, didn't think of that," Raquel said with an inward sigh of relief. She pulled another one out of her closet. "How this," she began, and almost choked as she recognized the second most revealing outfit she owned.
Cyndi's face screwed up into a grimace. "Purple? With your fur coloring? God, pass the barf-bucket! Besides, it's a little prudish."
"Cyndi, if it showed any more cleavage I'd pop out!"
"Only your top pair. Don't exaggerate," Cyndi sighed. "Why don't you just let me take a look, okay? You just sit down on your bed."
Raquel did as she was told, eyeing her roomie warily as the porcupine girl dived into Raquel's closet. In short order, clothes began flying everywhere followed by derogatory comments. At least she seems to have gotten over the fact that I've got a date with a fem tonight, she thought. In truth, it'd taken Cyndi all of three seconds to put that fact behind her once she remembered that, in her opinion, Raquel was WOEFULLY unprepared for tonight and they NEEDED to go to the nearest mall and do some emergency shopping. Raquel hating shopping and protested; Cyndi launched a devastating counteroffensive based on Raquel's desire to show off her new look. Raquel, much to her chagrin, caved. They'd spent the rest of the day shopping for jewelry, shoes, lingerie -- Raquel was still blushing over that one -- and lip gloss. They might still be at the mall had Raquel not insisted she had perfectly fine dresses at home to wear. She still didn't like shopping, but now it was because it seemed to take so LONG to get something you wanted. She drank the stares and gawking in like fine wine knowing it was for a different reason.
A flying dress abruptly smacked into her right face, followed by a particularly vile epitaph. "Watch where you throw those, would you?" She pulled it off to take a look at it. "Hey, what's wrong with this one?"
Cyndi spun out of the closet. "Pink? PINK? God, that's worse than purple!"
"But I like pink," Raquel protested.
"I know," Cyndi said with an eye roll. "Gods above and below, I know." She sighed. "If I don't find something soon we'll have to go back out and do some more shopping."
"Cyndi," Raquel protested, "It's after three o'clock! If we take as long doing that as we did the other stuff, I'll never be on time!"
Cyndi spread her arms and gazed heavenward. "Give me strength," she pleaded. She glared at Raquel. "First of all, it's Sunday so the malls close at 6:30 the latest. Second of all -- Raquel I love you like a sister but you are so naive -- NEVER be on time for a hot date!"
"I wouldn't call it a hot date," Raquel protested.
Cyndi raised one eyebrow, face flat of expression, and didn't say a word. Raquel's newly improved memory threw up the teasing she'd given her roomie earlier and blushed furiously.
"Gotcha," Cyndi giggled, and turned back to the closet.
Serves me right, Raquel thought ruefully.
I just wish I knew if I was teasing, came another thought. It was still hard getting used to the random thoughts that would occasionally flit through her mind but considering how on-the-mark they were she'd be foolish to try to stop them. Having two brains was definitely turning out to be better than having one.
"Aha!" Cyndi crowed.
A knot of trepidation clenched in Raquel's stomach. "What?"
Cyndi danced out of the closet with her prize. "I've never seen you wear this before." She held the dress up. "Why not?"
Raquel blanched as she recognized the most revealing dress in her closet. She'd bought it several years back on an impulse, and the memory of looking at her reflection while wearing it was still enough to make her blush profusely.
"Cyndi I can't wear that," she protested.
"Why not?" She chirped. "You'll knock 'em dead! It doesn't even have a tail-hole; you were MEANT to wear this tonight!"
"Can't we find another one?" Raquel pleaded.
"Hmm," Cyndi mused, glancing back at the nearly-barren closet. Well, I'm sure we could cobble together something a little more tasteful." Somehow she managed to make that last word sound like 'repulsive'. "It'd still require a return trip tot he mall, though. What time did you say your date was?"
Raquel looked at Cyndi's helpful expression and knew she'd been beaten. "Okay, okay," she sighed. "It's been a while since I wore it though, so I'll have to wash it." Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll shrink, she thought hopefully.
#
"Hi! Kayleigh, right? Pleased to meet you!"
Kayleigh shook hands with a red-quilled cheery porcupine fem dressed in slacks and a nice blouse. Kayleigh herself was wearing a short denim skirt and a tight sky-blue blouse with short sleeves and black pumps. "Hi," she returned nervously.
"Cyndi," the fem volunteered. "Raquel's roommate. Come on in, she'll be out soon."
Kayleigh followed Cyndi into the parlor. Under normal circumstances she'd be ogling the fem's nice ass, but with images of Raquel dancing through her head all other fems paled in comparison. "So how long have the two of you been roommates?" Kayleigh asked as they sat down on the couch.
"Since college, freshman year," Cyndi dimpled. "We've actually known each other since junior year in high school."
"Wow," Kayleigh blinked. That made a ten-year friendship, she thought to herself.
"Yeah." Cyndi looked at her watch. "Well, that about uses up my stores of small-talk. Since you're the guest, I'll give you choice of my next topic: embarrassingly personal or philosophical? I'd add 'homophobic insinuation', but I'm not good with those."
Kayleigh gaped as the porcupine fem burst out laughing. She was so stunned that Cyndi had time to get over her fit of hysterics and wipe tears from her eyes.
"Gotcha," Cyndi grinned. "Two in one day for me. I'm on a roll."
Kayleigh couldn't help but grin back. She was going to like her. "You wouldn't be into girls, would you? I know someone you'd be perfect for."
"Sorry, I'm committed to my sweetie-bear Byron." She made a face. "He's working an overtime shift today, else I'd double-date." Cyndi glanced over Kayleigh's shoulder. "It's about time, roomie! Your date's here!"
"So I heard," came the dry response.
Kayleigh got up from the couch quickly. "Hi Raquel, you look...oh my god." She hadn't meant to say that, it just squirted out. She had no idea how Raquel had managed to get that dress on, but it must have involved a pact with the devil. It was a tight, black strapless tube that left her shoulders and top bare all the way down to the top of her first pair of breasts; in fact, it hugged both sets so tightly Kayleigh could tell she didn't have any bras on. Traveling downward, it skated across her lush curves, finally ending just below her upper thighs. The whole ensemble was crowned with black high heels, gold bows and a black purse.
Kayleigh gave her a nervous double-smile. "Hi, Kayleigh. You look very nice," she said with her right head.
Kayleigh tried for witty. "Wow," was all that came out.
Cyndi beamed. "Have fun, you two."
It was that which snapped Kayleigh out of her hormone-induced trance. Calm down and stop acting like a horny bimbo, she told herself. You don't want to blow this one.
#
Raquel's choice of restaurants -- Edouard's Bistro, a popular local fave on Union Hill -- seemed to surprise and delight Kayleigh. Raquel's offer to drive turned out to be equally inspired, as the husky's concentration level definitely seemed to be lacking. Raquel tried to engage her in conversation on the way to the restaurant -- talking to someone while driving was much easier with two heads -- but Kayleigh tended to drift off subject a lot, and the look in her eyes left no doubt as to the cause. It had been a long time since anyone had looked at Raquel like a sexual entity, someone to be desired, and it turned her on. The fact that it didn't seem to matter it was another fem disturbed her just a bit.
A plate of mussels marinarra thumped in front of her. God, I've been doing a bit of spacing myself, Raquel chided herself. She smiled at the gaping waiter with her left head while engaging in small talk with Kayleigh using her right; for some reason she couldn't fathom it felt more comfortable.
"Is Dr. Balto your only relative in the area?" She asked the policehusky.
"Hm?" Kayleigh seemed to focus on the present a little tighter. "Oh, yeah."
"Must be nice," Raquel murmured. "All of mine either live at the other end of the country or overseas...what there are of them." She shrugged. "I was a late-life baby for my parents; they were in their fifties. Heck, there's twenty years' difference in ages between me and my brother."
"Wow." Kayleigh looked interested. "So where do your parents live now?"
Raquel took a deep breath. "They died four years ago, within days of each other. Heart attacks. It's what the would have wanted." She managed to get it out with only a little pain.
Kayleigh reached out and squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up old wounds." Her expression grew troubled. "I have more than a few myself when it comes to family."
Raquel squeezed the hand back; she could guess very easily what that trouble was. "Hey, it's okay," she soothed. "You don't have to talk about it, you know."
"No, I...I want to talk about it." Raquel caught the implied 'with you'. "I grew up with seven sibs, two sets of aunts and uncles on either side, hordes of cousins...and as far as they're all concerned -- with the exception of Mike and one of my brothers -- it'd be better if I was dead instead of going to hell."
Raquel winced. "That's harsh."
"It's true." Kayleigh was clenching Raquel's hand like a life preserver. "My own mother told me so. The original Bible thumpers, that's our clan. Praise the Lord, pass the ammo, the whole bit. It was kinda rough growing up...." Kayleigh suddenly trailed off, her eyes growing wide. Raquel was beginning to get alarmed when finally the husky shook herself and said, "I'm sorry, I've been a selfish bitch."
"Okay, that one went by me," Raquel said, now very confused.
"It's just..." She took a deep breath and looked into Raquel's right face. "Raquel, I have been thinking about you all night, how beautiful you look and...other things." She reddened briefly. "I never stopped to think about the tough times you had growing up looking the way you do. I was just reacting to you as a sex object."
Raquel was stunned. You know, that is the first apology I've ever gotten.
Mind you it was a different deformity but it's the thought that counts. Kayleigh tried to pull her hand away, but Raquel decided she would have none of it. On impulse she brought it to her right lips and kissed it, a move that surprised even her. "You listen to me," she purred. "Without going into too much detail, for the longest time I thought I was ugly because that's how people treated me. It's only recently I've been looked at as someone to be desired, mainly because I realized I am sexy." She kissed Kayleigh's hand again; the other fem looked ready to melt under the table. "But thank you for the apology anyway."
"Raquel," Kayleigh began, but she kissed her hand again. She liked the way the fem husky's fur felt on her mouth. It was that, more than anything, that caused her to bring herself up short.
She found herself seriously thinking about having sex with Kayleigh.
I need to sort this out, she thought. With effort, she kept her internal conflict off both faces. "I need to go powder my..noses," she said. "You keep our table warm for me, okay? I'll be right back."
#
Raquel was thankful that the ladies' room seemed to be deserted. She was so distracted she hadn't even noticed if anyone was staring. She didn't have to do anything of course, but she had to sort out what she was feeling.
I just hope it's not too late. Raquel took out a face-brush from her purse and attacked the cheeks on her left head using the mirror as a guide
I think is was too late when I kissed her hand, she admitted ruefully. Satisfied with the fur on her left face, she moved to her right one and dug out a hairbrush.
Well, I'm still not committed to anything. It was a reassuring thought.
It didn't last, though. Oh who am I kidding? She ran the brush through the hair on her left head while finishing up with the right face. I love the way she looks at me, she's very sweet and God help me I find her attractive! What is my problem?
Maybe it's the whole fem thing. I mean, I've always been into guys. She put away the face brush and brought the hair brush to her right head.
Suddenly she was disgusted with herself. She shoved the hairbrush back into her purse with violence. So I just discovered I'm into girls too. Is it such a big deal?
She didn't have an answer. Which, she realized, was an answer all to itself.
She let out a long, happy sigh. She seemed to have released some inner tension and now was prepared to enjoy the rest of the evening. And Kayleigh, if it came to that.
Of course it will she purred to herself warmly. And if she doesn't make the first move, I will.
I have to watch those errant thoughts though, she considered. For a while there it was like I was arguing with myself and I lost.
#
As the minutes stretched into five and then ten, Kayleigh was coming to the dreadful conclusion she'd been dumped. She told herself it was just insecurity, that Raquel seemed to be really into the date, that the kiss on her hand meant something, but she couldn't help what she felt.
Raquel's return quelled those doubts for good; the tigress was positively glowing. "That must have been some powder," Kayleigh said. If possible, Raquel looked even sexier.
"I do have twice the noses," her right head purred.
The rest of the meal was spent in light conversation. Kayleigh, mindful of what she'd said to herself earlier, made every effort to keep her thoughts firmly out of the gutter. Not once did Raquel ask why she had become a cop; when Kayleigh asked if she wanted to know, Raquel blinked and said. "I just thought it was because you wanted to help people." It made the husky want her more.
She did have another bad moment in the parking lot. As they were going to Raquel's car, the tigress stopped with a stunned expression on both faces. "Omigod!" She looked genuinely very distressed to Kayleigh.
"What?"
"I have work tomorrow," the left head declared. A long pause, the again in a very scared tone. "Oh. I have work tomorrow."
"Is your job that bad?" Kayleigh wanted to know; Raquel actually looked pale.
"Uhmmm....I've been having problems at work lately," she hedged.
On a playful whim he slipped an arm around Raquel's waist and smiled up at her. "Then we'll just have to play extra hard tonight, won't we?"
There was a stunned pause as the words sank in. I can't believe I just said that, Kayleigh fumed to herself. She'd decided to let Raquel make the first move and here she was practically spreading her legs. She opened her mouth to apologize but Raquel brought a hand up to stroke Kayleigh's muzzle.
"I think that's a wonderful idea," she purred in stereo and kissed her with her right mouth.
If Raquel's words could be taken any other way, the rough and rugged kiss made it very clear what she meant. Kayleigh tried to give as good as she got, but her legs seemed to want to buckle. Them, just as Raquel let her come up for air, the tigress brought in her other mouth for a go. This kiss was tentative, much softer and gentler but no less passionate.
"That's not fair," Kayleigh protested when she finally got her breath back. Raquel had her wrapped up in a warm embrace.
"Too bad," she giggled with her right head as her left stuck its tongue out. "I'm not interested in playing fair."
Kayleigh snuggled up. "Well if you want to play, I have some games back at my apartment we could try out."
"I would love that," Raquel purred in stereo. "Very much. Right now."