I called Tommy after talking to Kat the night before. I’d made my decision, I told him, and I was going to give him a chance. Dinner and a movie, no strings.
Tommy was thrilled at my concession. His car pulled up to my building the next evening at about 5:30; I met him at the door.
I felt at once disgusted and flattered at his reaction. He stood speechless, staring me up and down, taking in the sight of me in a little black cocktail dress, dark leggings, and a pair of low-heeled pumps that I’d finally got the hang of walking in. Mostly. I’d even put on a little gold chain to draw the eye to the top of my cleavage, which was tasteful yet copious in the tight-zipped dress.
“Yeah, yeah, I look hot,” I said, rolling my eyes at him. “Pop em back in the sockets and let’s go, yeah?”
The mood in the car was awkward as hell. Tommy sat behind the wheel, clearly trying not to show any creepy giddiness at the prospect of having me, and I sat next to him pretending to be cautiously eager about the whole thing.
It was the same way all the way to the restaurant, but after we ordered our drinks Tommy finally broke the ice.
“So,” he said, “have you figured out how to fix your problem yet?”
“Oh yeah.” I smiled. “I think I know how to change back. With any luck I’ll be back to normal soon.”
“Oh? What do you have to do?”
I felt my cheeks flush. I should have said no! “Uh… it… has to do with my girl-parts,” I said quietly. “It’s better if you don’t know the details.”
“Aha. Well, let me know if you need help or anything. After all, we’re still friends, right?”
“Right… yeah. Will do.” Well, he’d asked for it, right? That meant nothing was my fault anymore. Yep.
With that out of the way, it was surprisingly easy to talk to Tommy again. We’d been best friends for years, and I’d missed having someone to talk about sports with. Hell, I’d missed sports. I hadn’t had a chance to really relax in front of a game all week.
We laughed and joked and got funny looks from the waiter, but I didn’t care. The food was great, and if I forgot about why I was there, so was the company.
“So anyway,” Tommy said, taking a sip from his wine, “the next period started and immediately the ref slipped and fell on his ass! They had to stop the game!”
“Oh my god, that’s hilarious!” I grinned, reaching over the table and touching Tommy’s hand.
I froze, blushing, as Tommy took my hand and squeezed it. “Uh… sorry,” I said. “This… fuck, this is weird, huh?”
He smiled, letting go so I could withdraw my arm. “Yeah, but it’s fun, you gotta admit.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Read more »