Final

This was... odd, to say the least. Chris was fretting about what she should wear for her day out with Bernadotte and had seriously considered when her wardrobe was laid out on her bedspread that she should go shopping before the Saturday in question. It had been literal years since she'd stepped foot in an actual clothing store; shopping online for anything she'd wanted to be seen wearing, and that had become so easy that most things arrived within the week no matter how exotic, and the thrift store for rags, that had been enough to get her by.

On Thursday, her will had been broken down and she couldn't be satisfied by the offerings her closet afforded. It wasn't all that much, she didn't trust herself to judge fashion other than the provocative, but nobody had given her the side-eye leaving in a thin coat, black jeans, and a printed shirt which proclaimed her love for some pop-culture thing she hadn't kept in touch enough to know: some kind of green, wrinkled thing in a swaddle. The shirt at least got some nods of appreciation, so Chris thought Dot would know what the thing was for sure.

She felt stupid, waiting out in front of the public library of all things for Dot on Saturday morning when she would have otherwise been sleeping off the previous night, wearing something she could actually imaging the handsome Dot inside. They hadn't talked about anything like that, but Dot felt like she should be a little bit of a geek, the kind of person Chris bullied in school and by now thoroughly regretting have done.

It had seemed simple at the time, they thought they were better than a cheerleader, someone whose popularity was worth almost nothing once they got out into the real world. The similarities were building up against an emotional dam at the back of Chris' mind. How long would she be able to live the way she did? Nearing thirty, she was amazed she didn't look fifty with all the stress...

Dot was better than her, and she knew it. Here was a diligent, intelligent young woman who was sure to go on to do great things with her life as soon as she got the self-discovery out of her system. And on the other side, Chris.

There hadn't been any clients since Tuesday. Calls, yes. Angry knocking at her door, yes. But no clients taken in. For the first time in a while, Chris hadn't even drunk in a few days and though her head kind of throbbed, it felt like a cloud was lifting.

Something was on its way, she knew it. But what...

At the moment, what had been on its way was a long, black car with deeply tinted windows. Chris had noted its existence, but gave it no real thought until the window at the back rolled down and a familiar face smiled genially from within.

Feeling like she should keep up the dominating pretense, if only a little, Chris leaned against the car door as it was opened to loom over the occupant. "Miss Dot, Did you really think to rent a limousine for our little outing today? How thoughtful. Use daddy's credit card?"

Dot quietly held a finger to her lips and waved for Chris to join her in the back seat, the driver coming off the side of the road once she closed the door behind her. The girl was a vision of beauty, her black hair contrasting wonderfully against the pure, white sundress she'd chosen. White ribbons, too, securing a thick, black braid draped casually over one delicate shoulder. There was a temptation to kiss her right then and there, to hell with the driver's opinion, but Dot pulled away at the last second with such a fearful look in her eyes that Chris settled for a wholesome peck to the forehead, such as a good female friend might give if she were especially touchy-feely.

"It is good to see you were on time, Christina." Dot said, "I hope you don't mind but I was not able to secure a day for us without a chaperone. My bodyguard, David." It served as both introduction and warning, nothing explicitly romantic could happen between the two of them while under the watchful eye of a man with a head that looked like it belonged on the blunt end of a pencil.

Best to give a good impression. Chris said, "Sir, thank you for your help in driving us today. Still, I didn't expect my Dot was such a high-roller to warrant a bodyguard!"

He didn't turn around, road safety and all, but his glance in the rear-view mirror didn't go without notice. "Miss Shore, are you still not telling your friends about this?"

"Shh!" Dot said as if she was scolding a cat for standing on the table. So, her tendency to revert to formality didn't only extend to avoiding embarrassment? Wonderful, that at least meant she couldn't always be taken advantage of. "You know how weird people get when they know. No, you can't know, since you didn't spend four years being asked for money every day."

"I do have a teenage daughter, but I'll take your point." He zipped his lip and pulled down a little barrier, leaving the two of them alone in mock privacy.

Chris found herself staring at the curve of Dot's chin, yearning to tip it up into a kiss, one she'd wanted for days. But there was no telling when the driver might choose to ruin their fun and Dot's tetchy air said being caught at this juncture wasn't an option. she settled for placing her hand upon Dot's, slipping between the girl's long, delicate fingers with plausibly-deniable affection.

"Did you miss me?" Chris whispered underneath the sound of the road passing beneath them.

Dot raised a hand to her lips, its loosely-curled fingers almost hiding in the limousine's shadowy interior how ruddy her complexion had become thinking about their previous encounters. "I'm sorry, I thought it would only be the two of us... Father doesn't like the idea that I might be out in public with-"

"Someone like me?"

"-out protection. He doesn't think a friend would prioritize my safety."

Well, that was a kick in the metaphorical nuts. Chris herself knew just how little safety she offered to her dear Dot, Tuesday's trouble fresh in her mind. Mark had reached out in 'apology' the very next day and Chris had finally cut the man off, something she should have done so many years ago. If he showed his face again, she'd promised to go through her contacts looking for everyone who would be up for a good-old-fashioned beat down. It was just so hard once Dot retreated into herself to tell whether the girl would escape without trauma.

"Big shot, then, your dad?" Chris squeezed her hand, hoping it would be a comfort to the girl.

Dot did sigh and relaxed. "Father owns a real estate management firm, that is all. Nothing spectacular. But I had planned to have us go out via ride share, rather than being driven by someone who knows me..."

It was the wise decision not to tell Dot how her pouting lips presented a delectable target, but Chris could only steer herself away from the concept, skidding at the end. "Dot, If I wanted to, could I kiss you?"

The girl's eyes went wide and her heart's skip could be felt through her palm, heat coursing through her. She cleared her throat and said, "That wouldn't be... not now, at least."

Something deep within Chris wanted to keep an ear perked for the telltale skid of the barrier and push the girl flat against the leather seats, push her tongue through sweet, pursed lips, slide her hand underneath the sheer fabric of the girl's skirt... The urge had gotten her in trouble before and, terrified of making the same mistakes, she withdrew her hand and took an interest on the world outside the car window. They were going onto the freeway; out of town, as Dot had mentioned. Too bad her plan to be alone and away from prying eyes for a whole day would go to waste.

"I think," Chris said, "Today can still be nice, even if we can't do..." She tried for a word that wouldn't draw attention from a carefully-hidden pipe from the cabin to the driver. Nothing presented itself. "Did you pick out the movie you wanted to see?"

"Ah, yes, the newest kaiju movie just came out and I have heard good things about its plot-line." The girl sat pert and pretty, folding her hands on her lap such that it would be too obvious to take it again.

That was shocking. "That's like, those giant monsters, right? You don't want to see something romantic?" she said, then added in a whisper, "Did you want to see a romance, before?"

"In this one, they've been teasing for years that these two monsters were in the same universe, but they didn't confirm it until these trailers came out. I purposely kept away from spoilers and let me tell you that was difficult when these days they give away so much in the advertising! I could almost tell you right now which of them is going to win, but that's partly just because the studios won't let it go down any other way."

A new side, this girl who didn't know the proper name for hentai was turning out to be an outright geek, so why had this side not come up in any of their time together? Chris knew; something else had always been on their minds before. Adorable~

"So, who do you think will win?" Chris tried to remember what she'd seen in the commercials since she didn't quite care enough to pay attention. "It was a giant iguana versus Sasquatch, right?"

"Gordilon and the Duke! Yes! But everyone knows Gordilon is going to win in the end because he's so much more popular and it would be the Duke's third movie, aside from the claymation ones they made in the sixties. Sure, he'll put up a good fight, probably win round one, but Gordilon will definitely win right before they bring out the bigger fish in the third act."

"There's a fish monster, too?"

"No, we're pretty sure it'll be the giant robot, since they already used their other big bad guy a few years ago with Gordilon's last movie."

Chris sat back and rested her chin on her hand as Dot regaled her on the long and storied history of giant monster movies from the very beginning when all they had was clay and guys in costumes stomping on fake cities to modernity when real actors were barely necessary. Where had this clever, exuberant young woman been all this time, bursting through the film of anxiety and shyness into a colorful bouquet. Several times, she became so enthralled in her little world of monsters that she couldn't finish her sentences in a single breath, having to catch herself up with a gasp before continuing. She spoke on and on as if there was no possible way Chris could be anything but interested in the minutia of rubber costume design, like the fact that the original Gordilon actor had died just that year; the girl had saved a black-and-white picture of the smiling, Japanese gentleman still in the lower half of the warty-looking costume as her phone's wallpaper.

They arrived in front of the theatre with Dot still in the middle of recounting the eighties and were alerted of the fact when David slid open the barrier, startling both women despite the decided lack of hanky-panky.

"Miss Bernadotte, might you go inside first and get the tickets, refreshments?" David said, eyeing Chris who actually felt some panic creeping in at the sides and squirmed in her seat. "Just going to go over the schedule and such, if you don't mind, miss."

Dot sighed and rolled her eyes behind closed lids. The way he'd said it implied a sort of finality she wouldn't be able to overcome, so she stepped out. "If you scare away my friend, I'll hate you." And she shut the door just short of slamming it.

"So..." Chris had no idea what to say to a so-called chaperone. Her internal script simply didn't have the character in mind.

"As you might imagine, the little lady's safety is of immense importance to me." David locked all the doors and suddenly things felt much more real, like a cage had been dropped around her. "When I asked her for your name, to perform a background check, I got an unexpected amount of back-talk. All she would tell me was your name, and Christina is hardly unique. Are you going to tell me what exactly is going on? At this point, I'm fairly sure you aren't a kidnapper, but I also know every one of the lady's schoolmates. She isn't quite as slick as she thinks."

From the tone of his voice, Chris heard a sheepdog sharpening its fangs. There was a possibility of her getting shot, wasn't there?

"Dot and I have been hanging out together for the last few weeks." Even if Dot had paid for the time and most of the 'hanging out' had been done in the nude. "She didn't think her dad would approve of me." And that was entirely the truth. "Sorry if it's been making your job harder, but I've been keeping her safe, don't you worry." And that was an outright lie until recently.

He stared back at her for what seemed like ages but eventually relaxed and nodded. "The lady does have an active imagination. Seems to think the old man'll lock her up in a tower if he thinks she's stepping out of line. I mean, the man's a hard-ass, don't get me wrong, but he's more pissed that she's going behind our backs. I'm not paid to care what it is she decides to do every day, even if that's you, miss Christina."

It hung in the air between them. He was right, the girl wasn't exactly subtle about her feelings, too repressed to know how to hide it behind an impassive face. But he also thought the relationship between the two of them was far more wholesome than it had been...

"You won't tell her dad she's a lesbian?" Chris almost choked on the words, it wasn't her place to be confirming suspicions.

"I'd figured that's how it was, but it's likely the man doesn't know." David stifled a laugh. "The maids damn well know. Dog-eared swimsuit catalogs and such, you know? We all kinda figured it's her secret to tell when she's good and ready. What do you think?"

"I think it's weird she's still in the closet these days. Is her dad one of those religious nuts or something?"

David pursed his lips and thought. "He's a very... opinionated man. I don't think it would be a breaking point between them, but I can see why she'd be scared about coming out. Anyway, it's a good sign if she's actively dating. Might mean she's gathering up the courage." The doors unlocked. "Go on and have some fun. I'll meet the two of you out here after the movie."

-o-

Dot waited in the lobby with a single large soda cup and a box of seriously overpriced chocolates. She would have been ashamed to admit her intent to share a straw, especially when she knew Chris had done and would do so much more if she just asked, but she'd also gotten the candy with the intention of feeding the woman, hopefully feeling those lush lips caress Dot's fingers.

Since when had she become such a degenerate? Imagining something actually sexual, deliciously explicit was one thing, but here she was in public getting turned on by the prospect of an indirect kiss! She was pretty sure Chris would get on her knees and eat Dot out in the middle of the movie if she said to, especially in a lightly-packed midday showing, but a rom-com cliche was the thing giving her the tingles.

Four years, she thought she could have this thing going for four years and then she would give it up to go get married, have children, and have something to fantasize about while watching the ceiling as her nondescript husband pleased himself with her. It was barely week four and she was already getting the sense that if she let it go on for very much longer, she would become addicted. Going out with Chris, even the last time with all the drama involved, almost losing her virginity in a series of events her mind kept shoving into a locked box lest it destroy her from within, had ended with her and Chris in an embrace she would use forever as schlicking material.

So it had to end before she dug her hole too deep to crawl out from.

Chris entered and made a bee lie to Dot where she offered up her arm on the way to the auditorium. The calculation Dot quickly did in her head to determine if she could take the arm while remaining presentable must have looked like she'd frozen up from outside, but the feeling of the woman's arm hugged up against her was worth it in the end.

Just two friends, right? That was the story, all the way into the darkened room where others filtered in as trailers played in the background, up to where Dot led them, sitting at the far back and in the middle where they would get the best possible experience with the projector right above their heads. Just friends, out for a day on the town, seeing a perfectly wholesome picture.

Never mind that the instant they sat down, Chris took her hand and intertwined their fingers, or that in the darkness, she leaned over and pecked her on the cheek.

"We're in public!" Dot whispered as loud as she dared so the people only two rows ahead wouldn't hear.

Chris blew into the girl's ear and giggled when she jumped in her seat. "Nobody here knows you; isn't that the point? We could do all sorts of things and all they would think is that we were a cute, affectionate couple." She punctuated herself by untangling one of her fingers and tickling it across Dot's palm.

It was all Dot needed, one more thing to keep her heart aching. She would miss this, the way Chris searched and prodded for reactions, always finding that ticklish spot that had Dot's toes curling. She had to restrain herself laughing, feeling her lips curl despite her efforts, more-so when Chris pulled her closer, across the armrest between them, and laid a series of airy smooches across Dot's tightly pressed lips.

She would have opened her mouth to accept something more, and she knew it, but the trailers ended and the auditorium was blasted with the opening image of a screeching, reptilian face and the mood was just gone. Chris sat back, replacing her fingers within Dot's grasp as if an invitation. 'If you want it, it's here,' it seemed to say.

It wasn't all Dot wanted to do, to pull Chris out of her seat, roll around on the sticky theatre floor in ravenous lovemaking... fucking... but she had actually been waiting for this movie to come out, and they were starting with a fight scene right out the gate, so she shushed her horny self and tried best as possible to ignore Chris' heat in the palm of her hand.

"See, they really know who comes to watch these." Dot said below the rumble of the giant creature blasting its way out of some science lab, squishing puny humans as it went without a care. "This is awesome! I didn't know how they were going to bring him back, since they melted him down in the last movie, but cloning!" She felt herself on the edge of squealing, but tamped it down to avoid bothering the other moviegoers; at least the couple in front of them was already focused more on necking than the movie. Their loss, really. "Oh, oh oh oh! That pod right there on the wall, that's a reference to the third movie in the nineties reboot, the one where he fought Domovian! See the name?"

"Sorry, I missed it." Chris said.

"Of course you did, watch closely. Some of these things are only on camera for a second, so you have to be watching the screen or you'll miss it!" Dot turned for only a second, but saw that the woman's eyes, gleaming in the silvery light, had been focused on her the whole time... "Don't blame me if you miss anything cool..."

"I'm not missing anything."

The rumbling stopped cold as the creature finally broke out into the wild and disappeared into the ocean. Then the plot went back to the humans, so Dot felt free to lean over and take Chris' lips. Chris reciprocated greedily, moaning so quietly that only Dot who was so close as to feel the woman's breath against her skin could hear, lazily lapping at Dot's tongue as if they had all day and she absolutely wanted to take her time enjoying the girl's flavour. There was nothing else to take away from them in the darkness under the projector, nothing at all more important than the feeling of one another not even breath. But it had to end...