Out of Left Field

Chapter 2

As I followed the directions from the GPS for my Thursday install appointment, my guess that my customer was extremely wealthy seemed to become more and more accurate as the neighborhoods continued to climb more and more upscale as the road began to lead up Cardigan Heights. The Heights was the district of town that only the richest people in the area could afford. The yards, as well as the size of the houses, displayed that wealth to the delight of the eye. Carefully manicured lawns, neatly or creatively trimmed shrubberies, multi-story mansions, wrought iron fencing, imposing gates, impressively large fountains, and the presence of security guards lent the area a very luxurious feeling. I would never be able to afford a house in this neighborhood, that was for sure! I was thrilled to have a customer here though, as it might open the door to even more lucrative contracts for my business!

As I pulled up to the gate of the drive that matched the address I had been given, I stopped in front of the guardhouse. A gorgeous redheaded woman in a security uniform stepped out of the door of the guardhouse as I rolled down the window.

As she walked up to the car, she asked politely, "May I help you sir?" Her eyes quickly scanned my car, taking in its magnetic logo signage and its contents. I could tell she was likely already matching me up mentally to expected visitors.

I smiled up at her, "Yes ma'am, I'm Jack Danalson, with High Tech Wizards, here to do the installation of some computer equipment for Ariel Morgan. I have a 10:30 appointment?"

An unreadable look crossed her face, and she stepped back into the guardhouse, turning slightly to a computer monitor. After a moment of tapping on the screen, she came back out and handed me a small visitor badge that said 'Visiting Technician' on it. "Please secure this to your shirt sir, and if anyone approaches you, ensure it is visible. When I open the gate, please proceed immediately to the right side of the house, and park in spot number 5. Please wait by the car and someone will be out shortly with a dolly to load the computer equipment and secure it for transport. Please do not wander."

I took the badge, slightly irritated by the subtle insult in her tone of voice. Were they afraid I would pee on the grass or something? "Thank you so much ma'am, I appreciate the thorough instructions! I will perform them and my duties with precision!"

I regretted my tone immediately, as I saw storm clouds gathering on her face. "You are most welcome sir. We wouldn't want any accidents to occur to our visitors. Our ongoing renovations to the buildings can be dangerous, and we wouldn't want you to accidentally fall into wet concrete now would we?"

I gulped, "Umm, no that would be bad. Thank you again for your help!" Ug, I really didn't have a good reason to sass at her, she just had rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't like feeling talked down to, which was part of why I had opened my own business. As the gate in front of me opened, I slowly drove through, trying not to look back at the gatehouse. Why did someone have to put me in a bad mood right at the start of the install? As I pulled up towards spot 5, I suppressed the impulse to park in spot 6 instead. Childish behavior would not be rewarded with future recommendations, and I didn't want my business trashed at parties in this sort of neighborhood. As I opened the door and got out of the car, I heard a distant shout of "foooouuuurrrrr!". As I turned to find the source of the noise, I felt a sudden sharp pain light up my head. As the flying object clattered to the ground, I realized it was a golf ball that had bounced off the side of my skull. I staggered against the car, bringing my arm up to shield myself a moment too late.

"Owwww what the fudging duck?! There is NOT a hole over here, watch where you whack that thing!!!" I shouted, seeing a few stars. My shout immediately made the pain in my head worse. When I touched the side of my head, I felt a warm, sticky trickle. My hand came away with some blood on it, which I looked at disbelievingly. Rich pricks, I'm probably going to have a huge knot on the side of my head in five minutes from this. My day was just going from annoying to full on awful.

I heard a feminine voice call from behind me, "Oh no, are you ok sir? Jannet is so careless, and she is so bad at golf. We keep telling her to just quit, because she is a menace with a club! Oh god, you are bleeding, how bad is it?!"

As I started to turn to face the woman, I suddenly felt ill. I turned back immediately, staggered to the edge of the nearby grass, and emptied my stomach, the world swimming in front of me a little. "Ohhh I don't feel so good. Sorry, so sorry, I made a mess on the grass. The gate lady is going to be pissed. I don't want her to throw me in wet concrete! Don't let her throw me...."

As I felt myself collapse onto my side, I heard the woman call out again, "Sir, sir, just stay still. Just stay there, I'll get help right away!" I managed to crack open an eye just long enough to see her running towards me with another woman. My last thought before I faded into unconsciousness was, "Someone is doing a catgirl cosplay photoshoot today? Lucky photographer..."

******

I felt something cool on my forehead, and tried to open my eyes. Though I opened them, all I saw was darkness. I gasped, "What's going on, where am I?!" My head started to hurt again as soon as I started talking, and I groaned in pain. As my hand reached for my forehead, it encountered a soft wet cloth.

I heard a soft voice speak up, "Excellent, you woke up quickly! Sir, just try to relax, you are still here at the estate you came to for the computer hardware installation. Our in-house doctor checked you out after you fell unconscious from the knock to the head. Once they determined it wasn't too serious, we brought you inside the main house and put a cool compress on your head to help reduce swelling. You likely have a mild concussion, so please try to rest for the time being. Don't worry, we can reschedule the installation to another day so you can rest for today. Madam Morgan is always reasonable about medical emergencies, especially when they are caused by a rambunctious household member. We hope you don't mind, but since you had blood on your shirt from the cut on your head, we took the liberty of taking it off to wash it for you. We should have it back to you shortly."

I groaned again, "Your voice sounds familiar, were you the one that found me after I ... ahh ... collapsed?"

"Yes sir, I was coming out to bring the cart to put the computer equipment in. I was to escort you to the rooms you were to do the installations in. I saw you get hit by the golf ball and then ... ah ... the aftereffects. I'm so sorry, usually there is a net up when Jannet wants to practice on the driving range, but she didn't tell the groundskeeper she planned to practice today, so he didn't know to put it up. She is just so uncoordinated, I feel almost sorry for her. I'd try to get her sent home if she wasn't such a sweetie!"

As I lay my arm back down on the soft surface I was on, I smiled, "I have a cousin who is like that. We all love her to death, and she is such a good person, but she can't sport at sports to save her life! Haha, I still have a scar on the back of my head from when I tried to teach her hockey years ago! She didn't realize you have to hold onto the stick when you try to hit the puck, so bang! Oh, I'm sorry, I'm being a bit rude by not introducing myself, though it sounds like you likely already know who I am, since you were expecting me. Jack Danalson of High Tech Wizards, at your service! Well, not so much service at the moment, but, well, you know what I mean."

The woman laughed softly, "Yes I don't think you could service anyone right now in this state, but I can see the potential in you." She snorted, "Sport at sports, I don't think I'd heard that one before. I rather like it." I heard her moving around the head of whatever I was laying on, and she quickly changed out the cloth for another cool one. "It is a pleasure to meet you Jack. I'm Katrina, though my friends often call me Kitty."

I grinned, continuing to keep my head still, "I have to admit, being rescued by a cosplayer is a first for me. I love going to conventions when I can afford to take the time off, but you are the first person I've seen dressed up in cat ears and a tail outside of one of those. A pleasant surprise, for sure! Thank you for helping me!"

Katrina had a fit of giggles suddenly, "Oh yes, I love costuming trends these days, they allow such freedom! The fun dresses and shoes and such, and yes, of course, the cat ears and tail! They make such lifelike computerized tails these days that twitch and everything! I am so lucky I have a job that allows me to indulge in all manner of fantasies."

Her enthusiasm was infectious, and I laughed out, "Oh do you work here? Are you a party planner, or entertainer of some sort? From what little I saw on the way up the driveway, it is a gorgeous house and some amazing grounds! Your employer must pay a small fortune to an army of gardeners! Unless of course she struck a deal with some magical gnomes and fairies and doesn't need gardners, haha!"

Katrina laughed a little too loudly, making me wince, "No, no gnomes and fairies. Only all of us crazy ... cosplayers." Her laugh almost sounded nervous, but what would upset her about some silly small talk?

I tried an apologetic tone, "I really appreciate your being here when I woke up. Thank you for the cold cloths and everything. I'm sure I'm keeping you from whatever you normally are working at. I hate to do that, as catch-up on jobs is always a pain. If I can just rest for 10 more minutes, you can just show me to my car and equipment, and I can go ahead and get the installations done. I'm sure they are anxious to have their new computers to play with!"

A different feminine voice suddenly chimed in, "Yeaahhh come on, I want my new rig! I can't wait to play Epic Sage 3 on max settings! The Sundome in the Valley of the Gods and the Diamond Crater are going to look so much cooler on a good PC!"

Katrina moved around me again. It sounded like she was moving between me and whoever had come in. She replied, "No ZaZa, Madam Morgan said he was to rest and then would likely reschedule with us. No pushing him to get your silly computer set up when he still has a lump on his head the size of an orange. He hasn't even had a chance to see if he can sit up without throwing up."

"Oh, I'm sorry mister, I didn't know you were all pukey." I heard a note of apology in Zaza's voice, "What did you do, get on the bad side of Milley at the gate? She has a mean right hook, and doesn't take no nonsense from nobody, even me! You'd think with her being ... well, anyway, she needs to loosen up! I bet you didn't even say anything about her boobs and she still went apeshit!"

Katrina gasped, "Zaza, Milley didn't attack him! She learned her lesson last time. She knows the people here get really upset when you use violence to remind someone of their manners! It was Jannet that injured him with a silly golf ball. I saw the whole thing just as I was bringing out the equipment cart. Poor guy had just stepped out of his car when she took a horrible swing at it, and then BONK, right to the side of the head it went! Then down he went! Damnit, Jannet!"

I suddenly had a fit of giggles as I couldn't help but follow up in a singsong voice with "Damnit, Jannet! I love youuuuu!"

A third female voice suddenly joined in, "Slut, asshole, slut, asshole, slut, asshole! Hahaha who is this, and why haven't I gotten to play with him before, hmmm? He seems fun! I love cult movie references, and that Rocky Horror Picture Show is just sooooo appropriate for Jannet, minus the love part! Oooh I'll have to make her watch it next movie night!"

Zaza pipped up, "Is that a cartoon Elz? I love cartoons! Can we watch cartoons meow? I bet this guy likes cartoons! I mean, look, he has some tattoos on his arm from some of my favorites, so he obviously has good taste in TV!"

I laughed gently to keep my head from hurting more, "Meow listen here ladies ... um ... please tell me you get the reference or I'm going to feel really old, haha. Super Troopers?"

All three girls laughed hard at that. A little more than I was expecting, actually. Maybe the hit on the head made me more loopy than usual. Either way, I was really enjoying this sightless interaction. I jumped suddenly as I felt a hand start caressing my chest.

The mysterious third voice introduced herself in a whisper, her head obviously next to my ear, "I'm Elizabeth, but my friends call me Elz. I think you might make a good friend! I haven't gotten to meet very many people here yet, and most of them have been really stuffy and not much fun. You seem much more fun than them! Want to go play in the forest with me? I know all the best hiding spots and trees to climb! We can have looooots of fun exploring ... the forest!" She finished the last bit in a definitely suggestive way, sliding her hand suddenly down my chest to the front of my pants! I felt a slight impact and her hand jerked away quickly.

Katrina chimed in with some irritation, "Elz, you know play partners have to be screened before that sort of thing! Mr. Danalson is here to install the computer equipment, and is not vetted for play. You shouldn't even have mentioned anything about it in front of him!" I pulled the cloth away from my head, looking up to see Katrina glaring at Elz, with a firm grip on her hand, obviously in lecture mode. I sat up slowly on what I realized was a soft medical bed in a small infirmary. It was dimly lit, but obviously clean and well stocked with expensive equipment.

Elz jerked her hand out of Katrina's grip, annoyance obvious on her face. "Well how was I supposed to know that! The only people I see in this place are vetted already! Why wasn't he sent to a hospital instead of the infirmary if he wasn't ready yet? Geez, you need to learn to relax, a little teasing never hurt anyone. He obviously was enjoying it!" She gestured down to my pants, where there was the telltale sign of the beginning of an erection.

I protested, "Hey now, no need for all the fuss! She was just being playful. I do usually like to at least get to know someone before I let them start touching sensitive bits, though. I don't know who your usual house guests might be ..."

My voice tapered off as my brain finally registered the sight of the three women. All three were wearing different colored cat ears and tails! Holy shit, and they were all beautiful as hell too! "Ummm, so please don't slap me for asking this, but um, by chance is this some sort of porn studio? I find myself in front of three drop dead gorgeous cosplayers dressed up as what I'm assuming are types of catgirls, and ummm ..." My voice trailed off slowly.

The three looked at each other, and burst out laughing. Zaza suddenly swung up on the side of the bed next to me, draping an arm and a leg over me. "Ohhh yes I like this one Kat! Can we get him vetted? Pretty please with cream on top? I know how much you love cream, you naughty thing! Haha, a porn studio, that's a good one!"

Katrina wiped a tear from her eye, managing to choke out, "Not a porn studio ... cough cough ... that would be ... awkward." Her eyes twinkled with mischief, "I mean, as tempting as it would be to record some of the shenanigans around here, that would get us in a world of trouble, haha! I doubt our clients would like being caught on video."

"Clients?" I chimed back in, "Is this a secret destination for the rich and famous? I would have thought they would want an island somewhere, with waterslides and personal attendants and such. Don't get me wrong, the exterior of this place is absolutely beautiful, but I wouldn't think it was quite exotic enough?"

Still chuckling, Katrina grinned and handed me a glass of water, "Oh it is exotic enough for our VIPs! Anyway, oh hey, you are sitting up without vomiting, that's fantastic! Here, have some water. Most of you people don't stay anywhere near hydrated enough, so best drink the whole thing!" She turned and stuck out her tongue at Elizabeth, who had now perched next to me on the bed.

Elizabeth shifted a little closer to me, tracing one of my arm tattoos. "Sooo, can we get back to the part where you called me beautiful?" She gave me a wicked grin, continuing playing with my arm.

Her touch was gentle, and even tickled a tiny bit. I struggled not to twitch at the feeling, as she was obviously trying to get a rise out of me. "No, absolutely not! I never called you beautiful!" I tried to put a severe expression on my face, but knew I was failing miserably, as a corner of my mouth kept twitching upward.

ZaZa screwed up her face into a silly grimace, "That's right, he never called YOU beautiful, he definitely meant ME! I got here first, so he gets to pay his compliments to me, meow!"

I finally lost my fight to keep a straight face and let out a big laugh, "ZaZa, you are all three beautiful, but what I meant was, I called you all drop dead gorgeous! I mean, it is a good thing I was sitting down when I saw you all for the first time, or I might have fallen over in shock, and hurt myself even more! You three are probably the most beautiful women I've met in my entire life, other than your boss!"

The three women suddenly looked at me as if I had grown an extra head. After a brief moment of silence, I continued, "You know, Ariel Morgan? The lady that ordered all the computer equipment?"

ZaZa burst out laughing, then her lips then settled into a slight smirk, "Ooooooh, yeaaaah, our booooooss, hahahaha. For someone that works on computers, you seem a little slow right now."

Katrina reached out and smacked ZaZa's arm, making her jump suddenly. "I'm so sorry for ZaZa, she gets very prickly about this subject. We are not Mistress Morgan's employees, we are her life mates. I hope that this doesn't bother you." Her eyes were quite piercing as she firmly, and somewhat frostily, continued, "We do not do business with intolerant individuals, so if you have any issues with our domestic setup, please let me know now so that we can find a different equipment provider to work with."

I held up my hands in a gesture of surrender. "No ma'am, not at all! You all seem to have the most interesting dynamic that I've run across in person. Please don't take that the wrong way, I am not a judgemental person at all. As long as it works for all of you and doesn't hurt anyone, then I'm happy for you! I have a little experience in non-standard arrangements, they just haven't worked out well for me in the past for various reasons. None of those reasons were related to me being any sort of close-minded person though! You do you, and I'm certainly not going to ick your yum!"

At this, Katrina laughed softly, "Ick our yum, huh? I like that turn of phrase. One minute please, I'll be right back. I'm sure you won't mind talking to these two for a few minutes? They probably have a question or two for you." With that, she turned and walked into a side room, closing the door behind her.

Elizabeth spoke up. "You mentioned conventions? Do you take girls with you to conventions? How many cat girls have you flirted with at these conventions? Have you ever done more than just flirt?"

"Oooh, I see how it is." I laughed, "As soon as the adult leaves the room, the naughty girls all want to talk dirty details! I've taken a girlfriend with me a few times, yes. As for side action, well, a gentleman never kisses and tells!"

Elizabeth's hand made its way up to my hair as she suddenly swung up onto the table and straddled my lap, rubbing the side of her face against my shoulder and then whispering in my ear. "Well, I'm glad you are a gentleman, because that means what happens here can stay our little secret!"