The sky above me was a dull shade of gray as I made my way toward the Whiskers Café, where Rose and I had agreed to meet each other for lunch. I'd heard about the place before and had meant to check it out for a while but had never found the time to do so; the fact that Rose suggested it for our second date was a pleasant coincidence. A freezing gust of wind blew past me, causing me to shiver even through my flannel shirt and jacket. The temperature was sitting in that oh-so-convenient zone where I was still a bit too cold even with my jacket on but wearing a coat would have been overkill.
I grimaced, cursing the fickle nature of the weather in the Midwest; it was Saturday afternoon, and it had only been a little over a week since I had first met Rose at Danny's, but in that time an unmistakable chill had crept into the air. I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised, though. After all, it was the beginning of October, which meant that Autumn was nearly upon us. Soon the leaves on the trees would start to change color. It was always my favorite part of the season, and the beautiful blazing warm hues of the falling leaves was almost worth putting up with the chillier weather...
almost
. I preferred to walk whenever I could, saving my car for trips to and from campus or anywhere else too far to feasibly travel by foot. It helped that my apartment was close to not only campus, but also the many surrounding shops, restaurants, and bars. Regardless, I was definitely regretting my decision to walk at that point.
I quickened my pace when I saw the nondescript two-story white building looming ahead, a sign with a black silhouette of a cat flanking the name of the café just above the door. I was still a bit early for our date, so time wasn't an issue - I was just ready to be out of the damn cold. Thankfully, it wasn't long before I was outside the door. I pulled it open, and a bell jangled as an inviting rush of warm air rushed toward me, beckoning me inside. I quickly slipped into the building and shut the door behind me. The sounds of light chatter, clinking utensils and bustling employees washed over me as I stepped over into the small waiting area, where the hostess waited at the small booth.
"Hey there! Welcome to Whiskers," she said, smiling warmly. "Table for one today?"
"I'm actually still waiting for one more person to get here," I said.
"Alright then, just let me know when you're ready and I'll get you taken care of!" she said. I nodded and sat down on the padded bench near the window, then took a moment to look around the restaurant.
As it turned out, the otherwise unassuming building was home to a pretty... eclectic establishment. The furniture had a sleek, modern style, with dark metal tables and black, leather-bound booths surrounding them. Steel lamps hung over each table, bathing each black tabletop in a pool of soft, white light. The furniture was in stark contrast to the rest of the décor, which had a distinctly feline theme. On the second floor, a large clock sat on the wall with an unsettlingly photorealistic image of a gray cat on it; its paws were stretched in odd, unnatural angles to denote the time. Bizarre, abstract paintings of cats were put up on the walls at various places. A couple of televisions were mounted to the walls on the first floor, but the only thing playing on the screens seemed to be a looping slideshow of various cat pictures.
Honestly, the whole vibe kind of creeped me out, but I had heard the food and drinks were good. If nothing else, I was glad I'd get to spend some more time with Rose. One glance up at the creepy cat clock told me it was 1:50 PM, which meant I still had ten minutes before she was supposed to meet me there. I gave myself a bit of leeway just to make sure I would make it on time; since I was actually able to prepare for our date this time instead of being blindsided by Ryan, I wanted to put my best foot forward and make sure everything went smoothly. I pulled out my phone and took a quick look at myself; unsurprisingly, my hair was a mess from the wind - again. I took a moment to smooth it down again, and I had just managed to get it looking presentable again when the jingling of the bell pulled my attention over toward the door. A smile spread across my face when I saw that Rose had also arrived early -
fashionably
early.
She was wearing a black sweater with a denim jacket, and a red and black plaid flannel skirt hung down just above her knees. Her legs were covered by a pair of thin black stockings, and the addition of tall, black leather boots and a red handbag pulled the whole look together. Her hair hung down to her shoulders in long, slightly wavy locks that reached just past her shoulders. Oddly enough, her hair was stark white, and her skin looked a bit paler than it had been last week. I wondered if everything was okay, but despite her appearance, Rose's enthusiasm was palpable, and she greeted me as if nothing was amiss.
"Oh, hey! You beat me here," she said, beaming as soon as she noticed me sitting down. Her irises shifted from blue to green, shining brightly in the warm lighting of the café.
"Well, I had to make sure I wasn't late this time," I said, flashing a smile. I stood up as she made a beeline for me and was a bit taken aback when she held her arms out for a hug. I went in expecting a gentle hug from her, but she nearly squeezed the life out of me instead. As we embraced each other, I couldn't help but notice that her breasts were a good deal larger than the last time I had seen her. Heat blazed in my cheeks as they pressed against me, and I felt my dick begin to twitch in my pants. Rose seemed to wobble a little bit as she hugged me, and I nearly fell, but I managed to steady us both in time. We separated after a few moments, and I was relieved to find that my arousal had died down just as quickly as it had begun, though I was still a bit concerned at her condition.
"It's so good to see you again! You haven't been waiting long, have you?" Rose asked. I quickly shook my head, and I could see the relief on her face. "I'm glad. Whelp, should we go ahead and grab a table, then? I'm
starving
." I nodded, and we headed over to the hostess.
It wasn't long before we were both led to one of the tables on the first floor, next to a cubist painting that vaguely resembled a cat pawing at a ball of yarn. I pulled off my jacket and slung it over the back of the chair while Rose placed her handbag under her chair, next to her feet. We both sat down, and Rose seemed to sink into hers; she definitely looked pretty worn out. I was just about to ask her what was up, but the waiter came by to take our drink orders before I could. Rose ended up ordering a hot chocolate, while I chose chamomile tea with honey. He quickly shuffled off to put our drink orders in, leaving me and Rose alone at the table. A sly grin crept across Rose's face as she studied me from across the table.
"What?" I asked sheepishly, feeling myself blush under her scrutiny.
"We match!" she chirped, pointing at my shirt. Sure enough, it was the same color of plaid as her skirt. "Great minds think alike, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess they do," I said, with a chuckle. I was still feeling a little uneasy about the fact that she almost fell earlier. Rose must have picked up on it because her lips curled downward into a frown as a look of concern crossed her features.
"What's up? Are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine, but I actually wanted to ask you the same thing. You seemed a little shaky earlier when we hugged."
"Oh, that!" Rose piped up, with a weak grin. "I pimped myself out this morning, so I'm feeling a bit weak." My eyes went wide and thought I had maybe misheard her.
"I'm sorry - you did
what
?" I asked. Rose's cheeks turned pink and she flashed an embarrassed smile.
"Oops. That's... just a little joke between me and my Polly friend back home." She pulled up her sleeve for a moment, and, sure enough, there was a bandage on her right arm. "Sorry. I, er, donated plasma this morning. I do it every Saturday, actually. It doesn't pay as well as whole blood, but I can do it weekly, and Pollies get an extra stipend for donations because our blood and all of its components can be used for all sorts of different medical purposes. So, between the extra money, and the fact that it's known as
Polymorphic Plasma
, my friend and I started calling it 'pimping ourselves out.'"
