Chapter 4 - page 4

Tally worked the day after meeting Fleur and the day after that as well. Four PM to midnight, her most common shift. She was so tempted to wear Fleur's hoodie all the time; she'd worn it last night when the warmth drained from the store as it always did, and she tingled as she remembered sleeping curled up in only it and a pair of underwear last night. She lamented not wearing it now, but it was in the dryer when she left. It was pathetic, she knew, but Tally always loved wearing clothes that belonged to significant others; it was like a hug that lasted all day. The scent had gone from it but Fleur's warmth seemed to be permanently nestled in the fibers of the hug that she had lent Tally. She had to return it soon or she'd wear it threadbare. Tally was too tall for most of her previous girlfriends' clothes and wore them like awkward midriff shirts, but Fleur's was purposefully too long and of course was made for a person much bigger around than Tally. So it billowed and hung low around her and fit just perfectly to tuck her knees into at night and hide from the cold. It reminded her strongly of Fleur herself - big and comfy.

Tally welcomed her work bitter-sweetly, knowing that if she didn't have a good reason not to she would have agonized all of both days over calling her wonderful new girlfriend in spite of the fabled three-day rule. Were they girlfriends yet? Tally wanted to be. She thought about Fleur every minute, smiling about her full fat lips and hugging herself thinking of the kiss they shared. How could something so slow and tender be so electrifying? And the hug, oh god the hug. Tally wanted to cry at the time, but thinking back it made her giddy to remember Fleur pressed against her. Just say when, she had said; her voice was like velvety syrup, so smooth and sweet and so pleasing to hear. Her perfume had caressed Tally's nose, just barely there, but the scent was divine. And her body... So warm, so much thicker than Tally's, enveloped in softness. There was simply too much sweetness in Fleur to be contained in a smaller girl, Tally had concluded. Yes, her size was part of her charm. Tally had never thought of fat people sexually before, but Fleur was now firmly embedded in her mind and it was hard not to think naughty things about her. Tally tried to imagine Fleur with a tight figure, the kind that Tally's eye would catch on and make her feel like a perv for staring. It felt simply wrong. She wondered if Fleur's body alone would be as sexy, or was it because she was so wonderful in every other way...

The door jingled. Tally jumped and was suddenly acutely aware she had been raking her fingers between her legs and picturing Fleur naked, all behind the counter at work. A scruffy man tromped around the shelves, popping in and out of Tally's view as she stood with her hands firmly on the counter. She fought to compose herself; her desire was hungry for attention now. How dare you, at work, Tally berated herself. What is this girl doing to you? The man dropped a bag of chips and a drink of the counter and peered up at her, eyes drawn by her height. Her cheeks were on fire. She looked ridiculous, she knew; the best she could hope for was that she only looked embarrassed and not horny. She held his junk food to the scanner and began to calm down, but not nearly enough. Oh god, she had to tell him his total.

"F..." she faltered. There was too much spit in her mouth. She swallowed hard. His eyes were on her, scanning her face. If he thought she was acting strange (she knew he did), he didn't let it show. "Five senty - uh, five... Twenty-seven. Five twenty-seven." She wanted to die.

He waited till now to pull out his change and count it. He put a single dollar bill on the table and began thumbing the rest from one hand to the other. "Could I get a bag?" he asked as he counted. Tally did not make a sound as she rigidly shook air into a small bag and dropped his crap into it. She wanted him out. He put his change on the table and she raked it in hastily, popping the register and dropping it all in without sorting. That could wait. The customer from hell took his time on his way out, and Tally watched him go with bated breath. Her face must have been purple, she was so hot. Go! She yelled internally. Get out! But it's not his fault you were pretty much masturbating on the job, she thought. Ugh, two hours left. And Sable would be here in ninety minutes, she realized. What would Sable think if she found Tally red-faced and squirming her legs together waiting for the world's slowest *** to get out? Probably nothing. Tally was always embarrassing herself.

Finally the door jingled again. Tally put the be-back sign on the counter and ran to the bathroom. It was dingy and smelled like crackheads and normally she'd rather just hold it till she got home but tonight she had no choice. She looked into the mirror, dreading, but her blush had already begun to fade. She poured some cold water and smoothed it over her face. It bit her and she shuddered, but felt better for it. She eyed the door lock. There was no camera in the bathroom... Oh god, no. She'd rather do it out behind the building. She splashed herself again and dried off with awful coarse paper towel - the opposite of sensual. It was perfect. She wanted a distraction now. Night shifters were allowed their phones... She pulled it out on the way back to the counter. Thirteen minutes past ten. Was that too late to text Fleur? She decided to test it.

"Fleur?" She sent over. She put away the sign as she waited. Her phone vibrated on the table and she snatched it up like a baby eagle to dinner.

"No lol?" was the response. Tally's eyes flicked to the name - Florian. She texted the wrong person. She tapped out hasty apology and went back, deliberately pressing Fleur. She parroted her first text, then waited. It buzzed in a short moment and she whipped it back to her face: "no worries lol", Florian had replied. She cursed him under her breath and set it back down, getting into the ratty stool sat behind the counter.

After a moment of tension, Tally decided she was probably asleep. If she was available afternoons, her classes were probably early. Maybe she shouldn't have texted. She didn't want to wake her up.

Bzzz. Well, here goes. "I was asleep," Tally expected. "Tally, my dear! How are you? c:", she read instead.

"Bored at work," she tapped back. "Just wondering how you were doing. I hope I didn't wake you."

"Not quite, but soon." Tally was glad she texted in full sentences. "I will stay up with you if you like. I'm feeling good, just watching TV." Her phone buzzed again and presented her with a picture of an off-white cat curled up on a pair of bare-skinned thighs. Fleur's thighs, Tally noted. The cat made her smile but part of her wished it was not in the picture.

"You don't have to." she texted. "Cute kitty! What's her name?"

"Butter :3" Fleur replied. "I'll stay up anyway, he's sleeping. Wish you were heeeere"

Tally wished it too. She wished she was exactly where Butter was sitting, with Fleur holding her tight and work behind her.

"Me too," she tapped. "Tomorrow I'm free?"

"I'm going shopping tomorrow, care to join me?" Her text was accompanied by another picture of Butter, yawning and laying on his back this time. He was big, just like his owner. Tally suppressed a groan of envy, even though nobody was around. She wished she had a cat. She wished much much more that she was with Fleur.

"Of course," was her answer.

Conversation took the edge off the long, boring nights. Most of the time, Tally sat watching youtube videos after nine PM vaguely dreading someone coming in drunk or trying to rob the place. With Fleur on the other end she found herself smiling the hours away warmly as they found more and more common ground between them. Another customer came and went before Sable's car rumbled down the empty road and she pushed the doors open.

Sable and Tally were good friends at work, but they never saw each other outside of it. Sable was still in high school anyway. She was rife with freckles and had a scar over her nose and cheek Tally never asked about. Her hair cascaded thick over her shoulders and glinted orange and red in the florescent light. Tally was four years older and stood over her by more than a foot, but the girl was more fierce than she would ever be. She was lean and firm, always smirking. Tally would have had half a mind to nervously stutter an invitation to her some time if she was older, but Tally knew she was straight as an arrow.

"Hey, Tally," she called, stretching her way down the shelves. She clutched a coffee in one fingerless-gloved hand; Sable always dressed in layers like a hobo, but she smelled nicer at least.

"Hello," she replied. Sable walked behind the counter and stowed her jacket and baseball cap where she wasn't supposed to. "How are we tonight?"

"I dunno, you tell me. You're part of we." She sipped her coffee and picked lint from her glove.

"I'm very nice. I had a date and it went am - well, it went well."

"Hey!" She punched Tally's arm affectionately, a quick one-two-three that jostled her in her seat. "You got a picture of her?"

"Just one of her cat, but -" Sable snatched her phone.

"Lemme see." She slid up Tally's conversation with Fleur. They hadn't been talking dirty or anything, but Tally protested weakly on pure principle. Sable always took things from Tally's hands knowing she couldn't really do anything about it. Looking at her face, Tally couldn't find it in her to be even a tiny bit mad. But she pawed at her phone nonetheless - Sable enjoyed the sport of it, she knew. "This him?" She flashed a picture of Butter at Tally and continued without her confirmation. "Lookit, he's adorable!"

"I know," Tally laughed. "Give it back, we're texting!" She continued to pretend-fight for her phone, knowing full well she'd get it back at Sable's leisure.