Part 8 – Trench Coats, Tea Parties, Phantom Breasts, and Online Advertising

We were about to part company after a movie he wanted to show me. It was a quirky, pretty good British comedy. It wasn’t enough to seed me with a new interest, but I didn’t have a bad time and Steve definitely liked talking about it. His comment came as I was about to fetch my coat.

I asked him for clarification, and he noted, “I’ve chatted with Allison. She’s put me in touch with the others. I figure…why not?” I reminded him that it was probably permanent, and he readily acknowledged this fact, but added, “It seems like it would be an interesting adventure. So, yeah, just do it before I get too doubtful…”

Reaching out, I laid my hand on his and took it away an instant later. It was enough. I watched as he closed his eyes.

Whereas I supposedly had sandals, he acquired a pair of warm-brown boots that ended halfway up his calf. He’d taken off his sports cap but gained a blue-and-red newsies cap with a shortened brim and openings for his sprouting cat ears. His hair kept the same tone, but his ears took on a mottled texture with white and brown patches. The same was true of his flowing tail, which looked a little bushier than the others’ tails.

He didn’t change too much in height and his bust was more reserved than the last one. Well, her bust. She had on a glossy, fancy top which matched her cap and a silvery, long-sleeved trench coat jacket with a collar like an old-time detective but also with a sash tied like a bow at her waist. I could make out the bottom of a deep-blue skirt at the edge of her jacket. Dark stockings followed all the way to her boots.

I had no idea where that look came from. Nothing sci-fi about it. Unless it was some sort of movie reference. I hadn’t been thinking of anything in particular.

Her eyes slowly blinked open and she groaned softly with a little inhale of surprise.

“It’s real…” I couldn’t tell if her words were said in surprise or horror. I tensed up and tried not to look her in the eye. After a moment, I had to give at least a little glance. She was checking out all the new stuff and seemed especially intrigued by her tail as she quietly amended, “And pretty cool…”

That let some weight off my shoulders, except when she moved to shake my hand. I reminded her about second touches and making people even more catlike. She backed off with a quiet nod and slipped out of her jacket.

I could watch, like with the others. I kept my hands behind me. There were some things she scrutinized with her face in the mirror as I glanced from down the hall, but she didn’t appear unhappy. The rest of the group made plans to welcome her formally when I texted Allison. I sat down on the couch with my hands still behind me.

The arrangement of the entertainment system was different, but all the same movies were there. They were stacked differently but none of them had changed. I liked that. I didn’t want to see Steve become something she wasn’t.

She slipped into some jeans and joked about the layout of the bathroom. Then, she perched on the end of the couch and told me, “I still don’t know how I feel about this and it’s gonna be freaky but…look at this tail!”

She demonstrated a vigorous swishing motion and added, “How many people out there actually have tails? Well, probably those you’ve touched but otherwise…anyway. This is cool and the ears are like having extra audio setups. I can hear a dog down the street…I think he’s being a jerk.”

I tried not to let my eyes flick to her chest as I asked, “And the rest?”

Her eyes flicked down and she gave a shrug. “As I said, don’t know how I feel yet. And it was my call. And your hands are really soft.” It dawned on me that was something very few people would ever feel.

I didn’t get as far as asking what happened now, when she preempted me, “If you don’t mind, I have a favorite of mine we can watch next week for a movie. Continue your education on what you’re missing.”

I blinked and asked, “You’re okay with that?”

She gave me a firm nod. “Sure. I had a good time hanging out. I suspect the next week will be crazy…but it’s never not…even without new muscles in my head and butt.” She fanned her tail back and forth and gave her ears a turn. I had to have a picture…no, a video. There was just so much. And, on top of that, I realized she’d only ever seen me as a catgirl, probably as cute as she looked right then.

Turning her head, she gave a long, throaty belch with a quick, chuckling apology. Still as cute. I smiled back and slowly got up from the couch. She walked me back to the front door and we parted with something Steve suggested (from watching Allison’s not-quite-hugs several days ago): A phantom handshake. We both reached out our hands without touching and moved them together like a real shake. I’d never been much for any sort of handshake, but I liked this.

After parting, I followed the street from her place back to the main road. The wind curled at my back with a striking chill. I looked back to see Steve waving at me from her porch. I returned the wave and carried with me the faintest trace of a smile all the way to the embrace of the sunken couch in my front room.

If you’d told me about these days before I met Gloria and her friend, I would’ve tensed up to the edge of nausea. My head would’ve tingled as my shoulders shivered. I only had a phone because I had no other options due to family being so far away. That I was eager to hear it ring still amazed me. But what I did next was a different matter.

Allison had invited me to tea after midnight (apparently this was a thing) with all the… other catgirls, aside from the guest of honor, Steve, who sadly had a long shift (Allison would make it up to her later). She’d found a way to use her tail to help her in her job. The fact no one seemed surprised by Steve’s new gender or body parts no longer surprised me either. I’d already seen reality-altering aspects around Steve’s apartment and around how others saw me.

But, during tea, Allison pushed a notion she’d merely teased before: I should put out an ad.

There were plenty of online sites where I could post it. Sure, I was likely to come across those who weren’t serious about it, but they could easily be vetted out by which were able to see me as a catgirl in the photos she’d already taken. Although, I still wasn’t entirely convinced that seeing me as a catgirl meant anything portentous. It was still a decent idea compared to just wandering around the mall and waiting till someone pointed and screamed, “CATGIRL!”

Otherwise, Allison was still trying to track down the landlord and neighbor from my apartment complex but that seemed to be, best guess, another case of the reality-altering aspect of what my touch did. She remained confident we’d find them eventually.

By this point, I had so many pictures of catgirls I’d been responsible for that I barely even looked at the art I used to. This group was living art. From Steve’s classy and striking outfits which made her ears and tail look adorable and sexy. To the other new girl, who’d taken the nickname Nina, and had never lost her surprise and shock at each fresh sensation with squirming and blushes about every new outfit Allison found for her. Alexis’s quiet, thoughtful presence with the calm sway of her tail delighted me as much as her beautiful sketches of the group, me, and whoever else excited her imagination. Hers was the only art I still kept in easy reach.

Looking around the fanciest tea table I could ever imagine, I was well aware there were still empty spots. With a sigh, I agreed to Allison’s idea. Furthermore, the urge, which had vanished after I touched Steve, was beginning to build again. It wasn’t so strong that I even considered touching one of the others a second time, but I worried I might reach that point eventually.

I let Allison write the ad and pick the photos, so I had to grit my teeth and bear the version she sent to me by email.

WANNA BE A CATGIRL? LET ONE TOUCH SET YOUR EARS AND TAIL FREE!
Nyo more fretting your lack of feline attributes.
Join a community of new girls that purr when they’re happy.
Only serious applicants willing to permanyantly transform their lives forever.
Come see us…

And then she had my address information at the bottom. I liked the photos, except for where I appeared. I let her post it before I could begin to doubt myself.

I didn’t even want to look at the page on the first day. I figured everyone would be calling me out as a liar or declaring it was some sort of role-play. At least there were photos, even if no one out there believed. And it was Allison’s posting anyway. I was just the not-quite-a-catgirl with the touch power.

Still, I spent half the next week sulking over the blank space at the bottom of the page, which should’ve been filled with…something. Rage. Trolls. Net lolz. Sarcasm. How Jerky McCussface is the best dude ever. Anything. The silence was excruciating.

I told myself not to look. I had enough to preoccupy myself with Allison’s updates about her club, Nina’s surprisingly-verbose and existential journals on catgirl identities. I wasn’t sure what to say about them, but she seemed happy in her own way. Alexis was teaching and mixed those concerns along with tail-grooming ones in what online posts I followed. And no one who commented on these things found it the least bit unusual that the girls had an extra pair of ears and a tail. I guess I’d come to terms with that.

Movie nights continued when Steve had the time. And none of us were any closer to tracking down my former neighbor or landlord. So, despite the small tidal wave of casting knowledge of my power out onto the web, life continued as it had.

Then, as I was preparing an early dinner of old soup (which still technically smelled okay) and microwavable chicken and rice, someone knocked on my door. I paused and tensed. Only a few people bothered to knock on my door. Well, mostly one. Allison, usually. And she had a certain rhythm to her knock. This was a steady, slow knock.

I set my food aside for the moment and made my way to the door. Standing on the other side was someone I’d never seen before. Their glasses reminded me vaguely of Gloria’s friend who had started all this, but that was it.

He stood with his hands behind him and a careful, nervous smile on his face as he asked, “Excuse me, umm…I read an ad online…an ad…umm..” He held a print-out of the page Allison had posted with the address marked in yellow highlighter. He quickly managed, “Am I at the right place?”

The guy was slightly taller than me but seemed smaller with his head down. His hair was a stark, dark brown which almost matched mine and deep beneath his glasses traveled also-brown eyes, which tiptoed to meet me. I touched his paper on the edge while he still held the top, the most I could manage in contact with strangers.

I let go of the paper and asked him, “What do you think?”

Probably could’ve put that better. I just wanted to make sure he saw me as a catgirl, even though I had no idea if that meant anything.

I turned a little in such a way that seemed like it would give a better view of my tail and I tried to imagine moving it. No idea if that did what I meant, but I noticed my guest’s eyes were drawn to my head and to that same space over my shoulder where the girls sometimes looked when they were admiring my phantom tail. A good first sign.

Rubbing lightly at the back of his slightly-messy hair, he shrugged and offered, “I’m not sure, miss…”

I folded my arms over cute, phantom breasts and told him, “I guess we’ll find out. Come on in.”