I realized that until Jessica showed up that I was not going to get much done due to the images that Kelli had burned into my brain, so I just grabbed a piece of the couch and turned on the TV. I spent perhaps ten minutes flipping channels before there was a knock at the door and I jumped up to open it.
"Hey there," Jessica greeted me while I shouted good byes to Kelli, who admonished us to have fun in return.
"Hiya Jessica," I responded, and I took a minute to look over my date for the evening.
She was dressed in a pair of khaki capris pants with a light yellow sandal, and a yellow spaghetti strap crop top shirt that matched my sundress perfectly. Her long blonde hair had been curled and pulled back into a wide spread ponytail, and her understated makeup completed a look that was both super sexy and super cute at the same time.
"God you look cute," I commented after a moment's hesitation, and I was pleased to see the blush that rose into Jessica's cheeks.
"Thanks! You look great too," she replied as I closed our door and let her lead me down to her car. "And my friends just call me Jess, so you should as well."
"Ok, Jess. So where are we headed?"
"Now that is a secret," she said, and laughed when I unsuccessfully tried to winnow more information by pouting. "You'll see soon enough."
Jessica's car was a peppy little BMW sports sedan, and I was both impressed and a little intimidated riding in it, but I have to admit that it was also fun as hell. We talked about a lot of things while driving, and after the first fifteen minutes or so we had become fast friends. I was also relieved to see that the bond that was forming between Jessica and I was still nothing more than a friendship, though it appeared to be an especially strong bond for such a new relationship.
It was comfortable talking about random stuff with her, and I decided to put out a slight signal with my hand, and when she reached out and took it, practically without thinking, my heart grinned in happiness for her. Jessica opened up to me a bit more about how confused she had been over the last few years, and I could sense the relief in her voice and in her whole demeanor at being able to finally be herself.
It was in that moment that I truly came to understand one of my Neko senses, and what it would require me to do. I was, at this point in time, her mentor. I was her guide to her own psyche, and I felt awed that the power I now had inside had chosen me as its tool.
Eventually we came to a small, far out suburb that was about forty-five minutes away from the city, and I could see that the area was much too crowded for such a tiny town. Jessica got us parked and came over to open my door, and I was happy to let her take the lead on the date, as it was really her show.
"Ok," she exclaimed with childlike excitement. "Here we are."
"So, umm, where's here," I asked right before she grabbed my hand and dragged me off towards what looked like the main street that ran through the heart of the miniature city.
As we rounded the corner onto the larger street my senses were assaulted with the sights, noises and smells of a boisterous street fair at the peak of its busy time. After staring with an open mouth for entirely too long of a time period, I closed my mouth and looked over at Jessica with an ear to ear grin.
"This. Is. Awesome," I cried in delight, and it was my turn to drag Jess into the mass of people and tents that lined the thoroughfare. "I haven't been to a street fair for, I don't know, three years maybe."
"Well, I figured that since it was a first date situation it needed to be simple but fun. And I haven't been to one in a while either."
"Well, you got it spot on," I replied, and I took both of her hands so that I could talk to her for a few moments. "Remember this. Chances are that some of the people that you go out with will not be in your same social circle."
Jessica remained silent and just nodded in understanding as I continued.
"Taking someone who you are trying to get to know out for sushi and drinks on the Roof Top downtown is might be too intimidating for a first run. Just let things unfold at a slow pace, and save the swank and dazzle for a really special occasion, like a birthday or a some month's together celebration. Get to know them, and let them get to know you, and everything else will fall into place."
"God it is so good to hear you say that," she exclaimed with relief. "I wanted to keep this low key because we aren't actually dating, but I was worried how I should handle the subject of my family's money. This felt like the best option."
"Once you know someone then it won't matter how much money either of you have or don't have. It will just be about yourselves. Enough of that, however. Come on!"
I pulled Jess behind me until she caught on, and then we moved through the various stalls and crowds together. It was a blast taking in all of the arts and crafts, the myriad booths that offered one snack or another, and we both made sure to stop for a few trinkets that we could give to our friends. The rapid cooling of the afternoon air also made the crowded fair much more pleasant, and we continued to talk, laugh, and discover each other as night began coming on.
We decided to have a bit of fun and got in line at the face painting booth, and as we waited we argued over what design would look best on the other person. Some ideas were nothing but jokes that made us break down in uncontrolled mirth, while others were just outside of our taste. It did not take long for us to get to the front of the line, and as the couple in front of us finished up another woman came and relieved the current painter of duty so that she could go on her break. After this new arrival got herself situated she motioned for both of us to come and take a seat.
"Ok girls, you are here for face painting, yes," she asked in a slightly foreign accent, and we both nodded in the affirmative. It seemed an odd question considering we were in the face painting line.
"Umm, I think I would like..." Jess began, but was immediately interrupted by the new artist.
"Shhh," the older woman interrupted. "Just let me put what will look best on your face, ok?"
Jess and I looked at each other and broke out in laughter as she gave a whatever shrug and turned to allow our face artist to get to work. The whole process was rather mesmerizing, and I sat with my hands in my lap, watching until it was my turn. Her hands were a blur and it was fascinating to watch the rapid switch between the air and the regular brush, along with the ever increasing stack of colors that she had used. Jess' face seemed to take hours to finish, but was probably only a few minutes in reality, and after our artist set down her tools she turned Jess by the chin to inspect her work, after which she left a gentle kiss on Jess' forehead.
Then she turned to me and gave my face a gentle caress as she stared into my eyes, and I sensed a wisdom in her that I had not felt before. Then she picked up her tools again and got to work on my face. Again she moved so fast that it was difficult to keep track of her hands, and for a brief moment I thought I could sense a power behind her work that almost made me shiver. Within minutes, however, she was setting her tools down again and she gave my face the same inspection that she had given Jess, and then cupped my face with both hands before kissing me in the same manner. Then she spoke to me in a whisper, and her words chilled my blood.
"When the time comes, little one, remember to control this. Do not let it control you," and after she spoke she gave me one last kiss before turning back to the crowd to call for the next customer.
She did not let us pay her and shooed us away when we tried leaving money in her tip jar. She even managed to somehow keep both Jess and I from sticking around long enough to ask her just who the hell she was. Jess just shrugged again, apparently deciding it was not worth it to push the issue, and turned to me to find out where I wanted to go next, and as she did we both let out surprised gasps.
"Oh my god," I breathed as I reached out to brush my finger along her cheek.
I was stunned at the intricacy of the artwork that the woman had crafted on Jess' face, and I pulled her to one of the small mirrors so she could see it too, eliciting a gasp of surprise from her. Her face had become a mural with images of butterflies and small birds winging their way through a colorful line of flowers that ran from the middle of her neck, up her cheek and ear, and which thinned out and appeared to enter her hairline on the opposite side of her forehead. The whole thing was highlighted with deep blue and silver metallic accents and the finishing touch was the glowing silvery mist that wound its way through the entire piece. In truth, it was one of the most beautiful things that I had ever seen.
Jess seemed to think so as well as she stared into the mirror for long minutes, wanting but never daring to touch the delicate image. She finally turned to me and I couldn't help but grin as her face broke out into a smile bright enough to cause sunburn.
"I don't ever want to wash this off," she gushed, and I laughed in amusement at the wonder she was showing. "You, however. You look damned fierce. A total bad ass Amazon cat girl."
It was my turn to be dragged in front of the mirror and my mouth fell open at the sight of my own face. Jess was right. I was fierce. My face art wasn't a picture or a mural, rather it was 3 blood red slashes that ran down from hairline to jawline. They were outlined in black and had a kind of scintillating fade effect that left them quite dark at the top, but much lighter at the bottom. Running horizontally across my eyes was a kind of thin black stripe that gave the whole thing a mask like effect that brought out the brightness of my eyes.