The Rise of Rachel Price T-Girl Pt. 13

The shop was called 'Re' it was larger than the boutique Rachel had imagined. It felt more like a stage set of a living room, crafted by a quixotic hand. There were fabulous dresses and hand-done drawings, doodles of unicorns, spaced between them, giving the space a child-like, fantasy feel. Rachel couldn't help but notice that the prices were high enough to be a fantasy as well.

Charlie started looking through the dresses, the way Denver looked through games. If one was suitable, she would hold it against Rachel to see how it looked. Charlie pulled out a dress.

"Can you hear my eyes rolling?" Rachel said, and Charlie looked over. "That's way too patterned. Levant would prefer something sexier, like that one with the... what do you call that stuff that looks like tights on the arms?"

Charlie smirked. "I like how you know what he likes but don't even know the name for it."

"We share the same perspective, you know," Rachel said quietly.

Charlie continued going through the rack. "Well, perhaps I don't want you to look too sexy. What about that?"

Rachel paused for a moment. Was Charlie dressing Levant's girlfriend or her own?

A woman's voice spoke authoritatively and loudly behind them.

"I thought I told you last time, if I caught you shoplifting again, I would call the police."

Rachel cringed.

Denver had been caught by the police once for minor shoplifting with Jessy K and Jim. If the police caught her for anything, Rachel was going to be exposed. Some of the other customers looked over. Charlie turned around, concerned, and then the woman and Charlie burst into laughter.

"Sam!" Charlie said, moving past Rachel. She kissed the woman standing next to them. Rachel immediately recognized the Targaryen princess look-alike from the restaurant, the one in the red dress she had noticed the night she had her first dinner alone with Levant.

Up close, Sam looked even better than she did from a distance. She was wearing a black T-shirt over some dark, well-sculpted leggings. Her cumbersome chest was noticeable because tiny colored threads were caught on her T-shirt along with some needles passed through. Over the shirt lay a crafted jacket. She was short and had a good view given the high heels she was currently casually drifting around on. Rachel was interested because it was the first time she'd seen a T-shirt without writing on it.

"Your Rachel Price" Samantha said to Rachel.

"You know?" Rachel said wondering what else she knew.

"Everyone knows Levant's latest and most mysterious girlfriend." Samantha said and looked at Charlie. " Yes, we get Twitter on the north side of the bay, so yes I know who your friend here is." She turned to Rachel, "You really are insanely pretty, you know that?"

Samantha turned back to Charlie.

"So this is the mysterious girl you were talking about, Charlie?" Samantha said, turning to look down at Rachel's feet and working her way up to her face.

"Perfect," she said.

Rachel felt awkward; she might have noticed the blonde wig but hadn't mentioned it.

Samantha had a small head and a beautiful olive face with round almond eyes. She had a quite young, round face with rosy cheeks and a small nose that would be well-suited for a manga comic or the pen of Pernilla Qvarfordt. It was the sort of face that made you want to keep smiling just because it looked so good that way. She had long signature platinum hair that had been braided back in a couple of places to keep it from distracting her while working. She didn't have much makeup on, but she did have thick dark eyebrows and had applied deep red lipstick rather quickly.

"Mysterious, no. Shy, yes. What has Charlie told you about me?" Rachel really wanted to know if Charlie had told Samantha about Denver.

"Not much. I know she introduced you. I know Levant is desperately in love with you. I know you keep him at arm's length. I know there are about a thousand women in the city who would shoot you if they could. Not me, by the way. I would keep him at arm's length too. And you only post about shoes, which I love, by the way. And I know your secret," Samantha said enigmatically.

Rachel felt slightly vulnerable at this point. The more people who knew about Denver, the more likely it was that his family would find out. Rachel might have blushed, but she felt bad about not being in control of who knew.

"You do?" Rachel said with a sharp tone.

"Yeah, large feet. My last partner had the same issue; finding women's shoes in larger sizes is hard."

"Oh, that secret," Rachel said. In fact, it was the reverse; she wore a size nine and Denver was five foot four.

Rachel could hear Samantha's smile in her voice. "Oh, so you have another secret, do you?"

"Well, do you wanna hear it? My deep dark secret?" Rachel asked.

Charlie looked alarmed and shook her head.

"Just wait while I turn my secret recorder on," Samantha said, changing her voice. "Okay, Rachel Price, what is your deep dark secret?"

"Well, Samantha, you don't mind if I call you Samantha, do you? My deep dark secret is..." Rachel said.

Charlie shook her head more violently.

"Yes," Samantha said.

"In the dark hours... I like playing... video games..." Rachel said.

"Ahh!!!" Samantha said, "I got started doing cosplay outfits when I was a kid."

"Wow," Rachel began.

Charlie re-entered the conversation. "Sorry, Sam, I didn't mean to interrupt you on a design day. I promised Rachel I would take her shopping, so I had to bring her here."

Samantha stood next to Rachel, looking the same way she kept looking at Rachel. "Yes, I can see that could be a problem with the differences between US and UK sizes."

"That's it, yeah, exactly," Rachel said.

Samantha started to go through the dresses Rachel was holding to try on. "Really? Way too patterned " She said to Charlie, putting a couple of dresses back. She picked up the one Rachel had chosen and added it to the group.

"I love that Kylie Jenner lipstick, are they wearing that back in the UK?" Samantha said, looking at the clothes, not Rachel.

Charlie pushed in. "To be honest, Rachel is a bit of a tomboy. She grew up on a farm. She met during one of Levant's dumbass selection exercises. I did a bit of a makeover and Levant, well, he is springing for a couple more things for her to be seen in."

"I'm terrible at this stuff. When people say 'look at the mess in here, did you grow up on a farm?' the answer is yes," Rachel added.

"Everyone loves a tomboy, eh?" Samantha said, smiling. She moved down one of the racks. "So, are you in the hospitality business too?" Samantha pulled out some things.

"Not really. I'm on a gap year - gap month or two after going to University," Rachel said, jumping back to her cover story. "My parents are from America, and I wanted to have a look around. I also heard the poetry scene in the bay was pretty good."

"Oh, cool. The Oakland Poetry Slam is pretty good, I hear," Samantha said, handing over another dress for Rachel to hold.

"Oh, I've been there. Have you been to Tourette's without regrets?" Rachel said. She had been working on her fake poet persona. She kept a couple of notebooks which she had filled with fake poetry. People in clubs asked her about the poetry, so she had done some research. They were target's for some Moonlighting expeditions.

Samantha turned around. "No, but I would love to go," she said, holding up two dresses.

"Did you design that one?" Rachel said, looking at the dress that had been handed over. It was gunmetal grey. "I like the large loose throw of cloth around the shoulders which looks like a river of mercury being thrown over you."

"I did actually," Samantha said.

"Then that's the one I want. It kind of reminded me of the mini sequin dress," Rachel added, looking at the dress. "Has that feel of slight manic insanity about it."

Samantha finished and herded them both toward the changing rooms. Rachel disappeared with the dress into a changing room decorated in Unicorns. Samantha rushed close to Charlie.

"I like her," Samantha whispered to Charlie. "Those cheekbones, that androgynous look. Why can't you pimp women for me like you do for Levant? Wait. Are you two sleeping together?"

Charlie said nothing in a way that communicated everything.

"You bad girl. I'm totally envious. What about, you know, him?" Samantha said.

"They don't. She won't," Charlie whispered. "Platonic. He likes being seen with her."

'Fuck,' Samantha mouthed, then stopped.

"No, I meant Logan. Is he like...?" Samantha said.

Charlie shrugged nonchalantly.

"You told me, you told Logan you were going straight," Samantha said.

"No, I told Logan I wasn't going to sleep with you. There is a difference. He was worried when you upped sticks from New York and followed me out here. You know our rules, nothing long-term," Charlie said. She was taller than Samantha and looked down at her.

"But what about when Kitty left me?" Samantha said.

"That was a pity fuck. It doesn't count," Charlie said, turning to the other dresses.

Samantha moved forward and moved closer. "What do you tell Logan about her?"

Charlie moved closer, "I tell him it's like having angels dance on my pussy lips."

Sam's eyes expanded "and Logan didn't get the first flight out?"

Charlie nearly rolled her eyes "He's got his hands full, sucking the dick of some big-time producer while doing his wife. Honestly, he's fine." The conversation stopped abruptly as Rachel announced she was coming out.

Then Samantha looked approvingly at the show. "With that body, you should check out Ruti, but don't say I sent you or that I envy their new collection."

Rachel would try on dresses with Charlie's help and then emerge for Samantha. Samantha wanted to come in, but Rachel was pretty firm about not letting her in. When they were alone together Charlie bent over to Samantha and whispered, 'body image issues, birth defect'.

*****

It took more than an hour to narrow down the choice to three dresses, which was about as many as Rachael felt guilty about buying, even with Levant's money. Charlie used a corporate credit card, and in celebration, Samantha insisted they all go out for coffee at the Starbucks next to Eileen Fisher's shop, which turned into early evening cocktails at Brass Tacks.

Rachael listened intently as Samantha and Charlie swapped stories. Later, they heard about Samantha's breakup with Kitty. Kitty was a Bay journalist or something and had gotten irritated with Samantha's 24/7 work ethic. Rachael heard a great deal of detail about Charlie's relationship with Logan back east, which was more than she wanted to hear about in relation to Charlie. She still hadn't quite figured out what Denver meant to Charlie. The relationship, like the one with Levant, ultimately had an expiration date. Charlie was clearly smart, ambitious, and well-educated. Rachael couldn't see a future for them together. Someone who grew up in the projects didn't get to meet women like her, although at the moment it felt weird because she was pretending to be one of them.

Then Charlie received a message from Levant's PA Lucy. Levant was in North Beach and wondered if Charlie could get hold of Rachael at short notice. Rachael nodded, and the date was set up. Rachael slipped into the cafe's toilets with her Samantha Kline bag and changed into the new dress. The makeup was a bit low-key for the way Levant liked it, but time was short. Soon, the familiar shape of Levant's limousine pulled up outside the bar. Rachael recognized the bodyguard stepping out. From the way he imperiously moved the bodyguard was never for the kidnap risk, she decided.

"I've got the bags. I'll see you back at the Thornbury," Charlie said.

"Sure, take your time," Rachel added, kissing Charlie on the cheek.

"Nice meeting you," Rachel added to Samantha, taking her hand.

Rachel got down off the stool and was about to leave when Samantha stopped her.

"Wait, I've just spotted something terribly wrong with you. I thought something was off for ages but couldn't figure it out, and now I've noticed," Samantha said.

Rachel's heart sank. Was she about to be exposed in such a public venue? Charlie's eyes widened.

"The tag is still on," Samantha said, pulling Rachel back.

The dress was low-cut at the back, but Rachel had a shrug covering and hiding her shoulders and arms. Samantha liked it because it hinted at the sun tattoo Rachel had on her spine. Samantha leaned down and cut the thread with her teeth.

Rachel could feel the warmth of Samantha's breath on her back and her hair against her bare skin.

"Thanks, Samantha," said Rachel.

"Call me Sam. My friends call me Sam. We tomboys gotta stick together," Samantha said, slapping Rachel's ass. If she noticed a hint of silicon padding, she didn't say anything.

"If I worked for you in an office, that would be harassment," Rachel said.

Samantha looked slightly embarrassed.

"Keep it up," Rachel said, winking and leaving.

With Rachel gone, Samantha looked over to Charlie "I'll respect you as a friend over this, but only if you promise I'm the first one you call if she dumps you. And I mean within the first 60 seconds of it happening."

Charlie looked at Sam "What If I dumped her?"

Samantha turned to Charlie "We both know if you dump her, you'd need a lobotomy"