Transformation Ch. 15

"Thanks, but no," I said closing the door, "I've had enough of people meddling with my life."

"Understandable," she said sitting on the couch, "So did you decide how I should punish Gandalf? I assume Vancouver opened your eyes for you."

"You could say that. Considering the monster he's created in Heather and everything else he's done to me and everyone else how can anything short of death be an option?"

"I was afraid you might say that," she said, "and I'm willing to go to that extreme but there is something you should know first. Our powers and every use of them are directly tied to our individual life force. Now I can probably, and I mean probably, use my powers to protect you, but every change Gandalf has made over the eons would be irrevocably reversed. The world you know would be gone, and even if I could protect you, who knows what the repercussions would be."

"Fuck me," I said grabbing a piece of the counter to steady myself. The implications of undoing everything Gandalf had ever done was simply mind-boggling.

"There are other options that, for him, would be worse than death," she said.

"Like what?" I asked.

"I want you to think about it," she said standing up, "and I'll be back to talk about it. You're creative and I have no doubt you'll think of something." I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, but when she vanished she was simply gone. There was no flash of light, no snazzy dissolve to make a Hollywood director jealous, she was simply there one instant and gone the next.

"Son of a bitch," I said looking around the apartment. Everything I'd just bought was put away and there was even a cable box hooked up to the monstrous flat screen sitting on the entertainment center. I swear the thing was bigger than I was tall and was certainly not the TV I bought. The apartment seemed to be as set up as it could be, but none of my stuff from the house had been brought over. Walking into my bedroom, the bed was made and the shower curtain and towels were hanging in the bathroom. Opening the closet door, I was surprised to only find a single dress bag hanging inside and not all of my clothes. Pulling the bag out of the closet, I laid it on the bed and opened it.

The dress was probably the most expensive thing I'd ever held in my hands. The material felt amazing between my fingers and I had no doubt it would fit like a second skin. Setting the dress down, I pulled out a pair of matching shoes and a small bag containing matching black lingerie with stockings and a garter belt. It seems Morgana was saving me the time of going shopping for Saturday night.

I strongly considered staying the night at the apartment, but other than the dress and what I was wearing I didn't have any other clothes. Tiffany's car wasn't in the driveway when I got back to the house and Rob's truck was nowhere to be seen. The echo as I closed the door confirmed that the house was empty, but as I set my bag on the kitchen table I saw the paperwork from the apartment complex and a note from Tiffany. 'We need to talk' was all it said in big black letters. I hadn't intended to tell her just yet, but since the cat was out of the bag I might as well get it over with.

Part of me wanted to just leave everything behind and just buy new clothes, but I had too many things from my old life that I would miss. Going out to the garage, I found a couple of boxes that I could put my stuff in and started packing my room up. I felt like I was moving in slow motion as I picked up the trinkets I had accumulated over the past few months living in the house. It wasn't much, but each item had a connection to Tiffany or Rob and I couldn't help but to hold it and think of the memories attached.

I had maybe half a box packed when I heard Tiffany pull into the driveway. In truth after earlier today, I wasn't sure if this was going to be a fight or a peaceful conversation. Either way, I knew my relationship with Tiffany would never be the same. I could hear her moving through the house; dropping her keys on the table, placing her sunglasses next to them, and all the other little things I'd watched her do dozens of times. It's funny, I still cared for Tiffany just as deeply as I ever had and yet I knew that I couldn't stay.

"Sara," Tiffany said softly standing at the open doorway.

"Yeah, Tiff come on in." My hands dropped into the box as I held the ticket stub for a KISS concert that I'd dragged her to.

"What's going on? Why do you have a rental agreement for an apartment?"

"I'm moving out. Since the moment I woke up I've been leaning on you and everyone else so much that I've forgotten how to stand on my own two feet."

"I don't mind you leaning on me," Tiffany said. The fact I could see her wringing her hands told me just how upset she was.

"I know, but it's not fair to you. You've helped and guided me in more ways than I ever thought possible and I will never be able to repay you for that. Tiffany, I love you, I'm in love with you and as much as it's going to hurt, I still need to go. If nothing else, so you and Rob can have a clean start without all of my distractions."

"What about Heather? That psychotic bitch is still out there and hunting you."

"I know and if I move out it lowers the chance of you getting caught up as collateral damage." Putting the box down, I walked over to Tiffany and took her into my arms.

"Please don't go," Tiffany said, her lip trembling.

"I have to. I have to stand up on my own." We stood there just holding each other for a while when something occurred to me. "Do you love Rob? I mean I know you married him, but that could be put off to how drunk you were. So I'm asking, do you love him?"

"Yes, I do," she said smiling despite the tears streaming down her face.

"Then be happy with him. Be happy and know you helped give me the hand up I needed to get started with my life."

"I still don't want you to leave," she said nuzzling my neck.

"I'm not going that far away. Besides, now you'll have a place to go when Rob decides to put his head up his ass."

"So you should expect me over all the time then," she said chuckling, "I'm sorry about the bullshit with the bet. He didn't mention anything about it to me, so when you bit his head off it was the first I'd heard of it. I suppose in truth, I should be the one paying off the bet."

"No Tiffany. It's not the bet itself that pissed me off because let's face it, it's just another cock with another pair of balls to drain. What pissed me off was him doing it without any input from me. Had I been awake and he'd asked me about it, we both know I would have said yes and then paid it off without a thought. It's the utter lack of control over my own life that's brought this on."

"Yeah that makes sense," she said, "I still don't like it, but I understand. Can I at least help you pack and get set up?"

"That would be great if I had anything left to set up," I said, "Morgana visited me earlier and despite what I said, she put away and organized everything I bought. All I have left is the stuff here."

"And what did the smurf bitch have to say?" she said the venom in her voice clear.

"I told her I wanted Gandalf dead."

"Oh goodie, so is he dead?"

"No, she wanted me to come up with something else," I said shaking my head, "She claims if he dies, it reverses every change he's ever made."

"Do you think she's lying?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't have many other choices than to believe her do I?"

"No, I suppose you don't," she said, changing the subject, "Do you want me to get some suitcases from the garage for your clothes?"

"That would be great, and thanks," I said.

We spent the next couple of hours packing up my room and going through the clothes in my closet. We couldn't help but laugh at some of the things I'd brought home from the hospital and we started a pile of stuff to take to Goodwill. I also came across a couple of skirts and some t-shirts that I would have to remember having.

It felt good to laugh and be goofy with Tiffany again and by the time we had everything together, it was past midnight. Without it even being mentioned, as soon as the last box was taped shut we both walked in Tiffany's room and undressed. Climbing into bed, I think we both had the intention of making love as we curled around each other. Unfortunately, our bodies had other ideas as we didn't get past a gentle kiss before the emotional exhaustion of the day took its toll and we both passed out.

Waking up the next morning to an empty bed, I found Tiffany in the kitchen already showered and dressed. "Sorry I didn't get you up," she said as I entered the kitchen, "but you slept right through my alarm so I figured you needed the rest."

"I haven't been sleeping well lately so you're probably right. What time is it anyway?"

"Almost ten. Why don't you catch a shower and we'll take your stuff over? I want to check out your new place."

"Thank you for being ok with this."

"I'd be lying if I said I was totally happy about this but if your complex has a sufficient number of hot guys you might change my mind."

"Well I've already met one," I said heading down the hallway to my room.

"Why am I not surprised?" Tiffany yelled after me. My shower was quick and I spent more time digging clothes to wear out of the boxes than I did under the water. Finally cleaned up and dressed we packed up the last of my bathroom stuff before loading the cars.

"I like it," Tiffany said standing in my new bedroom, "and I love your patio. I expect you'll be using that a lot." We'd only grabbed a couple of small boxes to bring up at first as I wanted to show the place off.

"That was pretty much the deciding factor for this place. One place I checked out a guy was jerking off on his balcony." Tiffany's mouth dropped open and instead of speaking she just shook her head and laughed to herself.

Heading back downstairs, we got both of the cars unloaded and we were in the process of putting my clothes away when Tiffany yelled from inside my closet, "Where in the hell did this come from?"

I was pretty sure what she was talking about and when she came out with the dress bag my suspicion was confirmed. "A present from Morgana," I said, "Apparently she decided to save me the time of having to go shopping for Saturday. There is a bag in there with lingerie as well."

"So which one are you planning to wear?"

"What do you mean?"

"There are two dresses in here," she said, "a red one and a black one. There's also two bags and two sets of shoes." Pulling out the lingerie bags, I saw the lingerie matched the dresses, one black, and the other red.

"The black one was the only one in there yesterday," I said.

"So I guess I'm going with you on Saturday after all."

"Tiffany."

"Nope, it seems that queen smurf bitch thinks I need to go and Rob's going to learn not to write checks he can't cash. What time is he supposed to pick you up?"

"Nine o'clock," I said.

"I'll tell you what. Tell him you decided to drive yourself and will meet them at the restaurant. That way when we both show up it'll be too late to make a scene."

"You do know I wasn't planning to include him?" I asked.

"I know, he told me you were planning to torture him by forcing him to just sit and watch."

"Doesn't it kind of defeat the purpose if you go along?"

"Him and I being married doesn't change the fact we both still consider you our girlfriend. So instead of his girlfriend paying off his bet, he's going to have to watch his girlfriend and his wife pay it off."

"Tiff, Rob and I are over, he just doesn't know it yet. I was planning on telling him after I'd fucked this guy. Hell, I don't even know his name and I'm going to let him fuck me."

"His name's Nathan," she said sitting next to me and taking my hand, "and I had a feeling you were going to do something like that."

"For the first time since I woke up, he made me feel like I was completely worthless. Like I was nothing more than a thing to be used and thrown away."

"I've heard worse reasons to break up with someone. I just hope it doesn't fuck up our relationship."

"Honestly that's going to depend on two things."

" And what's that?" she asked.

"First Rob has to understand he's no longer welcome in my bed, even if you're in it."

"And the second thing?"

"That you never use your ability to control me in any way whatsoever." I was as serious as I had ever been, "I don't care if you could stop me from making the stupidest mistake of my entire life. That mistake is mine to make. I'm dead serious. If you use your ability, you'll never see me again."

"I understand and I'm sorry we've gotten to the point you even need to say that."

"So am I."

I didn't see Tiffany again until Saturday afternoon when we met at the salon to get our hair and nails done. Before she left the apartment, we decided she would wear the red dress since the black one worked better with my blue hair. There are times when I still shake my head in disbelief at how much my life has changed. I mean seriously, who would have ever imagined me giving a fuck what color anything went better with my hair.

When I called Rob to give him the new plan, I made sure he put my name down for the room so I could pick up the key and let him know they had to be cleared out of the room at least ninety minutes ahead of time so I could get ready. I told him since it was going to be a long night, I might as well take my stuff up to the room ahead of time so we wouldn't have to worry about it. I don't know if Tiffany had said something or if he'd heard me mention it, but I found it funny that Rob got a room at the Hilton in downtown Phoenix.

Tiffany and I got to the hotel in plenty of time and as instructed the room was vacant when I keyed us in. "Sara?" I had my back to her as I rubbed lotion into my skin so I couldn't see the shocked look on her face.

"Yeah, Tiff?

"Where the hell did that come from?"

I was so used to being nude around her that it was a little shocking to realize that she hadn't seen me naked since I'd returned from Vancouver. "A little present from my blue-skinned benefactor. I didn't even know it was there until Jack commented on it."

"Since Vancouver? How in the hell have I not seen it before? I've seen you naked since you got back."

"Just another one of those great mysteries of my life I guess."

Sometimes it turns out you're not as smart as you like to think you are. Standing in the middle of that hotel room, I had to have Tiffany help me put on the lingerie as everything seemed like it was backward. Stockings, garter belt, and the matching g-string were all we had on under our dresses. As for the dresses themselves, they were a halter style with a neckline plunging below my belly button and nonexistent back putting my tattoo on full display and they left little to the imagination as the hem barely reached the middle of my thigh. A tiny matching clutch purse

It was time for us to go upstairs to the restaurant and I wanted to give Tiffany another chance to change her mind. "You don't have to do this."

"I do," she said, taking my hands, "Both Rob and I hurt you by making choices without thinking how they might impact you. I'm looking at tonight as my penance for acting without thinking."

"Are you worried about how Rob might react?"

"Not really," she said smiling, "It's not like this will be the first time he's seen me fuck another guy and I seriously doubt it will be the last."

"True, but this is the first time he doesn't get to play as well. Trust me, in his head, it's a completely different thing."

"I know and he and I are going to have a long talk tomorrow I'm sure, but that's tomorrow."

"I just don't want you to do something you'll regret later on."

"I won't," she said smiling, "Now let's go make some jaws drop." Picking her small clutch off the table, she opened the door and motioned for me to follow.

"Works for me," I said as we left the room. Taking the elevator up to the restaurant level, we did indeed cause a couple of jaws to drop as we stepped out into the waiting area.

"Can I help you ladies?" the host asked as we approached the podium.

"Yes, we're meeting my husband and a friend of his here. The name is Robert Daniels."

"Oh," he said looking down at his seating chart, "he told me they were only expecting one more person."

"That's because they are only expecting one more. I'm going to be a bit of a surprise."

"I see, right this way please." Following the host through the restaurant, I saw Rob before he spotted us and drew great pleasure from watching as his eyes shot open when he saw Tiffany at my side. His were certainly not the only pair of eyes following us across the room. It didn't hurt that the dresses clung to every curve and left very little to the imagination.

Sitting next to Rob was who I gathered to be Nathan. Watching his eyes widen when Rob pointed us out was enough to bring a smile to my face and seeing him unconsciously pull at his collar made it obvious he didn't like wearing the suit. His face and hands were tan from years of working in the Arizona sun, causing his bright green eyes to stand out. Getting to his feet, he quickly moved around the table and pulled my chair out.

"Please," he said holding my chair, "allow me."

"Such a gentleman," I said as I slid into the chair.

"Tiffany," Rob said as Tiffany took her seat, "what are you doing here?"

"Getting ready to enjoy a good meal with my husband and supporting my best friend when her boyfriend is an idiot."

"Wait a second," Nathan said, "Your wife and your girlfriend not only know each other but are best friends?"

"Sara and I were lovers before Rob came along and getting married wasn't exactly something we planned." The appearance of the waiter brought the conversation to an abrupt end as we all placed our drink orders and the long island iced tea that would be arriving shortly sounded perfect.

"Dude, seriously," Nathan said once the drinks had arrived, "What's your secret? How in the hell did you get these two insanely hot women?"

As I listened to Rob begin to try and explain things to Nathan, it seemed almost as if a veil had lifted. I've been so determined to strike out on my own, but I was still sitting here intending to let Nathan fuck me. Why? It wasn't because I wanted to. Nathan was a good looking enough guy don't get me wrong, but the only reason I was here was because Rob said I had to fuck him. Despite my anger about the situation I was still giving Rob what he wanted. Truly the only thing stopping me from leaving was myself.

"Sara," Rob said, the touch of his hand bringing my focus back to the table, "Is everything ok? You seemed a bit out of it there."

"I'm good," I said slowly withdrawing my hand, "In truth, I think I'm seeing things more clearly than I have in a while."

"You do know my offer still stands don't you?" Tiffany said her hand resting on my leg. Flashing her eyes over to Nathan made it plain about what she was talking about.

"I do and I think I'm going to take you up on that."

"Really? I was kinda hoping you would."

"Are you sure you're ok with this?" I asked.

"Absolutely," Tiffany said smiling, "You need to go take care of yourself."

"What's going on?" Rob asked as I stood up and grabbed my purse.

"Tiffany will explain it to you," I said before walking away from the table and towards the exit. Ignoring the eyes that followed me through the restaurant, I made my way to the elevators and headed towards the hotel room. It only took a few moments to drop the dress to the floor and pull my clothes back on. Gathering the few items I had brought with me, I stuffed the dress back into the bag before leaving the room key on the table and heading to the valet parking.

"Changed your mind did you?" Morganna asked from the passenger seat as I slid behind the wheel of my car, "Kind of a shame considering the dress, but I had a feeling you might."