Chapter 40 - Dresses

We sat in silence for a few minutes inside the OWE. Oswald's departure had shaken us all. In any case, it was better that we had said goodbye to him. It would have been much worse if we hadn't. I would have been very sad about his departure if I hadn't met him. At least there were no regrets. I liked him a lot.

After our dramatic break, I was still me. I tried to swap with EVE, but couldn't. Apparently, our off-shift exchanges were getting in the way of causal and conventional exchanges. If that continued, it would be a problem, because I would never work at OWE. I could never be like her. Never.

"You have a client; I mean, EVE has a client," Dorian told me, while still drying things at the bar. The traffic seemed a little weak at first, but soon several men and women began to show up. I think they were going to get drunk to end the evening happily, other than thinking about Oswald's departure.

"Well, in that case, I'm sorry about him," I said, taking a drink of the water he had served me a few minutes earlier. "I won't do anything with anyone. I'll never have sex with a stranger," I said, oblivious to the clear expression of disgust I was making. In the beginning, when all the stuff with EVE started, I used to feel disgusted with my body, knowing what was happening to it, and what EVE was doing. Therapy helped me get over that.

"Actually, EVE was bragging about how tonight was going to be a quiet night," he said, as he poured some drinks for the customers. "The last customer is Tyrone, and he's not exactly a customer," Dorian said, staring at me. I was confused, trying to understand what he was talking about. "All he does is make EVE try on an abundance of dresses for their own benefit. Since he revealed himself to all of us, he's stopped the sex sessions, so you don't have to worry about that. Basically, you'd just be a model," he said, explaining. Apparently, Tyrone was yet another out-of-the-box client who didn't fit OWE's standards. I had no idea that people like him and Oswald existed in that place. I began to wonder how much more surprised I would be. EVE always tried to keep me out of club affairs, since I had no interest myself. The protection intensified even more when the incident occurred.

"Are you telling me that all I have to do is try on clothes?" I asked him in disbelief. Then he confirmed it. Then I realized that I couldn't stay there with Dorian; after all, the club was getting back on track, and that would mean work for him. "Is something wrong with you?" I asked, noticing that he looked different.

"It's no big deal," he replied, without much thought. I wasn't going to force him to say anything if he didn't want me to, but he could be sure that eventually, I would ask again. In any case, I needed to leave him alone and get on with what I needed to do. "Tyrone isn't like the others, Amelie. You'll need to fix your hair and makeup. Mandy and Cindy should be waiting for you by now. By the way, it would be good if you didn't interact too much with Cindy," he said, visibly worried. Curious, I asked why. "She's interested in me, so you can imagine that maybe she doesn't like you very much because I like you, and we're practically together now. Besides, they're close to EVE, so for them, you're like the interference in her life, not the other way around," he explained. So, hearing all that, it didn't seem like a good idea to go and meet them.

Minutes later, I was sitting in the chair, being attended to by the girls. I had no idea how to behave or what to say, so for my own protection, I decided to keep quiet. Luckily for me, they did the same and just went about their business. I felt grateful, as I had no idea what could happen. In particular, I wouldn't want to get involved in EVE's life. For me, the greatest distance between us was ideal.

I was startled when I entered the room, and there was an abundance of scandalous, contrasting, and beautiful clothes. So Tyrone really was a drag who wanted opinions. Would he make me try on all those clothes? I wouldn't mind. Of course, he probably wanted EVE, but considering that our minds were the only thing that changed between us, maybe that was okay. I hoped he liked me, at least.

"Hello," his voice said. I could hear him, but I couldn't see him. I had no doubt that he was in the room, but I didn't know where exactly he was. Then he appeared, fully dressed in drag. "Oh, that's right. Amelie, isn't it?" he asked, coming closer. "I know a lot about you. I'm Tyrone, but I don't think you'll be seeing me today," he said, coming closer. Apparently, he didn't usually dress like that.

"Yes, I'm Amelie," I replied, still at a loss as to how to behave. "You have beautiful clothes," I said, as I took one of the dresses in my hands and felt the fabric. It was very high quality. Opening Lowe's gave me a lot of new knowledge. Just by looking, I could tell the level of quality of the clothes. Tyrone had incredible dresses. OWE's audience certainly wasn't poor.

"Thanks for the compliment. I know you have a good store, so of course you recognize good products," he said, adjusting himself. "As tonight was a sad night, we need to change that. Don't get me wrong, Amelie, so if you're thinking that I'd like it to be EVE instead of you, know that I don't mind. As long as you treat me well and respect me, everything is fine, and since I already know you from other people's opinions, I know you're a good person," he told me, incredibly charismatic. Apparently, EVE had some great people in her life. I wasn't used to compliments, but I accepted them. "Please choose a dress and get changed. We'll compare models and talk about clothes," he said.

As I changed, I wondered what EVE would think of this. Of course, there was no chance of her friends preferring me, but maybe these little moments when she's away will be missed. The truth was that I knew very little about EVE. Neither Axel nor Dorian talked much about her, and I had few feelings either. Axel was a good person, so if he liked her, I could trust him, but in any case, in my mind, she just seemed like a whore. Maybe she was more ordinary than I thought. Perhaps my brain was afraid that we weren't as different as I thought. Potentially, I was afraid that everyone would prefer her. She was afraid that she would disappear forever, and only she would exist. I'm sure that if she could, she would kill me. The only place I could learn more about her was from Dr. Hans, but his professional secrecy seemed unshakeable.

I returned to the bedroom, already changed, and went to look in the mirror. Tyrone had excellent taste in clothes. He seemed pretty pleased with the look, too. "You look beautiful," he said, as he admired me. "I'll definitely wear this," he said, happy that it had worked.

"Are all these dresses yours?" I asked, curious about the number. "There are a lot of them," I mentioned. There was a really high quantity. It would be impossible to try them all on with the hours he was paying.

"Some are rented or borrowed. I would like to do the tests here to see if they would work for me. It's a great base, plus you get ready a lot quicker than I do. It's very advantageous," he explained. "Of course, my makeup is different, after all, I need to shine," he said, as he struck a glamorous pose.

We spent the next few minutes with him admiring me and commenting on my clothes. We talked about fabrics, and he even asked for some advice. For a moment, I found myself so engrossed in the subject that I barely noticed when Dorian entered the room. He was startled. "Wow, you look fantastic," he said, seeing me in one of the dresses, visibly delighted. The shock was so real that Tyrone laughed a little and said I could stay with him to enjoy it. His intentions were very clear. "I came to find you as the session ended fifteen minutes ago," he said. We really had lost track of time.

Without hesitating, I left the room, saying goodbye to Tyrone. To my surprise, Dorian was waiting for me outside. "Come on," he said, as he pulled me by the arm. The next thing I knew, we were locked in another room. Just the two of us.