Wearing his baggiest pair of pants Evan slipped into the backseat of the cab “To the redlight district please.”
“Which one?”
Evan tried to ignore Inaras giggle as he stammered “there is more than one?”
“Sure is.” The cabbie turned around to give Evan a bemused look “First time?”
Evan just nodded.
“I see. I see.” The cabbie, some portly guy in his forties, raised a questioning eyebrow “How much are you willing to spend? ” he asked.
“I’ve got about 130$” Evan admitted, “plus change. ”
“Welll, it’s a start. ” the cabbie said with a sigh “That includes my fare?”
Again Evan nodded.
“So you want something close and affordable. Hmpf. Lemme think for a minute.”
The cabbie turned back front and unfolded a map, before announcing after a minute of ‘hmms’ and ‘Humpfs’: “Sorry for the wait. “ as he put the car in gear ” I got a missus at home so I don’t have no need for prostitutes. But I do drive them around every now and then. Might know a few nice girls that work close to here. ” As the taxi rolled down the street the cabbie continued “ Pretty enough too I think. But you’ll want to take nice over pretty, boy. One that won’t lie to your face about having all her shots. ”
As the cabbie – Ron according to his drivers license in the front - went on about some of the girls Evan might meet, Inara looked increasingly bored. “Yadda yadda. Hooker with a heart of gold. Boring. ”. suddenly she turned to Evan, winked “Wanna see something fun instead” and then leaned forward to cover the mans eyes with her hands just as a truck was barrelling towards them on the opposite lane.
For a shocked second Evan just sat there, unable to believe his eyes. Then, as his brain went back into gear, he surged forward with a panicked little cry to prevent the imminent crash. But before Evan could grab Inara to pry her hands away from the mans face, she dissolved into purple wisps of smoke. Which left Evan hanging awkwardly with his head and chest across the front bench as momentum carried him forward.
“Whoa! What the fuck!” the startled cabbie came dangerously close to hitting the cars parked at the side of the road before he got control of the vehicle back. “What the fuck kid!! Are you on drugs?” he half turned trying to shove Evan back into his seat with one arm.
“I’m sorry! No! I thought there was a cat on the road!” Evan hurried to reassure them man “I’m clean. I’m so sorry.”
“Hmph.” Ron gave Evan a suspicious look in the mirror, before evidently deciding to give his passenger the benefit of the doubt. “Yeah. Well if you see another cat, stay back there if you don’t want me to dump you in the middle of the sidewalk. Or die in a car-crash.”
Evan for his part tried to ignore Inaras laughter as best he could. Because talking to people only see could see would probably get him dumped in the middle of the city too. And if he had rememebered sooner that only he could see the Ifrit, Evan would have noticed that Ron hadn’t reacted to her covering his eyes. Which she was all too happy to tell Evan.
Instead he stared out of the window, as the drive continued in awkward silence. At least her prank seemed to have put Inara in a good mood, if her snickering was any indication.
Then the taxi suddenly rolled to a stop as a woman said “What the fuck?!”
It took Evan a moment to realize that it hadn’t been Inaras voice, but it didn’t take him long to spot the newcomer. A woman was sitting in the taxis driver seat, her eyes frantically flickering between the street and the two bumps tenting out Rons old shirt. Sometime during the past few minutes Ron had grown a full head of curly ash-blonde hair, gained a pair of prominent breasts and a face that looked a good ten years younger than it used to be. And had lost all hints of Rons stubble, along with any other hint that it belonged to a guy.
“What the fuck?” Ron repeated as he pulled his car onto the curb and killed the motor. Evan watched in fascination as Rons hand disappeared down his front, before the former cabbie muttered “It’s gone.”
“I did mention finding a girl won’t be a problem thanks to me, right?” Inara said with a smirk “While you are …standing to attention, just one touch will ensure you find a girl to finish in. They won’t all be beauties, as you can see, but they will look at least serviceable. “
Which was the point where Ron stopped inspecting herself and gave Evan a thoughtful look in the mirror. “So, are you still looking for a girl? Because ….. as freaky as this is. It opens up some err possibilities. And I might need the money soon.”
” Oh, and it will be VERY easy to convince them that fucking you is a good idea for the first 24 hours. “ Inara added proudly ”I call it the Touch of DTF.”
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