Real as any place you've been

Dawn was faced with a slight conundrum as the couple rushed off to meet their reservation.

She felt very underdressed.

“Are-are you sure I don’t need to change?” She asked, looking at Nick with concern furrowing her brow. “I mean, I still have that fancy dress from the party.”

As much as Nick wanted to see that, he wasn’t sure if that was the best idea, given the cut of that dress. Dawn’s breasts might not have expanded as much as they had last night, but he wasn’t confident that the lacy décolletage of the violet ball gown would hold under her new assets. And while that was a visual he might like to see, he didn’t want to end up ruining something Dawn had spent her money on.

“It should be fine,” he assured her. “I like you just the way you are.”

Dawn’s face turned scarlet. She was the genius here, and yet Nick was always the one who knew how to say just the right things!

“That’s… cheating,” she huffed, crossing her arms over her expanded chest. “Cheater.”

Nick just laughed. He didn’t mind being labeled a cheater if it would make her happy like that. He’d accept the label gladly!

“Besides, I think you’re probably better off wearing something that isn’t as tight, you know, up top,” he added, clearing his throat.

Dawn laughed. “And ome people say you put your foot in your mouth a lot,” she teased him.

Nick laughed back. “I do, there’s no denying that.”

“Not this time, though.” She tugged on the collar of her shirt. It was a simple blouse, and one that had stretched to fit her previous massive enhancements, but was now hanging nice and comfortably on her new figure. “You’re right on the money.”

Dawn sighed. It would be nice to wear fancy clothing, but she liked that dress, and she didn’t want to mess it up. Same with the outfit she’d worn to Nick’s wedding. Sadly, a lifetime of modest endowments had not prepared her with an adequate wardrobe for a fancy night on the town.

They arrived at the restaurant, which she had never once seen before in her prior trips to the Shopping District. How convenient. More machinations from Dakota, perchance?

When they entered, the ambience of the place was completely unlike any of the other casual restaurants they tended to dine at. It even had a different feel from the Banquet Hall, which, in spite of the fancy décor, had a far more casual vibe.

No, this definitely was a fancy restaurant, and that was f-a-n-c-y. Crystal chandeliers, silk tablecloths, and even a red velvet stanchion beside the check-in, to keep unwanted people without reservations from entering the restaurant proper.

So, Nick and Dawn had **** but to go check in.

“Table for two?” Nick approached the faerie in the fancy black gown floating above the table. “I called earlier to make a reservation, it should be under ‘Reynolds’?”

Even though, as the master, Nick should have free reign over most of the island’s facilities, he was still going through the motions like this and behaving as though they actually were going to a fancy restaurant. Dawn found herself appreciating the authenticity- he’d really pulled out all the stops for this date, hadn’t he?

She beamed at him from behind.

The faerie blinked at him, showing a surprising degree of dismissiveness towards someone who she should respect as the master of the island. Perhaps she just didn’t care, or perhaps she’d received special instruction from Dakota to give them a hard time. Dawn could imagine either scenario, honestly enough.

“…I see. Reynolds, is it?” She flipped through a notebook of reservations, which Dawn was pretty sure should be blank. After all, who else would even come to a place like this, Vivian? The restaurant itself was completely empty like they’d reserved the whole thing!

“…I’m sorry, we can’t seat you at this time,” the faerie politely responded with a smile, shaking her head with a firm look in her eyes.

Nick was taken aback. “Wait… what? But… I made a reservation.” He’d come in here head high and filled with swagger, determined to impress his date. And now he was completely taken aback. He looked questioningly at the faerie, who stared back at him with an even, unyielding expression.

“Yes, and we have your reservation booked,” the faerie nodded. “However, you and your date have failed to meet the dress code standards for this restaurant, and so we must turn you away at this time. We are happy to hold your reservation should you wish to come back with an appropriate change of dress, however!” She said with a sweet chirp in her voice.

Nick fought off the urge to glare at the faerie who was just doing her job as instructed. No, she wasn’t to blame here- this had Dakota written all over it.

“So that’s how it is, huh?” He sighed, shaking his head.

“Yes, that’s how it is,” the faerie once again confirmed.

Nick didn’t let his frustrations get the better of him, and he turned to Dawn.

“So what do you want to do, then?” He asked. “We could go back to the hotel and get changed, or maybe just eat somewhere else?”

Dawn definitely didn’t want to eat somewhere else! Nick had put so much work into setting this up! No, they were going to be eating here. Dawn wouldn’t take anything less, not after he’d gone to all this trouble!

She sighed. “Okay,” she relented. “We’ll go and get changed. We won’t miss our reservation if we do, though, right?”

It would be just like Dakota to put them on a ticking clock like this.

The faerie politely smiled at them both. “Of course not!” She chirped, shaking her head. “We can hold this reservation for the rest of the evening, if need be.”

Just as the couple had resigned themselves to going back to their rooms and getting changed into more environmentally-appropriate clothing, the sound of a woman clearing her throat from behind caught their attention.

“Perhaps I could be of some assistance?”

Nick and Dawn turned in surprise to see Kim standing in the doorway, and wearing something other than a schoolgirl uniform for once.

“Kim!” Dawn’s eyes widened as she admired the red dress clinging to the asian girl’s slender figure. “What are you doing here?”

“All dressed up, at that,” Nick added, recognizing the dress from his own date with the tomboy at a similarly fancy restaurant in Dream Alley.

Kim smirked. “I’m on the clock right now,” she informed them. “Remember the upgrade to my Model Employee transformation?”

Dawn remembered the entire transformation, in fact.

• Model Employee*: As part of her obligation to the show, Kim will now be employed part-time in the designer lingerie boutique. If any of her fellow contestants (or the master) wish to make a purchase, Kim will model the clothes for them, regardless of restrictions to her wardrobe from other transformations. In exchange, she will receive a portion of the BP given for any purchases. UPGRADE: Kim is branching out from counter girl to saleswoman! Now, for up to half of her mandated working hours, Kim may leave the boutique to sell her products directly to the customer. At any time on the job Kim can summon clothing she is trying to sell from the boutique’s stock, and model it directly at the customer’s leisure. And, as a bonus, she will get to keep 100% of the proceeds from any sale she makes while doing this. (Service Industry)

A shadow crossed over her face.

“Oh, so that’s how it is, huh?” She said, her voice oozing with sarcasm. “You’re here to peddle your wares.”

Kim held up her hands. “Hey, look, I’m not trying to start a thing here! But Dakota came by and told me that you guys were going to be eating at a fancy restaurant, and maybe it would be helpful if I were to… well, you know, stop by and sell you some nice clothes. I’m not trying to rip anybody off here, swear!”

She glanced appreciatively at Dawn. “And it looks like what I sold you last time probably isn’t going to fit on your new figure,” she pointed out. “Nice, by the way. What happened?”

“Vivian,” Dawn said, serving as an explanation in and of itself.

Since Kim was working, she smiled delicately to hide the distaste. She nodded. “Well, like I said, I have plenty of fancy clothes I can sell to you, Dawn. And as for Nick, well…”

“My stuff is free,” Nick pointed out.

“Yes. Yes it is. Unfortunately, though, Dawn will have to pay, since we can’t do a fashion show outside of the boutique…”

Dawn rolled her eyes. “How about that?”

Kim did look apologetic, for what it was worth. “…Sorry,” she said lamely, offering the other girl a crooked smile. “Just trying to help.”

“If you’d like to change, we have a room for that,” the faerie chirped from her stand. She gestured to a room off to the side of the waiting area. “You wouldn’t believe how many guests come here and find they aren’t properly dressed, and need to change.”

“Is it zero?” Dawn asked dryly. “I’m guessing the number is zero.” After all, this place didn’t exactly have a lot of foot traffic.

The faerie said nothing, simply smiling politely back at the cat girl. “It is against our policy to discuss the personal information of our patrons,” she professionally dodged the question.

Kim covered her mouth to resist laughing out loud. Then she cleared her throat to bring the attention back onto her.

“Now, if you’d like to see what we have to offer, I can show you something nice in lilac, like last time, or maybe…”

Dawn sighed as Kim broke into her sales pitch.

Ultimately, Dawn had bought the dress. Not that she wasn’t a little miffed at having to be weaseled into it by Dakota’s machinations and Kim’s aggressive sales pitch, but ultimately… none of that really mattered.

She was sitting on an absolutely massive stock of 13000 BP, with only Rose having more in her pocket at the moment due to her bounty sheet and go-getter personality. And unlike Rose, Dawn didn’t see much worth spending all that money on, frankly. Maybe it was because she lived such a minimalist lifestyle back home, with travel and imported teas being her only real luxuries (though admittedly they were expensive ones) but she wasn’t the kind of person to throw her money around carelessly.

Now that she actually had some to her name, that was.

So with that in mind, a small purchase for a fancy dress from Kim’s store wasn’t too out-there for her, especially if it would help her look nice for her date. And Kim had a lot less BP than she did, anyway (though still a lot).

So yeah, Dawn made the purchase. After Kim showcased three or four dresses for her (using herself as the model; thanks to Vivian’s investments their bra size was about equal now, even if the tomboy was still taller) there was one she saw that just took her breath away.

And when she saw her reflection in the mirror, she knew she had made the right choice, even if it was a bit of a markup compared to the last dress she’d bought from the store.

Dawn: 13000 BP – 400 BP = 12600 BP

Kim: 10600 BP + 400 BP = 11000 BP

…But Kim was pushing her luck a little when she pointed out that Dawn didn’t have any bras in her size, either. Which, the cat girl had to admit, was a valid point. She would be stuck with these breasts for the rest of the round, after all; she would need some underwear to go with them.

As much as the salesgirl may have railed against capitalism, Dawn couldn’t help but notice she was pretty damn good at using it to her advantage, leaving her wallet quite a bit lighter as she bought all the underwear she foresaw herself using for the rest of the week. Her current bras probably wouldn’t get the job done, and as exciting as Dawn could imagine it being to dine in a fancy restaurant without wearing a bra (she’d basically gone the whole day without one already) she wasn’t an exhibitionist.

…And the faerie would absolutely call her on it, too, so why even bother?

Dawn: 12600 BP – 400 BP = 12200 BP

Kim: 11000 BP + 400 BP = 11400 BP

“You know, Dawn, it’s gonna look kind of weird when you two go up to the Master’s Suite tonight, and your underwear doesn’t coordinate. You sure I couldn’t interest you in a set of bottoms to go with it? Oh, and for that other pair, we have to sell that one as a set. And as for those ones…”

That fucking shark.

Dawn: 12200 BP – 200 BP = 12000 BP

Kim: 11400 BP + 200 BP = 11600 BP

Say what you would about Kim, but she was good at her job. And when Dawn stepped out of the changing room to show her new dress off to Nick, she could tell that he felt the same way. Dawn didn’t miss a step as she caught his eyes widen imperceptibly, and she definitely heard the hitch in his breath with her ears.

A smile tugged up her lips as she posed for him, showing off the deep blue of her dress.

“Do you like it?” Dawn asked, giving him a little twirl. “While you were changing, Kim ran through a bunch of options with me.”

She hoped she looked as good as the money she spent warranted. Nick certainly looked quite handsome. The first time she’d seen him dressed in a suit, on their “prom” date, it hadn’t really (heh) suited him; he looked uncomfortable and out of place. Now he looked much more at ease dressing up nicely, like he’d been on fancy dates like this plenty of times before.

Given how many women he’s seeing now, maybe he has, Dawn thought, slightly amused. She could still remember how awkward he was at first- and now they could stroll into a fancy restaurant like this as if it was completely natural.

“You look amazing,” Nick said, smiling bashfully at her Even his compliments were coming more naturally now, and it made Dawn’s heart skip a beat. She felt her face flushing as she batted her eyelashes at him, hoping the eyeshadow she’d added in the bathroom would really bring out the brown. She’d almost considered discarding her glasses as well and getting her contacts out of her clutch, but she decided not to. Nick liked her just fine with her glasses, and besides- she had already let down her hair. Between that change and the fact that she was giving him a nice taste of cleavage for once, she didn’t want to give the poor guy a heart attack.

All these thoughts occurred to her in less than a second, allowing her plenty of time to politely respond with a “Thank you” before waiting for him to make the next move.

He was in a bit of a daze, so he could be forgiven for not realizing he should offer her his arm. Luckily he quickly remembered he was her escort for tonight, and after blushing again he extended the crook of his elbow to her, so she could link up arms with him.

“Now don’t we look a sight?” Dawn noted with a pleasant whisper as she nudged him towards the wide window hanging on the wall. “Come a long way since we were kids, huh?”

As they admired their reflections, her tail flicked lightly across his back. It was unfortunate that she didn’t have some way of tying it down under her dress; while she had gotten used to her new appendages by this point, she could acknowledge they were a little out of place in a restaurant like this.

Not that any commented on it. The faerie allowed them to enter without question, smiling politely when Nick spoke to her again and letting them inside with a nod.

“So you never told me, what kind of food do they serve here?” Dawn asked her date as another faerie led them over to a table in the center of the room. It was lit with two candles even though the ornate chandeliers overhead offered plenty of light. Purely ambience, which she appreciated. “As much as I love Chinese food, I don’t think mushroom chicken is exactly the standard fare at a high-class establishment like this. French cuisine? Italian?”

Nick laughed. “I actually have no idea,” he admitted, pulling out Dawn’s chair for her as his stepmother taught him years ago so she could sit first. “This is the first time I’ve come to this place, remember?” He took his own seat across from Dawn, offering her a smile.

Oh, of course, he had said something like that, hadn’t he? Dawn felt her face burn with shame as she reflected on her careless mistake. How could she have forgotten!? That wasn’t at all like her!

“You’re right, of course,” she said, smiling sheepishly. “You just seemed so comfortable, I thought for sure you’d come here before.”

“I guess I’m getting used to eating at fancy restaurants,” he said carefully, trying to avoid talking about his dating experiences with other girls. It was always a minefield. “But I thought it would be nice to try out something new with you.”

Dawn’s ears twitched with joy, but she kept her expression neutral. “Ah, so I’m your guinea pig, is that right?”

“No, you’re a cat,” Nick pointed out cheekily, earning him a look from Dawn. She would have stuck out her tongue, but doing that in the middle of a place like this would be rather boorish.

She at least had more self-control than THAT!

“…Well, I don’t mind,” she said, letting him off the hook. “I’m ready to eat just about anything, after our… exercise earlier.” She patted her belly. “I worked up quite a sweat.”

Now was her chance to enjoy watching him squirm. Nick blushed as their encounter in the sauna flashed vividly through his mind, and he averted his eyes.

“Yeah that… I worked up quite an appetite myself,” he agreed. “In more ways than one.”

Dawn’s eyes widened in surprise. Was he saying…? Yes, he definitely was. Her heart raced as she had half a mind to just skip dinner entirely and move on to dessert. But fortunately the other half of her mind was the smart half, and the half that was really enjoying her time with him tonight

So she smiled politely instead.

“Let’s just see where the evening takes us,” she suggested. “Save all that stuff for later.”

Nick gave her a knowing smile back, and they made eyes at each other until a faerie came with a pitcher of water and some menus.