Tier 3+ Story 📜 "The Magician" (Act 1 - Act 3) (Patreon)

Helloooo folx, Rose writing here and welcome to our new format: Tuesday Stories! After so many people said that they would like the stories to be their own post we will now post new stories & chapters every Tuesday.

For the sake of making things a bit more homogenous I'll post the first 4 chapters of my Magician story here, but usually there will be only one chapter every week!

I also want to say a big thank you to my proof readers Rahheemme & Doombeez! Their work helps me a lot. I went through the first three chapters again and changed some things here and there, but especially polishing out some mistakes. So maybe you'd like to read them again. If not, just skip to the bottom!

And now, without further ado, let's dive in!

Contents: original content, w/w, cryptid (?) pregnancy, nb(?)preg, sexual & kink awakening

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T H E  ☆ M A G I C I A N

Melody of the Stars

Act 1

Rosemary

When the magician joined the stage through an imposing explosion of sparkling fog, the crowd gasped, and so did Mary. Like everyone else, it was from the impressive performance highlighted with orchestrated music, but Mary gasped a second time. The magician's middle didn’t quite suit the rest of her slender, elegantly dressed body. It clearly and unmistakably bulged out. Since Mary had never heard of this “Melody of the Stars” or her show before her father had gifted her the tickets, she didn’t really expect anything. And yet she found herself surprised that a clearly pregnant woman would put on a magic show at a Las Vegas stage.

Mary couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the sight. She knew female magicians were rare to begin with, even rarer those who dressed in old fashioned magician style - swallowtail tuxedo, white blouse, red bowtie, tophat, cape - but she never even thought about a pregnant magician before.

Something in Mary reacted in awe of this notion. Something she didn’t yet understand.

And then, for a brief moment, as if this Magician had detected her feelings out of the hundreds of people in this hall, their eyes met. It was just for a second, while she was presenting some items on a table, but Mary was sure. The magician was looking directly at her. And not only that, she smiled. Mysteriously, almost knowingly.

Mary's heart was pounding stronger. It couldn’t be. It was a trick of the eye. After all, that’s what magicians do, right?

After that, Mary was in some sort of trance for the whole performance. She found herself utterly enchanted, not only by the unbelievably impressive tricks of sorts she had never seen before, but by the performer herself. She only noticed the show's end when everyone stood up and clapped hysterically, accompanied by loud cheering screams.

Right before the heavy velvet curtains fell, the magician bowed - and lifted her head to throw one last smirk at Mary.

Only then did the spell break, giving Mary a sense of herself and others again.

‘Oof, dear lord,’ she thought and laid a hand on her chest, feeling her heavy pounding heart. ‘Almost like she truely bewitched me’.

Though before she could give this another thought, the crowd was getting excited again.

“She’s waiting outside!” somebody yelled, and seemingly everyone was pushing towards the front exits. It seems that Magician had her fair share of fans, both men and women, who were suddenly acting like teenagers at a boy band concert.

Hah, well. It seemed that not only Mary had been enchanted by her. Maybe this utter fascination was something everyone experienced during her shows.

Still, Mary wasn’t having any of it. She didn’t want to shake her hand or grab an autograph; this sort of glorification felt strange and dehumanizing to her. Especially when she would have to fight her way through many people who probably would bite her hand off if she got too close to their magic queen. So Mary scanned for other exits that weren’t cluttered with screaming humans.

She found another one of the familiar green lighting signs close to the stage. Probably more of an emergency exit, but considering that mountain of bodies behind her that almost felt like a mass panic, the situation came rather close to an emergency anyway.

Mary took her bag and cardigan and proceeded to leave the hall through said exit. The heavy metal door closed behind her and cloaked the small, undecorated corridor in blessed silence.

She took a deep breath. Finally, she now could focus on her thoughts and feelings and start to process the whole experience.

First off, she needed to find out more about that magician lady. She opened her bag and looked for her smartphone, while heading towards the end of the hallway, another door clearly labeled with “EXIT”. Just as she found it, she bumped into something.

Mary took a step back and immediately recognized those familiar curves, especially one particular curve that she could barely keep her eyes off for the entirety of the show. She looked up, and there was the rest of the magician, too, looking at her with mysterious but curious eyes. This time, she was not smiling. Instead, her unpainted, natural lips were a little apart, formed in an expression of surprise.

The woman was taller than she seemed on stage. At least taller by a head than Mary. Her tophat made her look even more impressive in size. Up close, Mary now also noticed a little cute mole next to her lips. Then she saw the big trunk in her left hand, and a beautifully-crafted cane topped with a snake’s head in her other.

“Why aren’t you with the others? How did you know I was here?” she asked, and the sound of her voice sent chills down Mary's spine. It was way deeper than she would have guessed. Very androgynous, too. If Mary had heard that voice in a podcast, she wouldn’t have been able to tell if it was that of a man or a woman. Another thing that stood out to her was an accent that she couldn’t quite place. Her “R”s were quite hard and she spoke with an interesting singsong.

“I didn’t,” Mary answered truthfully, but her own voice came out shallow.

Now the magician smiled, and it was even more beautiful and possessing up close.

“Oh, really?” was all she commented, clearly amused.

The magician looked at her for a moment, as if she was inspecting her. Mary could feel her heart beating in her throat. Being examined like this by this clearly imposing woman did peculiar things to her she didn’t understand. Suddenly, she felt nothing more than the desire to please this mysterious mistress's eyes. To appeal.

Mary gulped. She’d never had thoughts like that before.

Before she could say anything else, they both were startled by the sound of an opening door behind Mary, followed by the loud murmur of the crowd from the hall that was now flowing into the once silent corridor.

The magician quickly reached out with her cane, pointing the snake-head handletowards the door, and it slammed closed all by itself.

Mary gasped.

“That won’t hold them for long.” the woman commented, now a little frantic, “It was a sublime pleasure to meet you, love. But I have to dash. Unless you need a ride home?”

“I do” Mary answered like a shot before she even realized what she said.

The magician smiled another of her enchanting smiles, then took a step back to let Mary pass.

“Would like nothing better than to do so, dearest. Please, after you. And be swift.”

Mary nodded and quickly headed towards the exit, opening the door to one of Las Vegas’ still very loud, very bright back alleys.

“My car is on the right.” the woman instructed her, while doing something to the exit door Mary couldn’t quite make out. “The old-timer. Take a seat wherever you want.”

The car was unmissable. Mary wasn’t exactly a pro regarding classic cars, but this one looked way older than the usual broken down mustangs she’d think of when hearing “old-timer”. Maybe something from 1930, or even older. It was a long, black car with some white details. Feeling the magician's hustle, she quickly entered the car on the passenger side. The woman quickly followed on the other side, again looking at her curiously.

“This seat, ey? Interesting.”

Again, this deep voice. This accent. This concern. Mary suddenly felt hot.

The magician started the car and left the back alley. As soon as they were clear, she visibly began to relax.

Only now Mary realized that she was actually sitting in a stranger's car. Somebody she didn’t even know the name of. That, for sure, was nothing she would ever even dreamed about doing. Her father raised her to be cautious. To always be home on time. She never even had any boyfriends during her school days, on the rare occasiona when she actually had been to school. Always the good girl. And now this?

“This must be all very sudden and new to you,” said the woman next to her, again, as if she could read her mind.

Mary looked at her, then had to avert her gaze. Her perfectly round belly seemed even bigger in this seating position, and was so close, too. It did things to her she didn’t dare to think about. Especially not in this woman's presence.

“If you’re uncomfortable, I can stop for you to leave, dear.”

“No!” Mary exclaimed, a little too loudly. Then she cleared her throat and added, “It’s fine, really. I appreciate it.”

“My pleasure. Where should I take you?”

“The Bellagio, please.”

The woman whistled.

“Nice stay. Expensive, but fantastic hotel. Not far from here, too.”

She took an immediate turn and set the new course without any navigation, showing that she knew these streets rather well.

“So, may I know the name of my passenger?”

“Rosemary,” Mary answered, quickly and unthinkingly

“Beautiful.”

Mary blushed. Nobody ever commented on her name like that.

“A-and yours…?” she asked in turn.

The magician laughed at first, then, when Mary didn’t join in, looked at her surprised and said “Wait, you really don’t know?”

The girl shook her head, embarrassed. It only now occurred to her that it was probably very impolite to not know the name of the star of the show she just watched, let alone when said star was chauffeuring her through town.

“But it’s even in the name of the show. You surely must’ve at least taken a look on your ticket, right?”

“Melody of the Stars?” Mary asked sheepishly.

“The one and only, love. Technically, Melodie van de Sterren, though feel free to refer to my name in English.”

Dutch. That was a Dutch name. That explained the woman’s adorable accent.

“I must say, you’re a curious companion. I assume this was your first show of mine then, yes? What did you think of it?”

“It was hypnotizing,” Mary answered truthfully. She was afraid to say any more than that, partially because she wasn’t yet too sure herself.

Melody didn’t push her, but Mary felt like she was expecting to hear more than that. To distract, Mary asked: “That trick in the hallway… How did you do that?”

The Magician lowered her hand, and for a moment, Mary - for some reason - could feel her excitement rising, because it looked like she was going to touch her curved belly. Instead, she put it on the stick shift to change gears. Oof. Why on earth did Mary focus so much on that?

“Now, my dear, even though this was your first magic show, you do know that you don’t ask a magician their tricks, no?”

Mary blushed. Of course she knew. But that wasn’t on stage. That was a sudden, unexpected thing happening backstage.

“Y-yes, but -”

“We’re here.” Mary was cut off as the car slowed to a halt.

Raising her eyes, Mary recognized the Bellagio’s impressive front.

But she didn’t want this to end. She wanted to find out more about that cryptic lady, wanted her to stay close to her. At least for a little while. Maybe she should do a sudden change to a hotel outside Vegas, so that their ride would take longer?

She scolded herself for even thinking something like that.

Melody opened her mouth to say something, but this time Mary interrupted her. “Can I invite you to a cup of coffee, maybe?” she blurted out. Then, a second later, covered her mouth with one of her hands, surprised about her boldness.

The magician had a baffled look on her face. She probably didn’t expect Mary to be this brave and forthcoming. Then she smiled, not answering at first but then pulling out a pocket watch, attached with a little string to her jacket pocket, checking it. Who still has one of those nowadays?

“It’d be my pleasure, dear” she finally answered.

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Act 2

Rosemary

When they entered a cozy corner in the hotel’s lounge, Melody guided Mary to a sofa. She gladly  followed her lead, her behavior was naturally confident, even dominant, in a very pleasant way. It made it easy for Mary to comply.

The Magician took a seat in front of her, now presenting her intriguing body in full view.

Mary had to look away. Both to her delight and displeasure, the whole lounge was covered in mirrored walls (decorated with additional mirrors for good measure), so that the woman's reflection showed perfectly inside them, in many different perspectives, almost intentionally. Mary could take a good look at her without staring directly.

Melody, however, was not ashamed to keep her eyes on Mary, in a poised way.

“What can I get you?” she asked, completely ignoring the fact that Mary initiated the meetup.

“Any strong but sweet cocktail will do,” she answered, completely forgetting the fact herself.

The woman turned towards the waiter close to her and said, “Excuse me, garçon, one Golden Cadillac for the young lady here, and your Gin card, please.”

‘Garçon’, Mary thought. Not only was her look and car old fashioned, but her way of talking, too.

“I’m not a big fan of gin” Mary commented shyly.

“That’s quite alright, love. I am.”

Mary stared at her in disbelief. She couldn’t help but to blatantly look at her clearly pregnant body after such a statement.

“Is something the matter?” Melody asked, an amused look on her face.

Mary didn’t know how to react. She felt like a software that just faced an unknown error.

“But … you … shouldn’t you … not drink right now…?” she stuttered, confused.

“And why is that?” Melody’s answer was relaxed, but curious and maybe a little provoking.

Mary started to sweat, glancing over to her presenting belly again, then in her face.

“I … Aren’t you … I mean ….”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry if - I  … I, uh -”

Since there was music running in the background Mary wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard the Magician chuckle. She must have decided to not tortue Mary anymore, because she eventually said: “If it makes you feel better, I’ll gladly just take a cup of tea.”

Unable to answer, Mary just nodded, utterly confused. The woman didn’t act like she was pregnant at all, which made Mary think that she probably wasn’t - despite the huge, obvious evidence bulging out in front of her, that was equivalent to the body of a maybe a pregnant woman in her seventh or eighth month. Yet, Melody did nothing to clear up any confusion. If anything, she seemed to be playing with Mary, and maybe even enjoying it.

When the “Garçon” came back with that cocktail she had never heard of before and a drink menu, Melody ordered a cup of rooibos tea, much to Mary's relief.

While the magician poured milk and sugar - a lot of sugar - into her cup, Mary took the chance to look at her again.

Could it really be that she was something like… just… bloated? Or maybe an illness? Maybe it was a prosthetic for shows of some sorts? But maybe, foremost, it was none of Mary’s business in the first place, and she should neither assume, nor interfere.

What… what was she doing here, anyway? What did she expect to happen? She clearly hadn’t been able to think straight since the moment she first saw the magician on stage.

She was a boring girl, nothing special about her. She was way too dutiful to be interesting. She was a no-name next to such a star. Not even her body was what most people would consider exciting. All of the sudden, she felt like such a wallflower. A dumb one on top of that, for getting involved in such a situation.

“You are more special than you think,” Melody commented quietly while pouring what must’ve been her 4th packet of sugar into the tea.

Mary looked at her in shock. This was the second time Melody has reacted accordingly to Mary's thoughts. Now she was almost certain that the Magician could read minds.

Melody raised her eyes and looked directly into Mary’s. Only now did she realize that they were intensely brown, almost appearing red.

“You seem uncomfortable and insecure all of a sudden, unlike a moment before. Would you prefer we end our date now? My apologies if I have made you feel anything other than welcome.”

Date? Another shiver.
Mary lifted her hands conciliatorily.

“No, it was nothing you did. You’re just … so stunning and amazing. I feel like a nobody.”

The mMagician’s face was struck with a sudden, afflicted look. She reached out and touched Mary's hand. Despite Melody wearing gloves, the contact felt intense and sent little bolts of lighting through Mary's nerve tracts.

“It pains me to hear that. Please, don’t let either my appearance nor my status be in our way of communication, or of your worth. I assure you, you are somebody very special.”

Her heart pounded so loud that Mary was afraid her companion would be able to hear it.

“How could a woman like you find me special…?”

To her regret, Melody withdrew her hand. Though not in anger, but to take a sip of her sugary milk with a hint of tea.

“A woman?”, she asked interestedly.

Mary froze.

“Very peculiar. Most women see me as a man.”

The gears in Mary’s head seemed jammed and unable to properly process that new information. But despite being still overwhelmed by the situation, and much to her own surprise, she found the words to riposte: “So you see me as a woman, too?”

“Touché,” Melody said, smiling approvingly. “So would you prefer me to not see you as a woman?”

Something about the magician calling her “a woman” made Mary crave for… something. It touched her, again in a way she didn’t fully understand. She wanted to be a woman, for her, more than anything.

“Please do,” she answered. Maybe a touch too demanding. “And… how should I refer to you, then…?” she quickly added.

“Whatever you want. I don’t care much about gender, my dear.”, Melody answered. “I am whatever you want me to be. If you see me as a woman, then by all means, do so. It’s quite interesting, to be frank.”

Mary stared at the magician. What a strange mindset. But… how could somebody think of her as a man? Sure, she had a rather deep voice. And she was in a showbiz genre almost entirely dominated by men. She wore typical male clothes, no make-up, and now that she thought about it, she did seem to have a very small bust, if any at all. In fact… now that Mary stopped and looked, really looked, there were many hints that could make people think of her as a man. Actually, the only thing that was explicitly feminine about her was her haircut: a short, greyish-brown bob. But what about her belly? Or… might it be that it was actually some sort of, well… potbelly, like some men have? That would explain at least her - or his, or their - strange behavior.

“I see that you need a bit of time to mull things over.. So I propose that we end our date.”, Melody gently observed. Maybe it was a trick to the ear or mind, but her - their? - voice sounded more femine to Mary all of a sudden.

Her heart sank. She was indeed overwhelmed, but not ready to let go of the Magician yet, probably to never see her again. See them again. Damn it, this was confusing.

“...To pick it up again at another time, if you’re willing,.” Melody added.

Mary’s eyes lit up at the suggestion.

“Yes, please.”

Melody nodded. “It would be my honor. How about next Sunday, if you’re still in Vegas? Though I have one demand.” She looked at her, and the stern look on her face indicated that what she was about to say was important. “Promise me to not feel anything other than worthwhile and important because of me. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.”

“I promise,” Mary answered, and to her surprise, she meant it.

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Intermission

Mel

As soon as Mel closed the car door, they winced and gasped, throwing their head back, cold sweat on their face.

“Wow, I gotta say, you really kept your cool there,” said a low, husky voice, speaking in Dutch.  “Must’ve been hard.”

“Shut up”, Mel answered in English, while clutching onto their cramping belly.

Ignoring them, the voice continued: “I told you she was interesting. I dunno what it is about her yet, but there’s definitely something. Never met anyone who was resistant to my charms. Though she was definitely crushing hard on you all by herself, that sweet, innocent little girl.”

“Shut. Up.” Mel repeated themselves while they opened their bowtie and buttoned up their shirt so that they could breathe better.

“I wonder, what’cha gonna do on your next date? Gotta say, she was kinda thicc, right? Plump lips, soft thighs, and those curves, man. Pretty, too. Like a cute, chubby, obedient, little doll. I can imagine her kneeling before you, begging you to call her your little slut -”

Mel grabbed their cane and squeezed with inhuman strength. The cane quickly transformed into a flesh-and-blood snake, clenched on its neck, its eyes popping out in an almost cartoonish manor.

“Don’t talk about her like this, or I swear to god-” Mel said with a deep, menacing voice.

The snake hissed in something that probably was some sort of agreement, and Mel let go to instead grab the stick shift of their car. The snake curled onto the passenger seat and coughed.

“Dang it, Mel, learn how to take a joke. Also, swear to Satan next time, then I might believe you. We both know you don’t give a fuck about God anymore.”

Mel started the car and proceeded to leave the parking lot.

“You really think you’re still able to drive in your state?”

Mel didn’t answer.

“Whatever. It’s your life. I could give you some ambrosia now, you know.”

“You know that wouldn’t work.”

The snake next to her laughed in a high pitched, hissing tone, then the husky voice in their head continued. “It’d be funny though.”

Sweat dripped down their chin, and Mel could feel their body cramping up even more. It was hard to keep focus.

“They are pretty hungry, huh?”

“I told you to shut up.”

“I hope it was worth it. But seriously, as much as I love seeing you suffer, and damn, you look pretty delicious when in pain, my little human,I don’t want you to kill yourself in some petty car accident. Taking your life should be my honor.”

“I’m serious. I need you to shut up.”

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Act 3

Rosemary

Mary waited nervously under the old fashioned entrance of her hotel. Today was the day she'd see Melody - or Melodie, as it seemed to be her real, Dutch name - again. The person who had occupied her mind for over a week now. Mary couldn’t help it. She tried hard to figure out where her affection for this magician was coming from, but she hadn’t been able to. If anything, she was even more confused. Though she finally had been able to make up her mind about Melodie’s gender; Melodie said that she didn’t care, and that she found it interesting that Mary saw her as a woman. So that’s how she would see her from now on until she was told otherwise, while keeping in mind that she wasn’t an ordinary woman.

Of course, she had also done her research. Not an insignificant amount,either. But there wasn’t much she had been able to find out.

Not that the Internet didn’t have to say anything about her. On the contrary, there was plenty. But it wasn't anything solid. The only tangible facts she could find were her non-stage name (if that even was her actual name) was “Melodie van de Sterren”, which Mary already knew, and that she had been performing all over the world for about 15 years. She learned that Melody was one of the most famous contemporary magicians, along with some minor details like the names of her shows, her performance focus (stage illusions and card tricks with occasional comedy) and TV appearances. The rest were only speculations, news articles and fan talk. And - hoo boy - was there a lot of fan talk. She had fan clubs without end, people were drawing artwork of her, writing songs and stories, even wore costumes of some of her outfits. They even gave themselves a name: Starstruck Snekkies, or just Snekkies. This was apparently rooted in how Melodie said “snakies” with her accent, when asked about her snake ornaments and decorations.

But Mary had noticed two rather peculiar things: People were using different pronouns for her online, and nobody seemed to be bothered. Sure, there was your occasional “What gender are they now?”, mostly asked by non-fans and trolls, but no fan ever answered the question.. It was like they were completely ignoring the gender issue. There was no single discussion about Melodie’s gender from her fans, or at least none that Mary had found. Her fans just kind of ignored when others used other pronouns. No “Melody of the Stars is male/female, here’s why” discussions, no “lol are you blind she’s a he” stuff, nothing.

The other very strange thing was that nobody really seemed to be bothered with her, well, condition, or at least her appearance. In fact, it even seemed like people weren’t even aware. On the countless drawings made by fans, she didn't even look pregnant at all. Her Wiki page didn’t mention it, either (nor any other condition she might have). It seemed to Mary that the only people who noticed it at all were those who had not been “starstruck”. They speculated that Melodie used some sort of contraption that made her seem bigger than she was to hide things for her tricks. Others said that “he” was just fat. There were even some people who said that she was doing it on purpose to make people talk more about her. Which, in theory, would be a good guess - it just didn’t really happen in practice.

Mary had even seen some TV interviews with Melodie, in which she was as charming and gorgeous as one would expect. In very rare cases, the hosts even asked about her body. But Melodie answered in such a clever way that you wouldn’t notice that she didn’t answer at all. Just as she did with Mary, now that she thought about it.

For instance, in one case a rude interviewer straight up asked “Are you pregnant?”. Melodie just smiled and answered “Saying that I am not will probably not satisfy you. So let me ask you this instead: Are you?”. The host hesitated and laughed awkwardly, saying that he was a man. “Oh? But you look pregnant to me.”, she had said. The host had just answered sheepishly “fair enough” and dropped the topic.

. Even stranger still was that Melodie seemed to have no social media presence of her own, not even a personal website. Mary was only able to find some sort of digital business card on a website called carrd, which only stated her name and her agent, a guy named Bente Morris, nothing else. There wasn’t even legal info or anything.

Taken all together: Even though Mary had researched for hours through the #MoS, #MoSmagic, #starstrucksnekkies and #snekkies hashtags and had watched so many interviews, she really wasn’t any wiser. If anything, she had more questions than before .

A quick look on her smartphone told that it was time for their meet-up, and not even a moment later a very small, weird looking car was entering the roofed entrance of the Bellagio. It was incredibly tiny and looked a bit like an egg.

Mary was flabbergasted when that car stopped in front of her and she could see the by now very familiar face of Melodie behind the windshield.

And she was even more shocked  when the entire front opened up like a door and Melodie got out of the car, partially because of the way the tiny car opened up and because of how tall the magician looked next to it - but mainly because of Melodie’s size.

If she looked like the equivalent of 7 months pregnant last week, she now looked full term. Maybe even more.

Mary gasped for air. What was going on?

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you again, Rosemary,” she said, her rich, deep voice cutting through Mary’s shock  “How have you been?”

“G-good, I’m good.” Mary somehow managed to answer, and it took her all of her vigor and more to force herself to not stare at her full, rounded belly. Instead, she tried to look into Melodie’s beautiful, gentle face.

“I’ve…I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again, too,” she was able to add truthfully. She was afraid that her heart was beating so loud that Melodie might hear it.

But the comment made the magician smile joyfully. “What a delight to hear, Rosemary. Shall we?”

Mary glanced back and forth between the ‘car’ and Melodie.

Of course the sharp magician would notice.

“We can take a more modern, safer car if you wish.”

“Ah, no, it’s okay,” Mary answered.

The safety of the car wasn’t her concern. It was the size. The vehicle only featured one front bench, so narrow that it was more like one big single seat. She would be close to Melodie. Very close.
Both excitement and fear started to creep up in her and threatened to drive her into a ‘sorry something came up’-excuse situation.

“How… how long will we be driving?”, she asked a little sheepishly.

“Only about 20 minutes,” she answered, and something in her voice made Mary think that she might guess what kind of battle was going on in the poor girl's mind.

Mary nodded, and Melodie guided her to the car. Upon closer inspection , the car looked a little more spacious on the inside than one might assume, but they would still surely touch. There wasn’t a back row, only some sort of rack or storage place, where the magician had put her top hat .

When the girl sat down and faced the other way, she could see that other guests of the hotels and passersby were staring and taking pictures, while some were even laughing. It made Mary feel even more ashamed than she already was in the company of that mysterious woman. With a surprisingly elegant, quick move for her size, Melodie slid right next to her and closed the whole front end of the absurd microcar, trapping them both in a tight cage made of sheet metal.

And yes, Mary’s left arm and leg were touching Melodie. There was nothing she could do about it.

Suddenly, the people outside taking pictures with their smartphones felt like peepers, observing Mary doing something naughty. She blushed and dropped her gaze, looking at her hands which were holding onto the fabric of her flowery vintage skirt for dear life.

Melodie started the rather old and not so silent engine, and, thankfully, the staring people backed off a little so that she could leave the driveway.

It was obvious that she was used to that sort of attention, because she was neither surprised nor bothered. In fact, she seemed like she barely noticed that anything out of the ordinary was going on. Then again, her whole scheme is being out of the ordinary.

When they left the hotel, Melodie must’ve noticed Mary’s ashamed posture, because she said gently: “Please forgive me if this situation wasn’t pleasant for you, dear. I’m so used to being the center of attention that I tend to forget that not everyone is used to it. I will choose a less flamboyant vehicle next time.”

Mary’s heart skipped a beat.

Next time? They even didn’t have their… “meet-up” yet, and Melodie was already planning to see Mary again?

Feelings and thoughts started to spin in Mary’s head. How could one person make her feel so confused? The fabric under her fingers began to rip.

Mary didn’t know how to react, and for a reason unknown to her, she answered: “Very confident of you to already assume that I would want to meet you again.”

My God. Why, for Christ's sake, of all the things she could’ve said, did she choose that? Was she trying  to be funny? To cover up the almost paralyzing tension? Melodie’s plans to see her again made her almost explode with excitement, and yet she said something like that ? Not only was it rude, it was also very uncommon for Mary to talk like this. But there was something inside of her that just made her hit back.

The magician looked over to her for a moment and their eyes met in the dark, only dimly lit by lights of other cars and the neon colors of the night time Las Vegas streets. But even though Mary couldn’t make out Melodie's exact expression, she could see the curiosity in her eyes.

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