Interactive: Mall Days, ch. 2 (Patreon)

Tess watched Dylan approach the small coffee stand with the patient, hungry eyes of a cat waiting to pounce on its prey.  Like most of the women who worked in the mall, she’d initially been sucked in by the athletic stud’s tight body, chocolate brown hair and boy-next-door face.  It also hadn’t helped that unlike most of her customers he was always polite and friendly, but before Tess could make a move she’d been warned off by Jill.  Then Sarah.  Then Tamika.  Then Laura.  

They all had the same story: Dylan was a “nice guy” with a body that was as impressive as it looked, but the story always ended the same.  As soon as he hit it, he was equally quick to quit it.  To his credit, Dylan wasn’t one of those guys who then badmouthed his hookups or bragged about how many women he’d been with, but something about the jock’s attitude rubbed Tess the wrong way.  She started to see through his friendly veneer and recognize his behavior for what it was.  Once she really started paying attention she noticed that he didn’t seem to have any female friends to speak of.  The only way he knew how to relate to women, or how to view them in general, was as a potential conquest.  He wasn’t simply being nice because it was his nature, it was a means to an end.  

Or so Tess assumed.  She’d never had an in-depth conversation with the handsome young man before, but after learning of his history she had no desire to.  She’d been burned by guys like Dylan before.  She wasn’t going to let it happen again.  More than that, she was ready to make sure it didn’t happen to any woman again.  

It was a long game, waiting for the all the pieces to land in place.  Not only did she have to gather all the proper ingredients, she needed to wait for the proper celestial set up.  If the moon was out of phase, or if the stars weren’t aligned just so, it could be disastrous.  Tampering with the forces she parlayed with was not to be taken lightly.  

Now, it looked like her patience had paid off.  She’d conducted the ritual the night before, grinding the ingredients down to an undetectable powder, and the heavenly bodies were all in the right positions.  There was only a brief window.  If she didn’t cross paths with the young man soon she’d have to start all over or take it as a sign that she wasn’t supposed to go down such a road.  

Tess was prepared for either outcome, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t feel a satisfied thrill at the sight of Dylan’s approach.  Fate had spoken in her favor, it seemed.  

“Hey Tess,” Dylan waved as he approached the counter, giving his solid arm a subtle flex in the process, a charming grin on his face.  “How’s it goin’?”  

Tess’s smile was as warm and friendly as ever.  “I mean, it’s a gorgeous day out and we’re working in the mall, so….” 

“Exactly,” Dylan said with an exaggerated sigh.  He rolled his shoulders and stood so that the large pecs accentuated by his polo were thrust forward.  “You much of an outdoors person?”  

She nodded, looking Dylan up and down as she ran a thin hand through her short blonde hair.  His growing smile told her he thought she was flirting when really she was just committing his appearance to memory.  It was a mental “before” picture that she could later compare to the looming “after,” whatever that turned out to be.  “Sure am.  My folks always took us camping growing up.  Hiking, kayaking, tubing...you name it.  They were a bit hippy.  You want your usual?”  

Dylan laughed and nodded.  “I wish my folks did that.  Their idea of an outdoor activity is watering the plants or standing by the grill.” 

Tess kept Dylan talking so that he wouldn’t notice when she slipped the small packet of powder into his drink.  Even she didn’t know exactly what it was going to do.  It was supposed to flip his internal wiring, making him attractive, and attracted to, other men, regardless of whether they were straight or not.  Beyond that, she had no idea.  These kinds of magic could be capricious at best.  If nothing else, she was confident the changes would be dramatic.

“Here you go,” she said, handing the drink over.  When Dylan immediately took a nervous sip she fought back a triumphant smile.  

“Oh man, this is better than usual,” he said, looking down at the iced coffee.  

“Guess I’ve got the touch,” Tess shrugged.  

There was an awkward pause before Dylan responded.  “Hey, so I was wondering if you wanted to…” He trailed off, losing his train of thought mid-sentence.  

Tess leaned forward on the counter, raising an eyebrow.  “Wanted to….?”  

Dylan blushed and gave his head a quick shake.  “Whoa...sorry...totally spaced out there for a second.  Guess I need this more than I thought.”  He quickly raised the cup, taking another sip.  

“You were asking me a question?”  

“I was?”  Dylan blinked, searching his memory for what they’d just been talking about but coming up empty.  “Huh.  Guess it wasn’t that important.”  He was interrupted by a sudden beeping from his pocket.  “Ugh…” he groaned.  “Time to head back.  Thanks for the coffee!”  

Tess finally let her smug grin show as Dylan walked away, watching the fit young man’s tight, perky rear fade into the distance.  “Would’ve been fun,” she sighed to herself.  

Dylan knocked his coffee back in a few long gulps on the way, surprised by how good it was.  He hadn’t just been polite when he told Tess it tasted better than usual.  There was a smooth sweetness that the bitter brew usually lacked and he could already feel the rush hitting his system.  He clearly needed it.  Standing there talking to Tess, he felt like he was forgetting something, but he couldn’t put his finger on what, exactly.  He told himself the same thing he told her; it must not have been that important.  

He tossed the empty cup in the trash and gave his phone another look, dreading the remaining hours of his shift.  “Hope this goes quick,” he muttered.