Corona pushed the door open and found Taura standing in one of the stalls, taking her shirt off. Corrie held her hand out. "Want some help?"
Taura shrugged and handed the shirt over, took her bra off and held it up to the LED lights in the ceiling.
Corona examined the shirt, looking it over and rubbing it, feeling for anything inserted into the lining. After finding nothing unusual, she draped the shirt over the stall door, leaned against the wall and watched her friend, wondering why Taura was so down on herself all of a sudden. Granted, not many people were attracted to muscular females, which was why Corona considered herself doubly lucky to have landed Jack. Still, though Taura had huge muscles just like Corona, she also had a slightly curvier body. Overall, her appearance was quite pleasing.
But then, I don't really see things like this the same way humans do. To her, most humans were kind of funny-looking because they weren't all ripped. And their smooth, mostly hairless skin had taken some getting used to, as well.
That's the problem, I suppose. Humans have so many preconceptions that Taura and I haven't even been alive long enough to develop. In a way, that was a good thing, but it did make humans hard to understand, sometimes. On a purely physical level, she found Taura just as attractive as Jack.
"What?"
"Huh?" Corona realized that Taura was staring at her. "Oh, sorry. Got lost in thought."
"Ah." Taura finished with her bra and put it back on, then removed her pants.
"And I have to admit I was enjoying the view." Corona flashed a mischievous grin. "Still am."
"Uh-huh," Taura muttered, her mind clearly on something else entirely. She grimaced and ran a hand through her hair. "I can't believe I did that. It was so incredibly stupid!"
"Everybody makes mistakes." Corona put her hand on Taura's shoulder. "Most people in your situation would've been killed. But you were smart enough and fast enough to escape without a scratch."
Taura shrugged and went back to inspecting her pants. "I can accept mistakes. But this was the biggest fuck-up of my entire life." She snorted. "I'm fluent in over a hundred languages. I can hack as well as Otto or Shakira. But what I did last night was so completely devoid of intelligence that I'll never live it down. I've never wanted to drink so much as a single beer before, yet last night I went out and got so hammered that I screwed the first man who expressed the slightest interest in me, and now look at what's happening."
"Take it easy." Corrie put an arm around Taura's shoulders. "I know it's not like you to do something like this. So why did you do it?"
"It's just …" Taura sighed again. "It's so stupid. You know that a lot of humans think I'm ugly or slow-witted because of how I look. I often overhear someone making remarks about my appearance. I know their opinions shouldn't carry any weight with me, but when it happens often enough, it gets to me. And lately, I seem to be more sensitive to it than usual."
"So you went out to find someone who'd have sex with you to make you feel attractive?"
"I don't know. Maybe." Taura finished checking her pants and hung them beside her shirt. Her tail lashed around and her hands shook. "It was just … stupid."
"I have a feeling there's more to it than that. I noticed the way you've been looking at Jack, for one thing."
Taura glanced at her and looked away quickly. "Yes. I'm attracted to him. More than I should be."
"Well, there's nothing wrong with that." Corona smiled. She thought about it for a moment, analyzing the looks that Taura had aimed at Jack every now and then, and the agitation she'd noticed in the corner of her eye when she and Jack got into the mood last night. Something clicked into place and she drew in a quick breath. "Oh! Hey, maybe you're in love with him?"
Taura hesitated for a long moment. "I don't know. I wouldn't even know what that feels like. But there are times when I can't stop thinking about him, when I want to hold him in my arms and …" She stared at the floor and lowered her voice before continuing. "And I've had dreams about us making love."
"Ah. I kinda suspected it was something like that." Corona winked at her. "It's a lot like what happened to me when I realized I was falling for him."
"I suppose. But …"
"Oh, Taura." She rubbed Taura's back. "Listen, I mentioned to him this morning that you were attracted to him, but he seemed oblivious to it. He probably isn't aware of how you feel."
"And even if he were, he still wouldn't want me."
"Not because of what you look like. It's more because it'd be 'cheating.' Just one of those weird human things we sometimes have trouble understanding." Corona patted Taura's shoulder before stepping away. "Tell ya what. I'll see if I can talk some sense into him. He's stubborn, but if I pester him enough, he might give in."
Taura shrugged again. "I hope he doesn't react badly. I wouldn't want him to become angry with you. Or with me."
"Don't worry, he won't." She patted Taura's shoulder again
Taura looked doubtful, but she merely nodded and mumbled, "Well … thank you."
"Any time."
"This is so embarrassing. Honestly, I don't even understand why I'm suddenly so preoccupied with sex. I usually don't think about it at all."
"Maybe it's because you hadn't developed these feelings for Jack yet?"
"I don't know. Maybe." She sighed sharply. "That son of a bitch Slade used me and then discarded me, but I'd at least feel a little better if I remembered having a good lay. Though the thought of having fluid from the body of a total stranger inside me is more than a little disturbing." Taura put her clothes back on.
Corona nodded, then something occurred to her and she ran a talon over the tip of her muzzle. "Y'know, it'd be a good idea for you to have a doctor examine you. Since you never met this guy before, you don't know whether he had any diseases."
Taura drew in a quick breath. "You're right. Damn, that should've been the first thing that crossed my mind. I'm not thinking straight at all."
"It's understandable. You're really shaken up by all this, that's all."
"Yes, I suppose." Taura shrugged. "There's nothing hidden in my clothes, as far as I can tell."
"Good. That means you don't have whatever those guys were after. If we're lucky, they'll find Slade and won't have reason to bother you anymore." Corrie opened the door, waited for Taura to walk past, and followed her back to their table.
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