Katie’s Touch Read online

  “I don’t really do the whole… calling thing,” Katie offered weakly, internally pleading for the elevator to hurry its ascent. Busty B gripped her own hair, looking as if she would scream. Big, fat tears welled up in her eyes, and she dropped her arms to her side, sobbing melodramatically.

  “You can’t just give me the best sex I’ve ever had and then never speak to me again!” Busty B wailed, just as the elevator dinged. Katie was swift to slip inside, pounding the button to close the doors. She internally cursed whoever designed the feature in elevators for making the doors close so slowly. Busty B rushed towards the elevator, but the doors closed before she could get an arm in. Katie breathed a sigh of relief, pressing the button for the bottom floor and leaning against the back wall of the elevator. She wasn’t sure if she was imagining it, but it seemed like the elevator still reeked of sex. She glanced to the floor, cringing as she spotted Busty B’s abandoned underwear on the floor. The maintenance workers were really slacking. When she reached the bottom floor, she darted out of the elevator, closing the distance between there and the exit in record time. She slipped out into the crisp, morning air, inhaling deeply before breathing a sigh of relief. Seemed she had made a swift enough escape. She shook her head slowly, fixing her hair before setting off on in the direction of the hotel. Traffic seemed a bit sparse, which meant the cars were actually moving at a snail’s pace, instead of being crammed onto the street without even moving. She waited at the crosswalk, groaning as she waited for the signal to cross.

  “Katie,” a female voice called and she stiffened immediately, dreading another crazy encounter. She turned to face her potential attacker, relaxing visibly when she realized it was just Wendy. She smiled disarmingly as Wendy stepped up beside her, seeming to be waiting for the crosswalk as well.

  “Wendy. How nice to see you. I didn’t expect to see you until lunch,” Katie said politely, her hands itching beneath the fabric of her glove. How badly she wanted to just rip her glove off and find out the other woman’s deepest fantasies. Wendy opened her mouth to speak, mouth snapping shut as she looked past Katie.

  “What on earth?” she muttered, and Katie cringed as she made out Busty B rushing down the sidewalk towards them. She groaned, debating walking straight into traffic. How long did it take for one crosswalk signal to change?

  “Who is this, your girlfriend? Yeah, hey sweetie, did you know you’re dating a no good whore!?” Busty B shouted, to which Wendy quirked a brow and simply stared back in response. Katie internally cursed her foul luck once more, gritting her teeth as she prepared herself for Wendy’s reply.

  “Yes. This is my girlfriend. We’re very open about who we’re seeing. You must be the crazy one she’s been talking about.” Wendy deadpanned, holding her hand out to Katie. Katie’s eyes widened in disbelief, and she removed her glove, stuffing it under her armpit before grasping Wendy’s hand. She stared to Busty B with victory shining in her gaze, Wendy’s hand feeling like a perfect fit gripped in her own. She could rarely actually enjoy the process of holding hands, with her ability. Her eyes widened as she realized her powers weren’t working. She couldn’t get a read on Wendy. There was nothing depraved in her mind, nothing sick, not even anything vanilla. There was nothing. Busty B looked at them for a moment longer, then gritted her teeth as she walked away. Katie glanced to Wendy, who seemed to be watching her with sympathy. Katie almost laughed at the expression. Wendy had no way of knowing the war raging in her mind at the thought of having lost her powers at such an inopportune time. At least it meant she could hold Wendy’s hand.

  “Oh! Oh yeah!” A man cheered, climbing out of his car and crossing traffic to press against another driver’s sports car. He groaned, kissing along the roof of the car as he ground his hips against the door handle, catching just a bit of friction with each pass.

  “Hey, dude, what the hell are you doin’?” the owner of the sports car demanded, opening his car door and grabbing a tire iron. Katie jerked her hand away from Wendy’s grip, missing the faintly wounded look the other woman directed towards her.

  “Yes, honey, please explain what on earth—“ the car fetishist’s wife called, cutting herself with a scream of horror as the owner of the sports car bashed her husband against the head with the tire iron. Wendy screamed as well, and Katie swiftly slipped her glove on, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her across the traffic-congested street. She guided her into the hotel, staring at her manager as he simply stared out the window at the chaos.

  “Call 911, man!” she cried out, dashing to the phone before her manager had a chance. She quickly dialed the local emergency services, holding the phone to her ear. She stammered out an explanation of the events—leaving out her personal involvement, and told the police where the event had taken place.

  “We get more and more reports about the sickos that hotel attracts,” the operator drawled in disbelief before regaining her professional tone. “We’ll send someone out right away. Please stay in the hotel to avoid personal injury,” the operator said authoritatively, and Katie hummed in response, hanging up the phone and turning to look for Wendy. The other woman was standing at the window, tears in her eyes as she watched the scene unfolding. Katie rushed towards her, grabbing her by the arm and attempting to get her attention.

  “How about an early lunch?” she offered weakly as Wendy turned to consider her. Wendy hesitated for a moment before nodding, allowing Katie to lead her to the restaurant portion of the hotel. It was impossible to see the grim scene unfolding on the front side of the hotel from the restaurant portion, and the chef was quick to get the kitchen back in order. It seemed almost normal as she sat down with Wendy, staring at her own gloved hands. It made no sense. Her ability didn’t work for revealing Wendy’s deepest fantasies, but it still managed to screw everything up all around her. She sighed wearily, burying her face in her hands. She could feel Wendy’s eyes upon her, but said nothing until their server approached the table and took their orders. She dragged her hands down her face, considering Wendy from the corner of her eye as she placed her order. As the server walked away, Wendy turned to face her, expression serious.

  “You know, it’s strange. I’ve been coming to this hotel since I was a child, helping my father with his business meeting. I don’t remember such odd happenings coming about until… three years ago. The first day I saw you working here. Do you remember?” Wendy started, and Katie could feel her trying to gauge her expression. The hotel worker nodded slowly, remembering the day all too vividly. Remembering every day she’s unknowingly made that same mistake.

  “What are you implying?” Katie inquired softly, expression guarded. Wendy watched her, idly stirring her ice water with the straw she had been provided. It seemed more a nervous habit than anything, though Katie wasn’t sure why Wendy would have any reason to be nervous.

  “I’m not implying anything, Miss Brickmore. Simply saying that it’s a pity that this hotel isn’t what it used to be,” Wendy murmured, eyes falling to Katie’s gloved hands. Katie drew her hands back, feeling altogether too exposed before the other woman’s eyes. “It is curious that you started wearing those gloves. Very fashionable, if not confusing. You always did seem to have a phobia of touching people,” Wendy continued, leaning in to take a sip of her own water. Katie watched her lips part, tensing her hands in her lap. It was like Wendy was trying to psychoanalyze her somehow. She was tempted to go on a tirade about having nothing to hide, but realized with a start that she had very much to hide.

  “Why did you ask me to lunch?” she demanded instead, locking eyes with Wendy for the briefest of moments before breaking away.

  “An olive branch, as I told you.” Wendy explained, smiling and thanking their server as their food was presented. Katie felt resentment burning in her chest as she considered the healthy and sensible choice Wendy had made in contrast to her own. She stared down at the greasy cheeseburger that she had chosen, stomach churning unhappily. “You see, in my line of business, you don’t
make many friends. Not real friends, in any case. You form a network to better your career, but…” Wendy trailed off. She looked up, meeting Katie’s gaze once more, though the hotel worker couldn’t find it in her to tear her eyes away. “I’ve felt very empty, for a very long time. Like something is missing. I was hoping… well, I was hoping you would accept my attempts to forge a friendship with you,” Wendy said earnestly. Katie slowly quirked a brow, realization hitting her like a ton of bricks. It wasn’t her powers that had stopped working. The problem lie within Wendy. She had no deep, dark fantasies. She hardly considered anything at all, besides her job. A pang of guilt lanced Katie’s heart, and she smiled tentatively at the other woman.

  “Well. You have a hell of a way of making friends,” Katie drawled, reaching out to pat Wendy on the arm.

  “I feel like you’re being facetious,” Wendy replied in a deadpan tone. Katie grinned, drawing her hand back and removing her gloves before picking up her cheeseburger.

  “Good. You’re catching on,” she said with a big smile before digging in. Wendy looked taken aback, but after a moment, returned the smile and begun to eat her salad.

  Though their friendship had started as a strained one, Wendy was slowly beginning to open up, and Katie couldn’t be happier. It had become less about a conquest, and more about seeing the other woman smile a genuine smile. Though, in her late night fantasies, her mind always wandered to the woman seated in the living area of her apartment. Wendy had only recently begun to make short visits to Katie’s apartment, apparently fascinated by her living situation. Jackie had been confused at first, but came to welcome Wendy with open arms. The three women were gathered in the living area, with Wendy carefully listening to the banter between Katie and Jackie about the sofa she was sitting on.

  “Come on, Jackie, how old is that thing?” Katie drawled dramatically, and Jackie glanced to Wendy, quirking a smile.

  “I was going to ask you the same thing,” she retorted. Katie stared at her through wide eyes, though Wendy seemed entirely oblivious to the dig. The professional blonde shifted around, getting comfortable and settling into the cushions of the sofa. “See? Comfortable,” Jackie said snidely and for once, Katie didn’t have a retort. She was too caught up in staring at her would-be conquest turned friend. She was certain she had never seen Wendy so comfortable, or at ease. Then again, every time she’d seen Wendy before, she’d been absorbed in some sort of work. She opened her mouth to voice these thoughts, snapping her mouth shut as Wendy turned a winning smile to her.

  “I have news,” she announced, clapping her hands together. Jackie quirked a brow at Katie, who felt equally confused.

  “News?” Katie prompted, looking unsure of herself. Wendy nodded, drawing her phone from her pocket and flipping through her camera roll for a moment before presenting a picture of an Adonis of a man. If anything, that only confused the other women further.

  “My ex-husband agreed to go on a date with me. We’ve been discussing… trying to make things work.” Wendy smiled, turning the phone back to herself and smiling tenderly as she brushed her fingertips to the picture. Katie felt a feeling she was altogether unfamiliar with, hands clenching at either side of her. “I really want you to meet him, Katie.” Wendy continued, slipping her phone back into her pocket and smiling cheerfully at her friend. Katie had always hoped to be the recipient of such a genuine smile from the object of her desires, but this certainly wasn’t how she had expected it to go.

  “Uh…” Katie muttered, glancing to Jackie for some sort of assistance.

  “She’d be happy to!” Jackie said cheerfully, waiting for Wendy to look back to Katie before shrugging helplessly and mouthing an apology. Katie rolled her eyes, but tried to make herself appear cheerful, standing from her own seat and moving to sit on the dreaded sofa beside Wendy. It was extremely comfy, she realized with an inexplicable amount of heartbreak.

  “When are you going out with him?” Katie prompted, trying not to sound as miserable as she felt. If Wendy had any inkling of how the other women felt, she gave no indication, grabbing Katie’s gloved hand and taking it between both of her own.

  “Well. That’s the thing. He asked me out tonight, but I told him I’d like him to meet a friend and myself for lunch first.” Wendy said carefully. Katie inhaled shakily, exhaling a weak chuckle. She wasn’t sure what she had expected, when she agreed to try the whole friendship thing with Wendy. She knew the other woman was straight, the business woman had given no indication or hint otherwise, but all the same, Katie had felt in her heart that they belonged together. Now she simply felt foolish. Without intending to, she had developed feelings for the other woman—feelings besides lust. It felt too soon to call it love, but the ache in her heart seemed to indicate otherwise.

  She shook off these thoughts, forcing a smile.

  “I’d be happy to meet him for lunch. I wish I’d had more time to make myself look presentable, though,” Katie said jokingly, running a hand through her hair.

  “Oh please, Katie, you always look beautiful,” Wendy deflected, drawing her hands back to herself and using them to push up off of the couch. She rose to her feet, brushing bits of dust off of her impeccable outfit. Katie watched her every motion, hesitating before rising to her feet as well. “We should start walking to the hotel, though. Don’t want to be late and make a bad impression. Bye Jackie, it was wonderful to see you.” Wendy announced, looping her arm with Katie’s and dragging the hotel worker to the door.

  “You would plan the meeting at the hotel on my one day off,” Katie teased, though she sounded much more morose than she intended. Wendy was immediately apologetic, but before she could get the words out, Katie waved her off. “It’s fine. I’d rather be on my own turf.” She said with a small smile, crossing the street to the hotel and opening the door for the other woman. Wendy smiled, a somewhat confused expression, but slipped into the hotel, her heels clacking on the hotel floor as she walked towards the restaurant. Katie felt woefully underdressed in her t-shirt and jeans—and gloves, of course. Wendy was, as always, impeccably dressed, but Katie had expected that. She hadn’t expected her friend’s ex to dress so perfectly as well. His suit looked as if it had been ironed just-so, his hair brushed carefully back away from his eyes. He smiled upon seeing the two women, standing and pulling a seat out for Wendy. Katie rolled her eyes as Wendy giggled, pulling out her own chair and flopping heavily into it.

  “Oh, Charles, you haven’t changed a bit,” Wendy smiled as she sat, allowing him to push her chair towards the table. He chuckled warmly, moving to sit opposite her. Katie stared bleakly at the empty seat across from her, drawing her eyes up to look out the window.

  “I’m happy that I’m unable to say the same of you, my darling. Why, you never expressed so much emotion through the entirety of our relationship.” He said, narrowing his eyes towards Katie. She matched his expression, and the two were briefly locked in an angry staring match. Then, all at once, Charles’ expression changed, and he turned a smile to the hotel worker. “So, you work as a doorman here? That’s nice. I can’t say I’ve ever noticed you, but I do so rarely stop in here,” He drawled, reaching out his hand for her to shake. She hesitated for just a moment before removing her glove to take his proffered hand. Her body stiffened as soon as their hands touched, and it felt like a thousand shocks were going through her body. Her mind flooded with violent images of Charles slitting Wendy’s throat as he brutally fucked her. She jerked her hand back, eyes wide and full of fear. She couldn’t remember feeling this way since she was a child.

  “Are you okay, Katie?” Wendy inquired softly. Katie shook her head, drawing her hand into a fist and bringing it to her lips as she burped in a sickly manner. She leaped up, darting towards the restrooms without a word. She didn’t trust herself to speak without spewing sick all over Wendy and Charles—though she felt Charles would have entirely deserved it. She fell into a stall, clutching the porcelain throne and spilling her guts into the bowl. Vivid images ass
aulted her mind, and for the first time in years, she felt herself falling back to that very moment she discovered her powers. She could see her uncle’s hand grasping her own, smaller one. She felt equally as helpless as she did then, seeing what his desires were but being unable to stop his wicked plans.

  “Katie?” she heard a voice call—her uncle? Had he found her? She scrambled away from the stall door, slamming her head against the toilet and knocking herself nearly senseless. “Katie, oh my god, are you alright!?” the voice continued, sounding stronger this time. It was a familiar voice, but instead of instilling a sense of fear within her, she felt calmer.

  “Wendy…?” she murmured, raising her head from the bathroom floor and dizzily staring at the other woman. The business woman reached for her, pulling her firmly against her chest. Katie shuddered, feeling as if she would retch again.

  “Are you alright? What happened out there? Are you sick?” Wendy implored softly, running a hand through Katie’s hair. Katie pressed her face against her friend’s neck, tears spilling down her cheeks. Wendy shushed her soothingly, and slowly, Katie’s quaking began to ease off. “Katie…” Wendy said softly, kissing the top of her head. Katie opened her mouth to speak, to warn Wendy, to somehow tell her what was going to happen. But she couldn’t. It was such a ridiculous story, no one ever believed her. Her parents hadn’t believed her. Her brothers hadn’t believed her. Jackie at the very least humored her, but even still, she wasn’t sure Jackie truly believed her stories.

  “You girls alright in there?” Charles called from the other side of the door. Wendy drew back to look Katie in the eye. It was then Katie realized she had to tell her. She had to at least try.

  “You can’t go with him.” She whispered urgently, ignoring the look of confusion Wendy offered in reply. “When I touched his hand, I saw… I mean… I always see. It’s why I wear the gloves, so I don’t have to see, but then things started going wrong…” Katie rambled, clutching Wendy’s shirt.