        Nikole Tana hugged her jacket closer around her. Winter had to be her least favorite of the seasons. The snow covering Riverview was pretty, and fun to play in for a few minutes, but past that, the season had no redeeming qualities for her. Practically her entire wardrobe was pointless in the winter. She couldn’t wear jeans low enough to show off a thong and wearing a jacket took all the fun out of wearing a tight shirt. And of course, skirts, her favorite thing, were out completely.
        So, in the near-zero temperature, she tramped through the snow outside Griffin Heights Academy in faux-fur boots, jeans that were neither as low or as tight as she’d like, a comfortable wool pea-coat, and a knit hat with white pompoms that her grandmother had made for her. Her boots, jacket and hat were all pink, and the boots had a white trim to match the poms of the hat. She felt pretty, but not sexy. Over the last year, she’d discovered just how much she liked feeling sexy while she was out in public, especially when she was around older furs who thought it was utterly inappropriate for a girl her age to look sexy.
        Snow crunched underfoot. No one came this way after school, and new snow had fallen during third block, so hers were the first footsteps in the pristine blanket of snow on this side of the school. She loved the stillness of the academy’s campus after school hours. 
        At first, she had started loitering in the hallways and leaving late to avoid bullies. Her best friend, Karen Keating, had solved that problem last September. She smiled smugly, thinking about how Lara Jenkins still had a faint scar where the stitches had been. But since then, she still loitered every day to be out on the campus after everyone left. On the far side of the building, there was plenty of noise and activity as the school’s athletic teams held practice. Karen would be there, the youngest girl on the junior varsity lacrosse team. She was a vicious defender and Nikki liked to spend some afternoons watching her tear into her teammates during a scrimmage. 
        In an hour or so, most of the extracurricular activities would let out and there would be another flurry of activity. Until then, she liked to pretend that this side of the silent, neo-gothic main building of Griffin Heights Academy was her own personal castle, and she was surveying the lands.
        Thump.
        Nikki’s ears, which she always kept out of her hats, regardless of the cold, swiveled toward the sound. 
        Thump. Thumpthump. Thump.
        It was a hollow plastic sound, back the way she had come. Nikki backtracked through the snow around several corners and back to the elementary wing where students her year and younger were let out for the day. When she had first come outside, she’d gone around the muddy snow to head for the pristine sheet on the building’s other side. Now she spotted something she had missed earlier: a single pair of footprints leading toward the playground which lay half-hidden under the white sheet.
        Thump.
        Curiosity chewed at her. She had a habit of very carefully avoiding other students on school grounds. If they couldn’t see her, they couldn’t make fun of her or push her around. But it had been months since the bullies had been a real problem. Sure, there were still plenty of nasty rumormongers, but her friendship with Karen was enough to keep their opinions verbal instead of physical.
        Nikki chewed thoughtfully at her lower lip. Enough hiding like a. . .well, like a scared bunny, she thought ruefully. It was a new semester. A perfect time to make new friends. She followed the footprints into the playground, the stranger’s path standing out like a printed sign with directions.
        Thump.
        Finally, the sound made sense. As she climbed up a ladder that had been brushed free of snow, she realized that the sound was someone’s shoe hitting the inside of one of the big plastic crawl tubes. When she reached the top platform, she followed her ears and found the toes of a pair of baby blue shoes barely visible in the biggest of the tubes. As she watched, the right one lifted up and thumped down against the bottom of the tube. She ducked down and crawled in.
        “Hi. . .?” she said tentatively.
        The girl at the other end yelped and spun so that she was sitting up rather than laying on her stomach. She clutched a crisp new paperback to her chest. Nikki’s mouth fell open a little. The girl at the other end of the plastic corridor was impeccably dressed. She wore a baby blue suede jacket with a trim of pristine white wool in the hood and at the cuffs and hem. Her thighs were covered by a pleated skirt in dark blue and baby blue and white that perfectly complemented the jacket. Under the skirt she wore perfectly straight white stockings that disappeared into the dainty, baby blue shoes she had spotted.
        Nikki had the thought that the stockings would look old-fashioned if she saw them on a shelf, or likely on anyone else, but on this girl, they looked perfect. Moments earlier, she had been satisfied with feeling like she looked pretty. Now, she felt downright shabby standing in front of this. . .this. . .
        “You look like a princess,” Nikki said softly when she found the word she’d been searching for. The younger girl blushed. Her fur was the same white as the fresh snow, and when she blushed he cheeks matched the unusual red hue of her eyes. Nikki realized the girl must be an albino, and with that, it suddenly occurred to her who she was gawking at.
        “Oh! You must be Sammy. Um, Samantha, I mean. Karen’s little sister? I’m her friend, Nikki.”
        Samantha made a little ‘o’ with her lips as Nikki introduced herself. “You’re Nikki?” she asked, her voice was sweet and quiet. Nikki swiveled both ears forward to make sure she didn’t miss a word. “You’re, um. . .littler than I imagined. You look more my age than Karen’s.”
        Nikki giggled softly and settled cross-legged in the tube. “Well, you’n’Karen are big scary predators, and I’m just a little doe,” she said, sticking her tongue out playfully. “I’m bound to be littler!”
        Samantha made another little ‘o’ and seemed to think about that for a moment. Her thumb brushed the pages of her book. Nikki could feel the girl’s timidity and her desire to go back to her quiet privacy with her book. She had a twinge of guilt, feeling like she was imposing her company on the girl, but now that she’d met Karen’s pretty princess sister, she didn’t want to let her go so easily. 

        “Your fur is so pretty,” the bunnygirl said softly. “It looks like fresh snow. Perfect.”
        Sammy looked up at Nikole, a little confused. She was used to being made fun of for her albinism. She was certain there was still a clique of girls who called her “Pink Eye” as if she were a disease, though they no longer did it when there was half a chance Karen might catch wind of it. She stared at the bunny for a long while, wondering if she was being baited into some cruel trap. Her cheeks started to burn with her blush as the silence drew out and she realized the girl was being sincere.
        “Th-thanks,” she said, smiling slowly. “What’re you doing out here, though? I usually have the playground all to myself after school.” Sammy cringed a little inwardly. She worried that she was making Nikole feel like an intruder, accusing her of something. She didn’t want the bunnygirl to go. So far, she had called her a princess and complimented the color of her fur. And the bunny was pretty, too! Having Nikole sitting in the tube with her made her feel warm in her belly in a way that had nothing to do with her wool-lined jacket.
        To her relief, the bunnygirl across from her giggled easily and seemed to take Sammy’s question the way she had meant it instead of how it had sounded. “I was gonna ask you that! I spend almost every afternoon out here,” she hooked her thumb over the shoulder towards the side of the school. “Everything is still and quiet and there’s no one to push me around. I only came lookin’ around here because someone was thumping around!”
        For the third time, Sammy made a surprised little ‘o’ with her lips, though this time there was actually a soft “Oh!” to go with it. Her blush stayed bright as she realized she was the one responsible for Nikki finding her afterschool hideyhole.
        “I’m here waiting for my sisters. Rachel is in a play and Karen is at practice. I always lay in here and read until Rachel gets done. Then we go get Karen an’ all walk home together.”
        “Oh, wow,” Nikki said, looking a little jealous. “You’re lucky. I’m an only child. I wish I had sisters like you do! But what was the thumping?”
        Sammy tucked her chin, embarrassed, and brushed her thumb against the pages of her book. “I was nervous,” she said, indicating the book. “I get a little fidgety when I get nervous and I must’ve been bumping my foot on the tube without realizing it.”
        Sammy didn’t look up. She was worried Nikole would laugh at her for being anxious over a book. But when she dared to peek, the bunny was staring at her book and looking thoughtful.
        “I don’t remember Dragonsong being scary. There’s one part in the beginning when the Thread falls. . .”
        Sammy nodded quickly. “Yeah, I’m right at that part! But it wasn’t the thread that made me so nervous. She ran away from home! I can’t imagine having to live without my dad and Karen and my mom! I know she didn’t want to gut fish all her life, but how is she gonna be okay without her family to keep her safe?!”
        Sammy looked down again. She felt her lower lip tremble. She wanted to like the new book her dad had given her, but she couldn’t think of anything scarier than living along. There was a soft squeak as Nikole scooted closer. The bun set a hand on her knee and squeezed just a little.
        “You an’ me are lucky. That’s what my dad says. We’ve got homes and families who would do anything for us! Not all families are like that. Dad’s dad ran off when he was little. He told me that, for some people, your family is not always your home and you gotta look until you find the home that’s right for you. He tells that story about mom. He says when he found her, he found his new home. And Menolly finds hers too, I promise!”
        Sammy bit her lip, thinking about that. She couldn’t think of her family as anything but the safest place in the world. They were all fiercely protective of one another. She couldn’t imagine it being bad, being ‘not home’ like Nikole said her dad’s had been.
        But Yanus was nothing like Dad. What if her dad didn’t let her wear nice dresses or keep her dolls? What if Karen didn’t stand up for her, or if her mom didn’t make up princess stories with her every night? It could be awful, she decided. She was lucky, just like Nikole’s dad said.
        “Menolly would have to be very brave, to run out on her own and find her real home.”
        Nikole grinned excitedly. “She is! And you won’t believe who it’s with or how she gets there or what she finds! But,” the bunny slapped her hands over her mouth. “I gotta let you find that out!”
        The two girls giggled together at Nikole’s outburst and Sammy felt that warmth again. This was her favorite book, she decided. She didn’t care how it ended now. It was her favorite because her dad had given it to her, and it made her love her family even more, and it had brought this new friend to her.
        She looked up from the book to see Nikole staring at her legs, head tilted to one side and her lips pursed thoughtfully. Sammy squirmed slowly and blushed, self-conscious. “What?” she finally asked, when she couldn’t stand it any more.
        “How do you get the stockings to lay flat,” she asked. She made a face as if she was uncomfortable. “I tried them once, and it pushed all my fur up the wrong way and I just couldn’t stand it!”
        Sammy relaxed and even giggled softly as Nikole revealed why she’d been staring at her legs. She shifted a little in a way that showed off her legs a little better. Nikole’s appreciation of how she dressed flattered her and she loved it, though she’d never admit it out loud.
        “It takes time,” she said softly. “You have to roll one leg at a time and use one hand to smooth out the fur. But it’s the only way to wear skirts and dresses in winter, so it’s worth it.”
        “I know!” Nikole squeaked so loudly that Sammy startled a little. “It’s always jeans, jeans, jeans, all winter, and I find you up here all pretty in your skirt and stockings and I’m just so JEALOUS!” She huffed out a breath, blushing at her admission. Their eyes met and Sammy looked away shyly. The bunny didn’t just like how she dressed. She’d called her pretty!
        “Do you think you could show me? Dad says I’m the least patient thing he’s ever known, but I think I could do it if it meant getting to wear skirts in the winter.”
        Sammy chewed her lip nervously at the request. She thought of her hands carefully helping Nikole roll stockings up her bare legs and blushed so brightly that her cheeks felt warm. The thought of being so close to someone made her uncomfortable, but the thought of being so close to Nikole made the pit of her belly warm at the same time. Nikole was Karen’s friend, she told herself sternly. If Karen trusted her, then so could she, right? She could hear her mother’s voice in her head, telling her that having friends sometimes meant letting people get close enough that, yes, you might get hurt. But real friends were worth that risk. And Mom and Dad and Karen and probably Rachel too would claw to bits anyone who turned out not to be a real friend. 
        She looked down at her book. Menolly had been brave enough to do what she had to do. Running away was a lot scarier than letting a nice bunnygirl be friends with you. She might not be as brave as Menolly, but she could be that little bit of brave right?
        “Sure,” she said finally, yelping softly when Nikole squeed happily. “Do you have some at your house?” she went on. “I have some that’d probably fit you, if you wanna walk home with us. Or we could go to the mall and--”
        “OH GOSH YES!” Nikole squealed, stopping Sammy midsentence. Nikole didn’t seem to notice how her outburst startled her new friend. “We should TOTALLY go shopping together! You get to go girly shopping like ALL THE TIME with your sisters and I only get to go with my mom and she is SO boring sometimes! Can we really go shopping together? This is going to be so much fun!”
        Sammy stared at the bunny through the first half of her outburst, then she smiled nervously, her blush returning. Then she started outright giggling at the little bun. Nikole was just as excited to be with her as she was! This really was going to be fun!

***

        “Nikki!” Karen called excitedly as she came out of the school, finding the bunny waiting with her two sisters. The girl came over and picked Nikki right up, swinging the bunny around in a playful hug like she was nothing. Nikki laughed and held on. Karen kissed her, quickly but firmly. Nikki’s tailtuft fluttered behind her excitedly. Karen understood her need for a little physical affection, and didn’t mind providing it, assuming their classmates weren’t around to spread rumors that might get back to Jake.
        Nikki was tempted to tease Karen, force her to kiss her more or squeeze the tigress’s butt. She knew the sisters played together with Jane, and according to Karen, even Samantha had started to play along a little, though typically she just watched. But out of the corner of her eye, she saw Samantha blush and turn her head aside in that moment when Karen kissed her, so Nikki let the little peck be the end of it. Samantha liked the same books as she did and she was so wonderfully girly. Nikki had never had a girly stage. She’d gone straight from tomboy to sexy, and she hadn’t realized until today how fantastic it would be to have someone to be girly with.
        Karen, on the other hand, smelled like sweat and had a bruise under her left eye. The smell of Karen’s sweat made Nikki’s nethers stir, but no one would ever accuse the tigress of being girly. Nikki found herself desperately wanting to be her best friend’s little sister’s best friend.
        “Whatcha doin’ here, Nikki? I didn’t see you watching practice today” Karen bent over to kiss Samantha and Rachel on the cheek affectionately. Nikki had a little pang of jealousy over the sisters’ close bond and Karen’s big sisterly protectiveness. She knew she shouldn’t be jealous, though. Even though she was the same age, Karen was almost as protective of her.
        “I found your sister reading one of my favorite books in the playground! I can’t believe you never introduced me, because your sister is really cool and she promised to take me shopping with her! Do you think you could take us? My mom would let me go with you, but probably not with just Samantha.”
        Karen stuck her tongue out and made a face. “The mall? Ugh! And I bet you’re just gonna try on dresses ALL DAY.” Karen made another face when Nikki started giggling and Samantha joined in, since that was exactly their plan. “We can’t go tonight anyway. Remember, Sammy? Mom is cooking for the Griffin Heights Booster Club banquet tonight, and we all have to go.”
        “Oh,” Samantha said, looking crestfallen. Nikki couldn’t keep a pout off her face.
        “You’re right. We’re going, too. Dad wants to introduce me to some of the coaches. He says now that I’ve finally ‘settled down’ he wants me to try out for track. He still holds cross country and relay records from when he went here.”
        Karen laughed softly. “Settled down? Yeah right! I love you, Nikki, and I bet you could beat the pants off your Dad’s old records. . .but only if I thought you had the patience to stick around for a whole practice!” 
        Nikki stuck her tongue out at her friend, but privately agreed with her. Practicing for two hours after school two or three times a week seemed like a colossal waste of time. 
        “Oh, but that means we’ll be there together!” Karen and Nikki both turned to look at Samantha, who had spoken louder than she almost ever did. Even Rachel looked up, surprised, from where she’d been rolling her third snowball into a neat line with the other two.
        Sammy blushed when she realized how loudly she’d spoken and Nikki privately thought about how pretty the kitty was whenever she blushed, which was often. She liked how, if she was embarrassed enough, her cheeks were as red as her eyes.
        Nikole grinned crookedly at her new friend. “We can hide under the table and talk about what we’re going to try on at the mall!” She was delighted when Samantha actually squeed at the suggestion.
        Karen rolled her eyes. “I haven’t even agreed to take you yet!”
        “So agree to it already!” Nikki said, sticking her tongue out again.
        Karen opened her mouth to retort sarcastically. But she stopped herself and snapped her muzzle shut. Nikole could see the tigress’s whole face light up. She recognized two distinct expressions as her friend’s eyes flashed. Karen had just had a great idea. And whatever it was, it aroused her. There was no mistaking the look Karen got when she turned horny.
        “Can we go Saturday morning?” she asked. 
        Samantha opened her mouth to agree excitedly but Nikki gently touched her hand. The albino looked at her curiously and Nikki grinned in reply. She looked at Karen.
        “What’s special about Saturday?”
        “Oh, uh, nothing,” Karen lied.
        “Mom lets her get lunch with Jake on Saturdays,” Samantha chimed in. Karen glowered at her sister, then pulled Nikki and Samantha to one side, glancing back to make sure Rachel was still distracted. Her arsenal of snowballs had turned into a tiny family of snowmen. She was having to range further and further to get good snow for the family’s heads.
        “I bet I can get Mom and Dad to agree to me going to the mall all morning with Jake if its with you two, okay? So the plan is I let you have the run of the mall--all the frilly dresses or whatever you can handle--if you tell Mom that me and Jake were with you the whole time. Okay?”
        Nikki barely held in a giggle at the eager twinkle in Karen’s eyes. Mr. and Mrs. Keating were okay with Jake, but Nikki knew that the two didn’t have near enough alone time for Karen’s liking, and that Mrs. Keating intended to keep it that way. 
        “What’re you and Jake gonna do?” Samantha asked. Nikole and Karen exchanged a look. Nikole could hardly believe Samantha didn’t know.
        “Watch a morning matinee,” Karen lied easily. “And doing boy shopping. He likes when I pick out what colors he wears.”
        The tigress rolled her eyes at that and Nikki guessed that that part, at least, was true. She exchanged a meaningful glance with Karen, hoping to telepathically convey that she wanted details.
        “Deal?” Karen asked.
        Samantha looked at Nikki for guidance. Nikki couldn’t contain her own excited bouncing, which was apparently answer enough for her new friend. 
        “Okay!”
        “Awesome,” Karen said. “You gonna be okay to walk home by yourself, Nikki? We gotta run or Mom’ll chew us out for not giving her enough time to doll us up.”
        It was Nikki’s turn to roll her eyes. “I walk home by myself EVERY day, thank you!”
        “Just checking, geeze! Rach-” PAFF! “HEY!”
        Just as Karen turned to find her littlest sister, a snowball hit her square in the face. Or rather, the head of Mr. Snowmidget hit her square in the face.
        “Let’s goooooo,” whined Rachel. “Mommy and Sammy are gonna dress me up like a princess and I. WANNA. GO!”
        “You’re not going to look much like a princess after I tear you to pieces!”
        Rachel eeped and dashed away through the snow, giggling, as Karen pounced after her, claws bared. Samantha turned to walk after them as if nothing were out of the ordinary. Nikki watched her go, eyes following the long, sinuous tiger tail that trailed after her describing an ‘S’ in the air as she walked. Samantha turned and gave her the biggest smile and a timid wave. Nikki felt her tummy warm and clench in her stomach inexplicably and she let out an elated little giggle as she waved back. Excited to spend the evening with her new friend, she started skipping toward her own house, kicking up a spray of snow behind her as she went.

***

        Willow Valley was a smaller suburb of Roosevelt City than Riverview, richer too, and the Willow Valley Galleria was one of Sammy’s favorite places in the world. Riverview had a small European-style ‘walking mall’ of its own, but Sammy had begged her mother to take her, Nikole, and Karen here instead. There were so many stores she wanted to show her new friend! She looked over at Nikole, anxious, and found the bunny staring back at her, as fidgety and excited as she was. They shared a quick giggle in the back seat of the massive SUV.
        The morning was almost painfully bright as the sunlight reflected off of the night’s new snow, and the mall looked almost deserted as they pulled up. Jake was seated patiently on a planter of dead flowers in front of the entrance. Only a few dozen cars peppered the parking lot, and Sammy could make out the gradual pace of a few mall-walkers ambling past the glass doors. The two tigers and their bunny friend piled out of the car.
        “I’ll be here at one o’clock,” Mrs. Keating said through the rolled-down passenger window. “A minute late and all of your hides will get tanned for it.” She pointed a menacing finger at Jake. “Especially you, mister!” She took the edge off the threat with a smile and wave before driving away, but privately, Samantha had no illusions about Jake’s fate if the four of them did show up late.
        Nikole moved to Sammy’s side, not quite touching, but comfortingly close as Karen practically pounced on her wolfish boyfriend. She blushed and looked away as they started making out right there in front of the mall. She found Nikole’s eyes and smiled timidly.
        “Where do you wanna go first?” the bunny asked, and she was thankful from the distraction from her sister.
        “Oh gosh, I don’t know!” she said softly. “There’s so many places. But I think we’ll start at one of the department stores. They’re gonna have the really nice dresses, and better stockings.” She would’ve gone on, but Karen walked over just then. Sammy noticed her fingers entangled with Jake’s and was a little jealous of their shared intimacy, even at the same time that she was embarrassed at their public display of it.
        “We’re gonna go,” Karen declared. She turned to look at Nikole. “Meet us at noon at the italian place and we’ll all have lunch together. I’ll text you, okay?”
        Karen leaned in close to Nikole, bringing to bear every threatening gesture and posture she’d learned from their mother. Sammy was shocked as she watched Nikki, who put on a casual “I’m not impressed” expression. “You’d better take good care of my sister,” Karen said slowly.
        In reply, Nikole stuck her tongue out. “Blah, blah, blah! Noon. Got it.”
        Sammy couldn’t suppress a startled little giggle. She’d never seen anyone treat Karen like that--except maybe Rachel--and get away with it! And to her surprise, Karen just grinned, grabbed the back of Nikki’s head, and gave the bunny quick kiss on the lips. 
        “Noon!” Karen agreed and turned off hand in hand with Jake toward the main entrance. Sammy’s ears pricked and swiveled forward as Jake leaned in to whisper to Karen.
        “I’ve never seen you kiss a girl,” Jake said.
        Sammy could hear Karen’s giggle but couldn’t quite make out the reply. She thought it sounded like ‘you don’t know the half of it,’ but she couldn’t be sure.
        “Ready, Samantha?” Nikole asked, excited.
        Sammy grinned at her. “Yeah, let’s go!”
        When they got to the door, Jake and her sister were already out of sight. The mall was bright with the winter’s morning sun streaming in through huge sunlights. The stores were all open, but there was almost no one in sight. Employees were almost exclusively in the backrooms, showing up only to shelve something or prepare the register, and the only ‘customers’ about were maybe a dozen widely scattered mall-walkers. One spindly fox waved at them as she shuffled past the doors and along the adjacent wall.
        Sammy leaned toward Nikole. “This is my favorite time to go shopping,” she said. “Everything’s open and no one’s here. The employees are too tired or too busy to bother you, and there’s no one else crowding the whole place.”
        Nikole giggled softly. “It’s like a temple,” she said softly.
        “Yeah, a temple to fashion!” The two of them giggled together and it seemed like it was the only sound in the whole place. “Let’s go!”
        The two walked together comfortably close. Nikole looked into each store they passed with her lips pursed the way she did when she was thinking. Sammy let her look, getting the impression that the bunny had never seen several of the stores before. Most of them were the only locations the stores had anywhere near Roosevelt City.
        “Nikole?” she asked after they’d gotten halfway to the end of the mall in silence.
        “Yeah?”
        “Why do you always call me Samantha?”
        The bunny turned her attention from a lingerie store on the other side of the corridor to look at her, her eyebrows creased and confused.
        “Cuz. . .that’s your name?”
        “Yeah, but everyone else always calls me Sammy. Karen and mom and dad and even the teachers. You’re the only one who calls me Samantha.”
        Sammy was a little startled to see the bunny blush at this question. The girl looked away for a moment and rubbed the back of her neck. They passed two more stores before she answered.
        “Samantha is a girly name,” she said finally. “It’s pretty and sweet and musical, just like you. I can call you Sammy if you want me to. I just. . .I kinda like calling you by a girly, pretty name instead.”
        It was Sammy’s turn to blush. She said softly, “Oh,” and glanced away as well. The two walked in silence for a while. They passed through the entrance of the department store at the end of the mall, and she lead the way confidently through housewares and women’s toward the section for girls their age.
        “I like you calling me Samantha,” she said finally.
        Nikole giggled softly beside her and the awkwardness of their silence broke just like that. 
        “You do it, too, you know,” the bunny said. “You call me Nikole. Every time. Very carefully. On Friday, I heard you almost call me Nikki and you corrected yourself.”
        Sammy blushed. She was quiet as she threaded her way between clothing racks toward the wall in the back where they kept the frillier, more formal things.
        “I felt like calling you Nikki would be too personal. I didn’t want you to think that I thought we were as good as friends as you and Karen or. . .or I don’t know. I was worried I shouldn’t call you Nikki.”
        Nikole came up beside her as she stood surveying the wall critically. The fur of the back of her hand brushed Sammy’s hand, and it made her tingle. Sammy blushed, but didn’t pull away from the touch, even though every reflex told her she should.
        “I’d like to be as good friends with you as I am with Karen,” Nikole said after what felt like an eternity to Sammy. “Or better,” she added quietly.
        Sammy turned to her then, a little surprised. “Better? But you and Karen are best friends!”
        Nikki put on a goofy, shy grin and her blush made the buff-colored fur of her cheeks glow. “We could be best friends,” she said so soft that Sammy’s ears swiveled forward to catch the words.
        Breath seemed to abandon Sammy for a moment, the oxygen in her lungs replaced by a strange, elated warmth in her belly. Best friends? She’d never had a best friend! Well, she had Karen, and Mom, and a few friends at school that she kept company with, but not a proper best friend. 
        “Really?” she whispered. Nikole nodded sheepishly. Sammy squeaked and Nikole’s ears perked and rather than saying anything else, the two girls hugged spontaneously. 
        “This is gonna be so great!” Sammy was surprised to realize that the excited voice was, in fact, hers. “So do you want me to call you Nikki then? Which do you like better?”
        The bunny stood closer now, Sammy realized. Their shoulders touched through their jackets. As Sammy’s brain cooled from the excitement of gaining a new best friend, she realized that Nikole had claimed her hand, was holding it with their fingers intertwined the way Jake’s and Karen’s had been. The closeness made her whole body feel pleasantly warm. She probably would’ve politely excused herself from the contact if it had happened only an hour earlier. But Nikki was her best friend now. Best friends shared secrets and picked each other’s clothes and had sleepovers and held each other’s hands. She squeezed Nikole’s hand in her own and felt a little thrill when hers was squeezed back.
        “I like Nikki,” the bunny said softly, then dropped her voice even quieter. Sammy’s stomach fluttered. Whispers meant secrets. Her best friend was sharing her first secret with her! “Nikki makes me feel sexier than being called Nikole,” she said, blushing.
        Sammy’s heart raced a little at the admission and she blushed in return. She bit her lip and leaned a little closer, her voice trembling just a touch as she whispered back. “Nikki then. Cuz you are sexy.”
        Her cheeks were warm when she admitted that. Thinking of anyone as sexy was foreign to her, but ever since she’d met the girl on the playground, that was one of the words that kept popping into her head when she tried to define the bunny. She’d kept the fact that she thought that a close secret. But Nikki had shared one with her and so now she’d shared one back, and that meant they really were best friends!
        The two of them blushed together and then giggled together. She felt Nikki squeeze her hand again and she squeezed back, a little tingle traveling up her belly into her face. 
        “So, Samantha,” Nikki said, saying her full name slowly and teasingly, making Sammy giggle. “Are you gonna show me the proper way to put on stockings, or not?”
        “Just stockings? That was when we were just friends! Now we’re BEST friends so that means I’m gonna pick you out a whole outfit and make you look drop dead gorgeous!” She put on her best ‘Karen’ face and pointed imperiously at the changing room. The effect was ruined a little as they both giggled. “Go wait in there while I pick you something out. No peeking!”
        Nikki made an extravagant curtsey and flourish like the obedient servants in a princess movie. “As you wish, Empress Samantha!” she said, then dashed off into the dressing room, giggling.
        Sammy didn’t take long. Her head had long since picked out exactly what she thought would look best on Nikki without consciously realizing it. She grabbed the things off the rack and a pair of stockings out of the bin and followed her new bunny best friend’s path into the changing room. She was easily identifiable as the only pair of feet in the little hall of tiny rooms. Sammy slipped into the room, careful to keep the curtain as closed as possible, though there wasn’t an associate--or anyone else, for that matter--anywhere in sight.
        On the other side of the curtain, she found Nikki sitting on the bench, swinging her feet with her cell out. The bunny had hung up her pink peacoat and skinned herself out of the tight jeans she liked to wear. Sammy’s breath caught at the sight of her sitting there in only a long sleeve t-shirt and panties, her jeans pooled on the floor.
        “Nikki!” Sammy said, blushing and looking away.
        “What?” Nikki said, sounding alarm as she jumped to her feet. “What’s wrong?”
        “Your panties!”
        “Huh? What’s wrong with them? I wore them for you!” There was a slight pout in her voice.
        That caught Sammy by surprise. She turned to look at Nikki, blushing hotly. “What do you mean for me?”
        “Well, I knew I’d have to be in my panties with you so you could show me how to do the stockings, so I wanted to wear a nice pair, but not something so revealing that they’d make you uncomfortable.”
        “Those are pretty revealing,” Sammy said in a tiny voice, peeking at her best friend.The panties consisted of a black triangle that covered her mons rather snugly and left her thighs completely exposed. A pink band stretched over her hips, meeting in a ‘Y’ with the tiny string of a thong under her tail which disappeared between the completely exposed cheeks of her butt. A black bow accented the pink band just under her tail, and a pink bow decorated the black fabric, just above her mons. As she peeked, Nikki blushed a little and self-consciously tugged down the edge of her shirt.
        “I’m sorry,” Nikki said softly. Sammy winced internally at the sound of her voice. She’d heard it in her own voice before.
        “Don’t be,” Sammy said impulsively. “They’re sexy, just like the little bunny in them. I’m just not used to. . .to seeing girls like that.”
        Nikki looked at her, unsure at first, then she gradually stopped tugging at her shirt, her tail fluttering excitedly behind her. “We’re best friends now,” she said with a smile. “So there’s nothing to be shy about seeing each other in our underwear!”
        Sammy smiled excitedly and nodded her agreement as Nikki popped her butt back onto the bench. “Now,” Sammy said. “If you wanna try these on, we gotta open them, so we’ll have to buy them if you wanna do this.”
        Nikki swung her feet back and forth impatiently as Sammy hung up the other things she had picked out for her bunny best friend. “That’s okay! If they look half as good on me as yours do on you, it’s totally worth it.”
        Sammy nodded and tore the packaging open to get at the stockings inside.
        “Black?” Nikki asked.
        “Uh huh,” Sammy said, shaking the stockings out. She knelt on the floor by Nikki’s feet and started rolling the stocking leg onto her thumbs. “To bring out the black in your tailtip and ears. The other stuff I got is purple. I know you like pink, but it really doesn’t work with your fur.”
        “It doesn’t? I never really thought about it. My mom always says she loves winter because its the best time of year for her to go ‘pretty in pink’ and I guess I just kinda did what she did.”
        “Your mom has chocolate colored fur. That’s like, pink’s best friend. You have buff fur, so your natural color will pop better in purples, greens, browns, and black. No greys and no pinks. Now put your foot on my knee.”
        Nikki complied. “Gosh, I’m learning so much already! That’s crooked,” she said, trying to be helpful.
        “I know. It’s part of the trick. You’ll see!” Sammy smiled up at her friend, trying to pretend that her eyes didn’t flicker to the girl’s crotch of their own accord. Kneeling like she was, the crotch was at her eye level and it was so tempting to look at. Her cheeks were hot, yet she wasn’t blushing, and her belly tingled the way it did when she knew Jane would be visiting later in the day. She focused on the bunny’s surprisingly dainty foot on her knee, now covered by the crooked stocking foot. 
        “Watch,” she said, then set her fingers flat on Nikki’s ankle. She laid Nikki’s fur flat by petting the fur down and to the side at once, brushing her fingers over the fur in a counterclockwise twist around her ankle. As she did so, she rolled the stocking up a few inches, keeping it as taut as possible, then twisting it in the same direction after a few inches. 
        “If your pet the fur down sideways around your leg instead of straight down, and then twist the stocking on like a screw, it’ll lay flat and won’t mat your fur up the wrong way. It takes a shower and some brushing to get the tornado look out of your legfur, but in the winter I wear stockings pretty much everyday, so it doesn’t really matter.”
        Nikki watched her diligently as Sammy’s hands traveled up her calf. The bunny made a soft sound and spread her legs as she moved up her thigh. Sammy blushed and focused on the task at hand. That, of course, meant focusing on Nikki’s slender inner thigh as her fingers brushed the fur there down and to the side. Her own stomach and thighs felt warm by the time she was finished, and she tried to ignore that her fingers were shaking just a little. She smiled timidly up at Nikki when she was finally done just shy of her best friend’s panties.
        “There!” she said, blushing when her voice came out in a squeak. She stood up, wondering why she felt out of breath, and sat on the bench beside the bunny. “You try the other one.”
        Nikki started and within a few minutes, Sammy had to get back down on the floor to help her, guiding her fingers in how to brush the fur down. “You get used to it after a couple times,” she said quietly.
        “Uh huh,” Nikki replied, her tongue sticking out a little as she focused on brushing the fur down then twisting the stocking on taut and quickly enough to stay in place.
        “Nikki?” Sammy asked as they both watched the bunny’s hands. 
        “Huh?”
        “What’re Jake and Karen really doing?”
        Nikki stopped what she was doing, her cheeks bright red as she looked up to meet Sammy’s eyes. So the bunny did know, whatever it was. Sammy knew her sister and Jake did something they wanted to keep secret. Even during their playtime with Jane, Karen had never fessed up to what it really was. Sammy had watched the babysitter eat her sister out, and vice versa, but things Karen said seemed to imply it was something even more than that.
        Nikki stared at Sammy for a little while, blushing and clearly embarrassed. She ducked her head out of Sammy’s gaze, focusing on the stocking again. Sammy’s stomach fell. She felt like Nikki was choosing Karen’s friendship over hers.
        “You can’t tell Karen I told you,” Nikki said.
        “You’ll tell me?” Sammy said, excited and curious.
        “It’ll be our first best friend secret, that I told you. Just between you and me, okay?”
        Sammy nodded. She reached out and gently corrected Nikki’s fingers again, then moved her hands further down, correcting the twist over Nikki’s calf so the seam laid straight.
        “Karen likes Jake to f-um. . .have sex with her. In the butt.”
        Sammy did her best not to react. She knew about sex. Mom had talked to her about it, and her experiences with Jane, both watching and occasionally getting off, had been educational. This was outside what little she knew, though.
        “Jake’s penis in her butt?” she asked, incredulous.
        “Uh huh. She can’t get pregnant that way. Karen’s terrified of getting pregnant, but she gets so horny that she can’t not have him. So they do it in her butt.”
        Sammy made a quiet ‘oh’ as she thought about that. She tried to picture Jake’s penis in her sister’s butt. Picturing the first part was hard enough. Her own butt squirmed where she knelt, her tail lashing sharply from side to side as she thought about it. Nikki finally got the stockings up to the top of her thigh. She stood up. 
        “She likes that?” Sammy asked, unable to contain her curiosity. “She, um. . .she ‘gets off’ on that?”
        Nikki giggled at that and Sammy worried she had said it wrong. But the bunny just nodded as she stood on her tiptoes, carefully wiggling her butt into the stockings. Sammy was both a little relieved and a little disappointed when the scandalous panties were hidden by the dark fabric.
        “Oh yeah. Karen loves butt stuff. If we’re being honest, so do I.”
        Sammy blushed at Nikki’s admission, but at the same time, she was privately thrilled that her new best friend would share something so intimate. 
        “With. . .with boys?” Sammy asked, worried about being rude.
        Nikki blushed a little and turned away from her. She lifted a leg up on the bench, running her fingers up the stocking experimentally and very carefully not meeting Sammy’s eyes. Sammy turned toward the clothes, busying herself by looking through them, even though she knew exactly what was hanging there.
        The dressing room was quiet for a long while. Sammy listened to the sounds of the employees moving around the store, occasionally sharing crude jibes. She wondered if they even knew the two of them were back here.
        Nikki touched her shoulder and Sammy turned. She felt on the verge of crying. She was worried she’d ruined her first best friendship by asking too many rude questions. But Nikki was smiling.
        “Best friends, right?” Nikki asked hopefully. Sammy nodded her head quickly, letting out the breath she’d been holding in.
        “Then it’s okay that I tell you, because best friends love you whoever you are. That’s what your sister said after I told her.”
        “That’s what Dad says,” Sammy said, smiling to hear that her big sis was passing on Dad’s wisdom.
        “Not boys.” she admitted in a rush of breath. “Just girls. I like to kiss girls and play with girls and let girls get me off. And the butt-stuff I like to do, I like to do with girls, too, just like all the rumors say.”
        “Everyone loves who they love, and unless it’s me, it’s none of my damned business who it is.”
        “More words of wisdom from your father?” Nikki asked, giggling.
        “He’s so eloquent!” They both laughed then. And Sammy took a step closer and hugged her best friend because she looked like she needed one. They squeezed tight together for a long moment. Sammy inhaled, realizing suddenly that Nikki smelled nice. Nice in a way that made her warm again. She couldn’t ignore it any more. The patterns of warmth and tingles were too predictable. She was attracted to her best friend! Her best friend who had just told her she liked “just girls.” She blushed and ended the hug a little sooner than she would have liked.
        “Here,” she said, thrusting the first hanger into Nikki’s arms.
        “Is this a dress?” Nikki asked suspiciously, making a face.
        “You have to trust me! I’m your best friend, remember?”
        Nikki still looked skeptical, but she peeled her shirt off and tossed it onto the floor with her jeans. The bunny wasn’t wearing a bra, having no need for one, and Sammy couldn’t stop herself from looking out of the corner of her eye, until Nikki pulled the dark, regal purple over her head.
        Sammy moved behind her and zipped her up. “There, now twirl in the mirror.”
        Nikki did as she was instructed, gasping softly at the figure she cut. The dress Sammy had picked out was dark purple with a layered skirt that fell just above Nikki’s knees. The bust was a spaghetti strap sweetheart that gave the bunny a slight illusion of breasts, with the fabric ruched and twisted in the middle.
        “Now this,” Sammy said, before the bunny could comment. She helped Nikki into a half-length long-sleeve black cardigan. It buttoned above the sweetheart bust of the dress, leaving a little hole of fur visible, and then fell open to her ribs. 
        “With the stockings and cardi, it’s great for winter, and it looks almost as good without them, so you can wear it year round.”
        “I look almost as good as you!” Nikki squeaked, twisting and turning to look at herself from every angle and then twirling so that the multiple layers of the skirt swirled up around her. 
        Sammy blushed at the compliment. What she considered her best talent wasn’t really appreciated in her household. Nikki was the perfect cure for that. The bunny had a soft spot for girly things, but practically no experience with them herself!
        “I picked you out a skirt too, and some shirts that will go with the cardi. Do you want to try those on, too?”
        Nikki shook her head. “I trust you! And besides, I wanna wear this out!” 

***

        Nikki had brought every dollar she had earned since the summer with her in a little clutch purse. A black clutch purse, thankfully, so it matched her outfit perfectly. She hadn’t paid a lick of attention to the prices since entering the store. She loved watching Samantha someplace she was comfortable, and loved even more being on the receiving end of her talent and attention.
        But now, the bored floor associate rang up all the clothes Samantha had picked out for her, along with the new black boots with white wool trim they had gotten to replace her pink ones, which wouldn’t match her new clothes at all.
        The number kept climbing and Nikki could feel her face growing paler and paler. She glanced sideways at Samantha, privately hoping the tigress would have a conniption over the price, but the number didn’t seem to phase her at all. Nikki was slowly gaining a newfound respect for Mr. and Mrs. Keating’s careers, as well as how much they doted on their middle child.
        She tried to keep an even face. She didn’t want to seem cheap in front of her new best        friend. Her parents weren’t poor: the thought of Nikki attending Griffin Heights on a scholarship was a bit of a laugh, and her father’s ‘legacy’ discount was more of a status statement than a significant lowering of her tuition. Still, her parents had taught her the value of a dollar early on, and made her work to pay for any luxuries that were outside her mother’s approval. 
        She skipped the bills in her little purse and produced her mother’s credit card. She had a lot of work ahead of her. She hoped her mother would reduce the bill a little based on the fact that the clothes were far more girly--and thus, more likely to meet her mother’s approval--than anything she usually picked for herself.
        “Can I have an extra bag, please?” she asked in an imitation of the haughty voice her mother used when mocking other Griffin Heights parents. She gestured at the clothes she had worn in as an excuse.
        The associate rolled his eyes and handed her an extra folded bag with the department store’s name on the side. She stuffed her clothes in it and looped both bags over her arm, taking Samantha’s hand in hers as the two left the store.
        “Where to now?” Samantha asked. ”We still have over an hour until lunch.”
        “This way,” Nikki said with a grin. “I have an idea!”
        Nikki had noticed the way Samantha’s breath grew shallow and how her eyes couldn’t help staring when they were in the changing room. She was surprised. Usually girls who dreamed of being little princesses also dreamed of charming princess. But Samantha’s hands had started shaking so bad while helping Nikki with her stockings that the bunny was certain Samantha was feeling something.
        She didn’t want to embarrass or frighten her newest friend, so she’d carefully played ignorant, not saying anything or even reacting at all if she could help it. Though, she hadn’t been able to stop herself from letting Samantha take as long looks as she wanted. Showing off for the little tigress excited her more than was probably safe for new best friends.
        Watching Samantha steal glances at her little black panties had given her a wickedly daring idea, though, and she’d seen an ad during their earlier walk for a store that was perfect to carry it out.
        She lead the tiger toward the opposite end of the mall and deliberately turned her thoughts elsewhere to keep from revealing any part of her plan.
        “What’m I gonna do with all my pink stuff? Like ALL my winter clothes are pink.”
        “We could trade,” Samantha suggested tentatively. “Best friends trade clothes, right? Some of your pink stuff is cute enough to actually wear.”
        “Hey!” Nikki said, stung at first. Then she realized Samantha was teasing her. It was so unlike her, so unexpected, that she burst into laughter. Samantha did the same.
        “I’m sorry!” Samantha said, squeezing her hand, the sincerity of the apology ruined a little by her laughter. “As my dad says: ‘You walked right into that one!’”
        Nikki nudged herself against the tigress in retaliation and the two veered wildly across the corridor, right into a middle aged couple who had to separate to avoid barrelling into the two girls..
        “But really,” Samantha said. “I have a jacket that I could trade you for the pink one. I have white fur, so pink totally works for me. You can come over next weekend and we can just try on each other’s clothes like ALL day!”
        Nikki’s ears perked at that. “That would be awesome! We could turn it into a sleepover!”
        “And build a pillow fort!”
        “And stay up all night watching old episodes of Star Trek and Battlestar Gallactica!”
        Samantha furrowed her brow at that. “Episodes of what?”
        Nikki rolled her eyes. “I wish you were kidding! Well, just trust me. I’ll bring my iPod.”
        Samantha squeezed her hand and giggled excitedly. “It’ll be the best sleepover ever!”
        “Until the one after that,” Nikki agreed with a giggle of her own. “Here we are!”
        Samantha followed her into the store, but Nikki could feel her slowing. There hardly could have been a store in the mall more opposite from the upscale department store Samantha had picked. The place was trendy rather than classy and geared toward older teenage girls with more boobs than brains. The skirts for girls twice Nikki’s age had half the fabric as one of the skirts she’d just bought. Best of all, on the racks in the back corner, the clothes went down to a size or three smaller than anyone was comfortable admitting. 
        “My mom doesn’t let me shop here. She says that not only am I too young, but that she wouldn’t let me even if I was old enough. . .”
        Nikki giggled softly at that. “Best friend secrets, remember? And don’t worry, I thought of that.” She held up the second bag she had asked for at the last store. “You told me I was sexy, then showed me how to look beautiful.” She grabbed Samantha’s hand and turned toward her, only a few inches between them. Nikki smiled her sweetest smile. “Now I’m telling you you’re beautiful, and I’m gonna show you what you look like when you’re sexy. I trusted you, right?”
        Samantha’s nostrils were flared. Nikki could tell the girl was excited, interested, but also worried. But she squeezed the bunny’s hands in hers and slowly smiled. “I trust you,” she said with more confidence than she showed.
        “Awesome!” Nikki squeaked. “You grab a room and I’ll be right there.”
        Nikki took her time lingering over the racks. She wanted to give Samantha enough time to wonder what Nikki would pick out for her, for both her excitement and anxiety to grow. Sometimes, being made to wait while your imagination went wild over the possibilities could make the body ache most sweetly with arousal. Jane had taught her that. 
        Besides, unlike Samantha, she only planned to pick one outfit for her new best friend, and she wanted it to be the right one. She really wanted to do a skirt, but none of the ones in sizes small enough would look right. She frowned, then spotted an even better alternative. She grabbed three hangers and slipped into the hall of changing rooms.
        She checked under the curtains. No one else. Perfect!
        She passed the hangers through the curtain to Samantha and grinned when she heard the girl gasp.
        “You want me in or out?” she asked. There was a long pause. 
        “Out,” Samantha said quietly. “Are you sure about these?” Nikki could practically hear the blush in her voice.
        “Trust me.”
        “I do,” came the reply, nervous but excited. Then, “The panties, too?”
        “They don’t let you try those on in the store. How about you buy them, then show me at the sleepover?”
        Another long pause. “Deal,” she said in a whisper.
        Nikki could barely contain herself as she waited on her best friend. Of course, being impeccably dressed also meant that she had to take care when undressing, so Nikki tried to console herself to be patient. She checked her phone to pass the time. Karen had texted. 

        [Karen: So full of cum <3]

        Nikki giggled at that. She was trying to think of something smart alecky to reply when Samantha poked her head out of the curtain.
        “I’m not coming out in this, so you can come in now.”
        Nikki slipped through the curtain to join her and took a little time making sure it was as shut as she could manage. Then she turned and gasped softly. Like Samantha, she had picked colors to compliment her subject’s fur. Samantha wore a backless halter that consisted of a strip of black fabric over her flat chest, cherry red straps, and see-through red lace covering her collarbone and and stomach. The smooth, pure white fur of her back was completely bare, which drew attention to the black denim daisy dukes. The shorts were low, riding under her tail rather than having a loop or snap to join over it. 
        Sammy color-coordinated herself by matching her red eyes and red top with a red blush. She turned one way, then the other for Nikki.
        “How do I look?” she asked after several moments of Nikki staring.
        “How do you feel?” Nikki countered.
        “Embarrassed,” Samantha answered. “But. . .sexy,” her voice was tiny when she said it.
        Nikki had planned something to say at this moment. Even as she stood looking at the younger tigress, a dozen things she might say popped into her head. But they suddenly seemed inappropriate, even tawdry, in a way that Sammy wouldn’t appreciate. She found herself quietly saying something simpler, and more sincere.
        “You look sexy, too.”

        Sammy’s heart raced at Nikki’s answer. She’d never worn so little in front of someone she wasn’t related to, except Jane. Even her bathing suit covered more fur than the clothes Nikki had picked out for her. She turned, looking over her body in the mirror, her heart thumping faster when she saw Nikki’s eyes following her movements. 
        This was what she’d been hoping for, daring to hope for, since she’d realized her own feelings in the department store. She was worried that Nikki saw her the same way everyone else did: Frail, timid. More like a porcelain doll than a young girl. She couldn’t help her own timidity. She’d tried to master her shyness, a time or two, and had found so many people to be cruel and snide. When she kept to herself, her family and friends always protected her, but always gave her the space they thought she wanted.
        But ever since they had met five days ago, Nikki had seen that space and put herself in it anyway. She had been careful, but close, pushing ahead when Sammy’s shyness put up a barrier. The bunny never treated her without respect but also had never let the tiger’s timidity get in the way of their friendship.
        And now, Sammy knew, Nikki saw her as sexy. Looked at her, at least a little, the way she would look at other girls. The way Sammy had been looking at her earlier. 
        The silence in the changing room grew long. Sammy blushed as she realized that the whole time she’d been thinking about the bunny, the bunny had been staring at her body. It embarrassed her, but excited her at the same time. She knew what she wanted. She had denied the thought earlier, out of fear. Out of timidity. This time it was her turn to overcome that shyness. She couldn’t leave every move to her bunny friend. She took a deep breath and turned back towards Nikki, smiling when she saw the bunny hurriedly move her eyes from Sammy’s rear to her face.

        “Nikki?” Samantha asked quietly, blush tinging her cheeks. Her voice wasn’t tiny any more, but it shook a little. Nikki hoped she hadn’t noticed that she’d been staring at her butt for the long silent minutes that had passed.
        “Yeah?”
        Samantha bit her lip and looked down at her toes. The blush had never left her cheeks, and now it intensified. Nikki was confused and she stepped a little closer.
        “Will you be my girlfriend?”
        Nikki stared. Girlfriend? She didn’t know how to respond to that. She was used to having little flings with friends. Jane, Rakai, Karen, Nini. A few others. They played together, used Nikki to explore their curiosities, or occasionally, especially with Karen, as a sure way to get off when they were desperate. There wasn’t any malice in it. They were true friends and cared for her, most of them, anyway, but the sexuality in those friendships was a shallow thing. Something convenient.
        Girlfriend was a whole new word. It meant closeness and care and love. Nikki had thought Samantha would want to explore with Nikki. Get off with someone she was comfortable with, someone she could be private and secret with, not like how she had to share Jane with her sisters. 
        Girlfriend. The word was pretty scary. 
        But Nikki already knew her answer. Her heart was racing frantically in her chest. A smile tugged at her lips as she realized she’d been struck dumb for so long that Samantha was fretting, sure she would turn her down, or worse.
        So, Nikki stepped closer, took the tigress’s hands in hers. She cocked her head to one side and said softly.
        “Does that mean we get to kiss?”
        There was a pause. “Not in front of my mom,” Samantha finally said.
        Nikki couldn’t help but giggle softly. “Not in front of anyone, if you don’t want. Just us. Just you and me.”
        And then she leaned in, and Samantha didn’t lean away. The tigress squeezed her hands tightly as the two shared their first kiss together, Samantha’s first kiss ever. 
        It was chaste and a little brief, just the two little girls pressing their lips together and holding hands, but when it ended, Nikki’s heart was racing faster than ever and her head felt like the one time her mother had let her have wine with dinner.
        “So,” Nikki said when she finally felt like she could safely talk again. “What do girlfriends do, besides all the stuff that best friends do?”
        Samantha thought this question over very seriously, one of her hands still holding Nikki’s.
        “Go on dates,” she answered. “And kiss, and hold hands even more, and share all their secrets, not just some. And apparently, if you’re my sister, take ‘it’ in the butt.”
        Nikki laughed, startled by Samantha’s joke. “You want it in the butt?” she asked her girlfriend teasingly. “I”m not sure if I have the right ‘it.’”
        Samantha blushed bright but giggled, pushing Nikki’s shoulder. “Can we stick with kissing?” Her tone was playful, rolling with the joke, but Nikki could hear the sincere worry hiding there too. In reply, she leaned forward and kissed the tigress again. She would have ended it quickly, just a brief, reassuring kiss, but Samantha leaned forward into it. The two pressed their lips together for a minute and more before Samantha leaned back again, breathing rapidly.
        “Who’d’ve thought that quiet, little Samantha Keating would be such a good kisser?” Nikki said, wearing her goofy grin.
        Samantha covered her mouth as she both giggled and blushed. “You’re awful!”
        “I’m a bunny,” Nikki countered, twisting away when Samantha went to playfully slap her shoulder. “‘Awful’ is my middle name!”
        Nikki moved behind the tigress, brushing her fingers gently over her bare back and standing close. She felt Samantha’s fur ripple under her touch and was delighted when she didn’t move away. “Who can we tell?” she asked sombering a little as her fingers undid the three bows holding the sheer halter in place.
        “Umm. . .I don’t think the school needs to know, you know?” Samantha replied, slipping out of the top. Nikki handed her the sleeveless blouse she had come in, trying to keep her glances at the girl’s nipples to a minimum. 
        “Yeah, I was thinkin’ that too. But I’d like to tell Karen and Nini. I was just thinking more like, our parents.”
        “I have to tell my parents,” Samantha said. “That’s the rule.” Her butt wiggled back and forth as she pried herself out of the daisy dukes. From this, Nikki couldn’t avert her eyes. She stared and Samantha blushed, but didn’t turn away from the gaze. The tigress sat on the bench and started rolling and twisting her stockings onto her leg. She was much quicker at it when doing it for herself.
        “Oh, well I guess I should tell my folks too.” She handed Samantha her knee length skirt and the sweater that went over the blouse. She sighed softly and grinned at Samantha. “My girlfriend is beautiful, and has an impeccable sense of style.”
        Samantha laughed as she pulled the sweater over her head. “Well, my girlfriend is sexy and one of the only people I know not scared of how shy I am.” Samantha took her hand and their eyes met. They both leaned in for the kiss at the same time, and Nikki sighed sweetly when it was over. 
        “C’mon,” Nikki said, shoving the curtain aside. “Karen’ll skin us both if we’re late.”

***

        It was 11:59 when the two girls poked their heads into the snooty italian restaurant for lunch, both of them now carrying a bag from the first department store. Nikki was used to being sneered at by the staff at restaurants like this. But that was when she wasn’t dressed like a princess. It helped that the beautiful girl she was holding hands with carried herself like one, too.
        “Party of two?” the hostess asked solicitously.
        “Four,” Samantha said, as if it was the girl’s fault for guessing wrong.
        Nikki held her giggle in until they were seated at the table and the hostess had walked back to the station at the front of the restaurant.
        “You’ve been watching WAY too many princess movies!”
        “Act like you know what you’re doing, and no one will question you. Act like you’re expecting something, and people will try to get it for you,” Samantha said as if quoting.
        “Your dad again, or your mom?”
        Samantha grinned a little. “One from each.” 
        Nikki spotted Karen and Jake poking their heads in by the hostess. Nikki lifted up on her tail and waved excitedly. Ah, there was the sneer from the hostess she’d been expecting. Karen said something snide in reply that Nikki couldn’t hear from hear. 
        “Your shirt’s half untucked,” Nikki greeted Jake.
        “And your zipper’s down,” Samantha said as quickly to Karen.
        “Shut up, both of you,” Karen snapped, but she was smiling and playful rather than snippy. “You look so pretty, Nikki! I hope you guys got in some girly-bonding time in between trying on clothes. I always thought you’d get along, I just never got around to introducing you!”
        “Girly-bonding time. . .” Samantha said thoughtfully.
        Nikki and her girlfriend exchanged a glance and both of them collapsed into a fit of giggles.
        “What?” Karen asked.
        Nikki slid her hand across the booth and found Samantha’s. The tigress entwined her fingers in hers and squeezed firmly, filling Nikki with warmth and an excited tingle.
        “Karen,” Samantha started, “You get to be the first to know!”