7. Contested

Kelly hooked her arm through mine, and the two of us walked into the restaurant together.

We were both overdressed for the place, Jake's Roadhouse is not what you'd call fine dining. I could already feel the eyes on me, and I pulled myself a little closer to Kelly, clinging to her arm like it was my life-line.

It was a few minutes past seven, and Kelly took a look around the restaurant before spotting her sister. I felt another flutter in my stomach as I realized I was too short to do that now.

I mean, five-foot-ten wasn't exactly towering over the crowds for a guy, but it did sort of let me see over about half the population? And right now Kelly's five-foot-eight had a three-inch boost from her heels. Even with my modest heels I was still acutely aware of how small I'd become. Put me in a crowd and I'd literally be lost, I wouldn't be able to see past anybody.

So I just followed alongside her, trusting her guidance as we navigated around the busy dining room. Thankfully we wound up at a booth.

Keira and her date were there, sitting together on one side.

I felt my cheeks colour as the redhead looked me over with an intense curiosity. Of course, Keira was a lesbian so I'd be much more interesting to her than they guy she'd brought with her. It was hard to look at her while she was staring at me like that, but I stole enough of a glance to know her outfit was similar to Kelly's. Only the colours were different, Keira was wearing dark green slacks and a light blue top.

Kelly still had her arm hooked through mine, but she glanced at me. I realized she was letting me decide if I wanted to sit on the inside or outside of the booth, and I picked inside. It'd be easier to hide that way.

I let go of her arm then sat down on the bench, sweeping my skirt under me like she'd showed me. Then I slid over and Kelly sat down beside me.

This had me facing Keira's date who had also taken the inside, while the twins sat opposite each other on the outside.

Keira spoke up first, "Hi sis. I was starting to think you weren't coming."

"Please," Kelly rolled her eyes. "As if I'd give you that satisfaction."

Keira just smirked, then glanced at her companion. "Noah, this is my sister Kelly. Kelly, this is Noah, my date."

Kelly nodded politely, "Hello Noah, nice to meet you." She reciprocated, "Keira, Noah, this is my date Tegan. Tegan, my sister Kelly and her date, Noah."

I gave them both a nervous smile, "Hi Keira, hi Noah."

"Hi," Noah replied quietly.

"Hello Tegan," Keira said. She was still smiling and staring at me, and I fought the urge to cling to Kelly.

Apart from Keira's hungry gaze, I was feeling a little better now that I was sort of sheltered in the booth. That was another advantage of being small, I didn't have to hunch down to hide. From where I was sitting, the only people who had a clear view of me were the ones here in the booth with me.

Keira was still watching me, but now Noah was looking me over as well. Meanwhile Kelly was checking Noah out, and I decided to do the same.

Honestly, if I was officiating this bet, I'd have awarded Kelly the win right now.

Normally I wouldn't want to judge a guy by his appearance, but Noah could have passed as a girl if he put on a dress and some lipstick. I actually wondered if he might be trans. It was hard to guess his age, but knowing Keira was twenty-two provided a good baseline. I figured he was around that age too, give or take a year or so.

It was just as hard to estimate his height since he was seated, but compared to Keira next to him I figured he was two or three inches shorter than her. He had shoulder-length black hair, blue eyes, and sort of pale skin. I couldn't see any sign of facial hair on him. He looked kind of skinny, and he was dressed casual from what I could see. He was wearing a slightly oversized black hoodie despite the warm weather, which was odd. Or maybe it was to help hide his figure? Even his voice was sort of mid-range, almost androgynous.

I blushed as I realized I was staring at him. He was staring at me too though, and he looked like he was feeling as awkward as I was.

At least Keira had finally stopped staring at me. Now she and Kelly were trading taunts and barbs. I knew it was harmless, but I worried about Noah. If he didn't know Keira that well he'd probably start worrying the sisters might go for each others throats soon.

The twins cut the hostilities short as our waitress came to take our drinks orders. Keira ordered a glass of wine, Noah a beer, and Kelly asked for a hard lemonade. I decided to skip the alcohol, I didn't want to risk repeating last night's experience out in public, so I opted for a cola.

As the waitress left, Keira gave me a quizzical look and asked, "You don't drink, Tegan? Or aren't you old enough yet?"

Her tone made it clear she was suggesting I was too young to drink, and I wasn't sure if that was meant to be a jab at me because I was so small, or a jab at Kelly since I looked a couple years younger than her now.

"Keira!" Kelly stated in a firm tone that made my knees weak. "You snark at me all you want, but Tegan is off limits."

I found myself staring down at the menu on the table in front of me. I didn't really know Keira very well, but I'd met her a couple dozen times over the past thirteen or fourteen months. She was a bit snarky with me the first few times, but there was never any real animosity as far as I knew. And it never bothered or upset me back then. Now though... I realized I wouldn't be able to stand up to her right now, and obviously Kelly knew that too.

The twins locked eyes for a second or two, then Keira nodded. "Agreed." She looked towards me, "Sorry Tegan. It's none of my business."

That seemed to set the tone for the rest of the meal. Keira was polite when addressing me, but she didn't actually talk with me much. Kelly and her sister wound up talking to each other, and that left Noah and I as conversation partners.

The food here wasn't anything special. I wound up ordering something cheap, just a sandwich and small salad, knowing I wouldn't be able to eat it all anyways. Noah turned out to be a vegetarian, he ordered a pasta dish and made the waitress confirm there weren't any meat products involved. Keira and Kelly of course both got the same thing, ten-ounce sirloins with fries.

Noah seemed quiet and kind of shy, which was also a pretty accurate description of myself right now. We didn't talk much, both of us just listened in as the twins carried the majority of the conversation.

Still, I did find out Noah was attending college, he was in a drama program and looking to get into acting. He was hoping for live theatre, but TV would be his second choice.

I hadn't put enough thought into coming up with any kind of believable lies so I just told him what I was actually doing. I was taking a graphic arts program at a local college, with a focus on 3d modelling and character design. Yeah, I wanted to get into the video-game industry.

Thankfully Noah didn't seem to be a gamer, so he didn't ask a lot of follow-up questions. I knew if I said too much, Keira might figure out who I really was.

Towards the end of the meal, we did get to the inevitable discussion of how Kelly and I met. I went with the story Kelly gave me, that I had a profile up on the dating site, looking for hookups and short-term dating.

Kelly took over saying "I found her profile last night, we messaged a bit, and met this afternoon."

Keira raised an eyebrow and asked her sister, "Last night huh? I thought you spent last night at your boyfriend's place. Were you seriously looking at girls online while hanging out with him?"

I stared at her, half in shock and half cringing in fear. I was sure she was going to say his name, but somehow she managed to avoid it. After that scare, came the shock that my girlfriend's sister would be so tactless.

Kelly looked just as shocked as she said "Holy shit, Keira!"

She glanced at me then looked back at her sister, "You think you're going to sabotage me that easily? Tegan knows I've got a boyfriend. And he knows I'm on a date with Tegan. Hell he even gave me permission!"

I had to suppress a grin at that point because it was true. I really did. And I was proud that Kelly hadn't stooped that low in return. She could have just as easily mentioned Keira's girlfriend Amy, to see how Noah might react.

Keira seemed oblivious as she went a step further and asked, "Ok, but does Tegan there know you just asked her out to win a bet with me?"

I glanced at Noah, wondering what he thought of all this. From his expression, I could tell he was feeling as awkward as me again. He didn't seem surprised though, so I assumed he already knew about the bet. He probably already knew Keira was gay, and had a girlfriend. Maybe he'd even met Amy.

Then a crazy thought struck me. What if Noah actually was Amy?

What if Keira tried the same sort of stunt with her girlfriend, that Kelly had with me? I'd only met Amy once, but Noah actually wasn't that far off from her. Same height, same hair colour, eye colour, even the same complexion. If Keira did use magic to 'disguise' Amy, she obviously didn't do a very thorough job.

I knew Amy was doing something entertainment-related in college but I couldn't remember if it was drama or music. Amy dressed and acted differently than Noah, but that could have been just an act for tonight.

Noah was looking at me now and I blushed again, as I realized I'd been caught staring. I gave him an apologetic look and asked, "How are you holding up there, Noah? I'm guessing this date isn't turning out how either of us thought."

He grimaced, "Keira sort of warned me what to expect. How about you?"

I shrugged noncommittally and replied, "Yeah, same I guess. I didn't actually believe they'd get this bad though."

He nodded slightly. "I've never met Kelly before, but I know Keira can be quite a handful."

I was surprised, that sounded like he'd known her for a while. "Oh yeah? How long have you two known each other? How'd you meet?"

He blushed, "Only a couple weeks. We met at an open mic poetry slam downtown."

I blinked at him and glanced at Keira. I looked at Noah again and asked, "Seriously? Keira does poetry?"

"Yeah," he smiled. "I guess she channels that anger and wit, she comes up with some pretty good stuff." He actually sounded kind of proud of her.

At this point I had no idea if any of this was true, or if Noah was just just playing me. If he really was Amy, the whole thing could just be an elaborate prank. I just wasn't sure who was the victim. I mean, with Keira it'd almost certainly be her sister as the target. But right now I wouldn't put it past Keira to get at Kelly by going through me.

Then again Noah hadn't actually said anything to suggest he was Amy. That was just my idle speculation, and really that only crossed my mind because of my own situation.

I decided I'd mention it to Kelly as soon as I got a chance. I had no idea, but maybe with her magic she could tell the difference.

By now it seemed like everyone had finished eating. Kelly and her sister were still sniping at each other across the table, but I wanted to talk with her. And maybe get her away from Keira for a few minutes so she could calm down.

I leaned in closer against her and got her attention, then looked up at her and asked quietly "Kelly? I think I could use some air..."

The look of concern that appeared in her eyes right then sent my heart fluttering again. She slipped an arm around me and replied softly, "Of course. Sorry I've been ignoring you, Tegan."

Kelly looked back at her sister and said "Tegan needs some air, and I think I've had enough of dinner. We're going to step outside and maybe have a little quiet time. We'll meet you both in the theatre lobby in twenty minutes, ok?"

Keira was watching me closely again as she just nodded, "Fine. See you in twenty."

I couldn't meet Keira's stare, I kept my eyes down as Kelly and I slid out of the booth. I had my purse over my shoulder, and Kelly kept her arm around me.

Kelly and I tracked down our waitress and Kelly gave her cash to cover our two meals and a tip, then we made our way outside.

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