Perfect Impurrfections

Creeps and Creepers

Chapter 9

Crystal walked to the cab with slight panic unable to forget the smell of the last cab ride she had taken. Opening the back door, she couldn't help taking a quick glance at the window handle just to make sure it had one. Much too her relief It was there and as an added bonus there were no funky odors wafting out of the vehicle. Deeming it safe she slid into the car giving the cabby the address for her date of the night. So far things were looking up compared to the last time, but she didn't want to get her hopes up too high just in case. Her date had sounded nice enough over the phone earlier that day and confident. It wasn't likely he would set himself on fire. Even the driver seemed more professional than the other one if a little gruff. She'd count it a win though if that was the worst complaint she had about him.

She had turned her attention to her phone texting an update to Anna and trusting that the cabby would get her to her destination in one piece. She hadn't noticed when he stopped that it wasn't for a stop sign or other traffic law. It wasn't until the back door opposite her opened to allow a perfect stranger into the car that she took notice. She sat there speechless as the stranger gave an address to the cabby who nodded before driving off once again. Knowing the new fare was heading in the same direction helped dissipate her anger a bit, but she couldn't help the nagging feeling that she shouldn't. The man sitting next to her was busy going over emails on his tablet completely ignoring the fact that he had just commandeered her cab ride. He was dressed in a three-piece name brand suit and held an air of superiority about him. He wasn't a bad looking guy in general but the way he acted rubbed her raw. It was one of the many things she had against people of wealth. She had such a hang up about the rich that if she found out that a date came from or had money, she usually wouldn't give him the time of day. She supposed that made her a snob in a way too but honestly, she had had more less than pleasant run ins with enough of them to want nothing to do with any of them.

Crystal was so hung up on her agitation with the very existence of the other passenger next to her that she hadn't registered that the cab had stopped yet again. The passenger door opening to allow yet another person in drawing her away from the man next to her. A younger girl dressed more like a hooker then a college girl seated herself next to the driver. For a moment Crystal feared he had picked one up while working himself, but her speculations were laid to rest as the young woman rattled out an address giggling the entire time. Her annoyance only raised when she realized the young passenger was going in a different direction then Crystal was initially headed. She looked at the meter making a mental note of the rate especially when the cabby veered off his original course to take the new fare to her destination ignoring the protests coming from the back seat. Crystal wanted to reach out and smack the man sitting next to her for complaining about the new woman in the car. As if he himself hadn't done the exact same thing not two minutes ago. The cabby blew the two of them off as he concentrated on flirting with the girl next to him.

Before long the cabby once again stopped to pick up yet another fare. The door Crystal sat next to opened startling her. It was another businessman but this one was obviously lower on the totem pole then the one beside her. His suit was an off the rack piece that didn't fit near as nicely as the other guys suit that had been tailored to him. The worn out look on his face and large bags under his eyes showed the tell-tale signs of being overworked to get noticed to move up in the world. From how exhausted he appeared she would say it wasn't working well for him either. He glared at Crystal motioning for her to move over in the seat so that he could get in. At this point she had had enough. What kind of cab service would allow their cabbies to take multiple rides at once? It was clear to Crystal that the driver did this regularly and probably double charged some of his fares for their shared ride. Taking out her wallet she figured out how much of the ride was actually her responsibility. She had seen a bus stop just up ahead and would rather take a bus to her date then stay in the car any longer. Handing him the money she made a move to exit when he called out to her.