“You can come to my place and borrow some of my clothes for the night. That’s no reason to worry! I have a whole closet that’ll fit you! You’re, what, a size twelve-ish?” Clapping her hands together in excitement at the sigh of defeat I gave, she bounced on her toes. “So you’ll go?”

Taking a deep breath, I rubbed my forehead. “Sure. What time?” I didn’t really want to go, but it hadn’t been that long ago that I’d been thinking I needed to make friends. Plus, who knew, maybe a change of scenery would be what I needed to get Suit Man off my mind for a bit.

Letting out a squeal that made my ears want to bleed, Jennifer jumped up and down. Her large breasts bounced with the movement and I couldn’t help but watch them for fear they were going to burst through her work shirt.

Talking a mile a minute, gesturing wildly with her hands, she started moving around behind the counter. “Right now, well, after work, but I get off in, like, five minutes so that’s almost now. I can’t tell you how excited I am that you agreed. I’ve been looking forward to this party for weeks. Now I just have to figure out what we’re going to dress you in.”

Even though I tracked her with my eyes, I couldn’t keep up with her rapid speech. Her mouth kept moving even as she gathered a few small items off the counter, shoving them into a purse she pulled from a cabinet under the desk.

Walking around the counter, she looped her arm around one of mine and waved at the woman that worked the counter at night. Trying to keep up with her, I stumbled along as she made a stop to let the manager know she was leaving. After the brief pause, she proceeded to pull me towards the front door of the building. “You know how long I’ve been trying to build up the courage to ask you to come out with me?” Jennifer continued.

I hadn’t been able to keep up with most of her chattering. Thankfully the chilly air outside seemed to slow her speech and speed. I nodded even though I wasn’t entirely sure what she was talking about. I wasn’t used to someone talking so fast, and definitely wasn’t used to someone pulling me around by the arm while doing it.

“If you knew, then why didn’t you say something silly?” She stopped walking and gawked at me. Laughing loudly, she slapped playfully at my arm and shook her head as if I’d made a joke.

I shrugged in reply hoping it’d give me a pass. I needed at least ten cups of coffee to get up to the same speed she was at.

“Seriously, girl, you have got to learn to speak up. You sit there in your office all day looking out at everyone. We all wonder if it’s because you’re shy or if you think you’re better than the rest of us. I’ve always been on your side, saying that you’re just shy. I can tell when you talk to customers that you’re a total blast to hang out with though. I’m so glad you agreed to come out with me tonight,” Jennifer continued, once again grabbing me by the arm and leading me towards the section of the parking garage that was sectioned off for employees only.

I wasn’t sure how to react to the bit of information she’d just laid on me. I had never in my life been called stuck-up; that wasn’t me at all. I had never been called a blast to hang out with either. Feeling a bit put off by the whole direction of the conversation, I frowned and slowed my pace.

“You aren’t changing your mind, are you? You can’t! I won’t allow it. Look, there’s my car,” Jennifer continued, as if being near her car made it impossible for me to back out. Before I could even respond, she was opening the passenger door of her tiny red sports car and walking around it to get in the driver’s side. Having gotten that far, I forced myself to sit in the passenger seat. After pulling the door closed, I made sure to buckle in. If she drove anything like she talked, I’d need it.

After a short, thankfully silent drive, we pulled up to a small house. Jennifer jumped out of the car, slamming the door before hurrying toward the front door. As she reached the pathway through the yard, she glanced over her shoulder and shouted, “Come on.”

I got out much more slowly, not nearly as enthusiastic about the night as she seemed to be. Excited, maybe. Curious, yes. Nervous, absolutely.

Once inside the house, Jennifer ushered me to her room and threw clothes at me from the closet so quickly I could barely catch them. I didn’t own half as many clothes as she tossed out. Taking the arm-ful of items she thought would look good on me, I made my way across the hall to the bathroom. I set the clothes on the counter and locked the door. Leaning against it, I was finally able to take a deep breath. What the hell was I doing? I never went to parties. I never went out with anyone, period. Change was good though, right? Maybe it was time to learn to step out of my comfort zone.

Giving myself a pep talk and knowing it’d be hell to get out of going, I slipped off my clothes and tugged on a skin-tight, neon pink dress that was on the top of the pile. Closing my eyes, not even chancing a glance in the mirror, I flung open the door and let Jennifer give her opinion. I doubted I’d like the way anything looked on me so it was up to her to decide. As long as I could sit without flashing people and walk comfortably, I could survive a few hours dressed in just about anything.

Jennifer slowly tilted her head side to side as she mashed her lips together. After a moment of contemplation, she shook her head and I retreated into the bathroom for another outfit.

After numerous disappointing ensembles, I became frustrated, not to mention as sweaty as if I were working out. Finally, though, Jennifer’s eyes lit up and an enthusiastic nod with two thumbs up let me know that I was done trying things on. She disappeared into her room only to return with a pair of peep-toed five-inch heels. Now those were something I could easily do. I wore heels to work every day, so the height didn’t bother me. I might not be used to wearing a tight dress that emphasized every curve I had, but I knew that I had nice legs, especially when I wore heels.

Gathering my courage, I took a deep breath and turned to look at myself in the mirror. I released a breath of relief at my reflection. It wasn’t as bad as I had expected. Perhaps it was the glint of determination that shimmered in my eyes or the cut of the dress, but it looked like it had been made just for me. Either way, we decided that the dress was what I was wearing and I was okay with the choice.

“Beautiful. I knew you had a luscious, curvy body under those boring work clothes you always wear. I wish I was  as tall as you.” Jennifer pulled my hair over my shoulders as she smiled at me in the mirror. She was only a few inches shorter than my five foot seven so I didn’t understand what the big deal was. It took her only a few minutes to put spiral curls in my hair, then she slapped on some make-up “to make your eyes pop” as she said. Lacing her arm through mine, she pulled me out of the house. “We are going to draw so much attention,” she squealed excitedly as she locked the front door.

I knew she would for sure. Her pleather dress left little to the imagination. It wasn’t see-through, but it may as well have been. She continued to talk about how excited she was for the party and how she’d barely managed to get an invitation this month. Apparently it only happened once a month, and only those with an invitation could get in. From what I caught, she had slept with a man who got her an invitation. She’d said much more, but I’d barely managed to catch bits and pieces as she drove manically through the city. Finally she turned off the main streets and slowed.

Parking in a dimly-lit lot, she wiggled her eyebrows at me before climbing out of the car. I followed suit, swallowing hard when there seemed to be no one around.

“This way.” Jennifer waved over the roof of the car at me to head in the direction opposite of where I had been looking.