Page 20 of Little Monster
They look like they’re ready for a night out on the town; I look ready to go on a walk with Nala. Maybe I should just stay here and do that instead.
Jordan must notice me scanning her, because she says, “The guys sprung this on you at the last moment, didn’t they?”
I give her a shy smile as Michael opens the fridge and starts to rummage around. “Yeah, kind of.”
“Come on.” She waves for me to follow. “You too, Alisha.”
Dex looks my way as we head out of the kitchen, but his expression is blank, unreadable. I don’t understand it.
We walk back into the foyer, then take the big staircase up to the second floor. Nala follows behind us, her nails tippy-tapping on the hardwood floors. Turning left, Jordan leads me into what I assume is the master bedroom. It’s full of sleek modern furniture, still in the gray-and-white color scheme. Then we walk through thehugebathroom and into an equallyhugewalk-in closet.
“You don’t have to borrow anything, but you’re totally welcome to,” Jordan says.
I glance around the closet, which must be almost as big as my bedroom back home. “A-are you sure?” I ask. Everything looks so expensive; I can’t imagine she’d be okay lettingmeborrow anything.
“Of course! What style do you like?”
“Um, I don’t know. I don’t really have a style.” I laugh, and Alisha smiles at me as she walks past us and takes a seat on a fluffy white rug in front of the floor-length mirror.
“Go with something feminine,” she says to Jordan. “I think it’ll suit her.”
Jordan starts flipping through hangers, and I let my gaze wander, taking in all the shoes, skirts, dresses, and accessories.
“Ooh, how about this?” Jordan pulls a hanger from the rack, and dangling from it is a tiny black minidress. Seeing it, my breath catches.
“Oh, I don’t know,” I say. “I’m not sure that’ll fit me.”
Alisha looks between me and the dress, seeming to study my body shape. “I think it’s perfect. You should try it on.”
Jordan hands me the hanger. “Come on, Alisha. Out.”
With a huff, Alisha stands and follows Jordan out of the closet, and Jordan closes the door behind her.
I’m left standing in the closet alone, surrounded by clothes I could never afford. I hang the dress on the nearest rack, then start to strip out of my clothes, feeling grateful I thought to shave in the shower this morning.
Now in my bra and panties, I slip the dress from its hanger and start to shimmy into it. It’s skintight, and I have to wiggle to get it into place, but once I have it on and turn to look at myself in the mirror, my jaw drops.
I’ve never worn anything like this before, so thin and skimpy and...sexy. The soft black fabric hugs my hips, showing off my waist and thighs. If I don’t look at myself too closely, I can almost imagine I’m someone else, one of those girls who goes out every night and smiles in every photo. And honestly, I kind of like it.
There’s a light knock on the door, and then Jordan pokes her head in. When she sees me in the dress, she gasps.
“I knew it!” She throws the door open and walks in, Alisha on her heels. They give me a onceover, and Alisha reaches for my bra strap.
“You should take that off. It’ll look much better without it. Want some help?”
Despite feeling a bit shy in front of them, I nod. Alisha walks around behind me and unclips my bra, and then I pull the straps down and yank it off.
“So much better,” Jordan says, giving me an approving nod in the mirror.
I’m not usually proud of my tiny boobs, but in this little black dress, they look, well,good. No,great. And seeing myself like this actually makes me smile. I’m not used to it, and I would never have picked something like this for myself, but somehow, it works.
“Okay, now your hair.” Jordan waves for me to follow her, and I do so happily, only now starting to get excited about our night out. We walk into her bathroom, and she’s already set up a stool in front of the huge mirror over the marble sink. “What style do you usually like?”
I take a seat and shrug. “I don’t know. I usually have it pulled back, I guess.”
“All right, let’s see what we’re working with.”
Alisha hops up onto the counter and starts scrolling on her phone while Jordan gently and expertly unwinds my braid and works her fingers through my tangles.
