This is a chapter in a fifteen-chapter novella, and each chapter is dependent on the one that precedes it. It is best to read them in order.
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I decided on a quick shower before my dinner with Tom and Charlie, and I remember purposefully scrubbing myself especially clean β my nice spot and my naughty spot β not knowing what the night would hold. Had I stopped to think about it at the time, I would have found that new attention to detail a little strange, but I didn't stop to think about it β good for me. After the shower I spent some time agonizing over what to wear. It had to be light. I debated for a while over a pastel blue sundress. Too cutesy, I thought. I toyed with the idea of wearing a clingy, stretch-knit spaghetti strap dress I bought on a lark. Too skimpy and tight, I thought. When I bought it, I visualized it with some kind of top or wrap. It was too hot for any cover, and I didn't feel like I had the guts to wear it all by itself. I put it on anyway, just to see what it looked like.
It was canary yellow, and the color set off my green eyes and now amber, sun-streaked hair. My breasts looked surprisingly robust and shapely under the dress' bodice. My skin was radiant from the midday sun (and midday fun, I suppose). The freckles on my nose and shoulders stood out. I put on just a touch of makeup and brushed out my hair.
I stood in front of the mirror again, and now I was transfixed. I didn't recognize myself. The girl in the mirror was absolutely gorgeous. She was healthy and natural, and sexy and confident. She looked so relaxed and calm. Her hair sparkled. Her eyes held a secret. Her smile grew into a laugh. I'm going to wear it, I thought. I started to get some panties, and then I thought what the hell β no panties, no panty lines, it's just one night. I put on white sandals and went downstairs.
I found Tom and Charlie in the living room. I remember the song on the radio vividly, if only because I thought it was too funny and too ironic. "Roxanne, you don't have to wear that dress tonight, those days are over, you don't have to sell your body to the night." The Police. Fuck you, Sting, I thought! I laughed.
I can't say for sure, but I believe I took Charlie's and Tom's breath away.
"Annie, you look..." Tom seemed at a loss for words.
"You look great, Annie." Charlie stood up from the couch, and then looked confused, like he wasn't used to standing up when a woman entered a room and didn't know what to do next.
"Hey, wow, um... so, do you want a beer?" Tom actually looked nervous.
I was enjoying this. I nodded yes.
"You really do, um... goddam, you look great, Annie." He was still staring at me, and then he shivered, remembering the beer. "Oh, just a second."
I tugged down on my dress and sat down on the window seat, crossing my legs. Charlie sat back down, but didn't take his eyes off of me. Okay, I thought, maybe this was too much. By the time Tom handed me my beer, however, they both seemed relatively back to normal. He turned down the stereo and sat down in the wingback chair.
"So where do you want to go, Annie?" Charlie asked. "Any place at all." This was sweet, I thought.
I picked The Willow Tree and the men agreed and went to change. I looked at myself in the dressing mirror. I tested my skirt to make sure it wouldn't pull up on me when I walked. I stood with my back to the mirror, checking the length of my dress, and then I did something silly. I mooned myself, and admired my sexy ass. No panties β I liked the idea more and more. I pulled my dress down and laughed β what had become of me?
After Tom and Charlie had changed, we chatted for a while in the living room. Tom wore his khaki shorts and a weathered blue polo shirt. Charlie wore navy shorts and Hawaiian shirt with a green and cream-colored floral pattern. They looked nice. At one point we stood up and clinked our beer bottles in tribute to my final undergraduate class. I told them about some details of my graduate school in California. They seemed genuinely impressed. A breeze had picked up, cooling the air from miserable to sultry. We decided to walk to dinner and I was constantly tugging at my dress, reminding myself of my scandalous, pantiless condition.
The Willow Tree was a nice place, real tablecloths, soft lights, but inexpensive. I had rarely been there for fear of being perpetually underdressed, but I knew the place was more casual than I gave it credit for. Dinner was a treat. Charlie held my chair when we sat down. Tom gave my knee an occasional squeeze under the table. I could tell our waitress was jealous. I basked in their attention.
The night air felt wonderful on the walk home. Tom offered to treat for a few drinks at a club, but I thought it would be too smoky and hot. I said I would prefer just to go home, smoke a joint, and take it easy for the rest of the night. I wondered aloud whether we had any wine, and Tom insisted on stopping at the party store on the way home for a cold bottle of Chablis.
We got home around 11:00. The house was still hot, but we all set about opening every window we could find. It cooled off nicely. Tom poured me a large glass of wine with an ice cube in it, and we settled in to the living room to listen to some of Charlie's tapes. Charlie lit a few candles on the bar and the bookshelf, and turned off the lights.
Charlie liked three types of music. New wave (it was really new back then β ouch!), reggae, and old swing/jazz stuff like Louis Jordan and Louis Prima. Consequently, his tapes were always eclectic, but always enjoyable. A tape of his could go from the Talking Heads to Benny Goodman to Desmond Decker without any sense of incongruity. I admired his taste in music.