Kate looked at herself in the mirror before she left her apartment. She wanted to look good, but not too good.
Her hair was a rich mahogany color, and it fell down her shoulders in natural bouncy curls. She gathered it above her head with one hand and regarded it from different angles. She decided to leave it down and let go of it.
She adjusted the spaghetti straps on her maroon top to try to hide the straps from her bra. She thought it showed a little too much cleavage. She retrieved a black crocheted top and threw it on for an extra layer. It didn't exactly hide how well-endowed she was, but made it look less like she was trying to call attention to her assets.
She looked at her cream-colored shorts. They weren't too short, but she was tall and they showed off her long, shapely legs. They hugged the curves of her hips tightly, and she debated whether she should wear something less form-fitting. She decided to leave them on.
She put her glasses on, took them off, and put them on again. The lines of the glasses framed her amber eyes nicely and set off her sharp cheekbones. She thought she looked prettier with her glasses on, so she decided not to wear them. She went to her bathroom to put in her contact lenses and touch up her eyeliner.
She gave herself one final look in the mirror before she slipped on her canvas shoes and left to meet her old friend.
*****
Brittney was a childhood friend of Kate's. They grew up next door to each other. They had started walking within a month of one another. Kate lost her first tooth a week before Brittney's birthday, and Brittney's birthday wish was to lose her tooth too so they could do it together. When Kate was cut from their high school swim team, Brittney had quit too.
Kate had gone to college on the other side of the country, and they were apart for the first time. They didn't talk as much as they had thought they would, but they remained close. After college Kate moved to the city where Brittney lived and got an apartment in the same building, just one floor down from her.
On Kate's first night in her new home she met a cute guy named Randy by the mailboxes. They hit it off and had a drink together at a nearby bar. Kate didn't find out that Randy was Brittney's boyfriend until after she had slept with him. Kate had tried a thousand times to apologize and explain herself, but Brittney had moved out of the building and started ignoring her calls and texts.
Kate was grateful that Brittney had reached out about meeting her for coffee. She was willing to do anything at all to make amends with her friend.
*****
"Well, don't you look... nice," Brittney said, looking Kate up and down as she sat across from her at a table in a small coffee shop. Brittney was shorter than Kate, and her full figure looked chubby compared to her tall, skinny friend. Her brown hair was flat, without the luster or volume of Kate's.
"I'm so, so sorry, Britt," Kate said. She tried to reach for one of Brittney's hands, but she pulled it away. "I had no idea. You know that. You know I would never have done anything if I had known."
Brittney shook her head. "I think I finally realized it's always been like this. Like in high school when you knew I had a crush on Mark, but you started dating him anyway."
"He asked me out! I didn't go after him!"
"That doesn't matter. I've always been willing to do anything for you, but you've just done whatever you wanted. You weren't even willing to keep your pants on around my ex-boyfriend."
"But that's not what happened! I told you! I didn't know he was your boyfriend!"
"You knew I was dating a guy named Randy. You met him in the lobby of my apartment building." Brittney narrowed her eyes. "Did you even know his name when you fucked him?"
Kate looked down in shame.
"You slut! You just go around fucking guys at random and hope none of them are dating anyone you know?" Brittney had raised her voice, and a few people turned to look at them.
Kate wanted to yell back. She wanted to defend herself. She swallowed hard and decided that she wouldn't get anywhere by fighting with her friend.
"What can I do?" Kate pleaded. "What can I do to show you that I do care about you? That I want to make this right?"
Brittney sighed. "Actually, I have something in mind. That's why I reached out to you. Come back to my place and I'll explain the whole thing."
*****
Brittney explained her plan on the walk to her apartment. She told Kate that she had been seeing a new guy. After Randy cheated on her she was hesitant to trust another man.
She said that she had a date with him that evening. She wanted Kate to dress provocatively and wait with him in the living room while she got ready. If her new man crossed a line with Kate, she would end things with him.
The setup made Kate uncomfortable, but she felt like she couldn't refuse. She followed Brittney up the stairs of her apartment. Brittney retrieved a canvas tote bag from her bedroom.
"This is what I need you to wear tonight."
Kate looked in the bag and scoffed. "Are you fucking kidding? There's no way!"
"Fine," Brittney said flatly. "Goodbye, then. See you never."
"But... do you really want me to wear this? It's just so..."
Kate pulled the clothes out of the bag one-by-one to inspect them. First was a white pleated skirt that was too short to be worn outside of the bedroom. Next was a white crop top she wasn't sure would completely cover her breasts. This was followed by a black g-string thong and a pair of black fishnet stockings. Last she pulled out a pair of platform heels made from transparent plastic.
"A stripper would be embarrassed to wear this!" Kate protested.
"So, were you more covered up when you fucked Randy?" Brittney asked venomously.
"Well, I mean..." Kate squirmed. "But what happens after? Like, if he keeps his hands to himself and you guys keep dating, then I have to know he's seen me in this?" She held up one high heel and the thong for emphasis.
"Don't worry," Brittney said with a wicked smile. "He's not going to know it's you. I have something to show you in the living room."
Brittney's living room was tidy. There were two light-blue couches arranged in an L-shape. The two end tables, the coffee table, and the bookshelves against the walls were filled with books. There was a vase of small white flowers on a side-table.
On the far wall of the living room was an odd piece of furniture made from rough-cut plywood and black upholstery. It looked like a bench that came to waist height, with a cushioned, upholstered top. Fixed to the top of the bench was a box, with a curtain of black vinyl ribbons across its entrance.
"What is that?" Kate asked suspiciously.
"That's for you," Brittney replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "You lean into the box, and you'll be hidden from the waist up. Nobody ever needs to know it was you."
"You want me to... What? Are you kidding?" When Kate saw the seriousness in her friend's eyes she added, "what the fuck is that? Why do you even have something like that?"
"Look," Brittney said, putting her hands up in front of her, "you fucked my last boyfriend, and you didn't even know who he was. Now I'm asking you to not fuck this new guy I'm seeing, and he won't know who you are."
"But... you want him to see my ass? Basically naked? And what will he think of you when he sees this?"
"Is that a 'no'?" Brittney asked coldly as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
*****
Kate spent the afternoon in a bar around the corner. She couldn't believe she had agreed to do this, and she couldn't go back sober. A few guys tried to talk to her while she drank alone, but she dismissed them bruskly.
When she stood up to return to Brittney's apartment she swayed and stumbled. She had some difficulty fitting Brittney's spare key into the outside door of the building, and the stairs were challenging for her to navigate.
She dropped Kate's spare keys in a bowl by the door, then picked up the bag with her outfit for the evening. She changed in Brittney's bathroom. She was scared to see herself in the mirror, but she looked anyway to check her makeup.
She touched up her makeup, and noticed how visible her dark nipples were through the thin white fabric of her top. She tried to pull the hem down to cover her entire breasts. It wasn't long enough, and the way the cloth rubbed on her nipples made her squirm.
She wished her nipples weren't so hard. The nervous anticipation was intoxicating, and it was amplified by the alcohol in her system.
She investigated the box. It was too dark to see anything inside. She found two short loops that felt like they were made from the same material as seatbelts. Her imagination conjured up reasons why a person might need those.
Kate decided she needed another drink. She explored the kitchen. She found a bag of chips and a vegetable platter on the counter. There was an unopened bottle of tequila next to them. She found a six pack of beer in the fridge, still in its cardboard case. It looked like Brittney was preparing to have people over.
