It was all Erika's fault, really. No, for real!
Erika and I had been flatmates for a year or more, when that fateful evening happened. She had some boy coming over, which was fine, and I was planning to just hang out in my room to give them space.
"Um, hon?" Erika knocked softly and poked her head around my door. I looked up from my phone. I had been scrolling social media instead of doing something useful, despite planning to make good use of a whole evening by myself by knocking a few items off my neglected to-do list. But nope, I was actually just scrolling.
"Um, so he's here, but..." I got a shrinking feeling. Her tone suggested something was wrong. Was he hideous? Had he done something awful already? He had only just arrived. I had heard the door just moments earlier.
She continued, sheepishly, "he's sort of brought a friend along."
How can you "sort of" bring a friend along?
I stared at her, waiting for her to get to the point.
She didn't.
"Ok...?" I responded.
"Well, I was just wondering. You know, since you're not doing anything..." she increased the sweetness of her voice.
"Oh, no! No. no no. I'm not coming out there. Look at me!" I protested. And I had good reason, too. I mean, I was in my comfy flannel PJ pants, my hair was just in a clip on top of my head, and I had an oversized t-shirt with no bra. What a disaster!
"Oh, come on, you can throw something on. Pleeeeease?" she begged.
I turned back to my phone, "You've gotta be kidding. No way. I'm a mess! Besides, I was just about to..." I couldn't think immediately of what was actually on my do-do list, so I mumbled something unintelligible and hoped to get away with it.
She sidled across and kneeled next to me, "Oh, what do you mean 'a mess'? C'mon. You're always gorgeous. Look at you. You're hot!" She suddenly stole my clip, letting my hair fall down, and she scrunched and floofed it playfully. "Omg, you're fucking beautiful. Come on and meet the boys. You don't have to do anything, just be nice. Good company, you know? C'mon. I really want this evening to go well with Neil."
Neil, was it? Oh, brother. Why could she never do things for herself? And how did she always know which buttons to press? With all the compliments she was showering on me, I was wavering.
She sensed it. She jumped up and threw open my closet. "Here!" she pulled out a little black dress animatedly and thrust it at me.
"No way! What, am I, for sale now?" I objected.
She giggled, sensing that she had me on the hook, and we were no longer arguing about whether I would come, just haggling over outfits. She dove back into the closet and pulled out a much more casual dress, a floral print with a full skirt above the knee, and a scoop neck. I had to admit, I would feel pretty in that one.
I hesitated. That was all she needed. She knew she had me. "I'll see you in 5 minutes. Can't wait to introduce my pretty little roommate!" She skipped out triumphantly, leaving me to sigh, and assess what I had got myself into. At least I had waxed on Wednesday.
So about 15 minutes later, after two nudges during that time from Erika, I emerged and allowed her to parade me around in front of the two guys who were both seated on our small sofa. She introduced me not like two strangers meeting for the first time. Far from it. She was all over me, suggestively running her fingers through my hair, holding me around my waist, and gushing about how pretty I am (I'm not really. I'm just a regular girl).
It was very flattering, and the boys loved it. I mean, why wouldn't they? it was almost like she had a crush on me, the way she fawned. Once I had said hello to Neil, and his friend Greg, I expected her to tone it down a bit, but... well, that wasn't how it went down.
Now, Erika knows well the effect vodka has on me. She has been with me when I've had a few vodkas and, well, become less than lady-like! So I should have known what was happening when she put a shot of vodka in my hand, and one each for everyone else, and loudly said, "Skol!", because she is Danish, and that's what they say there.
I couldn't really say no, at that point, so I drank, along with the others. She immediately poured another one, and shouted, "Skol!" again, so there was another one down the hatch.
The effect of the alcohol probably takes a little while, but for me, the association is so strong I start to feel uninhibited as soon as I smell that naughty elixir. Erika knew this, and went back to telling the boys how pretty I am, and how nice my eyes are, and how pretty my hands are... she was casting a sort of spell over me, as I surrendered into the state of mind I blame on vodka, and the showering of compliments. All the while she was touching me in each place she was talking about, but from behind me, sort of embracing me. It became a kind of sensual dance.
The boys were stunned into inactivity, just absorbing the sensual show.
"... and look at those legs, those gorgeous, smooth legs.", Erika continued, reaching down in exaggerated movements to run her hand upwards from my knee, slowly up to the hemline of my dress and, still talking about, "... they just go on forever and ever, don't they...", she continued upward.