"What do you think?" I asked Maria, pirouetting on my toes in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom.
"Its nice, but I still prefer the Versace," she answered, lounging on her bed.
We had been trying on clothes all afternoon, raiding her mother's and elder sister's wardrobes.
"Would Theresa let me borrow it, do you think?"
"Maybe...depends on what mood you catch her in. Since she split up with Pedro she has been an utter bitch."
"Could you ask her? I have to have something for the party. Please?" I beseeched her.
"OK, OK...but you might have more chance yourself. She likes you, and more to the point she still thinks I am her silly little baby sister."
Maria Immanol and I had been friends since we met at the finishing school in Switzerland, aged sixteen. Back then you might have believed Maria was someone's baby sister, but in the past two years she had blossomed into an undeniably grown up and extremely beautiful woman. She had dark hair- almost black- and huge long lashed brown eyes. Her olive skin was smooth and flawless. Her full-lipped mouth always hovered on the brink of a sultry pout. She had curves I envied without being even close to fat, full yet remarkably pert breasts, a bottom that elicited wolf whistles in the street, and dancer's legs. In short, she made me sick with envy, even though I was not ashamed of my own slimmer physique. It was just that admiring men always surrounded Maria, and I inevitably felt rather pale by comparison. The thing was Maria was warm and generous and fun to be with as well as beautiful and it was hard to be jealous for long. She was also the youngest daughter of one of Spain's wealthiest families. In the circumstances I could hardly turn down her invitation to go to stay with her family in Mallorca that summer. We had finished our exams and left the Swiss school, and had three months of holiday before we were due to start at university. I had made an indecently brief visit to my own family in Paris and then jumped on a plane to the Balearics.
I peeled off the silk dress I had tried on and picked up the black Versace. It was exquisite- backless and low cut, very simple, effortlessly elegant.
"Try it again, without a bra this time," Maria suggested.
I unclipped my bra and for a moment looked at myself standing in just my favourite black silk g-string in front of the mirror. A week in Mallorca, with plenty of water skiing, sailing and swimming, had already given me a nice deep tan and made my hair go a lot fairer.
"Si, si, you look gorgeous darling, now try the dress on," Maria teased from the bed.
She was wearing a white bikini; not a skimpy Brazilian style thing, but a classic seventies style cut, the kind of thing you would see women wearing in a James Bond film. Against her dark skin it looked fantastic.
I slipped into the dress and struck a pose, meeting her eyes in the mirror, seeking her approval.
Before she could say anything the door flew open and Maria's elder sister strode in.
"Maria, you little bitch. What the fuck do you think you're doing with my clothes? How dare you go into my room without asking me."
Theresa was as strikingly beautiful as her sister. She was taller, with a lithe yet muscular frame, honed by endless lengths of the Olympic sized swimming pool with its spectacular views of the mountains of northwest Mallorca. Her hair was an expensively cut mane, dyed to a honey blonde, which suited her high cheekbones and bright green eyes. She had certainly inherited her mother's genes, I thought. The girls' mother, Eva, was a former Czech movie star and had featured, in her youth, in the work of Helmut Newton and other famous photographers. Her elder daughter was wearing a bikini that would have got her arrested in the communist Czechoslovakia of her mother's childhood. It was as minimalist and flimsy as possible, three tiny triangles of sheer, bright yellow Lycra held in place by strings. She wore high heels and looked like a movie star herself.
As Theresa was scooping up clothes from the floor and bed, she continued to berate Maria, switching from Spanish to English and back again, depending on which particular insults took her fancy. Maria did little to placate her.
"Get the fuck out of my room, Theresa. You can't just barge in here when you feel like it. And you said I could borrow your clothes," she added unconvincingly.
"Utter bullshit. And even if I ever did say that, which I did not, that offer is now withdrawn. Get your own clothes. These are for grown ups."
She turned to leave, and then paused, appearing to notice me for the first time.
"Is that my dress?" she asked. "My Versace?"
"Yes," Maria and I said in unison.
"Shut up, little girl, I wasn't asking you," Theresa said to her sister, keeping her eyes on me, a strange glint in her eye.
"I'm sorry Theresa," I murmured. "It's all my fault really, I needed something to wear for your parent's party and I asked Maria if I could look in your wardrobes. I should have asked."
"That's OK, Lisa." She smiled warmly at me. "It really suits you."
"Umm, its Lisette," I said, embarrassed. "But thanks."
"Yes, Lisette, of course it is." She was appraising the dress, moving around me.
"You'll need some shoes. Come with me, lets see if I've got something that will go with those."
Turning to Maria with an exaggerated sneer she said: "Father wants you to go and see the florist about Friday, shit head. So get dressed and on your way to town before the shops close."
Maria rolled her eyes theatrically at me as Theresa exited with a toss of her hair.