“Of course not.” I look down at my loungewear. “I gotta change real quick, and we can go.”
Checking out my friends’ outfits, I’m glad I brought something out of my comfort zone to wear. Hannah is decked out in a sequin minidress, and Jackie’s cropped top shows off her toned midsection perfectly. I’d rather go out in my oversized T-shirt and baggy jeans, but this town already makes me feel like I don’t fit in as it is.
“Is that your vibrator?” Hannah questions, staring at the purple toy on the floor.
“Uhhh…” I hesitate, grabbing it and shoving it back into my suitcase. Wear your mask of confidence. Own it. It’s not like they know you just came to the mental image of one of your clients fucking you. “Sure is,” I confidently state.
A lot of women use vibrators. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. It keeps you from making some poor choices when you have this thing at your fingertips.
I grab the outfit I planned to wear tonight out of my suitcase before slipping into the bathroom to change.
“So…” Jackie begins, speaking loudly so I can hear her behind the bathroom door. “How’s Ryan?”
I roll my eyes, thankful to be locked in the bathroom so she can’t see me. Jackie, like every girl in high school, was eager for my twin brother’s attention. He never did anything with her, knowing she was my friend, but every time she brings him up, it feels like she has ulterior motives behind her questioning.
“He’s good.” I quickly brush her off as I slip on the miniskirt I brought for a night out. I thrifted it last week and love the way it hugs my hips and ass. Typically, I would never wear this outfit, but something about being back in Nashville makes me feel the need to dress the part. To try a little harder.
I finish my look off with a pair of heels and a body-hugging long-sleeved top.
Not so surprisingly, Zanders’ words from last week have been playing on repeat in my mind.
“Your body is banging. You should start showing it off.”
I can’t help but smile at myself in the full-length mirror.
Leaving my sweatpants and sweatshirt on the bathroom floor, I head back into the central part of my room.
“Oh.” Hannah stops in her tracks, checking me out, her eyes flickering up and down my body.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just didn’t expect you to wear something so…tight. That’s not like you.”
And suddenly, there’s goes that bit of genuine confidence. I try to put the mask back on, but it’s almost impossible to do so in my hometown.
“Should I change?” Though, I have no idea what I’d wear. I only brought one outfit to go out this week.
“No, you look fine,” Jackie chimes in. “But you’re going to straighten your hair, right?”
My eyes dart back and forth between Hannah and Jackie, noting their perfectly smooth bleach blonde hair. The difference between their texture and mine was a huge insecurity in high school. People teased me for my wild curls, so much so that I straightened my hair almost every day in hopes of controlling them and looking like my peers.
But as I got older, I learned how to take care of my natural texture, and I haven’t straightened it in years.
“No. I’m wearing it like this.” I push my hair out of my face. Grabbing my purse off the bed, I head to the door. “Where are we going first?”
“Whiskey Town.”
I quickly shake my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. It’s right across the street from the arena. There’s a good chance some of the hockey team will be there.”
“We know.” Jackie smiles with mischief. “That’s why we’re going there first. We want to meet some of your new hockey boys.” She knocks her narrow hip into mine.
“We can’t. I can get in trouble for that.”
Hannah rolls her eyes at me. “Stevie, it’s fine. No one is going to care if you happen to end up at the same bar as some of the guys on the team.”
“No, you guys don’t get it. I can literally get fired for fraternizing with them.”
“Then don’t fraternize,” Jackie states with a casual shrug. “But just because you can’t hang out with them doesn’t mean we have to avoid them. The least you can do is introduce us.”
I should’ve seen this coming. I should’ve known better. I should’ve listened to my brother’s warning and realized that the only reason Hannah and Jackie were so eager to hang out with me was that I happened to work for professional athletes, and they thought I would be their hookup.