From behind me, I heard Laura say, “As fascinating as Caitlin’s nonexistent sex life is, I just want a new white bra,” followed by Trish saying, “Nuh-uh; we’re gonna get you something in leopard print.”
I wandered toward a section of the store that seemed less threatening—pajamas—and pretended to check the price tags on cotton T-shirts and flannel pants. Someone cleared their throat and my heart jumped into my throat when I turned and saw it was a young man.
“We’re having a sale on underwear today—”
But I ran past him before he could finish. Since when did guys work at Victoria’s Secret? Was that even allowed? I spotted Jenny looking up at a rack of furry satin robes and headed over to her.
“Hey,” I said, trying to calm myself down. I was starting to think shopping hadn’t been such a good idea after all.
“Hey,” she said back, then continued to stare at the robes.
“Where is everybody?”
She glanced over at the dressing rooms. “They kidnapped Laura and said that we couldn’t leave until she’d tried on something colorful.”
“Poor Laura,” I said, meaning it. “Are you getting anything?”
She was back to staring at the robes. “I need some socks.”
“There you are,” I heard Trish say from behind me. “I found something perfect for you; and don’t worry, it’s hot enough for de la Mara.”
She grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the corner of the store. I was shoved into a dressing room with a single hanger in hand.
“Come out and show us when you have it on!” Meghan called from the other side of the door.
I looked down at what I was holding, wondering how I’d gone from talking innocently with Jenny to trying on lingerie. The hanger I was holding had a dark green … thing. I peeked my head out the door and whispered, “I don’t even know how to put this on.”
Trish rolled her eyes. “Just undo the hooks in the back; it’s not that hard.”
They shooed me back into the dressing room. I turned the hanger around and saw that whatever it was, it did indeed have a short row of hooks. Feeling completely stupid, I shrugged out of my shirt, knowing they wouldn’t let me leave until they’d seen it on. After a few minutes of wrestling and muttering obscenities under my breath, I faced the mirror—and stared.
I’d never really considered myself an especially attractive or unattractive person, just somewhere in the everyday middle, and never once in my life had I heard the term sexy associated with the word Caitlin, but I would almost dare to use it now. The Green Thing, as I’d so cleverly begun to call it (because it was green), was basically a corset, sheer from the bosom down, with boning sewn into the lace. The back was—well, there was no back, except for the tiny row of hooks that met just above my rear end, leaving the entirety of my spine exposed. The bodice was covered in iridescent beads, tiny sequins, and surprisingly intricate lace. I basically looked like Tinker Bell, if Tinker Bell had been possessed by a Playboy Bunny.
Slowly, I opened the door. Trish, Meghan, Stephanie, Laura, and Jenny were leaning against the wall. When they saw me step out, they all stared.
“You have breasts,” Trish said, sounding surprised.
“You look amazing, Caitlin, and that shade of green perfectly matches your eyes,” Stephanie said in an encouraging sort of way. Of course she found something wholesome about lingerie.
“You do look curvy,” Laura commented. In her hand, I saw a neon-pink bra on a hanger.
I grimaced. “They got you, too?”
She nodded sadly.
“Mystic, you have got to buy this.”
I snorted at Trish. “No way.”
Meghan looked at me like I simply didn’t understand what was going on. “Did you look in the mirror?”
“Yes, but—look, I wouldn’t ever wear this!” I protested. “Besides, there’s no way I can afford it.”
Trish looked at the tag. “You’re in luck, Mystic; it’s fifty percent off!”
“That’s still fifty percent I don’t have.”
“Fifty percent that works miracles,” Meghan countered. She grinned suddenly. “Besides, I bet Adrian would reimburse you. In more ways than one.”
I turned bright red. “Guys, I can’t spend money on myself at Christmas! I barely have enough to buy presents for my family.”
Trish frowned at me and then nodded. “All right, all right.”
I eyed her suspiciously, but she just looked defeated. A little too defeated. I headed back into the dressing room, closed the door, and looked in the mirror one more time. It did look good. But they didn’t understand that Adrian and I weren’t really dating. And even if we were, we wouldn’t … do … what they thought we would do. He was a freaking vampire. How would that even work? I mean, I guess it would work like it would normally work but, just, no.
But it did look good.
I struck a few stupid “sexy” poses just for fun, then rolled my eyes at myself and took it off, putting my comfy, oversize blue sweater back on. When I opened the door, Trish and Meghan had their heads together, whispering intensely, but looked up when they heard me set the Green Thing on the return rack.