The Seduction Game

Now it was time to find something stylish to wear. Something that didn’t scream nerd-student. Kate’s favorite thrift store was nestled not too far away from the convention center and Meg was meeting her there. She had insisted the moment Kate had told her about the date. Well, the moment she’d stopped shrieking and demanding that Kate admit she’d been right all along.

The thrift store was part of a bunch of shops that all sold odd little things. There was a florist that sold only dried flowers and Kate had often wondered if they were even allowed to call themselves florists, a New Age jewelry store that reeked of incense, and a comic book store that stocked the most amazing graphic novels but also did a sideline in erotic manga. Kate often had a good giggle when she visited, and had bought Meg a particularly racy one for her birthday. She’d read it, too, of course, and had planned to buy some more when she had a little spare cash.

Kate caught the eye of Jim, the owner, as she passed and he gave her a little wave, which she returned before taking a left, crossing the street and entering Recession. The thrift store sold only clothes, shoes, and bags, nothing else, and Kate paused as she stood in the doorway to scout out the fellow shoppers, and to see if Meg was on time. Recession was always busy and today was no different. A dozen or so women moved in between the racks, hunting for a bargain purchase. Meg was not among them.

Knowing how prone her friend was to lateness, Kate made her way over to the tee shirt rack. She squeezed past two women who were also rooting for a new tee, shot them an apologetic smile, and found herself at the end of the rack. After a happy few minutes rifling she found three that she would love to add to her collection. One was off-white—because of its age she suspected—and featured an old sports slogan. Another was black with bright orange sleeves, and the third featured an old movie poster. She checked the price tags and frowned when she saw they were fifteen dollars each. A bargain for sure, but still more than she’d planned to spend. She held them up, wondering what she would pair them with when out of the corner of her eye she spotted a dress.

Kate had never been a dress sort of girl, but this one seemed different from the many, many frocks that Meg had tried to talk her into over the years. Maybe because it was so simple? Kate hung the tees back on the rack and surreptitiously made her way over to the dress. It hung in the front of the row and she reached out to feel the material.

“At last.”

Kate snatched her hand back and turned to see Lacy, the shop owner, and one of Meg’s clubbing friends, eyeing both her and the dress. “I wondered if you’d ever come over to this side of the store.”

Kate shifted, torn between looking at the dress and bolting back over to the tees. “Oh, I’m not sure if it’s me.”

“Try it on.”

“I don’t know…”

“It’s exactly your size.”

“How would you know that?”

Lacy shrugged. “You’ve been coming here for years. I do remember my regular customers. Plus Meg buys all your Christmas presents from here. Remember the My Little Pony tee? I love that one.” She reached up, unhooked the dress from the hanger, and passed it to Kate. “Quickly, before the rooms fill up.”

There was something of Meg about her, which probably explained why they were friends, because before Kate knew it she was installed in the changing room, stripping off her jeans and tee, and pulling the dress over her head. It was just cotton, and thin cotton at that. The print was nothing special, just tiny white owls on a pale blue background, and yet…

Kate moved back and forth in front of the mirror, trying to understand why it felt so right on her, why she liked it so much. It was short, skimming mid-thigh, and it was tight, far tighter than she would have normally liked. The top was fitted all the way to the waist where it then flared out into a floating sort of skirt. A row of tiny white buttons ran from her breasts all the way to her waist and she flushed as she imagined them as a little trail pressing up against Will’s chest…

Cap sleeves completed the dress and Kate knew without a doubt that it was going to be perfect for the weather. She could maybe team it with her white Converse sneakers, not the high-tops, that so wouldn’t work, but the flats, and she would be nice and cool. Would Will think it was pretty?

Kate pulled a face at herself in the mirror, and yet somehow she still came across as feminine and flirty. Like someone who wouldn’t have bolted from the room because the sexiest man she’d ever met wanted to kiss her. Like someone all those other women wouldn’t have looked at in a disbelieving sort of way, unable to understand how a geek like her had managed to bag herself a man like Will. Not that she had bagged him, but still… Next to him she would look right in this dress. Like they fit. Like she was pretty enough to have caught him. Like she wasn’t herself…

Unacceptable. It said far too much about what she was feeling. Kate reached up to pull it off and get back into the clothes she felt comfortable in—

“Don’t you dare!”

Lacy, with Meg now by her side, pulled the curtain back with a flourish and ran her eyes up and down Kate. “It’s perfect. Fits you like a glove.”

“It’s too tight,” Kate argued, “and how did you even know I was dressed? You could have opened that curtain on me completely naked. I could have flashed the entire store.”

Meg laughed. Loudly. “You always get dressed superfast, besides, flashing this crowd would be a waste. The man who actually wants to see you nekked is nowhere to be seen.”

Kate groaned. “Meg…”

“And how awesome is this dress?” Meg continued with a wave of her hand. “It is so you, Katie.”

“It feels weird,” Kate grated.

“Nope, it’s fine,” Lacy said, elbowing her way past a smirking Meg, “and it’s my job to know. Turn around.” Kate did automatically, feeling more self-conscious by the minute. “You need to buy this dress.”

“I don’t feel comfortable in it.”

Lacy sighed. “You will. Give it a chance.”

Kate crossed her arms. “I feel stupid.”

“Why?”

“It’s not me.”

Meg peered around Lacy, shaking her head as she did so. “It so is. Look how well it matches your geek glasses. And you have those white Converse that would be perfect. Wear your hair loose and job done. You’ll be fab.”

Feeling like an invisible net was closing in on her, Kate shuffled from one foot to the other. “How much is it?” she asked Lacy.

“Sixty-five.”

A weird sort of relief hit. She’d already spent fifty dollars on the tickets, and it was fifty dollars that she’d taken from her “essentials” pot. Sixty-five dollars more wouldn’t break the bank but Kate didn’t have a limitless amount of funds, not with the lack of customers right now.

Will’s fault.

She winced internally. Because it was almost impossible to think of him in those terms anymore. Not since the kiss. He’d totally crossed enemy lines and Kate had no idea how to make him go back…or if she even wanted to make him…

She grabbed the hem of the dress, ready to yank it up. “Then I most def cannot have it,” she said. “It’s out of my budget.”

“What’s your budget then, babe?” Meg asked.