"This is insane. I'll look ridiculous."
"You'll look hot. You want him to see what he'll be missing if he keeps playing these games with Evangeline."
The thought sends a thrill through me despite my reservations.
"We haven't even... We're not..."
"Have you kissed?"
Heat floods my face.
"Oh my... You have!" she squeals. "How was it? Give me the details."
"We've kissed multiple times, and last night we..." I can't finish the sentence.
"Last night you what?"
"He gave me a massage," I mutter. "And it led to... other things."
Her eyes go impossibly wide. "Other things? What other things?"
"He used his hand on me thoroughly, and I..." My voice drops to a whisper. "I orgasmed multiple times."
The squeal that erupts from Sloane should shatter glass. She jumps up and down, grabbing my shoulders.
"Ivy Chandler! You had your first set of orgasms with Declan Hawthorne! This is amazing."
"Shh!" I whisper, glancing at the living room door.
"The neighbors..."
"Screw the neighbors. This is huge!" She composes herself though her grin doesn't fade. "And what happened next?"
"Nothing."
Her eyebrows furrow in confusion. "What about sex?"
"We didn't do anything else. He said last night was all about me."
Her grin widens. "Okay, this changes everything. You're definitely wearing the dress."
"How does this change anything?"
"Because he gave you multiple orgasms and hasn't gotten any action himself, right?"
I nod reluctantly.
"That means he's wound up and dying for you. So, when you show up in this dress," she says, picking it back up and waving it triumphantly, "he's going to realize exactly what fresh, gorgeous territory he's missing out on if he thinks he can date you and parade around with Evangeline at the same time."
"It's just a practice date..."
"Bullshit. After all you've described since you started this practice date of yours, that wasn't practice. That was a man staking his claim."
Placing the dress in my arm, she pushes me toward her bathroom.
"Now go. We have work to do."
Forty-five minutes later, I barely recognize myself.
