I frantically try to stop it.
"So glad I caught you. I wanted to see if you—" Ruby stops speaking and closes the door.
I don't need to turn. I don't have to. I recognize the soft Southern lilt in her voice.
"Lola, are you commando?"
Horror slams into me. And I turn.
I blink up at the statuesque blonde with the stripper's name.
She once told me her mom was going to call her Sapphire but decided to go with stripper over porn star for a name. She is joking, of course, she is named after her great-aunt Ruby, who, from what she has told me, sounds amazing.
But in this moment, frozen and burning up all at the same time, I stare at her, trying to angle over the printer. And then something comes to me.
Maybe it is not that. Maybe, somehow, my pencil skirt is now magically see-through.
I try to swallow down the choking ball of shame in my throat. "What? Can you see? Is it noticeable? I mean?—"
I stop talking altogether.
And Ruby sashays over, the kind of walk that has men drooling, and she whispers loudly to me, "No, it's not. And you can't, unless you count your panties hanging from the copier..."
I utter a small shriek, just as someone knocks on the door.
Ruby turns and crosses the small space back to it, snipping the lock as whoever it is tries to open the door.
"Who's in there?" comes a voice from the other side.
"Larry," Ruby mouths to me and rolls her eyes. "It's Ruby and Lola."
There is a second of silence.
"I need the copier."
"There are lots of copiers. Use another," Ruby says, hands on hips.
I snatch the panties, and while her back is to me, I throw them on the pile of copies and snap a photo. Then, I gather the evidence and try to shove it all in my bag.
"But I like that one," Larry says.
"They're all the same. Why this one? What were you planning on doing in here?" Ruby asks.
"Nothing." Then he turns it on us. "Why are you in there?"
Ruby turns and winks at me. "Girl issues."
"I will find another copier."
Then she turns, dusts her hands, and smiles at me.
I clutch my bag.
"Why did you photograph your panties? And why did you photocopy them? Oh, and pro tip: turn the sound off on your phone next time." She winks at me.
"I don't usually do this," I hiss.
"Color me intrigued. Who is the lucky man? Or woman?"
