Beth showed up as she was about to enter. “Those are very pretty. I’ll wait out here while you try them on.”
Lily tried one on after the other, unsatisfied with any of them. She pulled off the pair of jeans, the last item she’d had to try, and folded them back up. Giving the clothes to the attendant, she went out to Beth empty-handed.
“No success?”
“No. I don’t know what’s wrong. I’ll just go to the discount store and pick up a few things until I find something else,” Lily was explaining when several women stared through the aisle at the convoy of women entering the department store.
Lily turned to Beth with a suspicious look. Beth merely grinned back, not trying to hide the fact she had called in reinforcements.
“I thought we could use a little help,” Beth admitted.
No sooner had she said those words than Sex Piston and her crew stopped in front of them. “Well, I’m glad someone finally had the sense to ask me for my fashion advice.”
Lily stared at the obviously pregnant biker woman dressed in leather leggings and a bright red top with a metallic Harley studded on the front. Her baby bump was emphasized by the tightness of the red shirt that should have clashed with her red hair; instead it only highlighted the deep, rich tones of it.
Killyama pulled out one of the dresses from a nearby rack, shuddering before hastily putting it back. “No wonder the bitch couldn’t find anything. My mom wouldn’t buy anything here and she’s stoned out of her fucking mind.”
Lily heard the saleswoman a few feet away gasp at the insult.
“Let’s get out of here,” Sex Piston said, leaving without waiting for any objections.
Lily and Beth followed the women down two blocks to a newer store that had opened recently. Sex Piston flung the door open, strutting inside as if she was the one who owned it.
Lily watched as the women spread throughout the store, searching for clothes for her. She could only stare helplessly at her sister who was going through the racks, ignoring her incriminating glances. Lily decided she had better get busy going through the racks or she would be talked into buying clothes that she would never dream of wearing.
After she had searched fruitlessly, finding nothing that she considered would do, Fat Louise came and led her to the dressing room where everyone was waiting. Each woman handed her clothes to try on, despite the saleswoman’s protests that only a certain number of clothes were allowed.
“Get lost. We’ll take care of her.” Killyama’s threatening glare had the woman retreating back to the cash register just as Sex Piston barged into the dressing room, pulling a chair up outside her changing room door.
“If you don’t come out and show me, then I’ll come in there,” she threatened. Lily nodded half-heartedly.
She tried on several items but was too embarrassed to open the door.
“Are you crying?” Sex Piston asked, astounded.
“No.” Lily’s voice wobbled when she answered.
“Open the fucking door and let me see.”
Lily slowly opened the door. “I’m not crying.” She wasn’t. She had kept her promise to herself; she was just having a hard time keeping it.
Sex Piston took a look at her face then looked up at the ceiling. Lily thought it was strange, but she waited several seconds before Sex Piston looked back down at her.
Sex Piston’s eyes were filled with unshed tears. “I’m more emotional now that I’m pregnant. Now, we’re going to pull on our big-girl panties and get this done or I’m going to pick everything out for you myself. Okay?”
“Okay.” Lily took a deep breath and tried on a dress. She opened the door.
“No,” Sex Piston said firmly, running critical eyes over the dress on her body.
Lily shut the door and changed again before opening the door.
“Fuck no.”
She tried on a skirt with a matching top.
“Yes.”
She closed the door again, also happy with the clothes. She tried another.
The gagging noises Sex Piston made when she opened the dressing room door were self-explanatory. Lily shut the door with a snap.
She tried on a form-fitting dress with a swirling skirt in a soft cranberry color.
“Yes.” Lily smiled at her response.
She tried on a pair of jeans and a blue iris sweater that showed a hint of flesh at the top.
“Yes.”
Lily tried on a jade-green sweater dress, which was too tight. She didn’t want to open the door.
“No, it doesn’t suit you at all.” Thankfully, Sex Piston agreed with her own opinion.
Lily tried on several more outfits, letting Sex Piston pick and choose. Thankfully, she agreed with most of her choices since she was going to be the one wearing them. She picked up the ones she would be purchasing, setting them aside, and then straightened the rest back onto the hangers.
Going outside the dressing room, she carried the clothes she was going to buy on her arm.
“Can you grab the others to put on the rack so they can restock them?” Lily asked.
Sex Piston took the ones that were going back in stock, hanging them on the rack. All except for the green dress. Lily raised an eyebrow at her.
“What? I said it didn’t suit you, but it will look hot on me,” Sex Piston said unashamedly.
They checked out.
“Thanks for going with us,” Lily said as they shoved all the bags into Beth’s SUV.
“Hell, we aren’t done. You need shoes.” Sex Piston pushed her toward the local shoe store.
The store had a lone salesclerk and he was male. The women had him making trip after trip to the back.
Lily liked this much better. All she had to do was sit and try on pair after pair of shoes.
“No way,” Lily refused, seeing the price on the side of the box the clerk was showing her.
“Hell, yeah. Your sister can pay for them. She’s married to Mr. Moneybags,” Killyama said, taking the box away from the clerk while giving him one of her flirtatious smiles.
Lily stifled her laughter. The man looked scared enough to wet himself.
Reaching forward, she took the shoes from Killyama, trying on the high heels that she was sure would break her ankle if she ever dared to wear them.
“She’ll take them,” Beth spoke up with a mischievous look in her eyes.
Lily shook her head, not wanting to spend her sister’s money.
“Don’t worry about it. They’ll be worth every dime when I see Shade’s face.”
Beth took the six pairs of shoes to the register before Lily could change her mind. Lily walked out of the store overwhelmed by the amount of money Beth had spent carelessly that day. Guilt kicked in, making her decide to take some of the things back next week and return the money to her sister.
“Let’s get some dinner,” Sex Piston said.
“I’m paying,” Beth offered. Since when did Beth become so free with her cash? Her sister, while not broke, had always been frugal with her money.
Razer, who was leaning against the SUV after having helped the women load the car, gave a twisted grin.
“Where at?” Fat Louise asked, excited.
“Let’s do it up right. The Pink Slipper sound good to everyone?” Beth mentioned the most expensive restaurant and bar in Treepoint.
“They won’t let us in the door.” Fat Louise reminded Beth they hadn’t been allowed in the restaurant since the fight they had started when Razer and Beth had temporarily broken up.
“I happen to know it’s under new management,” Beth happily said, spreading the good news.
The whoops and hollers drew the attention of customers leaving the stores that were closing. No one other than Lily seemed to notice, though, and so they each got in their separate vehicles, driving the short distance to the restaurant.
Inside, Razer went to sit at the bar, leaving the women at a table on their own.
Sex Piston and her crew ordered the most ex
pensive items on the menu. Lily was sure it was because they knew Beth was paying with Razer’s money. They still held a grudge against him for breaking their friend’s heart. The women were loyal to Beth and even treated her like a sister because of their affection for her.
They all ordered tea and water to drink, except for Crazy Bitch and Killyama who drank beer, telling Sex Piston she was driving.
“Wait until you’re knocked up. I’ll drink a fucking six-pack in front of you,” she said vengefully. Lily thought that by the time Sex Piston’s baby arrived, it would be born with an extensive vocabulary.
The diners at the other tables kept giving them censuring looks which they ignored.
T.A. leaned forward. “So, has the hunk of burning love made his move yet?”
“Who?” Lily asked, dumbfounded.
T.A. rolled her eyes. “You know who I’m talking about. Shade.”
“Kind of.” ‘Hunk of burning love’ was not how she would describe Shade’s stern demeanor.
“What the fuck does that mean? Yes or no?” Crazy Bitch snapped.
“Well, we kissed last night,” Lily confided, embarrassed she was talking about something so intimate in front of her sister.
“You kissed?” Crazy Bitch asked, looking at her like she had lost her mind.
“Was it too soon?” Lily asked. The women at the table just stared at her then burst into hysterical laughter. Even Beth almost fell out of her chair when Killyama whacked her accidently with her elbow.