Dress Code - Dare To Wear Dress - Chapter 6

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As we went inside, there were several people in a line in front of us. I wondered why the line was being slow.

Then I noticed the guy checking ID. My name and picture on my driver’s license don’t exactly match my current appearance. I whispered to Jennifer, “I forgot about getting my ID checked. I normally don’t worry about it.” 

“Oh crap!” said Jennifer as she took her driver’s license out of her purse. 

“Try to cover the picture up when you show it to him while I try to distract him a little.” Jennifer flashed the guy her ID then stood there and started to say something to him as I walked up. The guy was looking down at Jennifer’s ample bosom. 

I covered my picture with my fingers and just raised the driver’s license up quickly but casually as Jennifer asked him what time it was. He just got a quick glance at my license before quickly looking down at his watch. 

As he did so, I just walked on inside. I waited just inside the door for Jennifer. 

As she came in I said, “Thanks, Jennifer! The last thing I wanted was a bunch of questions.” Jennifer shrugged and chuckled a bit, “You’re welcome. But you know what?

 I bet he wouldn’t even care unless you were here for Ladies’ Night.” I looked around. For a bar, I thought the walls were painted a little too brightly for my tastes. 

I tried to spot Candace, but I didn’t see her. It didn’t take long before my eyes started to sting from the tobacco smoke. I was going to have to wash my wig tonight. Jennifer took my hand, “I know where everyone is. They’re probably on the patio. Come on.” 

As we wound our way through the bar, I felt eyes staring at me. 

It made me uncomfortable. When Candace spotted us coming her way, she shouted to us, “Hey, you guys finally made it! Joyce and Ann are already dancing.” Incredulous, I said to Candace, “Ann is dancing? With a guy?” Candace laughed, “Of course, silly! What’s odd about that?” Shrugging, I said, “I didn’t think she liked guys.”

Shaking her head, Candace said, “You silly!” Then she pointed at an empty chair and said, “Hey, sit down. 

Get yourself a drink. They have great daiquiris here.” Jennifer looked over at me and asked, “Hey, what’s wrong?” With the music playing and people talking, there was no way I could whisper so I just said loudly, without shouting, “Men are looking at me. 

Those two guys over there are just staring at me.” “Annoying, isn’t it?” asked Jennifer. “I bet you used to do the same thing to some girl you thought was cute, didn’t you? Don’t stare at a girl and make her think you’re stalking her. Go talk to her, ask her to dance.” 

Jen gave me a smirk and said, “Don’t be surprised if one of those guys doesn’t ask you to dance.” I shuddered, “No thank you!” Jennifer shook her head and with some insistence simply said, “Lighten up!” Before I could say anything the music stopped briefly.

 As another song started back up, Joyce and Ann returned to the table. As they sat down, Joyce said, “Heather! Jennifer! Glad you could make it!” She looked around the bar, “Good crowd tonight. 

Should be able to get a lot of dancing in. I think Ann has already found a keeper.”

 Ann took a sip from her drink that was already on the table. She laughed as she said, “What? Are you kidding? He’s kinda short, don’t you think?” 

“I thought he was kinda cute, actually,” said Joyce as she finished her drink. As exciting as the conversation was, I started to tune it out. I just sat there and stared at Jennifer for a few minutes. I

’ve seen her a thousand times, but tonight she was just dazzling. The waitress was slow in coming around to the table again, so I was going to go to the bar. I was about to ask Jennifer if she wanted me to get her something while I was there when two guys walked up to her.

“Jenn!” called out the taller of the two guys. 

“Haven’t seen you in a while!” 

My heart sank as I noticed she seemed to be a bit excited about meeting this new person. She stood up and took the guy’s hands and smiled, “Richard! Hey, it’s great to see you again!” She gave him a quick kiss. Richard was tall, about mid-twenties in age, with chiseled good looks. 

I wouldn’t stand a chance of getting Jennifer to notice me with him around. She then asked, “Who’s your friend?”

 “Oh, this is David,” Richard said, pointing. David was shorter than Richard and maybe just a little younger. His hair was bordering on being shaggy with boyish good looks. 

“David, this is Jennifer. Now, who’s your friend?” Jennifer could barely take her eyes away from staring at Richard. Jennifer motioned for me to stand up, “Richard, this is Heather. She’s a new girl in our department.” 

Richard and David both extended their hands to shake. I didn’t like the way either one of them looked at me. Richard turned towards Jennifer and asked, “Doing anything Friday?” Jennifer tried to look coy as she asked, “I don’t know. Why do you ask?” Richard answered, “How about dinner and a movie? I wanted to go and try that place where you eat while you watch a movie. 

What’s it called?” David said, “Studio Movie Grill. It’s pretty cool.” 

Richard asked, “What do you think?” Jennifer almost gushed, “Sure! I’d love to!” Richard seemed excited, “Great!

I’ll call you later with times and shit.” He hesitated a second and then asked, “Do you know any friends that would be interested in going with David?” Jennifer looked at David and smiled as she said, “Actually, there’s probably several that would like to…” David interrupted, “How about you, Heather? Interested? It’d be the four of us.”

I thought, not only no, but Hell no! I had to say something, “Thanks. That’s very nice of you to ask, but I don’t know. 

I think I’m washing my hair that night.” Jennifer frowned at me and was short, “Heather! That’s not nice. 

Come on! It’ll be fun. I’ve been wanting to go to that theater myself.” 

I continued to hesitate, “Well… I don’t know…” David jumped in, “Hey, that’s okay. I understand if you don’t want to. After all, we just met. No big deal.” 

I could see the disappointment cross David’s face. I’m sorry, but dating guys just aren’t high up on my list of to-dos. 

Jennifer bent over and whispered as best she could into my ear, “Please, Heather? For me? I think Richard will be disappointed if his friend doesn’t have a date too.” Whispering back, I said, “Give me a break! Look at him. Do you honestly think he has a hard time getting girls?” 

Jennifer shrugged and whispered, “Maybe he’s shy? Please, Heather? It’s just a date. 

No big deal.” I thought a moment. Here was a way to score some brownie points with Jennifer, but the thought of being on a date with a guy! Ugh! I looked at Jennifer, then at David, and said, “Okay, I’ll go. I’ve never been there myself.” I don’t remember ever hearing of it before either. 

“Sounds like fun!” David smiled broadly and said, “Great! Thanks!” Richard was pleased, “Great! Jenn, I’ll let you know what time we’ll need to be there. We’ll pick you up first, then swing by and pick up Heather.” 

He looked at his watch, “Hey, we gotta jet. I’ll call you! See ya!” After Richard and David left, Jennifer looked towards me and said, “Thanks, Heather. David seems really nice. Hey, don’t look at me that way!” 

“Jennifer!” I almost shouted, “I don’t want to go out on a date with some stupid guy!” Jennifer looked puzzled and asked, “Why do you think he’s stupid?”

Ignoring her I explained, “Jennifer, he’s a guy. And I’m not really a girl.” Jennifer shrugged as if it was completely normal, “He doesn’t know that.”

I squinted at my watch. Damnation, how do women tell the time on these stupid, small, blank-faced watches? I stuck my head out the bathroom door and looked at my alarm clock. Damnation again  I didn’t have time to finish putting on my make-up. I’ll just have to do what thousands of women do every day finish my make-up while driving to work. 

As I grabbed the blouse I had laid out the night before, I decided I probably should put my alarm clock on the other side of the room so I couldn’t just keep hitting the snooze bar. I hurriedly tied the stupid bow around the collar of the blouse. 

What in the world possessed me when I bought this outfit? I don’t even like to wear ties, and here I was tying a dumb bow around my neck. Granted, it wasn’t like some gigantic bow, but it was still… well, a bow. 

I rushed back into the bathroom and quickly gathered up my make-up to dump into my purse. I had on foundation and blush, which I hoped was enough not to scare the neighbor’s children on the way to my car. I then hurried down the apartment stairs, heels clicking loudly. 

Thankfully, Jerry, the putz next door was nowhere to be seen. 

Despite being in a hurry, I carefully got into the car so I wouldn’t snag my hose on something and tear it. A few moments later and finally, I was easing my car onto Spring Creek towards work. Naturally, traffic had to be extra heavy that morning. I guessed that everyone else had also hit the snooze button. 

At the first intersection, the light turned red. As soon as the car stopped rolling, I quickly dug out my eyeliner. I was barely done with one eye when the car behind me honked. I looked up and saw that the light was now green. 

What was the deal? These lights usually seem to last forever. As I started to go, a car jerked around me, the driver flipping me off and though I couldn’t hear him, I could easily see him yell, “You stupid bitch!”

I already felt exhausted as I leaned back against the wall of the elevator as I rode up to my department’s floor. I had made it to work without further incident, if you don’t count drifting over into the opposing lane while putting on my lipstick. But I could still see that jerk calling me a stupid bitch. 

As the elevator doors slid open, I spotted Jennifer already busy with her nails at the reception booth. Jennifer looked up as I approached and flashed me a big, friendly smile, “Oh, hi, Heather! You look great! I love the way you always manage to look so professional, but also so feminine.” 

It’s the bow around my neck, I thought. Jennifer added, “Anyways, I wanted to thank you again for going on a double date with me.” Shrugging, I said, “No problem. 

What are girlfriends for? Is Richard an old boyfriend?” Jennifer smiled wistfully, “Sorta. We dated a few times and then we drifted apart. I thought he was gone for good.” “So, it’s not like you’re going steady or anything?” 

I asked hopefully. With a sly grin, Jennifer said, “Not yet. I’m not letting him get away so easily this time!” Well, crap! It looks like all my efforts were wasted. 

Oh well. I guess it never hurts to try, “Well, good luck, Jenn. He certainly seems like a nice guy.” Jennifer looked at me with a furrowed brow and feigning anger said, “Hey, back off girl! I saw him first!” Then, she laughed. “Just kidding. Anyway, he really is a nice guy. 

Very sweet. But hey, that David guy looks pretty good, too. He looks like he works out -- a lot.” Sighing I said, “Well, he can work out all he wants. It doesn’t matter to me.” Jennifer shrugged and seemed disappointed, “That’s too bad. I think he kinda likes you.”

Screwing up my face in horror and shuddering, I reacted, “Don’t say that! Not even in jest.” Without looking up from the nail she was painting, Jennifer asked, “What? Are you afraid you might fall in love?”

 “Not with a guy!” I said, raising my voice a little. Then, taking a more casual posture, I added, “On the other hand… a girl… like, say… a nice girl like you for instance, is more up my alley.” 

Jennifer gave me a little smile as she concluded, “You know, I have to admit, that I thought you were kinda cute and all, but shoot. You seem more like a sister to me now than anything else!” 

   “Is it true?” I looked up to see Candace looking over the top of my wall. “Is what true?” 

“That you’re going on a date Friday... with a cute guy,” Candace said with a smile. 

That sure didn’t take long to get around the office. Without looking away from my computer screen, I said, “Yeah. A guy Jennifer likes wanted someone to go out with his friend. Jennifer volunteered me.” 

“Is he cute?” Candace asked. “Who?” Frowning, Candace asked, “Who do you think?! Your date!” Shrugging and trying to minimize things, “I dunno. 

Does it matter? I’m just going for the free dinner and movie.” 

Candace gave me a wry smile and admitted, “You know, about half the time, that’s why I go, too. Still, you haven’t been a girl for five days, and you already have a date. 

I had to be a girl fourteen years before I got a date!” Lou stopped at the entrance to my cubicle and peered in, “You have a date?”

Before I could say anything, Candace answered, “Yes, she does! And with a real cutie from what Jennifer tells me.” Lou shook his head, “Jeez, Harry, aren’t you taking this girl's shit a little too far?” 

“Her name is Heather,” Candace admonished, “and I think it’s great that she’s getting to enjoy being a woman.” 

“Well, it is one date more than I’ve had so far since I moved to Plano,” I said, sounding a little disgusted. 

Ann stuck her head over another wall of my cubicle and said, “Jeez. No wonder we don’t get any work done around here, with all this standing around.”

 Looking down at me, she added, “Nice bow.” 

  Normally, I look forward to Fridays. 

Mostly because it means two days when I don’t have to work. Usually. But on this Friday, I was sweating like a stuck pig. 

With the clock steadily ticking away, I stood in my bathroom, cosmetics scattered over the countertop, with a magazine opened, explaining how my eyes can achieve that smoky, evening look. Jennifer had instructed me to dress casually, but not too casually. 

In one way, it infuriated me that I would have to spend this much time trying to get my make-up perfect for a date I wasn’t even interested in going on. It’s ridiculous. I hoped the outfit I picked would be okay. 

It was a nice white blouse and a black, pleated miniskirt. 

When I tried it on at the store, I thought it looked nice but playful. I’m not sure if it looked casual though. 

What few girls I dated back home in Wink only wore t-shirts or tank tops and jeans… or so it seems. I stood back from the mirror and gave my face a once over. 

It wasn’t quite like the magazine article, but at least I didn’t look like a hooker either. I then carefully brushed on some lip gloss and decided that was just going to have to do. I’ll never gripe to another girl about how long she takes to get ready for a date. I wrestled into my bra and slipped on the blouse. Then, I stepped into the skirt. I was glad I had done my toenails the night before as I slid my feet into two-inch heel sandals. 

Before donning the wig, I put on these oversized hoop earrings. 

At first, I was afraid the earrings would make me look cheap, but actually, the added sparkle helped the wig frame my face. I picked up my purse and stood back in front of the mirror. 

I laughed to myself as I thought, ‘Harry, you’re one hot hoochie mamma!’ I shook my tush a couple of times. I then frowned and said aloud, “What the hell are you doing? Going on a date… especially with a guy?” There was a knock on the door. 

A bolt-like frozen steel shot down my spine. Oh my God! He’s here! Panicking, I started to run from my bedroom towards the living room. I made myself stop and take a deep breath. I told myself, ‘Slow down, boy. 

Take it easy. It doesn’t mean anything. You’re just helping out a friend. 

You’re going for the free food. And if this David guy expects to see another sunrise, dinner and a movie had better be all that he’s offering!’ The knock came a second time just before I opened the door. 

Framed by the doorway and silhouetted against the late afternoon sun, stood David with a toothy smile, “Hi Heather! How’re you?” 

I smiled weakly back and replied, “I’m doing fine.” There was a very awkward silence for a moment, and then, while looking at the floor, David asked, “Um… well, uh, Jennifer and Richard are waiting in the car. 

Are you ready?” 

I flashed David an embarrassed smile, “Yes, sure. Let me get my purse and we can go.” I darted back into my apartment, leaving David alone in the doorway. What’s etiquette? 

Do I invite him in? We’re leaving. Screw it, I thought. I grabbed my purse and took a quick inventory of its contents. My purse was going to be the one thing that was going to be really hard to give up once I went back to being plain old Harry. How did I ever get by with just a wallet before? 

I hurried back to the door and smiled at him, “I’m ready!” I fished my apartment keys from the purse and locked the deadbolt with a satisfying click. 

David looked at me intently for a moment, and then smiled, “I have to say, you look very, very nice tonight!” I couldn’t help but smile back and felt my face redden slightly at the compliment. 

I looked up at him he was a little over six feet tall and broad across the shoulders -- and I smiled as I said, “Thank you. You look… ah… nice too.” Gesturing down the stairs, David motioned, “After you.” 

I thought he was just being polite until I realized he made sure I was in front of him so he could look at my butt. Jennifer waved as we approached Richard’s car. I was very happy to see that Jennifer was in the back and Richard was sitting behind the steering wheel. Boys in the front and girls in the back. 

Being more of a gentleman than I would have given him credit for, David opened the car door and held it for me as I got in and then closed it. Jennifer greeted me, “Hey girl! You look great! I love your outfit!” 

“Thanks,” I said, “you look… well… incredible!” Jennifer dismissed my compliment with a wave of her hand. Richard revved the engine and we roared out of the parking lot. 

As we drove towards the movie theater or restaurant, or whatever it was, David turned his head slightly and called back to me, “So, Heather. What do you do? Are you a receptionist like Jennifer?” 

I smiled and shook my head, “No. I couldn’t handle that kind of pressure. 

I’m a computer programmer.” Richard picked up on that, “Uh ohhh, David. You better watch out. She’s probably smarter than you.” 

“I ain’t scared,” boasted David.

“And what do you do, David?” I asked. “I’m a material handler in a warehouse. I’m hoping to get the forklift operator’s job pretty soon.” I shook my head and offered, “Dare to dream.” 

We finally arrived at the Movie Studio Grill. 

I’ve never been in a place quite like it. Instead of rows of seats, there were rows of tables. Each table had a light to summon the waiter, and we were in luck as that particular night’s special was pizza. The movie we were going to see was the latest romantic chick flick. 

It felt weird to sit in an actual chair, at a table, eating dinner, and watching a movie in a theater. For the price, I thought the pizza at Cici’s was better, but then, I wasn’t paying for it anyway. 

The best thing, of course, was that I didn’t have to sit all that close to David. That didn’t stop him from trying. I had to sit beside him as protocol demanded for a date. 

However, I tried to maintain a minimum distance between our chairs. While we were eating, David kept rubbing his leg up against mine until I turned my chair enough to see the movie better. 

David yawned and stretched and suddenly his arm was on the back of my chair with his hand on my shoulder. I could feel him tugging slightly on the hairs of my wig as he played with a few strands. The guy just wouldn’t take a hint, and I was hoping I wouldn’t have to resort to violence. He placed his hand on my knee, and I lifted it gently off. He put it back a few minutes later and I pushed it off. His hand found its way back on my knee a third time, “Will you please stop?” I whispered in a hiss. He shrugged and gave me a look that said, “What?” He kept his arm on the back of my chair. I decided I could live with that as long as his hand didn’t drift toward my fake boobs.

“That was a great movie!” gushed Jennifer as we exited the theater. “It was all right,” frowned Richard. 

“What about you, David?” 

“Yeah, it was all right, I guess,” David mumbled. 

“I thought it was wonderful!” I gushed, to show solidarity with Jennifer. In reality, I kind of shared Richard’s and David’s opinions. I do have to admit though, that due to my recent experiences, I did have a greater affinity for the female protagonist. Richard laughed, “Well, who would’ve thought it. 

The two girls enjoyed the romance movie.” We all stood around for a moment, just looking at each other and the traffic going by. 

David broke the silence by saying, “Anyone up for a game of pool?” Jennifer frowned and started to say something. Richard said quickly, “Hey, you can count me in!” Jenn hesitated a second, looked at Richard, and smiled, “Okay, sure. I’m warning you… 

I really suck at the pool!” David asked, “Great. What about you, little darlin’?” He turned to look at me. 

“Well, if that’s where everyone else is going, I kinda have to tag along, don’t I?” I tried to sound disinterested, but actually, I enjoyed playing pool a lot. 

The pool hall David wanted to go to wasn’t very far. 

We didn’t even have to get up on the North Central Expressway to get there. 

We were in luck. There were still a couple of tables unoccupied. Jennifer and I stood by the pool table while David went to the restroom, and Richard went to the bar to get Jennifer and himself a drink. 

“So? What do you think?” asked Jennifer.

“About what?” I asked, trying to look like I didn’t know what she meant. “About David! What do you think?” Jennifer gestured with her hands as she talked. I frowned, “He’s a guy. I don’t think anything.” Jennifer looked a little frustrated as she questioned, “You don’t think!? 

You don’t think he’s cute? Or funny? Or anything?” I folded my arms across my chest and said firmly, “He’s a guy. What else is there to say?” Before she could say anything else, David returned. 

Getting close to me he asked, “Okay, little darlin’. 

What will you have to drink?” Taking a step backward and looking serious, “I don’t think I want to drink any alcohol tonight.” David just shrugged and asked, “How about a Coke?” I nodded, “Sure, that’d be fine.” 

I needed to keep my wits about me. I didn’t want to discover myself in David’s bed in the morning with no memory of how I got there. “What kind of Coke do you want?” asked David. 

“Dr. Pepper.” As David left towards the bar, Jennifer whispered, “I don’t see how you don’t think he’s gorgeous.” 

I gave up trying to explain myself and just asked, “What about you? How’s it going with Richard?” Jennifer smiled and gushed, “Great! We’ve picked up right where we left off. It’s like we’ve never been apart.” 

“That’s great, Jenn,” I said sincerely. 

“I hope everything works out for you.” 

Richard and David returned before Jennifer could say anything else. Richard set his beer down on the table next to the pool table, put some quarters in the pool table’s slot, and exclaimed, “Let’s play some pool!” 

As expected, Jennifer and Richard teamed up against David and me. I followed Jennifer’s lead and acted like I’d never really played before even though I considered myself a pretty good player. 

Huge mistake! David kept getting behind me and touching my hands to help me line up a shot and to show me how to play. 

The game was taking a little longer than it should have with the guys helping us girls play. However, the game finally ended when Jennifer sank the eight ball when they still had a ball on the table. David gave me a big hug and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. Oh God! He just kissed me! 

At least it wasn’t on the mouth. I wriggled from his grasp and gave him a naughty-naughty gesture even though I really wanted to break a pool cue over his head. 

  Four games later and everyone was pretty much ready to call it a night. I hate the way bars smell, and all I could think of was taking a shower when I got home to get rid of the stale tobacco odor that seemed to permeate the atmosphere of bars. 

We climbed back into Richard’s car, but unfortunately, this time Richard and Jennifer took the front seats, which meant David was sitting in the back with me. 

As we were getting situated and before Richard started the engine, David threw his arm across the back seat behind me and looked directly at me. Bluntly he asked, “You’re a guy, aren’t you?” Busted! A flush of adrenalin rushed over me as my “fight or flight” impulse screamed to run like hell. Jennifer let out a short gasp and turned around as best she could to look at me. I put one hand on the door handle as I fumbled around for words. I managed to sputter, “Wha… why would… why would you ask that?”

David grinned. He didn’t seem upset at the idea at all. In fact, he inched closer to me. He said, “You did an excellent job! I don’t think most folks would have caught on, but you can’t hide your Adam’s apple or your shorter, slightly thicker fingers. 

I wasn’t sure the other night at the Sunset Lounge, but tonight I was convinced.” He leaned into me and at first I thought he was going to kill me, but he actually seemed happy about the whole thing. 

I was most anxious, “Okay, you caught me. 

Yes, I’m a guy.” Turning away from me, David said, “See, Richard? I told you she was a she-male, now didn’t I?” Richard nodded, “Yep, you were right. I wouldn’t have believed it a few days ago.” I frowned at David, “Hey now, I’m not exactly a she-male…”