Then There Was Maverick

Chapter 3

I didn't hear a word Zach said after he left. My mind was racing. Where did Mason go? I had so much I needed to ask him, but I didn't know if I even wanted to talk to him.

"And that's all you need to know for the time being," Zach finished as I sobered up, "I'll see all of you beautiful people at the Beta party tonight!"

As the crowd began to clear out from the Student Center, I heard Max and the girls excitedly discussing their plans for tonight. "That cool with you, Katie?" Bonnie asked for assurance.

"Sorry, I spaced out," I explained, "What'd you say?"

"We were just wondering if you were going to the party tonight?" Haley repeated with a laugh.

I hesitated before responding. I had never been around many drunk people in my time, nevertheless a room full of intoxicated underaged college students with raging hormones. The lack of control I would have over the situation scared me.

"We'll be there," my roommate confirmed, breaking my train of thought.

"Great!" Bonnie celebrated, "We'll meet you outside the Student Center at 11:00 so we can head over together."

While we were walking back to our dorm, Max excitedly rambled on about the party tonight. Wondering who would be there, what the house would look like, if it would be like one of the stereotypical parties with a keg and booze on an outdoor deck. "I finally get to break out all of my clothes that I've been saving for occasions like this," she gushed as she unlocked the door to our room. Once inside, she went straight to the closet and began the search for her perfect outfit. I had never seen anyone throw around clothes as rapidly as the animated version of Lizzie McGuire, but Max sure was giving her a run for her money at the moment. Most of the floor behind her was covered in a huge pile of rejected clothing items. In one final attempt, Max reached into her closet and pulled out what she claimed to be the "perfect outfit" for our night at the houses. If one could consider this to be an outfit, it wasn't much of one. The skin-tight black jeans had rips up to the mid-thigh, and the cheetah print shirt left little to the imagination as it had an open back with straps crisscrossing to hold the cloth together and a low-cut dip lined with black lace in the front, showcasing a large amount of cleavage.

After Max was dressed for what she was referring to as our "frat house debut," she turned to me and asked what I was planning to wear. As I searched through my closet, I pulled out the lilac colored sundress my mother had given me for my eighteenth birthday. She claimed that the dress was "appropriate but mature." Many things in my life had tended to be "appropriate but something" due to the role my father held in the church. Every article of clothing, jewelry, and even book I owned rode a fine line in between appropriate for church and something a normal teenager would own. As I turned and put the hanger above my head to show Max the dress I asked hopefully, "What do you think of this one?"

"Well," Max began, "I think it's absolutely adorable, for Sunday morning service. Do you have anything a little more... risky, perhaps?"

"This dress," I responded with furrowed eyebrows, "is the most revealing piece of clothing I own."

Max released a hearty laugh, attempting to speak in between fits, "Oh honey, let's see what we can find you out of my closet."

After 10 minutes of pulling out items of clothing and putting them back into her closet, she finally turned around and revealed to me her masterpiece.

"Don't look at it," she demanded sternly, "Just put it on and then look."

I hesitantly took the clothes from her and began to put them on. I started with the black top that was cropped at the end and showed most of my stomach. Next, I pulled on the snake print skirt that fit like a second skin and ended just above the middle of my thighs. As I began to step in front of the mirror, Max held up her hand in protest and handed me a pair of black high-top converse and gold hoop earrings. After completing the look, I stepped in front of the mirror and was shocked by the person who was staring back at me. This girl looks so much different than the one who left her house this morning. I didn't recognize her, but I was strangely fond of her. The clothes showcased the figure I didn't even know I had and accentuated every curve on my body.