24. Christa

I satin the parking lot of the church, trying to work up the drive to go inside and get to work. But I didn’t want to go inside. I wanted to do something else. Anything else. I had all my plans laid out for the day and I knew what I had to do. It was as simple as opening my door. I could do that. I just had to pull on the handle.

Just do it.

A knock on the window had me jumping in my seat. My father’s face smiled down at me as he motioned for me to roll down the window. I did as he asked, pasting a smile on my face.

“Are you going in or staring at the entrance all day?”

“Actually, I’m not going in to work today.”

His face said it all. He was confused, maybe a little disappointed. “But you’ve already missed so much work. Are you still feeling sick?”

Little did he know that not only was I not feeling sick, I was ditching because I wanted to do something wild and crazy. Or maybe just something that had nothing to do with the church.

“Not at all. I just have other things to do today.”

He shot me a disapproving look. “And what could be more important than God’s work?”

“I’ll let you know when I find out,” I grinned, rolling up the window. I started the car as he pounded on the window, but I ignored him and pulled out of the lot. Something inside me broke free as I drove away with a smile on my face. Nothing could ruin this day for me. I called the one person who I knew could really help me out.

“Emily, I need you,” I said as soon as she answered.

“Shoot, babe.”

“I need to reinvent myself.”

“And you called me? Babe, I got this covered.” I heard her talking to someone and could barely hear her end of the conversation. “Yeah, I have to go home. I’m seriously sick…Yeah, I was just in the bathroom and you would not believe what came out of my backside. It was green and oozing something. Ick! Yeah, and then I got this churning in my stomach. I think I might be contagious. Does this look bad to you?”

I could only imagine what she was showing her boss. In fact, I was pretty sure I didn’t want to know.

“You still there, babe?”

“Yeah,” I chuckled. “I hope I won’t get you in trouble.”

“Are you kidding? After what I just showed him, he’ll be begging me to miss at least a few days of work.”

“What did you show him?” I asked against my better judgment.

“A tattoo.”

“And that got you out of work?”

“It’s a very realistic tattoo I got just for this purpose. I’ll show you when I pick you up. Your house, twenty minutes.”

“I’ll be there.”

“Oh, and don’t bother getting dressed. I’ll bring the clothes.”

I was slightly terrified as she hung up the phone, but decided to go with it. If I was going to turn my life around, it was time to let someone else take the reins and guide me into the danger zone. That could no longer be Max. He just wasn’t cut out for helping anyone other than himself to a bottle of booze. But Emily—she was the epitome of fun in a bottle. And while I had never indulged in her side of life before, I was desperate to break free and carve a path for myself.

I’d tried it my way and failed miserably. But I had a feeling that after today, I would have the driving force to make my life something I could be proud of and would make me happy.

By the time I pulled into my driveway, I was absolutely giddy. I couldn’t wait to get this day started. It was the first time in a long time I was actually excited about something, which was a sad representation of the state of my life.

“Girl, I got you all the outfits,” Emily said as she hustled through my door. Her arms were overflowing with hangers of clothes, and a few shoes dangled from her fingers underneath the pile.

I laughed at the sight of her. “You know, I’ll only need one outfit.” I started grabbing hangers from her and hung them on the back of the door.

“Will you? Who knows what the day will bring? Alright, the first thing we’re doing is going to a baseball game.”

I stalled, turning back to her. “A game?”

“You don’t know what will inspire you. We’re just rolling with the punches. Okay, this is what you’re going to wear,” she said, pulling out one particular hanger. “Now, since Kansas City is too far, I found a college team we can watch. But we have to hurry if we want to make it there in time.”

“In time for what? Isn’t it still early?”

She grinned at me. “To hit the bars before the game.”

“We’re going drinking? It’s eight-thirty in the morning!”

“Yes, but it will be ten-thirty when we get there. And I want a big pretzel, and nothing goes better with pretzels than beer.”

That didn’t make any sense at all. If we were going to a bar, how would we get beer into the game? And were we going to steal the glass and hide them under our jackets, thus only having the one beer? There were so many questions swirling in my head, but this was Emily, and I decided to just go with it.

I quickly undressed and was about to pull on the jeans when she gasped.

“What are those?”

She was staring at my ass, so I spun, trying to see what she was looking at. “What? What is it?”

“Girl, we’re trying to change things up. There is no way I’m letting you out of the house in those ginormous panties! You look like a granny!”

I glared at her. “These are regular bikini underwear, and unless you’re calling me fat, there is absolutely nothing wrong with my panties!”

“No, this won’t do. You need to live free today, and there’s only one way to do that. I think I have a pair with me.” She hurried over to the bed and rifled through her purse. She pulled her hand out, holding the thin material sky high.

“No, I’m not wearing your underwear!” I gasped, taking a step back. “That’s so disgusting.”

“Oh, relax. They’re clean. Besides, this is my day and you can’t argue with me. You have to do whatever I say.”

“And the way to turn my life around is to wear used panties?”

“They’ve been washed,” she argued, shoving them in my face.

I held them up in front of my face, pulling them taut. The thin lace that would be up my tushy looked particularly uncomfortable. I had never worn a thong before, and I wasn’t looking forward to it now.

“Maybe something with just a little more coverage,” I pleaded.

“Change right now. And I’ll be checking to make sure you followed my instructions.”

I grimaced, but stalked into the bathroom to change. As I pulled them up, I stood on my tiptoes to see what I looked like in the mirror. I guess I could see the appeal. Maybe to a man, but for me, they were so uncomfortable. I felt like I had poop stuck between my cheeks.

I pulled the door open and frowned. “Do we have to do this?”

Her eyes bugged out as she stared at me. “Girl…what is that?”

Of course, there was something else wrong. “What now?”

“When was the last time you shaved that bush?”

I pursed my lips in anger. “I don’t do that.”

“Why? Afraid the Lord will think you’re soliciting sex?”

“Hey—”

“No, if we’re going to break you out of your comfort zone, you have to give a little.”

“It looks like I’m the only one giving,” I grumbled.

“Yes, well, I’m already out of my comfort zone, so I have no need to give. We’ll take care of that issue later. For now, we’re going to finish getting ready for the game.”

She thrust the jeans at me. I pulled the tiny things on, sucking in a breath as I pulled them over my hips. I was the same size as her. How the hell did she fit in these? I hollowed my stomach as I buttoned the damn things. When I was done, I felt like a stuffed sausage despite the fact that they fit just fine around my waist. I wasn’t used to wearing such tight clothing.

“Are you sure about this?”

“They’re called skinny jeans,” she said, staring at me like I was an idiot. “You’ll be fine.”

“I know I will, but don’t you think they’re a little revealing?”

“Yes, they’re showing off your body. Now, put this on.”

Thank goodness it was a jersey, which would be long enough to cover my tushy. “That’s better,” I grinned, looking at myself in the mirror.

She came up behind me and grabbed the bottom of the jersey, then tied it in a knot at mid-waist.

“What are you doing? My stomach is showing!”

“I know,” she grinned. “You look hot!”

I flushed bright red and tugged on the knot, but she slapped my hand away. “Don’t even think about it. You asked for my help. Now let me do that.”

“How is baring this much skin going to help me?”

“You never know until you try,” she laughed. “Besides, it’s one day and we’ll be nowhere near anyone you know. This is your chance to break free and live life for one day as if you were a totally new person! Besides, you’ve already had sex, which is like the worst thing you could do.”

“Thanks,” I muttered. “That makes me feel so much better.”

“It should! This is your day. Live life as if you were someone else. You never know. You might actually enjoy yourself.”

I cocked my head to the side as I stared at myself in the mirror. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“Are you sure about this?”I hissed, hiding under the brim of my baseball hat.

“Positive,” she giggled, smuggling the cans of beer under her shirt. She pulled the jacket tight around her waist and I did the same. I felt like everyone was watching me, waiting to point their fingers and call the police over to take me down to the station.

“Do they put people in jail for this?”

She laughed uproariously at that. “Girl, you need to get out more.”

I held my ticket tight in my hand as I approached the entrance. Keeping my head down, I tried to look as unassuming as possible, but I had the distinct feeling I was only making it worse. The kid stamping hands barely glanced at me, muttering something about enjoying the game. And then we were inside. I finally raised my head and stared out at the field. It was so bright and cheery, the perfect day to play hooky.

“Let’s get our food now,” she said, steering me over to the concession stand.

They had these gigantic pretzels with the cheesiest dip I’d ever seen. It all looked so mouthwatering. And then there were large drinks that looked way more enticing than the beer under my shirt, but I knew Emily would never allow me to get one of those in place of drinking.

“Ooh, let’s get hot dogs, too,” she said, pulling me to the counter. “Uh, we’ll have two large pretzels with cheese dip, two hot dogs with everything, and two bags of popcorn.”

“We’ll never eat all that,” I hissed. “It’s such a waste of money!”

She turned and pierced me with a stare that told me not to screw with her.

“And a box of milk duds,” I added. As the kid turned and got to work, I muttered, “I’m going to have to unbutton my pants to get through this day.”

“And you’ll be thanking me when it’s over,” she grinned.

This was not what I had in mind when I asked her to help me today. Then again, the thought of all those dresses on the hangers at home terrified me even more than this.

With our arms loaded up, we made our way to our seats. It was clear we didn’t belong in this crowd. It was filled with college students, and while I didn’t look that old, I was definitely not twenty-one.

“Hey, handsome,” Emily winked at a kid. He couldn’t have been older than twenty, and stared at her like a cougar he wouldn’t mind spending a night with. “I think these are our seats,” she said, talking to me, but still staring at the guy.

“Emily,” I hissed. “Stop it.”

“Stop what? He’s cute.”

“And barely legal,” I argued.

He got up and jumped over the seats, snatching some food from her hands. “Here, let me help you.”

“Thanks,” she winked at him. “Do you come to a lot of these?”

“Every game. You?”

“My first one. You might call me a baseball virgin.”

I rolled my eyes as I took a seat. It was clear the guy was going to stay with us the whole time based on the sexy grin he was shooting her way. What was the point of coming here if she was going to ignore me?

“This is my friend Christa. She’s a baseball virgin, too. We’ve always wanted to…experience a triple play.”

I choked on the hot dog I had just put in my mouth. Even as inexperienced as I was, I understood her meaning perfectly. “Emily!”

“You have to excuse my friend,” Emily chuckled. “She’s kind of shy.”

“And not into orgies!”

“Orgies are for four people or more,” she informed me as she turned back to the guy. “Right?”

He chuckled nervously, obviously out of his depth with my friend. I was mortified and wholly unprepared to deal with this side of Emily. Maybe I had made the wrong choice in asking for her help. I sunk down in my seat and started shoving pieces of pretzel in my mouth as I tried to drown out the sound of Emily flirting with the college kid. At one point, I even pressed my fingers to my ears to block out the worst of it. When the game finally started, I tried to get lost in it, but instead, I got lost in my own head.

As I stared at the baseball players’ butts, I started thinking about Max and what he would look like in the tight white pants. But then I decided that his legs were too muscular. And then I started thinking about how powerful he was—how he held me up against the door as he took me. With every minute that passed, I fell deeper down the rabbit hole that was Max.

Everyone around me stood and cheered. I glanced around, wondering what they were all yelling at and finally looked at the field. People around me were cheering and pointing in the air. I looked up just as the baseball smacked into my shoulder. Crying out, I fell into the chair as people around me scrambled for the ball. Even Emily pushed me out of the way to get the ball under my seat.

“Move, bitch!”

I cried out as I fell sideways, cracking my ribs on the armrest. “You witch! You hurt me!”

She leapt up, holding the ball high in the air as she jumped around. “I got it! I got it!” Then she turned to me and realized I was injured. “Shit, I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not okay! You shoved me over!”

“Yeah, but…there was a ball! I’ve never gotten one before.”

“You could have just offered to sit on any of the player’s laps and they would have given you one without nearly killing me!”

She snorted. “I don’t think sitting on their laps would have helped, if you know what I mean.”

“I always know what you mean,” I grumbled.

She held out her hand and helped me up, then gasped as she stared at the seat I’d fallen into. “The beer! The cans are broken!”

“That’s what you’re worried about? I’m going to have a bruise the size of a baseball on my shoulder!”

“Well, I would hope so. You did get hit with one,” she teased.

I stomped my feet, ready to leave this place. “This was not what I had in mind for today!”

“Okay,” she shrugged. “So, we know you don’t have a future in baseball.”

I stared at her incredulously. “I could have told you that!”

“Yes, but now you know for certain. Aren’t you glad you have me for a friend?”

“Not at the moment,” I said through gritted teeth. “Can we go now?”

I didn’t like the wicked grin that crossed her lips. “Oh yeah.”