Page 23 of Decidedly Off Limits
She and Erin walked into the small foyer, their hands filled with supplies. After the restaurant, they had dragged me to the makeup counter at Macy’s and then to a shoe store. There, they had convinced me to buy stilettos even though I couldn’t walk in them.
They placed everything onto the kitchen table. Holly then stood there taking in the house. I’d bought it a few years ago, after I’d finished studying to be a physical therapist, and furnished it Scandinavian style. A nod to my Swedish heritage. The only items that weren’t a nod to my heritage were the cute and colorful owl pictures, pillows, and ornaments scattered throughout.
“Nice place,” she said, smile genuine as always.
Erin placed a pile of women’s magazines on the table. “This is your homework assignment.”
“Homework?” I squeaked. “You never said anything about homework.”
“These magazines have great articles on sexual confidence and ways to please a man. And this…” She removed a book from the bottom of the pile.
“You got meTheJoy of Sex?”
“No, I’m loaning it to you. I’m gonna want it back.”
Somehow I managed not to groan. This sure as heck wasn’t what I had signed up for. I thought they would apply some makeup on me and call it a day. “You’re not quizzing me on any of this, are you?”
“No, unlike our high-school teachers, I trust you’ll study the info.”
“Remember, it’s not just about pleasing the guy,” Holly said. “It’s about knowing whatyouenjoy. If you know what makes you feel good, you’ll feel more confident. And if a guy does ask you what you like, you’ll be able to tell him. Trust me, guys eat that up. It’s like a major turn on.”
“And don’t be afraid to ask him what he likes,” Erin piped in. “Guys love that too.”
I nodded, mentally taking notes, wondering what I’d gotten myself in to. Wondering what Trent enjoyed when it came to sex.
Ugh!I couldn’t go there. Holly liked Trent. Holly was amazing and sweet and intelligent. She was perfect for him. He just needed to open his eyes and see what was in front of him.
Even if it did break my heart.
“Okay, first things first.” Holly grabbed the bag with the new makeup. “Your makeup is perfect for the daytime, but for a date, it needs to smolder. I’m going to teach you how to do that.”
“Then come these.” Erin held up the stilettos.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You’re going to practice walking in them.”
“Can’t wait,” I muttered under my breath. “Jeff is just taking me to a movie. I won’t have to wear them for that, right?”
“Wrong,” Holly replied, spreading out her supplies on the table. She gestured for me to take a seat. “Erin and I came up with the perfect movie outfit—including the shoes.”
“And what exactly is this perfect outfit?” Visions of micro minis and low-cut tops danced in my head, mocking me. It was one thing to stand around in a super-short skirt. It was another to sit in a movie theater and have the world get a sneak peek at your underwear.
Or thong—they had already insisted that I would be wearing one for the date.
“You’ll see once we’re finished,” Erin said before disappearing from the kitchen.
The next twenty minutes involved Holly making up one side of my face, then getting me to replicate the results. Her goal wasn’t to make me look like someone on the cover of Vogue, with more makeup than I wear in a week. But the end result was two steps above my usual level of sexiness—which was pretty much non-existent.
“If you were wearing an evening gown and attending a gala event, you would want to wear even more makeup than this,” she explained. “But glamorous sexiness isn’t the right look for you. You should play up the innocent sexy-kitten vibe you pull off so well.”
“But remember, you don’t want to come off as easy,” Erin said, jumping into the next part of my lesson on sexual confidence. My head was spinning from all the information they were throwing at me. “You want to be friendly, approachable, and non-intimidating, but never easy.”
“That’s right. The goal is for him not to wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am you and you never see him again. You want him unable to stop thinking about you after the date.”
I nodded as I tried to absorb everything they’d been telling me for the past hour.
Wow, being sexy was a lot of work.