A big, friendly surprise

As the doorbell rang through the hall to the living room, Vyki abruptly stopped dancing. Suddenly the reality of one of their friends who wasn’t involved in the buildup or plan seeing Paul done up in all the makeup, attachments, clothes, and accessories caused a rush of anxiety and paranoia. Without Molly here, would they think it was all his twisted idea? Would they think it's what he always wanted?

Vyki realized the thoughts were quickly spiraling to the negative and punched the app to release some feel-good hormones. As the <BUZZ> ran along the tube and reverberated through her gland to the metal tool & back, she had to bite back the moan as the rush ran through her clouded mind and worrying just seemed like too much effort.

Take a breath to compose herself, she strutted towards the front door, stopping for a moment to ensure her hair & makeup were still good, positioning her hood just so for her first reveal, and slowly sashayed to the door. Grasping the handle, she released the latch and opened the door quickly announcing “Hello! Welcome to the party!” before she could back out or get more nervous.

However, she was very surprised to see the mountain standing before her. It took her a moment to process that the main in the three-piece suit was so tall that he was even taller than her nearly 6-foot frame that was elevated by the 4-inch heels. She was pretty sure even her platforms would barely get her up to his height. However, his imposing height was only further enhanced by his wide build set off by his broad shoulders and only slightly soft waste. While the build was imposing, it wasn’t completely foreign, but it took a moment for her brain to process that this debonair giant was their friend Lou. Normally, he was at most in a t-shirt and jeans; to see him this put together in formal attire almost seemed as far from normal as her in a skirt.

For his part, Lou was equally surprised to be greeted by the lovely sight before him. He had come early expected to hit more of the storm with how far out he lived, but the storms were luckily just like his last girlfriend of all bombastic terrorizing with little affect and gone before you knew it. He kicked himself for even thinking about her. He had promised himself he was going to come out here to support his friends that he hadn’t seen in so long and take his mind off work & finally get past the girl who finally broke it off at the start of quarantine. He was just lucky they hadn’t moved in before being stuck together.

He knew he was going to meet up with his buddies here for their quartet view and wore the monkey suit as the costume. He expected everyone else to be coupled up and just have a safe, fun night without anyone worrying about their kids. He also prided himself on knowing most of the people in the wide circle even though he didn’t interact with many regularly so the last thing he expected was meeting someone new and definitely not when they first opened the door. And, with her not being the usual dainty flower or minuscule girl, Lou was sure he would have remembered this firecracker of a lady. Maybe she was a friend or family member that was just visiting. Surely if she had been involved with someone in the group, he would have recognized her from the hours of bored scrolling from social media that had defined his meager social life.

Lou finally realized he was standing open mouthed on the porch like some sort of mute salesman staring at the beauty as she was kind enough to let him. Sure his mother was going to jump out from behind some bush and smack him upside the head only to embarrass him further, he finally remembered his manors and introduced himself, “hi, I’m Lou. Friend of Paul & Molly,” clicking his heels together with a smile and a sharp bow.

Vyki was surprised at how booming his voice could be even when so soft spoken but was thrilled that he didn’t seem to recognize her. She wasn’t sure if he was just playing along or really didn’t know. Regardless, it seemed like a fun game. “Pleasure to meet you, Lou. I’m Vyki,” she announced trying a soft curtsy in response before gesturing inside, “come in and follow me.” Squeezing the plug within, she silently told herself, ‘it’s now or never’ as she turned and tried to ensure her hip sway was immaculate, and her skirt swung in perfect time as she kept her fluid pace to the living room.

Trying to keep up the distraction in case things were off, she tried to play up the welcoming hostess, “I was surprised to have a visitor so early but hope the weather didn’t cause you too many problems.”

Holding the door open & frozen, shamefully watching the skirt sway side to side from the angel before him. He finally registered she had asked him a question as she was halfway down the entry way. Wiping the soles of his polished shoes trying to ensure he didn’t leave a mess behind him, Lou quickly followed, “uh, no it really wasn’t too bad. Guess I’m the lucky first guest then? I’m honored.”

Vyki stopped at the end of the hall as she realized she had left him standing in the open air as he tried to keep his feet clean for them. She patiently waited as she was hopeful, she could get him to help her with the drinks, but just had to maintain the gracious hostess to ensure he would. “Well, you have impeccable timing. I just put out the last of the trays and décor, before you arrived so you don’t have to see me scamper about.”

As he exited the entry way and got nearer to her, his eyes finally left her form and took in the decorations around them. It really had been done up well and the fresh smell of pastries & snacks did seem to permeate the room. However, he couldn’t help but get a waft of fruity spice coming from Vyki. “Well, the food smells wonderful and these decorations look almost as amazing as you,” Lou volunteered and then kicked himself for using such a cheesy line. He needed to keep his cool and just enjoy the evening.

Giggling at the comment, Vyki was sure it meant she had been figured out, but he was accepting. Keeping up the banter, Vyki replied with, “well, I do have to keep up appearances for the guests.” She continued as she moved around to the end of the bar attached to the kitchen, ”plus, we had so much help getting this all together, I can hardly take credit for much of it.”

Taking a seat, the stool next to where she had perched herself in her shoes, Lou was finally able to stare directly into her sapphire eyes. The way she kept talking as if she were hosting this, he was sure it wasn’t Molly as she had a completely different build, so perhaps that had taken on a new third in their poly relationship? Regardless, he needed to maintain his distance and just make a good first impression & stop being a creep. “Well, you’re the only one here at the moment, so I’m sure Molly & Paul won’t mind you taking credit.”

Vyki realized that he really didn’t recognize her, and she was still a stranger to him. She debated about how long she could keep this up and how he would react when he finally found out....