Hang Out

You knock on the door of what used to be your mom's bedroom. You've spent the last hour rehearsing what you want to say to Jeff. When he calls for you to come in, you open the door and step inside.

"Um, Sir..." you start, hands tucked behind your back, "I wanted to ask you something..."

Jeff is sitting up in the bed, watching something on his laptop. He smiles and waves you in, "Sure sport, what is it?"

You wring your hands together behind you nervously. You're wearing your skirt outfit from earlier, and added some of your new heels that Jeff bought you, hoping to win some favor from him. "Umm... about when Lucas comes over tomorrow... Could I maybe wear my normal clothes then, and not my new clothes?"

Jeff knits his brow, a sternness sweeping over his face. "Why would you wanna do that? The whole point of your new wardrobe is to make you try new things and stop caring what other people think about you. It kind of defeats the whole purpose if you only wear it when people can't see you."

"B-but you see me everyday! And... it's kind of soon for other people. I'm not used to it yet. Maybe could I get a pass? Just this once?" You blush and steel yourself. You've begun to learn what Jeff responds to - Unfortunately he that mostly includes things that embarrass you. "P-Please, Daddy?"

He half-smirk and sighs. "Well... I don't like it, but... I guess. I do have conditions, though. If I let you wear your old clothes when your friend is over tomorrow, you have to do something for me in return - whatever I want. And when I ask for that something, you aren't allowed to say no or complain. Understand?"

You squirm a little. You didn't like the sound of whatever he wants. You aren't sure yet exactly what he could want, and really don't like the idea of not being able to say no. But you nod anyway and say, "Yes, Sir... Thank you."

Before you leave, Jeff stops you. "One more thing. You look good in those heels. Why don't you start wearing heels whenever you cook or clean for me from now on? Like my own personal maid!" He laughs as you nod and quickly scurry out of the room.

Great. As if cooking and cleaning weren't unpleasant enough already.

Lucas comes over the next day after you get home from Gymnastics practice. Luckily you're already changed back into your regular clothes by the time he arrives, and open the door for him.

"Hey man, what's up!" Lucas greets enthusiastically as he enters your home. "Ready to hang?"

It's been a while since you've had a friend over. Most of your social interactions happened online, with people you had only ever known through games. You'd had a few friends growing up, but not many, and most ended up going to different schools or moving away, and you lost touch. You only really hung out 'irl' with people once every few months or so.

"Come on in! Let's get hangin'!" You lead the way to your room and invite Lucas to make himself at home. It's a little awkward at first since you aren't the most social person, but Lucas is a natural extrovert and more than fills the conversational gaps left by your quietness.

You start out by helping each other with the English essay that you both have due at the end of the week, but get distracted when Lucas notices your game consoles. You'd finally gotten them back from Jeff, but hadn't had time to play on them again yet.

"Dude, is that Halo 3?" Lucas kneels by your entertainment center, scanning your library of games. "I used to play that with my brother every day after school. We got almost religious about it! Man, it's been forever since I played."

"Want to?" you ask, fishing out a couple of 360 controllers from a box under your bed. "I got pretty good one Summer, too. Almost beat the campaign on Legendary - all skulls active."

Lucas grins. "Almost? Aiken, I know we just met like, yesterday, but... Do you wanna Mythic Halo 3 with me?"

A few hours later, you're deep into the Halo 3 campaign. You're having a blast as you plow through level after level and re-live all the nostalgia of one of your favorite games in co-op.

You take a quick break to stretch and grab snacks for you and your friend. When you get back, you find Lucas holding your Halloween costume. You must have kicked it under something and forgotten about it!

"Uhm, I can explain!" you say, frantically trying to think up a good excuse story that might make sense.

"Dude, did you wear this?" He looks inquisitively at you, then up and down the skimpy outfit again. And to your surprise, he laughs warmly. "That's awesome! Damn. I wouldn't have had the guts, but I bet you looked great in it." He glances around your room and spots a poster for Return of the Jedi, "Oh man, you should go as **** Leia next year!"

You blush. Was he making fun of you? It didn't feel like it. He was smiling and seemed so casual about the whole thing. It wasn't taunting or teasing. Just... friendly banter. Could he really imagine you in the iconic gold bikini?

"Only if you go as Han Solo!" you joke. You instantly regret it, though, as the implications dawn on you.

Lucas grins and looks like he's about to say something, when Jeff knocks on your door. "Aiken, do you know what time it is? It's a school night, pal. I think it's time for your friend to go now. Say goodbye and start getting ready for bed. What do you say?"

You blush. "Yes, Sir..." and look at Lucas. Luckily, he doesn't seem bothered by the sudden interruption, or by the fact that you call your stepdad 'Sir.'

"My bad, Mr. Aiken's dad, I didn't realize how long we'd been playing. See you tomorrow at Swim practice, Aiken!"

When Lucas leaves, Jeff stays behind. At first, you're worried he's going to scold you. But then he sits on your bed next to you and asks, "So, how'd it go?"

You shrug and smile, "Good, I think. We had a lot of fun, and we still need to finish our game."

Jeff looks at the TV where Halo 3 is still paused, and frowns. "Oh, that's what you did? Well, I'm glad you had a good time. I hope you at least got some studying done and didn't just play games the whole time. You should have him over again. But not on Saturday. I invited the Brandts to come over on Saturday."

"The Brandts? You mean... Megan will be coming... here!?" you gulp.

Jeff grins. "I bought you a little black dress that would be just perfect for the occasion!"