Pearl uses her own style as inspiration

Thinking, she puts together a rough plan, and executes it. “Zoe, remember how clothes work - in the sense of how you put them on and take them off, how you wash them and care for them, and how coordinating outfits works.”

Zoey twitches as the knowledge comes back to her. Freaky.

Pearl massages her throbbing breasts and ponders the next step. Man, running around and fucking Chase without any support really did a number on her. Anyway, for a moment Pearl thinks about putting Zoey more or less back to how she was, except with no memory of the problematic parts of the encounter with Pearl.

But then Pearl recalls how Chase’s eyes bulged out of his head when he saw Zoey stripping out of all her clothes.

Well, no one can say Pearl isn’t a cool friend. Or, y’know, girlfriend. If Chase wants to look at Zoey, well, why couldn’t she let him?

“All right,” says Pearl, motioning to Zoey to stand in the middle of the room. “Let’s see what we’re working with.”

Quizzically, Zoey drops her clothes and comes to stand over in front of Pearl. “What do you need to see? Is this another clothes thing?”

“Sorta,” says Pearl. “Stand up straight and hold your arms out a bit. Straighter - shoulders back more - good.” With Zoey holding still, Pearl circles around her, taking note of her figure and features.

“What are you doing?”

Pearl ignores her to focus on the inspection. “Just hold still.”

Zoey is skinny in all the ways Pearl isn’t. Flat stomach, petite chest, tall, with long legs, narrow hips, and a taut butt. Plus she has hipster chick energy - side-shaved pixie cut, a nose ring. Pearl totally understands why Chase couldn’t keep his eyes off her. And when Pearl squints just right and turns her head a little, Zoey even looks a little bit like Jane, except, you know, less fit and more feminine.

Hmm. Would it be good for Chase to have someone around like Zoey that he could check out, just to keep it flushed of his system? If they were going to be a thing now (were they?), Pearl didn’t want Chase changing his mind about her anytime soon, especially when they were both sorta low-key working on making a whole new human together.

It’s not like showing a little skin would be bad for her, Pearl thinks. She could stand to loosen up a bit. It’d be a good experience at the very least, might even help her loosen up.

She nods as she circles back around to Zoey’s front.

“All right. Here’s how this is going to work,” says Pearl, putting her hands on her bare hips and looking Zoey in the eye. “Clothes are fabric things you wear on your body to make yourself look certain ways to people, or to protect yourself from the elements. Aside from protecting yourself, though, you only wear clothes for two reasons.”

Zoey touches a hand to her chest, in awe of this new truth. “I do?”

Pearl counts them off. “The first reason you wear clothes is to keep me and Chase from getting in trouble,” says Pearl. “The second reason you wear clothes is to show off to Chase. You love dressing in ways that he likes, ways that get his attention. It’s fun. It’s the coolest thing you can think of.”

Zoey adjusts to the new perspective, eyes wide. “Chase? You mean the guy you were with?”

Pearl nods.

Her interest grows. “What ways does he like people to dress?”

Pearl only has to glance over at her shirt and socks by the sink for a reminder. “Well, right now you’re naked with shoes, which honestly would probably work for him, but let’s keep that in reserve for now. I’ll give you a style to match. The hipster thing is cute, but, apparently, Chase likes girls like me and girls like… well, I’ll just tell you.”

Zoey leans in close.

“For your style, less is more,” says Pearl, looking over the naked girl appraisingly. “Keep it simple - fewer items. And if you’re not showing skin, you want it to be skin tight, or sheer. Probably both. That’s how you like it. Bras are okay if they’re visible - or, y’know what Zoe, you’ve barely got boobs.” She eyes Zoey’s slight chest. “Don’t bother with bras if you’re wearing anything other than straight underwear.”

“What are bras?” asks Zoey.

Pearl picks out Zoey’s bra from her clothes and shows it to her. It’s lacey and black, and matches the woman’s discarded thong - the fabric’s still warm from the clerk’s body when she’d been wearing it. “These.”

Zoey examines it critically. “That thing was hard to take off.”

Pearl rolls her eyes. “God, I know, right? Believe me, you’re better off without them if you can get away with it,” she says, and she tosses Zoey’s bra back into the heap. “Anyway - in general, people will freak out if they see too much of your boobs, butt, or vagina. Good rule of thumb is to think about coverage if you’re going to be around people who will get you in trouble.”

Pearl gives Zoey a couple more pointers, such as how rain might change clothing options, or how different situations call for different styles. Then she claps her hands.

“Let’s see what you learned,” says Pearl, ushering Zoey back to her clothes. “Pick out an outfit and get dressed.”

Zoey picks through her clothing in thought. She very purposefully avoids the bra, and instead picks out the little black thong that went with it. “What’s this?”

“That’s a thong,” said Pearl. “I’m sure Chase’ll go crazy for those on you.”

The clerk smiles and, experimentally, pulls the garment up taut till it’s nestled tight between her thighs, cupping her mound. Zoey looks down at her body, twisting left and right as she gets a feeling for how she looks. “I like that it’s a little see-through.”

“Are those for a boyfriend?” asks Pearl, wondering aloud.

Zoey tilts her head. “What do thongs have to do with boyfriends?”

Pearl snorts. That’s a little too much of a tangent for Zoey right now. “Never mind. Thongs are a good fit for you as far as underwear goes.”

“Underwear?”

“Clothes you wear under clothes, like bras,” says Pearl. “Keep going.”

Next, Zoey kicks aside her slacks and instead picks up her professional black blouse, name tag still attached. She looks to Pearl for confirmation, and Pearl answers with a nod. Sans bra, Zoey begins buttoning up the shirt, but Pearl stops her halfway.

“It’d look better if you show more skin,” she advises. “Don’t worry, you’ve got nothing to hide.”

Zoey looks down at herself and suddenly finds she agrees. “Nothing to hide….”

Pearl nods. Showing some skin, even a ton of skin, is an easy way to be on the cutting edge. She doesn’t want Chase getting bored of looking at Zoey anytime soon. This way, all she’ll need to do is make sure they stop by the store once in a while so Chase can get his fill of eye candy that’s not Pearl’s flavor.

Zoe goes back to her clothes and picks up her skinny jeans, but Pearl stops her. “The jeans are sexy, but honestly, you’re good to go as is. You want to wow Chase the first time he sees you in an outfit you chose yourself.”

The clerk nods in sudden, ardent agreement.

After a final once over, Pearl gives her approval. “You look awesome, Zoe. Let’s go pack the rest away with your work bag or whatever, then let’s find Chase.”

Zoe gathers her unworn bra and jeans and follows Pearl out.