Page 49 of The Roommate Subtext

“It’s not as much fun dress shopping alone.” Maggie squeezed her friend’s hand. “Lead the way.”

Fifteen minutes later, Maggie stood in the dressing room of a fancy-ass boutique with a veritable wall of dress options. Phoebe had started picking out dresses and handing them off to Alesha, the friendly sales associate with Afro puffs and a lip ring, who seemed happy to have something to do on a Wednesday night. Alesha had loaded up a dressing room with all Phoebe’s selections. But now she was faced with the prospect of trying everything on, which always felt overwhelming.

“Take it one dress at a time,” Alesha called through the door, seeming to know what Maggie was feeling.

Maggie smiled at her own reflection. “Thanks. It’s a lot.”

“You want me to get your friend back in here? She’s still browsing.”

“Not yet. I’ll take a few minutes alone here.” Maggie exhaled, then started undressing.

The first dress was fire-engine red with one shoulder strap and a mermaid silhouette. Maggie normally loved the look of those on other people, but on her? She frowned at her reflection in the mirror, turned, and frowned again. Then she looked at it from the back and frowned some more. There was something off.

“You stopped moving.” This time it was Phoebe’s voice from outside the dressing room door. “Are you just standing there looking at yourself?”

“I don’t know if I like it.” She turned sideways again. Her body looked fine in it, but she wasn’t sure she enjoyed the cut. Or maybe the color?

“Let me see.”

Phoebe frowned when Maggie opened the door. “You’re right. There’s something off.”

“The color’s wrong.” Alesha shook her head. “It’s too bright for your skin. Washes you out. You need a warmer shade.” She scanned the wall. “Don’t discount the black. The blue is too bright for you, I think. I can take a look too, if you want. Color choices are sort of my pet project.”

Maggie trusted Alesha immediately: not only did she work in a boutique dress shop, but she looked gorgeous, her blouse bringing out gold undertones in her deep brown skin. “Please.” She waved to both of them. “You two keep adding. I’ll keep trying on.”

She worked her way through the wall of fabric, slipping in and out of endless dresses. Alesha had been right that the bright blue wasn’t good for her skin tone. She looked “wasting disease” pale, and it highlighted some weird shadows under her eyes. She’d always gravitated toward warmer tones but hadn’t thought much about it before. Most of the rest of the wall was black, which made sense since black was common. And most of the black ones did look good, but they were indistinguishable from each other. All beautiful, but none really making her say “wow.” She only spared a couple of moments for each before pulling it back off and swapping to a new one. Eventually, a light rap sounded on the dressing room door. “OK, we have more,” Phoebe said. “Do you have any worth showing us?”

“None I’m thrilled with.” Maggie gathered up a stack of the ones she didn’t really love, leaving a few of the “fine if I get desperate” ones hanging up on the wall. She traded her “no” stack for five more options.

“We each have a favorite.” Alesha gestured to the dresses. “And we’ve got a side bet going on about it, so you know.”

Maggie smiled. She liked Alesha more and more with each minute. “What if I don’t like either of them?”

“Then nobody wins.” Phoebe waved her on. “Go. I’ve got ten bucks on this.”

Maggie retreated in to look at the five dresses. None were black. One was burgundy, one brown—brown?—, one in gold, one silver, and one green. At least they had some variety here. She went with the silver one first, and it was pretty, but it was too shimmery and gave “prom dress” vibes. The brown one surprised her. She’d never thought of brown for a dress, but this one was lovely with her coloring. It wasn’t a “wow,” but she preferred it to all the black ones. She hung it with the maybes. The green was an immediate no. The cut did her breasts no favors. She looked at the two final ones: burgundy and gold. The gold was extra flashy, and she turned to look at herself from all angles. Beautiful against her skin, accentuating her shape, slinky without being risqué. This was a top contender.

The burgundy was last. It was more flowy than she’d expected, composed of layers of fabric that moved like water. Maybe silk? She didn’t think she could afford silk. She pulled it on.

Immediately, she knew she’d found the one. This must be how the women felt on those “say yes to the dress” shows. The front was a simple loose drape across her collarbones, hinting at cleavage, and it was backless, gathered loosely at her hips. The fabric flowed down her legs and pooled near the floor with a small train.

At the sight of her, Alesha gasped, then held out her hand to Phoebe, who frowned and put ten dollars in it.

Maggie turned to look at herself from another angle. “I almost went with the gold, but this is the winner.”

Phoebe sighed. “It’s a good choice. I concede defeat.”

“Do I have to wear one of those adhesive bras?” Maggie turned to look at her back in the mirror, bra strap bisecting the broad expanse.

Alesha shrugged. “You could try it without a bra.”

“Really?” Maggie looked again. She unfastened her bra and tossed it aside. That was … wow, more revealing, but not scandalous. You couldn’t see her breasts at all, and her nipples were covered by the extra drape of fabric. She bounced up and down.

“You won’t be bouncing up and down at a black-tie event,” Phoebe said, then added, “Maybe after.”

“Phoebe!” Maggie scolded.

“It looks good.” Alesha tapped her lips. “How do you feel?”