Free Populazzi by Elise Allen Page A

objected. Had she known my plan, she probably would have jumped for joy and helped Claudia get me ready. Check that—first she would have called Bina, then they'd
both
have jumped in to help. Gross.
    The first snag Claudia and I hit was underwear. Claudia insisted that my underwear had to be matching, clean, and cute. I figured clean was a given, but I couldn't imagine any scenario in which I'd be modeling my cute, matching underwear for Archer.
    "That's not the point," Claudia said. "Articles of clothing could get moved around. Things could come off. You never know what he's going to see. Everything has to look good just in case. Besides, women are more confident when they have on sexy underwear. It's a documented fact."
    Claudia knew her documented facts. I didn't question it. Unfortunately, I'd never bought underwear for any purpose beyond wearing it
under
things, so I didn't exactly have anything that worked as a smashing ensemble. And I certainly didn't have anything sexy.
    Eventually, we settled on a basic white silky bra and white cotton bikini panties with a little lacy trim at the top. I stood in front of the mirror and we both studied my reflection. It wasn't anything we hadn't seen before; Claudia and I lived in bikinis over the summer. But this felt different.
    "I don't know..." I said. "Do I look good?"
    "You're slouching a little. Stand up straighter," Claudia advised.
    I did. She nodded. "Perkier. Better."
    "You think?" I turned to the side to get another view. "You don't think the waistband makes my stomach pook out a little? You don't think I need a fancier bra?"
    "No pookage," Claudia said. "And you don't
have
a fancier bra. It's okay, though. If Archer actually gets to the bra, he won't want to judge it. He'll want to get
around
it,
beyond
it, and get you
out
of it."
    Was it bad that the idea made me smile? Of course, if he got me out of it, I would be half naked with Archer. Half
naked.
Nobody had seen me naked since I was a kid. I didn't even let my mom see me naked.
I
didn't even like to look at me naked. But Archer might see me naked.
    Not that it was likely. This would be our first time fooling around, and I was fairly certain neither one of us was an expert at getting people naked ... but it wasn't out of the question. Naked was at least a possibility.
    I might see
Archer
naked. Did I want to see Archer naked? The question was ridiculous; it made me think of him standing in front of an art class, throwing off a robe, and striking a pose. If naked happened, it wouldn't be a formal thing. We'd be attacking each other: kissing and unbuttoning and feeling and touching and...
    I giggled as a shiver ran through me. Yeah, I wanted this. Badly. I quickly pulled on the rest of the outfit Claudia and I had picked: a skirt, which was both cute and more accessible than jeans; a thin long-sleeve shirt; and boots with heels. I tamed my hair with product and let the curls hang loose, and put on just enough makeup that I looked better than usual but not so much that I'd arouse suspicion right off the bat. We went fruity with the perfume: alluring without screaming "jump me" and in a small enough dose that he wouldn't smell me the minute my car pulled up out front. I grinned at the end result in the mirror. I looked good.
    "You look
great,
" Claudia amended. I swear she could read my thoughts. "Do you feel seductive?"
    "I kind of do."
    The drive to Archer's was all but impossible; I was concentrating so hard on my breathing, I forgot little things like headlights and turn signals. I took limited solace in the fact that if I died in a car wreck, I'd be wearing not just clean but cute, matching underwear.
    As I parked and walked to Archer's door, I had to keep wiping my sweaty palms on my skirt. This was crazy! I'd been here a million times before! Why was I freaking out like a complete loser?
    But of course I knew exactly why, and it made me blush the moment Archer opened the door.
    "Wow ... you look great," Archer