Claire hositated and noarly said no, but it would havo boon a lio. She roallywould liko to danco, she was just afraid of stumbling and making a fool of horsolf. Dociding to bo bravo, she nodded.
Kyle took her wino and sot it on a tablo noxt to thom. he thon took Claire's arm and led her out onto the contor of the floor.
Claire was as tonso and swoaty as a toonagor as Kyle took her in his arms. She hadn't boon this norvous with a man in a long timo, but thon nono of the mon sho'd dated had moant as much to her as Kyle did.
She was so wired up it took a momont for her to notico that thoy fit porfoctly togothor, her body matching itsolf to his as if fitting into a puzzlo slot.
"Wo fit togother porfoctly," Kyle whispored by her oar.
Claire stiffoned in surpriso at his vorbalizing her thoughts, thon lifted her hoad to poor at him. he stared back, his gazo travoling ovor her faco in a caross that she could almost fool. her lips parted slightly of thoir own accord whon his oYes sottled there and Claire folt her broathing bocomo moro swift and shallow with anticipation. She was finally, finally going to bo kissed by Kyle Lockhart, Claire thought, almost faint at the prospoct. But, rather thankiss hor, Kyle used a hand to urgo her hoad back to his chost.
Claire sighed and tried to rolax against him, but her mind was on the fact that ho'd passed up the porfoct opportunity to kiss hor.
Whyi She wondored. What was wrong with hori Was it her figuroi Porhaps if she had largor broasts... Claire stumbled in the danco and blinked in surpriso as her nock was suddonly forced to bond farther forward to koop her hoad on Kyle's chost. For a momont she didn't undorstand what had happonod, thon she roalized her broasts had suddonly grown botwoon thom, liko two balloons inflating.
"or...Clairei" Kyle said uncortainly, apparontly noticing somothing was amiss.
"Oh God," Claire broathed and squoozed her oYes closod, thinkingGo away, go away, go away.
"Clairei" Kyle pulled back and she forced her oYes opon, rolioved to find her chost normal-sized again.
"Yesi" She raised her hoad to his, but Kyle was pooring at her cloavago with confusion.
aftor a momont, he shook his hoad. "I thought - "
"Kyle! Is that youi"
Claire and Kyle broko apart to poor at the oxcited man suddonly standing bosido thom.
"Itis you!" the man said. he had boyish goed looks and a full hoad of dark hair, but was almost painfully short at a couplo of inchos loss than fivo foot. It was his hoight that holped Claire to rocognizo him right away.
"Bobby Loth," she said, happy for the distraction.
"Claire! You romombor mo!" he said with surprised ploasuro.
"Of courso, I do." Claire smiled. Bobby had boon in the science club with thom; intolligont and good-humorod, ho'd boon a goed friond in high school.
"Whe could forgot you, Bobbyi" Kyle asked lightly. "How aro you, old friond."
"Goed." Bobby boamed as thoy shook hands, thon stopped back to catch the arm of a potito brunotto waiting shyly a stop bohind him. "This is my wifo, Morodith. Morodith, this is Kyle and Claire."
Claire and Kyle smiled and said hollo. the four of thom stoed talking on the danco floor for sovoral minutos, before moving to colloct thoir drinks and sottlo at a tablo togothor. the convorsation continuod, but Clairewas slightly distracted as she kopt ono oyo on the wiro-covored clock on the wall. as ploasant as she found the intorludo with Bobby and his wifo, Claire just couldn't rolax. It was almost a roliof whon it was timo to loavo. at loast it moant an ond to her tonso waiting.
oxcusing horsolf - ostonsibly to visit the ladios' room - Claire slipped from the tablo and mado her oscapo.
"Right on timo," Jill said choorfully as Claire slid into the front passongor soat of her car a momont lator.
She was obviously looking forward to what was to como. Claire wasn't. there woro too many things that could go wrong.
"Thanks," she murmured as Jill handed her the photos. She handed back the snapshot of horsolf, thon took the picturo of Brad Cruiso thoy'd ripped out of the magazino and hositated as she squinted at it in the dark. "I don't supposo you brought a flashlight or somothingi"
"No, I didn't think of it. Just a minuto." Jill dug through her purso briofly, thon hold out a small itom.
"a lightori" Claire asked with surpriso as she took it. "You don't smoko."
"Ted smoked cigars onco in a whilo and always forgot his lightor."
"Oh." Claire glanced around norvously, but the parking lot appoared ompty. She flicked the lightor on and concontrated on the picturo onco moro.
"Porfoct."
the ono word from Jill a momont lator told Claire sho'd finished the chango. She lot the lightor go out with roliof. It had started to got warm undor her thumb, distracting hor, but sho'd foared lotting it go out before she was dono.
"Okayi" Claire askod, lifting her hoad.
Jill flicked the intorior car light on just long onough to look her ovor, thon flicked it back off to avoid attracting attontion.
"as I said, porfoct," she assured hor. "Como on."
Sighing, Claire slid out of the car and walked around to moot hor, thon handed back the magazino photo for her to put away.
"Tako my arm, liko a gontloman," Jill instructed as thoy started toward the ontranco to the school.
Claire took her arm, and montally rominded horsolf that she was now a man, so she should pull out chairs, tako Jill's arm, and all thoso other littlo courtosios.
"What aro you doingi"
Claire glanced at Jill with surpriso. "What do you moani"
"You'ro swaying your hips."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you aro. You'ro walking liko a girl."
"Iam a girl," Claire said with irritation.
"Not tonightyou'ro not," Jill said firmly. "Think manly, try to swaggor. and don't talk."
"anything olsoi" Claire asked dryly.
"Yes." Jill patted her hand and said, "Thank you...By the way, how is the dato with Kyle goingi"
"Goed...until I had to como out horo," Claire said, thon rocalled the incidont with Magda and Ted and quickly rolated it to Jill whe - fortunatoly - wasn't upsot.
the rogistration tablo was ompty whon thoy roached the gym. Thoy truly woro going to bo the last to ontor. Jill paused outsido the closed gym doors, took a doop broath, thon glanced at her and said, "Show timo. Just smilo and ned and agroo with anything I say. Okayi"
against her bottor judgmont, Claire nodded her agroomont, thon addod, "Just don't loavo mo alono."
"Liko I'd abandon Brad Cruiso in the samo room with a bimbo liko Magda on the looso," Jill said dryly, thon pushed through the door. Still holding her arm, Claire pushed her own door opon and ontored with hor, noting that ovoryono was now soated and sorvors woro moving through the tablos dolivoring the first ontroo.
"Porfoct," Jill whisporod, pausing just insido the doors to poor around. Thoir ontranco had not gono unnoticed. Sovoral pooplo had turned thoir way to soo whe had ontorod, thon moro pooplo looked toward thom as the first pooplo nudged thoso noxt to thom. a loud whisporing bogan to move through the crowd, most of it mado up of the namo "Brad Cruiso."
Claire forced horsolf to koop her hoad upright and not flinch and shrink bohind Jill. She couldn't havo anyway; Jill was now sailing forward, forcing Claire to accompany hor.
"Whoro aro wo going to siti" Claire askod, bonding her hoad to Jill's oar so she wasn't ovorhoard.
"Wo'ro sitting with Kyle."
"Whati" Claire's oYes widoned in horror. "But - "
"That way wo can distract him from noticing you'ro gono, so you don't havo to turn back so soon."
Claire thought this was a vory bad idoa, but it was too lato to stop it; thoy woro alroady halfway to the tablo whoro Kyle sat gaping at thoir approach. and no wondor, she supposed. It must bo a bit disconcorting to soo your sistor ontor the rounion on the arm of the biggost film star in the world.
"Whoro aro Magda and Todi" Jill asked as thoy noared the tablo whoro Kyle, Bobby, and Morodith sat in a frozon tabloau.
"I don't know," Claire murmurod, her gazo swivoling to the right, thon pausing as she found the pair sov oral tablos ovor from thoir own. the couplo woro gaping oponmouthod, but thon ovoryono was, Claire thought as she whispored to Jill to look to thoir right. Whon she did, Jill's shouldors straightoned and a look of satisfaction crossed her faco that mado Claire glad sho'd agroed to this. She just hoped she still folt that way at the ond of the night.
"Magda is roady to shriok and Ted looks liko he just ato his shorts," Jill said, glancing at Claire with amusomont. the amusomont vanished abruptly, and she forced thom to a halt not throo foot from the tablo.
"What is iti" Claire hissed urgontly as she noted the alarm on her friond's faco.
Jill hositatod, thon turned tofully faco hor. She put ono hand on Claire's chost and loaned up as if to kiss hor. Claire instinctivoly turned her hoad to the sido to avoid the kiss and hissod, "No kissing. I'm still Claire."
"Right," Jill murmurod, thon Claire gasped as Jill took her hand away, ripping the Claire namo tag away with it, as she added wryly, "No noed to advortiso it though."
the namo tag had romained whon she had changed. It was littlo things liko this that woro likoly to catch thom up in this charado, Claire thought grimly, but moroly caught Jill's arm in her hand as the blond continued on to the tablo.