Keisha had saved them. She wrapped herself in a towel and leaped down the stairs to head off her sister. Whatever she said, it must have been enough to still Aaliyah's curiosity. The trudging of her loud, angry feet over the hardwood steps stopped. Then, after a brief conversation, they could be heard descending the stairs and drifting away.
Keisha though, disappeared with her, leaving the two nervous white girls to themselves all alone in the cathedral of a bedroom. Jennifer very cautiously closed the door behind them. It took her a while, she was afraid the metallic sound of the latch would set off an alarm, and guards would come racing back up the stairs to arrest her.
"Do you think she's coming back?" Jennifer asked.
Penny was wrestling with her pants. They were wet now, but at least they were where they were supposed to be. She grunted as they navigated up and over her hips. "I don't know. In fact, I have no idea what's going on. What do we do now? Do we just—" she looked around "—stay here all night?"
Jennifer surveyed the large carpeted space. "I think she'll come back for us, she's probably just comforting her sister." She cringed. "Keisha must have had a terrible night."
"Aw, Aaliyah is sweet. That's why I like her. I learn something new about her every day."
"Yeah... Me too..." Jennifer said dryly.
"Right? I thought she was kind of stuck up at first. I mean, she's so pretty, and funny, and all of that. But now I think she's kind of sweet too. I'm glad, I was getting tired of all of her 'show and tell' stuff. It was nice to just get to know the real Alliyah for once."
"Totally," Jennifer agreed.
But the quick, terse response wasn't what Penny expected. She frowned and examined the small white girl still in her wet shirt with all of her private parts practically exposed. "But it is a little weird..." she began.
"Weird? What's weird?" Jennifer answered, and far too quickly.
"Why she's never mentioned you before—I mean, I'm glad I met you. I can tell you're a nice person."
"You can?"
"Yeah, you look like you've never told a lie in your life."
Jennifer swallowed. She looked down to the carpet, and then to her clothes. She covered herself with her hands.
Penny pressed her. "You do go to the same school, right?"
"Yeah, of course. I'm just, you know, well, quiet. So I kinda get lost in the crowds—it's OK though."
The blonde girl hugged her right there in the middle of the room. She patted her lightly on the back. "That was crazy though, wasn't it?"
Jennifer's heart started thumping.
Penny continued, "I mean, can you believe we were doing that? And we almost got caught!"
"Yeah, that was stupid," Jennifer agreed.
"Stupid?"
Jennifer very politely squirmed free. She took Penny's hands. "Well, reckless I guess—I mean you're amazing, don't get me wrong. I just... I just—well, what do we do now?"
"I dunno, I guess we just wait?"
For the first couple of minutes, they stood there awkwardly together, holding hands. It was so quiet that Jennifer worried the sound of her breathing would give them away. But nothing came of it. No stormtroopers were squawking on the radio, there were no police dogs, and Jennifer eventually relaxed.
She tried to get her hands free without Penny noticing, but the blonde girl held fast. Penny frowned.
"Aren't you cold?" she asked.
Jennifer peeked at her hard nipples. She could feel her freckles glowing with embarrassment. "Maybe I should get dressed?"
But Penny still didn't let go. Her eyes started to sparkle. That just made Jennifer more nervous. It's like the prettier girl was somehow invading her thoughts.
"Jen?" Penny asked.
"Yeah?"
"You can wear some of my clothes, you know if you want?"
Jennifer forced a smile. "Oh, that's OK. I have mine."
"They're wet, right? I mean..." Penny said while gesturing toward the entirety of Jennifer's shirt. "I have a whole bunch of stuff in my bag. Come on!"
Before Jennifer could react, Penny rushed into the bathroom and came screeching back clutching her bag. Jennifer eyed her, half expecting to see that thing between her legs warping the front of her pants. But the dark material was flat over her crotch. There was no indication of what lay underneath. Penny set the bag down on the bed and began rummaging through it.
She produced shirts, shorts, and several delicates that were as absurd as Keisha's.
Jennifer coughed. "You wear that stuff?"
"I mean, sometimes, but not the underwear. Not really anyways."
"But it fits you?"
Penny laughed. "Of course it does. I don't always get like that, you know."
Jennifer squirmed as Penny pulled out black bikini bottoms and set them on the bed.
"It's mostly bathing suits," Penny explained.
"Then what are the panties for?"
"Wait—are you actually a lawyer? You sound like my dad."
The insecure girl shook her head. "No. No! I'm not!" she insisted.
Penny dropped a baggy t-shirt on the bed and stepped back. "See? This is what I mean. This is why I like you—you don't just go along with everything. No one ever asks questions like that. They just accept everything."
Jennifer flashed her patented, nervous grin—which was her only grin.
"Ally for example," Penny continued, "she was like that too. She thought everything I did was cool or fun—at least that's how she was before tonight. She's like a totally different person, and I think she gets it from you."
"Me?" Jennifer huffed. "What did I do?"
Penny lined up an outfit on the bed. She laid out the plain, baggy t-shirt, and beneath that was a pair of boxers. She grabbed a hat at the last second and dropped it down to complete the ensemble. But that was it though. "Here, what do you think about this?"
"I'll look like a boy," Jennifer muttered.
Penny was dismissive. "It's just for tonight, and it's comfortable. That's what I normally sleep in, well, not the hat. I just get tired of dealing with my hair—" she looked at the top of Jennifer's head and smirked "—I just thought we might have the same problem. You don't have to sleep in the hat though."
Jennifer bit her lip.
"Aren't you freezing? Come on, at least try them on!" Penny insisted. Then, turning away from the nervous girl, she added, "I'll help, you know, if you want."
The scrawny girl had heard that before. But this time she was all alone with a stranger and under a fairly dubious pretext.
"Do you trust me?" Penny asked.
Jennifer took a breath and nodded.
"OK, turn around."
The meek girl did what she was told. But in the confusion she raised her arms, assuming Penny was going to peel her top over her head. She could feel the wet shirt crawl up her cheeks and flash the girl behind her.
"Um, OK..." Penny mumbled. She stretched the boxers and held them low by the floor. "Just, uh, step back into these."
Jennifer felt like an idiot. But still, she kept her arms in the air as she stepped into the warm underwear. Soon it was sliding up her thighs and was secure around her bottom. That's when Penny went to work on the shirt. She pinched it at the hem and hoisted it up and over.
When the skinny teen was bare from the waist up, she stared down at the soggy cloth now lying in a wet pile on the floor. She worried that the carpet would never dry.
"That's better, right?" Penny asked.
The bushy ponytail bounced up and down as Jennifer quietly agreed.
"Alright, now turn around. Let's get the shirt on."
Jennifer did it. She very slowly spun to meet her intimidating, blonde friend. But both arms were strapped across her chest, trying to conceal her small breasts.
"Arms up," Penny said.
That's where Jennifer was going to make her stand. She was going to shake her head and ask for the shirt so she could put it on in private. But that all changed the moment she noticed the small bulge in Penny's pants. It was subtle, but it was there, pressing forward and spoiling the otherwise flat surface between Penny's legs. Her arms dropped to her sides.
"No, Jennifer, raise them up," Penny instructed softly.
Very slowly, her shaky hands slithered up her body until they were pointing at the ceiling. Her small, pale breasts melded into her chest until they almost disappeared. The world around her suddenly turned yellow.
When her head emerged from the opening, Jennifer immediately adjusted her glasses. The lenses were clear now. Her view was completely unobstructed. The first place she looked wasn't at Penny's proud, glowing face though, but rather right in the center of her dark cargo pants. The bulge had grown.
Jennifer immediately collected herself. Her hands smoothed over the baggy, wrinkled shirt as she wondered how it must have looked on Penny. It must have fit more snugly on the taller, bustier girl who was staring at her expectantly.
"I... I mean... It probably looks better on you," Jennifer whined.
Penny studied her. "No, not really. That's my dad's shirt. I don't even think it fits him, and he's fat."
Jennifer laughed. It was a real laugh. She wiped her nose and couldn't get her bubbly cheeks to settle.
"You kind of look like a squirrel," Penny mused.
Jennifer slapped Penny's tummy with the back of her hand. "Oh my God!"
"I'm just kidding. Now, here. Put this thing on to help with your... your fur."
Even the hat was too big. Jennifer set it on her head, but it slid down and covered her eyebrows. "Well, it's official. I am a boy," she said sullenly.
"A very cute boy," Penny corrected.
There was another quick attempt at swatting Penny's stomach. But this time, Jennifer got caught. Penny had her by the wrist and held on. It was playful and halfhearted, but no matter how hard she tried, Jennifer could not wrench her arm free. The blonde girl was too strong for her.
"OK! OK!" Jennifer whined. "I won't do it again, I promise!"
Penny loosened her grip a little but didn't let go. She held the girl right there in front of her tummy, just above the shape in her pants. "Promise?" she asked.
"I promise! Sheesh!"
"OK, good. We still have a lot to do."
"We do?"
Penny frowned. She let go and Jennifer immediately rubbed her wrist. "Yeah, I need to change too," Penny said.
"What's wrong with what you have on?"
She gestured to her wet top and the dark spots on her pants where water had bled through. "I can't sleep like this."
"Wait, what? Sleep? We're going to sleep here?"
Both girls turned their heads to the bed. It was large, a California King, but it was the only bed.
Penny shrugged and started digging through her clothes. "Come on, it won't be that bad. Might as well make the best of it, right?" She sprang up suddenly, smiling. "How about this, how about you pick my outfit?"
Jennifer looked at the array of bikinis, shorts, and shirts. Her hat fell over her brow. "But I... I mean, you can just pick whatever you normally wear."
"Um, that ship has kind of already sailed," Penny replied, pointing at Jennifer's yellow dress of a shirt. "Now, come on over here. Don't be shy. What do you think?"
Jennifer ran her fingers over the different options. She skipped over the white thong though. That would have been too distracting and she'd never be able to fall asleep. But then she realized no matter what she chose, she'd be up all night anyway. There was no way her nerves would let her drift away and dream.
"How about this?" she said, her small hand hovering over a pair of purple sweatpants.
"Nah, too hot," Penny said dismissively.
"Oh yeah, right... Then maybe this?"
To her surprise, Penny nodded. "That's what I would have chosen. You have good taste."
It was another long T-shirt. This one was faded though. It might have originally been black, but now looked gray. The embroidery on the front had long since chipped away.
"And for the bottoms..." Jennifer began.
Penny interrupted her. "Actually, I normally kind of just sleep like that. You know, with just a shirt. Is that OK with you?"
Penny tried to be polite and understanding as she nodded. But her eyes kept darting between the shirt on the bed and Penny's crotch. She thought she saw something. It looked like Penny's erection twitched. The bulge pressed forward. There was no denying it now. Penny suddenly noticed it too.
The blonde girl thought about it for a bit, then tackled it head-on. "Please," she pleaded. "It's, you know, starting to hurt a little."
Jennifer stood there, frozen stiff. There was another momentary lull where neither of them said anything. It looked like it was originally situated pointing down, but now was very eagerly trying to rise up in that tight, constrained space. Eventually, Jennifer broke away and found her voice.
"Yeah, uh, right—no, go ahead. I mean if it's painful, yeah, I don't have a problem with it."
Penny smiled. It wasn't her big, usual smile though, more like she was broadcasting relief than anything else. She spun around and pulled her hair out of the way. "Can you help me with my bra?"
"And your shirt too?"
"Yeah, that too," Penny confirmed. "It's all sticky and wet."