I Do What I Do » John Taylor

I

1982

"Come on, Erin! It'll be fun!" Julie pushes. She knows I'm not into the whole party scene and is trying desperately to get me to go to one with her.

"I don't know Jules. I get anxious when that many people are around. I've never done well with...large crowds. You know how bad my social skills are."

"Alright, Erin. Listen— I'll stay with you the whole time, okay? Then you won't have to be alone and you'll have someone to comfort you. Deal?" she asks.

I open my mouth to answer a simple no, but I pause.

Maybe this is your chance to stop being so antisocial and get out for once.

This stupid conscience of mine is going to come back to bite me one day.

"Fine. But if you as much as leave me for over five minutes, I'm out of there," I reply with a glare.

"Yay! Thank you, love. You might even meet some hot guys too," she winks.

I roll my eyes and turn back toward the bathroom mirror. As I continue to fix my hair a question pops into my head.

"So when exactly is this yacht party, anyways?"

She turns back to me.

"It's on Monday. It starts at about 9:00 pm, so you've got to be ready by 8:30 the latest," she adds sternly. I never knew her to be so avid about partying, but, here we are.

"Gotcha," I reply.

We head out of the restaurant bathroom, continuing back to the table where our other friends sit and finish our meals.

-

I open my closet to look for something to wear. After scanning it fully through my face falls.

"Yikes," I say into the phone.

"What? What's wrong?" Julie asks from the other end of the line.

"I literally have nothing to wear. It's..embarrassing, really."

"I'm sure it can't be that bad, Erin. Come on, there's got to be something you're missing in there. It's like you've never been out partying before," she says. It's like I can see her raising her eyebrow at me through the phone.

"Hey. Cut me some slack, Julie Friedman. I may be a model but you should never underestimate my inability to dress fashionably," I remark.

I hear her scoff.

All of a sudden, it hits me.

"Wait."

I place the phone down onto my dresser and quickly rush out of my bedroom into the storage closet in the entryway of the apartment. I tear open the door to be met with a medium-sized box on the shelf at the top. Smiling, I grab it from the shelf, shut the door, and walk back into the bedroom.

I pick up the phone.

"I found something. See you at 8:30."

I hang up before Julie even has a chance to reply.

Once the phone is back in place, I sit next to the box on the bed. I take the cover off to reveal a dress that I bought a few months ago for an occasion like this. It is a beautiful sequin party dress with a deep red color, and it stops just before my knees.

I take it out of the box and lay it across the bed. Then, I slide the box under it.

I walk towards my dresser and grab undergarments from the middle drawer and walk into the bathroom, placing them down onto the sink. I turn on the water in the shower and wait patiently until the water gets warm. I slip off my dirty clothes and neatly put them into a small pile in the corner of the bathroom. Once the water is warm enough, I step in. The feeling of the hot water touching my skin is incredible. Every time, it always feels just as good. My thoughts become more simple and clear as I let myself go and relax. With a gentle sigh and my eyes closed, I reach for my shampoo. I squeeze a bit of it onto my hand and lather it through my hair, making sure to massage it into my scalp. I rinse it out and do the same with my conditioner. Soon after, the smell of fresh strawberries wafts throughout the room due to the strong scent of the products. I wash off my body thoroughly after and then shut the water off. I pull the towel off of the wall next to me and make sure to dry myself off completely. Then, I run it through my hair gently to avoid damaging it.