Under the Influence

III.

May 17th 2000.
New York, New York.

"JORDAN! Help!" I yelled to my roommate as I pouted to myself in the mirror. I was surrounded by failed attempts at outfits and my hair was frizzy from trying on clothes for the last 30 minutes.

"What! Are you okay?" I could hear her running through the apartment to get to me. "Cass?" she burst into my room and frantically looked around trying to see what all the yelling was about.

"Yeah I'm fine but I don't know what to wear, nothing is fitting right! Help me..." I turned to her and blew a curl off my face that had fallen. "And look at my hair! It's a frizzy mess".

"Jesus Christ Cassie I thought you were getting murdered or something". She sighed as she walked over to me picking up some of the clothes I'd thrown on the ground in frustration. "Plus why do you care what you look like anyway? Your not trying to impress someone, are you?" She inquired with a shit eating grin knowing all about the guy I was meeting there tonight, although she didn't know it was actually Marshall I was meeting.

"No" I lied to her and myself. "I just like to look nice that's all. Stop looking at me like that!" her grin hadn't faded at all. "You gonna help me or not?"

"Sorry what was that?" She sarcastically cupped her ear and leaned towards to me.

"Jordan, would you be ever so kind as to help me get ready? Please?" I said with very little enthusiasm.

"All you had to do was ask nicely" she winked. "So what's the problem?"

"What the hell do I wear?"

"Your red dress is nice?"

I pulled a face at her suggestion, "Too formal".

"Hmmm. Let's see". She began to rifle through my wardrobe making comments along the way "No, maybe, hell no, what the fuck is that, maybe. How about this?" She pulled out a deep green blue dress which had a halter neck and ended mid thigh. "You look great in this I remember when you wore it on tour".

"Yeah I do look good in that. Chuck it over". I caught the dress and stripped down to my bra and underwear.

"No bra, you'll see the straps".

I took off my bra and pulled the dress over my head, knowing each other for years we had become very comfortable with each other and being nude didn't embarrass us.

"See you look great! Now sit down and let me do your hair". She was one of the makeup artists and hairstylists on our various tours together, so I frequently got her to help me out. I plopped down in the chair in front of my vanity watching her in the mirror do my hair. She ran some mousse through it before she carefully combed it through, distributing it. Splitting my hair into a middle part and gathering it low on my head she pulled it into a bun. "Hair tie" she said as she concentrated on smoothing it out. I handed her one and she secured it and finally sprayed over it once with hairspray.

"Thanks Jords". I smiled gratefully at her in the mirror and she returned it giving my shoulders a loving squeeze.

"No problem hun. You want me to do your makeup?"

"No thanks, I think I'm good". I got up at walked over to my wardrobe and selecting a pair of brown sandals and a white purse. "Are you coming tonight? I have a plus one." I asked as I threw on a gold bracelet and a few rings to match.

"Nah, it's alright I don't want to intrude" She responded as she sat on the bed. I knew she wanted to come, even though she didn't feel like she belonged at celebrity parties.

"Please! It'll be so much fun and I have a special guy want to introduce you to. Lord knows you need to get laid" I pointed up to the sky and winked at her.