Back To Our Roots, Book One

XXXII. Giving Nick A Makeover

When they got to the mall, Nick quickly learned that they didn't mess around.

"Okay, shoes first so the clothes match them, or clothes first so the shoes match them?" Emma asked, looking around at them.

"If you get shoes first, you're tied down to a certain selection of clothes," Clara pointed out.

"But if you get clothes first, it's harder to pick shoes that match," Sarah argued.

"Girls, girls. Imagine the shoe that the clothes would go with as you're picking them out, so you don't end up with a hard time finding shoes," Jay said, examining an outfit that was on display.

They looked at him. "That's actually a really good idea," Stephanie said, surprised.

Jay stepped back, crossing his arms and cocking his head to the side. "I can't tell if this is directed at a particularly flamboyant gay or an insane person," he said, not appearing to have heard her.

Sarah laughed, grabbing his hand. "Let's settle on an insane gay. Come on."

They headed to their first destination, and Nick couldn't help but be nervous. "There's a lot of leather here. Isn't that really tight-fitting?"

"You bet your ass it is. Your ass that needs some leather pants," Sarah chuckled, looking at a pair of pants. "Look at this, they're red!"

"I can't pull off leather pants!"

"You're right, it's Jeff that will be pulling them off," Jay mumbled.

Sarah hit his shoulder. "Mind out of the gutter."

Nick was blushing. Surely he'd just try them on, they'd see that he was right, and they'd put them back.

"Okay, but, leather jacket? His hair and eyes could totally pull that off," Clara said, holding one up.

"Oh, yes," Emma agreed.

"I'm throwing these in, what the hell. It'll be interesting." Sarah pulled the red pants off the rack.

"They're red!" Nick objected.

Jay looked at them. "Damn right, they're red. You're not like the rest of them, you gotta flaunt it."

Nick shook his head in disbelief. "My parents would absolutely kill me if they saw me wearing red pants," he mumbled.

"Oh, join the club, kid," Jay said, flipping through the clothes. "Except they were plum. And they only disowned me."

"They did what?" Nick asked, horrified. That actually happened to people?

"Yeah, I've been living with my aunt for a while," he said casually.

Before Nick could say anything else, one of the people who worked there walked over to him. "Finding everything okay?" she asked kindly.

"Yes, thank you. Actually, could you get us a room? Men's section, please."

She nodded. "Right this way."

The changing rooms were larger than Nick expected, and there was actually a spot for people to wait and see the clothes.

She opened a room for him, and Sarah hung up the clothes in it before waiting with the others.