Rainbow Central Complete Series

Chapter 10

Jo

JoWithout any hesitation, Ellie pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it on the little stool in the corner.

I tried my best not to look, not wanting to feel like a p*****t but the mirrors everywhere were making it an impossible task.

“Oh no…” Ellie sighed. “I look horrendous.”

Out of reflex, I looked at her and smothered a giggle. The blue dress we’d seen looked amazing on the mannequin but on Ellie, it looked worse than a sheet. It had no shape or form, the fabric had a weird shimmer to it, and it made her look like a washed out blueberry.

“It’s truly awful,” I admitted.

“I hate it.” Without wasting a second, she pulled the dress up, exposing her toned stomach and her pink b*a.

Her chest bounced as she removed the clothing and I quickly looked away again. Why was I looking at her like this? We’d changed in front of each other for years and it had never been weird.

“Are you not going to try on your shirt?” Ellie inquired, gesturing to the hanger in my hand.

I turned around so I wouldn’t be facing her to take off my shirt. I’d never felt self-conscious next to her either, even though I’d always been aware she was much more beautiful. But right now, any comments or no-comments about my body were just a little too much. It was better if I didn’t have to expose myself to her like this, cramped in a little stall with awful lighting and mirrors that helped me see all the lines and stretch marks on my body.

“Hey, so… Have you seen Frederick again?” I inquired while I was getting changed, trying to distract myself. If she wasn’t into him, then she wouldn’t care if he was gay or not.

Ellie chuckled. “I ran into him earlier. He was just coming out of the shower and you should’ve seen his body. Oh my god. Drool. He’s so fit.”

“Ahh, right. But I mean, there’s more to guys than being hot, right?”

She nodded. “Totally. He’s really nice too. Like, genuinely nice.”

Of course, he was. He wasn’t trying to get into her pants.

“I don’t know, he doesn’t strike me as your type,” I tried.

“He’s hot, what about that is not my type?”

I supposed it was possible that he was into girls and guys, but that didn’t stop the fact that he was in a relationship at the moment. He shouldn’t be flirting with Ellie if that was the case. Then again, from what I saw last night, flirting with women seemed to be second nature to a lot of the gay men. Something they did for fun without it meaning anything.

Not that I could tell Ellie that.

I sighed, trying to push it out of my mind. It wasn’t really any of my business so I shouldn’t meddle. I pulled the grey shirt on and immediately didn’t like the feel of it. One glance in the mirror confirmed that it looked awful too.

I was already taking it off when I felt Ellie’s hands on my hips. “Show me!”

“It looks horrible,” I tried but she wasn’t having any of that.

“Come on, you saw me in the blue monstrosity. Let me see.”

Slowly, I turned around and Ellie clapped her hands. “What are you talking about, it looks great.”

I slowly raised an eyebrow. “It does?”

“Yes, I like how it frames you but then again, you look good in anything.”

I tried my best not to laugh. “What are you talking about?”

“You have a great figure and every colour looks great on you.”

“Pfff, you’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m not.” Ellie held up the second dress she picked and sighed. “Hmmm, I’m not sure this one is going to fit either.”

She tried it on and I laughed out loud. The way the red dress fell made her look like a walking strawberry. Snickering, she admired herself in the mirror and pulled out her phone. “This is hilarious, I need a selfie.”

I moved out of the way but Ellie pulled me closer. “Come here. One, two, three. Cheese.”

“Cheese,” I said, pulling out my best smile.

“Perfect. Now help me get out of this ghastly thing.” She pulled the dress over her head and tossed it to the side. Before she could put on her own shirt, a loud giggle came from the booth next to us. Something thudded and another giggle followed.

Ellie and I shared a look and smothered our own laughter.

“Shh,” I shushed her, pressing my finger against my lips.

Ellie snorted as she put her clothes back on. Slightly too loud, she whispered. “What? I’m not the one…” She mouthed the rest. “Having s*x in a changing room.”

Having s*x in a changing room.“You don’t know that’s what they’re doing,” I shot back, even if the giggle and the noises coming from the other side of the wall were rather distinct. “Making they’re just poking each other.”

Before I knew it, Ellie’s fingers dug into my side as she tickled me.

I snickered as I pushed her away. “Stop, I’m ticklish.”

That only seemed to encourage her more. She ran her hands all over me, trying to find sensitive spots that made me squirm.

In return, I poked her in the side, earning somewhat of a snort-squeal from her.

With both our hands held out and slightly panting, we came to a truce. Instead of trying on more clothes, we listened to our neighbours. A soft moan came through the walls and Ellie and I had to muffle our laughter again.

“What’s so sexy about a changing room anyway?” I questioned.

“No idea,” Ellie snickered. “We should go.”

“Yeah, we should,” I agreed. I tossed her her clothes and gathered mine, trying not to laugh out loud from the s*x noises on the other side of the booth. Whoever was going at it, it sounded like two girls and they were not very quiet for a public place. If they didn’t tone it down, a*****e assistant would most definitely catch them. Maybe that was the point.

Ellie pulled open the curtain and a couple of people quickly looked away. I hoped they didn’t think we were making all the noise. She tripped over the blue dress and bumped into me. I lost my balance and fell on one of the stools packed with clothes and knocked off the entire stack.

weWith a quick apology, we picked up all the clothing and threw it into a messy pile while we ignored the owner’s glares.

Just as we were finished, the curtain of the booth next to us slid open and two girls stumbled out, still giggling and whispering.

I froze, recognising the girl on the left. It was hard not to, her boobs were quite iconic. And she had the same bold laugh that I remembered from last night.

Hoping she didn’t recognise me, I kept very still. They were almost past when her gaze fell on me.

“Hey!” She paused in front of me and smiled. “Jo, right? I’m Bab, from Platypus.”

I chuckled awkwardly. “I remember. How are you?”

She wiped her mouth and winked at the girl on her arm. “I’m fantastic. Hey, did you enjoy yourself last night?”

I nodded.

“Are you coming again?” she inquired, turning to her girl. “Tess is also a member of Platypus.”

“I figured,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

The two girls laughed like I’d just said the funniest thing and with a little wave, Bab said goodbye as they waltzed out of the changing room. I could feel Ellie’s eyes on me as they left and hoping to avoid the conversation, I picked a random topic. “So did you see the kebab shop across? I’m really hungry.”

“Yesterday?” Ellie sounded confused. “Does she mean at school…?”

I gulped. “Umm, no. We met at Rainbow Central which… is… a… club,” I muttered slowly, knowing already how she would react.

My best friend stared at me as she put the pieces together. “So you went out after I left?”

“Yeah. Reggie invited me to a...” I gulped. “Party.”

“Reggie again?” She frowned. “So you went out with Reggie and you met the two noisy lesbians? She seemed to remember you well.”

I met a whole lot more than two lesbians but I wasn’t sure how to explain that. It was better if I didn’t have to explain anything until I had it all figured out but that didn’t seem like it was possible right now.

Very aware of the crowded changing room, I gestured over my shoulder. “Can we talk about this somewhere else? Please?”