I ended up having a bird's eye view of Hannah during the 20-minute drive to the mall while the three chimneys in the car chained two cigarettes each. I drove with Amber in the front passenger seat, and in the back Sienna and Kayla flanked Hannah on either side who sat in the middle. I had trouble avoiding her gaze each time I looked in the rearview mirror and more than once caught her looking at me through the reflection. Each time she quickly looked away and I could sense her discomfort, both in making eye-contact with me but also being caught in the fog the vehicle.
Even as the rabid smoking fetish fiend that I was I had to admit that it wasn't the easiest place to breathe as most of the drive was on the freeway which motivated the windows to go up in response to the noise and traffic. For about 15-minuntes all windows were up as the three women essentially hot-boxed my car, paying no mind to the discomfort they were creating with their habits. Of course, I was turned on as being trapped in a car with a beautiful smoking woman, or in this case three, was always a treat. But Hannah was no doubt far less enthused.
After we exited the freeway, I did her a solid by opening my window and allowing fresh air in and I noticed from the expression on her face that Hannah appreciated it even if she were too timid to admit it. Upon piling out of the vehicle we all just kind of looked to Sienna to direct us towards our mutual destination--as this was her idea. She smiled wickedly and led us to our first stop, a female clothing store called 'Sassy Chic.'
The offerings were primarily party dresses, skirts, tube tops, strappy blouses, and gaudy boots for the young female clubbing demographic. Lots of glitter and primary colors adorned the garments along with animal prints and booming club music. It was a bit overstimulating but definitely fit the aesthetic that I appreciated on a woman. I remained quiet and observant as Sienna led Hannah around the store like a lost puppy, occasionally consulting her on some choices but more regularly making unilateral decisions.
When she had handed her an arm-full of dresses, skirts, and blouses they made their way to the back of the store to the dressing rooms. What looked like three-bathroom stalls lined the back wall, each with a number from one to three. Hannah was given access to 3 and ushered into the stall by an excited Sienna who seemed totally impervious to the terrified and overwhelmed expressed on Hannah's face. She was certainly a woman-on-a-mission and wasn't interested in using a cautious caress towards her desired outcome, she was bulldozing her way there come hell-or-high-water.
It was a tactic that wouldn't be effective coming from someone less influential or being applied to someone less naïve and more confident, but in this circumstance, Hannah might as well have been a puppet for all the agency she had. I sat next to Amber on a small leather stool that barely had enough room for us while Sienna impatiently tapped her heels a few feet away from the stall. After several minutes and no Hannah, it was clear to everyone that the poor girl was having trouble mustering up the courage to step out of the dressing room and present herself.
As someone who had likely never been allowed to wear anything approaching the provocativeness of this clothing, it was no wonder that she was frozen in place probably staring wide-eyed at her unfamiliar appearance in the mirror. Thankfully for us and unfortunately for Hannah, Sienna wasn't in a very patient mood.
"Come on Han, let's see it," she said loudly through the door.
I could hear an audible sigh from the other side of the door before the sound of the latch turning signaled her acceptance of her fate. The door cracked open a few inches and a predictably bewildered Hannah peered out with a pained expression on her face.
"What are you waiting for?" Sienna pressed.
Hannah avoided her sister's eyes as she looked down at the floor and blushed.
"I think it's too small," her tiny voice said.
Sienna scoffed incredulously, not even trying to hide her lack of empathy for the beleaguered young woman.
"You're just being a prude, get out here and show me," Sienna replied caustically.
I saw a physical wince appear on Hannah's face while she struggled to swallow her discomfort and acquiesce to the demands of her older sister. Slowly she began to open the door to allow full view of her ensemble. She wore a strapless dark purple velvet dress that was shiny and meant to catch eyes--the exact thing that Hannah probably wanted to avoid. Her long legs were totally uncovered from the knees down and a slit above her left thigh allowed an eyeful of skin even above that. Her lithe frame was wrapped tightly in the fabric of the dress and quite frankly, looked ethereal and elvish for a lack of a better word.
"You look hot," Kayla said unprovoked from behind a rack of dresses that she had been perusing.
The intense blush on Hannah's face was exacerbated by the extreme paleness of her skin, and although it was a compliment it didn't seem to do anything to assuage her discomfort at being gawked at. I was doing my best not to stare, settling on a casual side-eye glance that I only hoped didn't look creepy. She looked very beautiful in her dress, and it was clear that her giant Quaker-esque clothing had been hiding a bit of a knockout.
"Too small? You look amazing," Sienna added, in agreeance with Kayla.
This time Hannah was overcome with a small smile the indicated that she wasn't totally impervious to compliments, thankfully.
"She really does," Amber echoed to Sienna.
I noticed Sienna look from my wife to me in an expectant way, obviously waiting for me to weigh-in as well. I really didn't feel like it was appropriate for a man of my age to openly remark on a freshly 18-year-old girl who wasn't expressing any interest in my opinion, but Sienna's gaze was penetrating and unrelenting.
"What do you think dad?" she asked, unwilling to let me off the hook.
I pretended to just then realize that there was anything going on as I turned my head towards the pretty redhead and smiled, unsure of what kind of compliment would avoid creeping her out.
"Looks great," I said simply.
Sienna's face dropped immediately, and I could tell she was annoyed that I had not taken the opportunity to gush over the girl. I'm not sure what she expected, however, as her motivations and trustfulness were still very much in question from my perspective. Perhaps even stranger than Sienna's response was Hannah's, which was very subtle but still readable. It appeared that she was slightly disappointed if I was reading her body language and tight-lipped expression correctly.
After a few more awkward moments of silence Sienna ushered her back into the dressing room to try on another outfit. It went on like this for a couple more outfits including a green Maxi dress that looked cute and a red V-neck blouse and pencil skirt. In both Hannah looked amazing, and it seemed like each time she presented herself the overwhelming praise imbued her with a little more confidence. After closing the door after the third outfit Sienna said something that caused me to pay a little more attention.
"Now try on the sexy one," she urged.
I was a little confused since all the outfits had been sexy and they were all stark departures from the homely outfit Hannah had been wearing previously. This meant to me that the final outfit would be a step beyond what we had already seen, which of course piqued my interest.
"Are you sure?" Hannah squeaked from behind the door.
