What A Girl Wants by Liz Maverick Page A

takes.” Hayley choked back unexpected emotion.
    â€œNot true,” Suz said. “And that’s just the kind of attitude we’re here to tackle. This dress is going to show you that you don’t have to sit around waiting for what you want.”
    Suz adjusted the braids so they weren’t quite as U-turn-esque. “You’ll practice tonight using the costume and you’ll know that you are the same person, just in a large floofy green dress. And then when you’re ready, you simply take the dress off and put all the same principles into motion the next time you see a guy you want.”
    Hayley didn’t answer. It sounded completely ridiculous and totally plausible all at the same time. Finally she just shrugged. It wasn’t likely things could get worse. Not to mention, it wasn’t likely anyone would recognize her in the costume. She’d probably be the last person they’d expect to see.
    Suz sensed that she’d won and leaped into action. “Let’s get started. Remember, you’re going to feel like it’s because of the costume. But it’s really not the costume. It’s you. But we’re just going to take it one step at a time. Okay, petticoats first.”
    Hayley stepped into the scratchy white stuff and held it by the waist. “Uh, your pal’s a little bigger than me.”
    Suz handed her a safety pin and Hayley folded over the waist and pinned it together.
    â€œArms up; let’s go,” Suz barked. She dumped the green dressover Hayley’s head and pulled it down. The white underblouse portion sagged away from Hayley’s chest.
    Hayley rolled her eyes. Grace carried as much bust as Suz did, maybe more. “Look at this. Look! There’s enough room in here to pack for a weekend. I wouldn’t even have to take a carry-on.”
    She stuck her hand down the front and flapped it against the loose fabric. “In fact, I could probably add a croissant and a cup of coffee and avoid the airplane food. Of course, if I had bigger boobs I wouldn’t need a cup holder. I could just shove the cup in my cleavage. And it could be my feed bag. I could just put my face down in my boobs and have a little snack—”
    â€œStop it.” Suz slapped Hayley’s hand away. “You’re going to rip the lace. If you’re done ranting, we can move on. I’ve come prepared.” Suz fished around in her bag and pulled out what appeared to be a bra. “Here. Put this on.”
    An inflatable bra, actually. Closer inspection revealed it was constructed out of silver latex with a black velvet lining. Classy, for a plastic blowup bra.
    â€œNo way. No. Way. This is supposed to make things better?”
    Suz put her hands on her hips and generated some serious attitude. “No, this is supposed to make things clearer. Look, if you want to do this, quit your bitching.”
    â€œI don’t want to this. You want me to do this. And I’m willing to do this. But I don’t want to do this. There’s a difference.”
    â€œAnd the difference, my friend, is called inertia. This lack of momentum, the very thing you wish to be cured of, is what is responsible for putting you in an inflatable bra in a Johnny Beer girl dress in the first place.” She thrust the bra under Hayley’s nose. “Now, you’re going to put this bra on and I’m going start blowing itup and you’re going to tell me when the front of the dress looks right. You got that?”
    Hayley swallowed hard, shrugged down the bodice and put the bra on, then slipped back into the top of the dress. Suz used the little side tube to blow air into the cups.
    Entranced, Hayley stared in fascination at the mirror. “Hey, look, I’m a C! I’m a C! Now I’m a D. Look at that! Whoa, now I’m a double-D. Hold on. Too much! You’ll stretch the dress. A little less . . . little less. Okay, plug