Sure, I hadn't been enthusiastic about going out that night, even though it was a Thursday, which is almost a Friday, so it might as well be the weekend. And sure, I had only just recently broken up with my boyfriend, and was still thinking about him a bit, and would have much preferred to stay in my apartment with the sappiest love movies I could find on television, a large spoon, and my two buddies Ben and Jerry.

I had already changed out of my work clothes, replacing black pants and a professional looking polo with a pair of wonderfully soft and broken-in flannel sweatpants. I'd covered up my bra with a ratty old sweatshirt, plopped down on the couch, and prepared to lose myself in the first vaguely romantic tearjerker I could find on television.

And then came the knock at the door.

I almost didn't even get up. I was comfortable, ready to enjoy being the human equivalent of a plant, or possibly some sort of slug. But the knocking persisted, going on and on so long that I knew exactly who was on the other side of the door. And I knew that she wasn't going to give up on trying to break my front door down until I finally let her inside.

With a groan, I hauled myself up from the couch and padded over to the door. Just as I had known, Alexis was standing on the other side, bouncing up and down with barely contained excitement. This didn't bode well.

"Hi Caroline!" she trilled as I opened the door, immediately rushing in past me and spinning around inside my apartment. "I knew you had to be home! And I see you're not dressed yet - but we'll fix that soon enough!"

My mouth was open, but sound didn't seem to be coming out. Instead, I just stared at Alexis. She had been my best friend for over a decade, now, and she totally knew all of my secrets, just like I knew all of hers - but sometimes I was certain that not only were we on different wavelengths, but we were trying to communicate from entirely different planets.

Alexis is the type of girl who gets up early for a four-in-the-morning doorbuster sale at some horribly overpriced boutique shop - and is nearly jumping out of her skin with excitement as she waits. I certainly like when I can find a lovely pair of shoes that make me feel a little better about my day, but Alexis has an entire walk-in closet devoted to the fruits of her shopping. And that closet is getting dangerously close to exploding, it's so stuffed with designer labels.

Alexis is also the type of girl who firmly believes, with every fiber of her being, that the best way to get over a breakup is to go out with a bunch of female friends, down a half dozen girly drinks with fruit on the rims of the glasses, and then throw yourself at the first guy to present himself as an available candidate. I once tried to explain my ice cream and couch approach, but she just stared back blankly, as if I was speaking in Hindi. "But that doesn't get you over him at all!" she exclaimed. "Is this before you go out and hook up? Like pregaming?"

I shook my head and gave up. Alexis was great, but she was a bit like a battering ram. You could stand in her path, could yell, shout, bluster, and otherwise try and dissuade her, but it ended up making absolutely zero difference in the end. And yes, my best friend, although wonderful in so many different aspects, had a tendency to insist on seeing the good in everyone and everywhere, even when they didn't really deserve that gesture. This made her a wonderful and bubbly person, but it also led to some crazy adventures.

Little did I know, but tonight was going to end up being one of those crazy, half-baked, adventurous sorts of nights.

I knew that it was useless to try and resist the wrecking ball, but I still made the attempt. "Alexis, what are you talking about?" I asked the girl still revolving in the middle of my apartment's cramped living room. "I didn't have any plans for tonight."

"Oh, I know, babe!" she replied gaily, her purse spinning around at the end of her arms as she turned. I winced, worried that she was going to break one of my lamps. I also couldn't help enviously noticing her long, toned, and tan arms, totally showed off by that sleek and skimpy little black dress. "But don't worry! I managed to make some at the last minute! I got us into this great party! It's a boxing match!"

That definitely didn't sound like Alexis's normal type of hangout. She usually went for the glamour and the glitz, hanging off the arm of smiling celebrities and posing in front of a thousand paparazzi flashbulbs. A boxing match seemed a bit too gritty and testosterone-fueled for her style.

More importantly, however, was the fact that I really didn't want to go out. "Alexis, I really don't want to go out," I said, repeating the thoughts inside my head. "Look, Marc and I only just broke up a few days ago, and I'm not quite ready to go out and find a new boyfriend yet." Not at all ready, I added inside the privacy of my head.

It was like trying to knock down a mountain by chucking cupcakes at it. "That's why we're going to go out tonight!" Alexis insisted. She abruptly swept forward, reaching down to grab my hand and tug me off towards my bedroom. "You're not looking for a new boyfriend - we just need to find you a guy to help you forget the last one!"

I could have resisted more. I should have resisted more. But I knew that, in the end, the outcome would be the same. So instead, I simply sighed, cast one last, longing glance towards my freezer where a pint of Cherry Garcia was waiting to provide its own delicious, sugary brand of comfort to me, and then let Alexis yank me into my bedroom, prattling on about clothes and outfits and boys the entire way.

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

An hour later, Alexis tilted her head to one side and put two fingers under her chin, critically inspecting me. "I think we have a winner!" she finally exclaimed, clapping her hands together and bouncing up and down.

I looked down at myself. I supposed that I looked okay, but I'd thought the same thing about the last four outfits before this, and Alexis had dismissed each of them. I couldn't see what made this one any different, but I also wasn't the one who could spot a Gucci knock-off from a thousand feet.

Gone were the sweatpants. Gone was the comfortable sweatshirt, marked with the stains of a dozen previous nights in. Gone were the fuzzy slippers that had enclosed my feet in delightful warmth (did I fail to mention those before? Well, they were lovely. And now buried beneath the pile of clothes on the floor of my bedroom). Even my panties, a wonderfully comfortable pair with the elastic at the waist almost entirely gone, had been replaced.

In the place of those old clothes, that outfit that had been so comfortable, fashion and "chic" had replaced soft and casual. Alexis had rooted a yellow sundress out of the back of my closet where I had shoved it, probably in a forlorn hope that it would never emerge again. A strapless bra was cinched around my chest just below the top of the dress, quite uncomfortably squeezing my breasts up until they looked about to come exploding out with minds of their own. Alexis had fussed about a bit with my mousy brown hair, spritzing and combing and ironing and straightening, and she'd somehow managed to transform my normal rat's nest of wild strands into a flow of soft curls that cascaded down my back.

Alexis hurried around to stand behind me, placing one hand on each of my bare shoulders and guiding me towards the body-length mirror I kept on the wall of my bedroom for when I felt that my self-confidence was getting too high. "Look at yourself!" she insisted, pushing me in front of it. "Don't you look just amazing?"

"I do," I admitted. This was one of the things that I begrudgingly loved about my best friend. She sometimes seemed a little vapid, but I knew that I was sorely lacking in the traditionally feminine areas of beauty, makeup, hair, and clothing, and she made up for that in spades - and never hesitated to share her knowledge. I could never have made myself look this good.

"Okay, fine!" I gave in, turning to face her. "I'll go out - but I'm not looking for a guy! I just want to have some drinks and not have to think about Marc, okay?" The clap of delight was response enough. "So where are we going, anyway?"

"Like I said, it's a boxing match!" Alexis trilled. "God, it's gonna be so exciting! A couple of big heavyweight fighters brawling up in the ring, and lots of classy people all standing up close and watching! I hear that it's all the rage with the big celebrities these days!"

Ah, that explained it. Alexis must have read about boxing being 'the next big thing' in one of the many style, fashion, and glamour magazines she subscribes to, and decided that it was worth exploring. Knowing her, she'd still have no problems landing a handsome guy on her arm. Alexis can find a suitable male date in a women's locker room.

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