Lisa and Alan walked down the street hand in hand towards the shoe shop where Lisa had arranged to meet Karen. They both felt happier, having made the decision not to be tempted by Lisa's parents' offer of paying for her to go to boarding school, but they were both subdued by the emotional pressure it had put them under. Lisa just wanted to go back to the flat and talk. She definitely wasn't in the mood for a party, especially one as formal as Vikki’s
 
     “I don't really want to go this evening, Alan. Do you think Karen would understand if we didn’t?” Lisa asked him.
 
    Alan didn't want to go either, especially when Lisa would be looking so gorgeous in the red dress, and the guy from London was going to be there ogling her all night, but he knew how much his sister was looking forward to it. It would be hard to come up with a valid excuse for them not to go.
 
     “I think that could make you pretty unpopular, Lisa, especially after all the trouble Karen’s gone to matching you up to that super stud.” Alan joked, trying to sound laid back.
 
Lisa studied his face to see if he was being serious. His grin put her mind at rest. She dropped the idea of backing out, thinking that a good night out might do them both a lot of good. They had been confined to the four walls of Alan’s bedroom for days.

     “I just wish we were going as a couple, Alan. It was bad enough pretending just to be friends at your parents' house the other night, imagine what it’s going to be like in that huge house full of strangers?”
 
      Alan reassured her that he would never be far away, and it wouldn't be long before he was shouting from the rooftops and telling everyone how much he loved her. All they had to do was wait until Carla got back, break the news to her gently, and then he would be able to tell his family. Their hands were tied until then.
 
      “I know you think I'm a bit of a coward, Lisa, but in the same way that you didn't want to tell Nick over the phone how you felt, I don't want Carla to be humiliated by telling anyone about us before I’ve had a chance to talk to her, face to face."
 
Lisa knew he was right. They would just have to stick it out, but it didn’t make it any easier. Her whole world had become about their love, and anything contrary to that filled her with unease. It was as though he had brought her alive, so without him, her life meant nothing.
 
     Karen was at the shop before them, and nearly caught them holding hands as they walked across the street. Lisa especially hated the fact that she couldn't confide in her about how she and Alan had fallen in love, because it made her feel deceitful. Karen had been so kind to her since the day Alan had taken her  to his parents' house. Without Karen, she would have no clothes, no make-up, and no dress for the ball. Apart from Karen’s misguided attempt to match Lisa up with Vikki’s wealthy cousin, she had been an absolute godsend. Lisa couldn't wait for the time when they could drop the pretence, and she could tell Karen how much she loved her brother.
 
     After great debate, Karen talked Lisa into buying a wicked pair of high heels, which cost much more than she had meant to spend. Lisa handed over seventy-five of the ninety pounds her father had given her at the police station. She was determined to save the two hundred and fifty pounds he had sent her via her brother earlier, to live off  until she found work.
 
     Alan watched Lisa as she and his sister were shopping, and tried not to let her brother's comments in the restaurant about her previous extravagant lifestyle haunt him. He didn’t want to believe Lisa couldn’t adapt to a more frugal existence than the one she’d had with her wealthy parents. Sadly, the cost of the shoes she picked did make him doubt it for a moment. If they were going to survive on his modest allowance from his parents, seventy-five pound shoes didn’t represent a good start.
 
     Shoes bought, Alan accepted that his sister had no further use for him, and it was time for him to go. He couldn't even kiss Lisa goodbye with Karen hovering about, and he left them to go shopping on his own. There was something he wanted to buy Lisa himself.
 
     Karen had insisted Lisa borrowed the basque she had to go with the dress, which meant she had to buy stockings at the same time as the shoes, a brand new experience for her. Lisa had never worn suspenders in her life, and she didn't like the idea of them either, but Karen wouldn't take no for an answer.
 
     “Can't I just wear tights?” She pleaded, trying to get out of buying the stockings.
 
Karen enjoyed being in charge of how Lisa would look. It was like being in charge of the little sister she’d never had, and she was enjoying the experience tremendously.
 
     “No you can't. The basque has suspenders - anyway stockings are much sexier.”
 
Lisa didn't want to contradict Karen, but she couldn't see anything very 'sexy' about them at all.
 
     By the time they got back to the house, Lisa was beginning to wish that she had just gone home with Alan to get ready. Karen seemed intent on making her look irresistible, and it made her feel like she was being prepared for some kind of ritual ceremony. When she was in the shower she resolved to be as much of a wallflower as she could when she was at the party. She wasn't interested in making Alan jealous, having seen the effect it had on him when he’d been at his parents' house three nights before. She never ever wanted to see him that angry again.
 
     While she was drying her hair, Karen brought a bottle of peach schnapps up to the bedroom and, ignoring Lisa's protests, poured them both a huge glass. Lisa had never tried it before, but after a couple of gulps, it made her relax, and she started to enjoy getting ready.
 
     She put on the basque and stockings after she had done her hair, and looked at herself in the mirror. Karen was right. There was something very sensuous about wearing something so overtly sexy. Either that - or the peach schnapps was beginning to take effect. Lisa wondered what Alan would think of it when they got home at the end of the evening. Since the first time he’d made love to her the week before, she had learnt to love her body for the pleasure it gave him. The idea of wrapping it up in such sensual clothing just to turn him on, had never occurred to her before. The very thought brought a smile to her lips.
 
     Karen topped up both their glasses and watched Lisa put on her make-up. After that, Lisa slipped into the Red Taffeta ball gown, and let Karen pull tight the laces at the back. When she could pull them no tighter, Karen turned Lisa around to face her so that she could see the completed picture. Karen was delighted. She had thought she might feel jealous when she saw Lisa in the beautiful dress she could no longer fit into, but, as it turned out, all she felt was pride. It was almost as though she was a fairy godmother waving her magic wand. With that thought in mind, she handed Lisa her glass and ‘chinked’ it with hers.
 
     “Looking good, Cinderella. You’ll knock ‘em all dead at the ball tonight.”
 
They both looked at Lisa’s reflection in the mirror in front of them, and even Lisa had to agree, she had never looked so good.  Since she’d lost her virginity to Alan, her latent sexuality had blossomed into that of a woman in love. Like a woman with child, her womanhood shone from every part of her body. She now held her head high and proud, which was a huge contrast to the abused teenager who’d arrived at Karen’s family home nine days before.
 
     Karen carried on getting dressed in her black evening gown while Lisa touched up her lipstick. They were both just about done.
 
     “I have a confession to make.” Karen admitted, as she stood behind Lisa at the dressing table brushing her hair.
 
Lisa looked suspiciously at Karen's reflection in the mirror.
 
    “What?” Lisa asked, beginning to feel nervous when she saw Karen's mischievous expression. She was grinning like a Cheshire cat.
 
She admitted to Lisa that she had a bet on with Vikki, that Lisa and her cousin Richard would end up falling for each other at the party.
 
     Lisa's heart sank. If Karen spent all evening trying to get them together it would be a disaster, especially if Alan was watching. He had made it quite clear that he hated the idea of someone she hadn't even met having the hots for her - far less anything more.
 
     “That’s it, I don’t think I want to go anymore,” she said, and stood up and started undoing the ties at the back of the dress. She could see another train wreck fast approaching, and she didn’t want to be on board again when it happened.
 
     “I've never even met this guy, Richard, and you’ve just about got us married off...” she wailed.
 
Karen came over and pulled the ties back up. She couldn't understand why Lisa was so upset. Of course, if Karen had known about Lisa and Alan being lovers, and how he'd reacted when she'd mentioned Richard Clark's name in the first place, she wouldn't be in matchmaking mode at all.
 
     “Don’t be like that, Lisa. It’s just a bit of fun. Don’t take it so seriously- I thought you’d be pleased. I wish Richard Clark had the hots for me after seeing a photograph of me on face book - he’s every woman’s idea of perfection.”
 
That was the problem. All Lisa wanted to do was put Alan's mind at rest. She knew he would be watching her all evening, and she wanted him to be proud of her and see that she didn't want anyone else, especially a handsome stranger she’d never met before.
 
     “Okay, okay! I’ll go, but you’ve got to promise me you won’t spend the whole evening pushing us together, Karen. For reasons I can’t explain, I’m not looking for a new relationship at the moment.”
 
Karen just assumed Lisa was referring to her super rich discarded fiancée, Nick, in The Isle of Man, so didn’t think any more about it. She was convinced Richard and Lisa would get on well together, which had her imagination run riot in the romance department. Realising she might scare Lisa off completely by going on about Richard anymore, Karen decided to back off. Lisa would find out soon enough what a catch Richard Clark was. If she didn’t, she must be nuts.
 
     “Okay, I promise...” she replied, and topped up their glasses again.
 
     When at last they were ready, Lisa looked at her reflection one last time. She had managed to make her hair look a lot more exciting than the first time she'd tried on the dress, and even she had to admit that the basque made her figure look even shapelier than it actually was. With the earrings and matching imitation sapphire and diamond choker, the end result was sensational. Lisa looked like a glamorous movie star about to walk down the red carpet at a premier.
 
     They went down the stairs holding the skirts of their ball gowns to the side, so that they wouldn’t trip over them. Karen's parents thought they both looked positively stunning when they went into the living room, and made them both do a twirl in front of them.
 
     Afterwards, while they sat in the lounge waiting for Richard to arrive, they all chatted over a glass of wine. Alan’s father asked Lisa how she was getting on, and when she told him about her appointment with the modelling agency the following Monday, he seemed genuinely delighted. She was about to tell them about her brother coming down to see her, and her parents offer to send her to boarding school for ten months, but she realised that if she did, then she wouldn't be able to give a good enough reason not to go.
 
     At last there was the sound of a horn hooting outside, and the two girls made their way to the door having said their goodbyes.
 
     Lisa couldn't make out the driver's face from the doorway, but his car looked fantastic. It was a silver grey Porsche. Richard got out of the car and opened the passenger door for them to get in when they got to the bottom of the path.
 
     Lisa looked back at a tall, angular-faced guy in his mid-twenties who was, as Karen had rightly said, drop dead gorgeous. He was the opposite of Alan in colouring, with short dark hair and, from what she could make out in the dim light, dark brown eyes.
 
     “Good evening, ladies, your chauffeur awaits,” he announced formally, as he eyed Lisa up and down appreciatively.
 
She looked even more gorgeous than he'd expected...