Rather short chapter, but an important one, I think.

~.~

"Howdy there, partner!" CB greeted her in an exaggerated accent as Lainey opened her apartment door that Friday night.

He stood in her doorway wearing a rather hideous bolo tie and oversized cowboy hat. The outfit was complete with a button-up denim shirt, obnoxiously-large belt buckle, too-tight jeans, and brown cowboy boots. It was a lot to take in.

The two friends had agreed to meet up at her apartment before heading to Daisy Dukes and Boots Saloon in order for Lainey to properly prepare CB for the night ahead - and to approve his attire for the evening. If she was going to be his wing woman, his wardrobe would have to pass her careful inspection - or else.

"Oh, hell no," Lainey said, staring him up and down, instantly vexed by his chosen wardrobe. "You are NOT going out dressed like that!"

"Why not? I want you to know I worked very hard on this outfit," CB said, slightly irritated, glancing down at his attire. "Rufus down at the western outfitters store assured me that these threads were the latest and greatest."

"Well, I think Rufus has a serious eye problem." Lainey tugged him inside her apartment by the arm and plopped him down on one of the stools at the kitchen counter. "But we'll just have to make do with what we got, won't we?"

CB relented, sitting patiently on the stool, and let Lainey go to work.

"Let's get rid of this hat… because it looks ridiculous on you." She grabbed his hat and tossed it like a frisbee into the kitchen. His eyes trailed after it as it landed in the sink. "And this tie… why do you always have to wear a tie again?"

"Because they're awesome and they make me me ." CB watched Lainey fingers as they unfastened the stringy tie from around his neck and tossed it into the sink to join his hat. "Oh, come on, Lainey!"

"And I'm totally digging this shirt, but you should always leave a few buttons unbuttoned at the top, so you don't look completely clueless," Lainey said, unbuttoning the first three buttons of his denim shirt. "We're trying to attract women, not scare them away."

As her fingers moved to loosen the buttons, Lainey could now see the beginning planes of CB's chest and the white ribbed tank he'd worn peeking out from underneath. She gulped, her breath becoming uneven, her cheeks flaming with heat.

"There… um, you look… um..."

She pulled back and gazed at her handiwork, noticing how extremely handsome CB now looked with his shirt slightly opened and his gorgeous blue eyes staring back at her. For a moment there, she became completely lost in him, but quickly shook her head. What in the hell was she thinking letting herself gawk at another man when Barry was hundreds of miles away? Even if the man was CB.

"That good, huh?" CB laughed and stood up, spinning around.

"You look amazing," Lainey blurted out before she could think straight, her eyes catching sight of his ass in those incredibly tight jeans as he pivoted in front of her. She cursed herself again and tried to distract herself with thoughts of Barry.

"Thanks," he said shyly, blushing. "And you look beautiful as always. New outfit?"

Her heart flitted inside her chest as the word "beautiful" crossed his lips, but she quickly gained her composure.

"Yeah, well, you know… just threw some old things together," she played off his rather flattering comment, placing her hands on her hips.

Lainey had donned a white lacy top over jeans and brown boots to wear out to the bar. She'd also worn more makeup than usual and curled her blond hair into tight ringlets. To be honest, she was quite proud of her look.

"Lainey, you never look just thrown together," CB commented, peering down at her.

"Thanks…" Lainey bit her lip, her heart racing at his words. She deflected her attention to the clock on her microwave. "Well, it's almost seven and I promised Wilma we'd be there at seven-thirty, so we better, uh, head on out."

"Yes," he agreed, his eyes sparkling, and clapped his hands together. "Let's go get me a woman, Lainey Lewis!"

"Okay." She laughed as she grabbed her shoulder bag off the kitchen counter. "Let's get you… something."

CB held the apartment door for her, and the two of them strolled out to his car. Lainey was already beginning to regret she'd ever suggested this.

~.~

She got a little flustered there, huh? Let me know what you thought. ~ Dazzy xxoo