“Are you ladies interested in trying out our latest shopping experience?” the man asked suavely. His hair was dark and slick.

Mary and Lex exchanged a look, shrugging uncomfortably.

“Come on,“ he urged, “You can try on any outfit you like with just one tap!”

“*Any* outfit?” Mary asked skeptically.

He gave her a toothy smile. “Okay, any outfit in our collection. We added a few fun surprises, though.”

Mary was curious now, even though this booth was clearly targeting people who worked in the clothing industry. Whatever this guy was trying to sell, it wouldn’t be something they could use at the store.

“How does it work?” Lex asked.

She shifted the tote bag with goodies and flyers to her other shoulder. They had been hanging around the expo area for almost three hours now and had both collected plenty of gadgets.

“We take a 3D scan of your body. You can then check yourself out wearing all sorts of outfits in our app,” he explained.

“So no virtual reality?” Mary asked.

“Of course, we have VR!” he responded. “Anyone can use their own VR-glasses with the app.”

Lex leaned to the side to get a better look at the rest of the booth. “Who do you sell this technology to?”

He reached for one of the flyers on a nearby table. “We mostly sell it to large clothing brands. They put up scanners in their stores and their customers can try out anything at home once they have had their scan taken.”

Mary smiled, accepting the flyer. “That’s pretty cool,” she admitted.

He gave her another dazzling smile. “So you’ll try it?”

Mary glanced at Lex to see if she was up for it. Lex lifted her shoulders. “I’ve always wanted to know how I look in a tux,” she joked.

The sales guy laughed, unnaturally loud. “I guess you could try that.”

Mary chuckled too, but felt her heart skip a beat again. Lex had been making these playful remarks all day long. Mary had the feeling Lex was testing her. Testing to see how Mary would respond. Testing to see if Mary had fully understood.

“What do you say?” Lex said, “Wanna give it a try before we go back to the hotel?”