“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?”

Mary happily agreed. She had thought Lex would have been fed up with the conference by now.

“Follow me, ladies,” the salesman said.

Mary and Lex both smiled and did just that. After dropping their bags on a table, they joined him in a corner of the booth that had been out of sight until now.

He stepped behind a terminal on the right, tapping a few keys. The 3D scanner was set up next to it. It was a weird construction with three pillars that were set up in a triangle around a plateau.

“Who wants to go first?” he asked.

Mary shyly gestured for Lex to step into the scanner. Lex said, “Okay, I guess I’ll give it a try.”

“Take off your shoes and just step on there,” he instructed and pointed at the small plateau.

Lex complied, kicking her shoes off with little decorum. When she was on the platform, she straightened her back. “This okay?”

Mary’s gaze drifted to Lex’s bare feet. Lex didn’t have any nail polish on, she noticed.

“Spread your legs a little, please,” the man told Lex.

Mary’s eyes snapped up. Lex grinned at her and widened her stance. Her shoulders were perfectly straight. She looked confident and self-possessed. Megan Rapinoe had nothing on Lex in the swagger department.

“Perfect,” the guy replied. “This will only take a minute. Keep as still as you can.”

“Sure,” Lex said, her eyes holding Mary’s. Electricity was sizzling in the air and it wasn’t because the scanner was doing its work. Mary felt the muscles in her neck shift as she swallowed.

“Okay, done!” the sales guy chirped. “Next!”

Lex stuck her hand in her pocket and hopped off the plateau. Mary quickly bent over to remove her shoes. Her hands were shaking. She got to the scanner without giving Lex another look.


She could already feel her cheeks burn as she stepped onto the plateau. The cold surface of the platform instantly stuck to the skin of her feet. Gosh, why had she wanted to do this?

“Bit wider stance, please,” the man instructed again.

Mary obeyed, embarrassed by the sounds her feet were making every time she moved.

Lex stood next to the table with their stuff, her arms crossed. She grinned at Mary and let her eyes roam over her body freely. Mary thought her knees were going to buckle.

“Stay still, please,” the guy said. “You keep moving.”

Mary inwardly cursed the dude. She held her breath and tried to make her body calm down. It wasn’t easy with Lex taking her in. Every nerve in Mary’s body was tingling. The skin on the back of her neck prickled with sweat.

“Still moving too much,” he repeated.

Mary blew out a breath and closed her eyes. This was not fun. It was embarrassing.

“It’s not working,” the man said gruffly.

“That’s okay,” Mary said and quickly stepped off the platform. “I’ll try it some other time.”

She hurried back to her shoes and socks, keeping her eyes fixed on the floor. But then she heard the sales guy tell Lex, “Let me get the VR glasses ready. Okay if I use your body scan for both of you? That way she can try out the app too.”

“Oh shit,” Mary thought.