Week Two Re-Do: Series of Events

                It wasn’t love but I won’t deny I had a small crush.  My fingertips melted into the softness and I imagined how they’d feel on my skin. Heavenly, I thought. Like nothing I’ve ever had. Then there was the white lace detail. I may have been able to bypass the lace but white?? It was too much, I couldn’t resist. I looked at the price tag and reluctantly pulled my hand away from the silky material. Maybe I could resist after all. “Hello!! Can I help you with anything?”

                “No….I was just browsing,” I replied.

                “Well what kind of jeans do you normally wear?” the girl asked. Her brown eyes sparkled behind a pair of black glasses and she was smiling brightly.

                “Uh….jeans?” I said. What kind of question is that? “American Eagle mostly,” I clarified.

                She looked me up and down, a frown of concentration on her face. “Turn around for me?” she asked. I turned around awkwardly, uncomfortable with her critical assessment of my body. “You look like you’d wear a size two or zero here,” she said. I was still stuck on her delusion when she asked “What kind of jeans were you looking for?”

                “Skinny jeans,” I said. Wait!! What?!?! I didn’t want ANY jeans!

                She came back with two pairs and led me to the dressing room where I found out how that silky fabric felt against my skin. Weightless, I felt like I was relaxing around the house in leggings. They were even the perfect length. At five feet, that never happens and my jeans always end up tattered and frayed. They were perfect.

                Handing them back to her I said, “I didn’t really like them.”

                “What exactly didn’t you like about them?” she asked, visibly concerned. Clearly, this wasn’t something she heard all the time.

                “I don’t know. They just didn’t fit right.”

                “We do have other styles. I saw you were looking at these ones when you came in?” and she pointed at the jeans. “Why don’t you try these on and show me so you can tell me exactly what you don’t like about them.”

                Ohhhh, I was getting sucked in. I could feel it. My first attempt at walking out of there without swiping my card failed, my second one did too. This girl was a force to be reckoned with, she was winning every round. She had me trying on jeans I never wanted to buy; I was just trying to kill some time before my flight. She flattered me, manipulated me, and now she had figured out my weakness in these perfectly girly, tomboy jeans that made me look amazing.

                I’d like to blame it all on her and the fact that she probably relies on commission to pay her rent; it’d be so much easier that way. But it wasn’t all her (even though she literally forced me to try on jeans). No, it was a combination of my seemingly uncontrollable spending habits and the irrational guilt I felt. She had been so nice, so helpful. I didn’t want to waste her time and every girl needs a pair of nice jeans, right? I swiped my card and the second I entered my pin I knew I was making a mistake. I would never wear these jeans. I should’ve gone with the skinnies, I thought. At least then I’d be able to wear them. She wrapped them up and gently placed them in a little brown bag, sliding them across the counter as if she were giving me a gift. I took it and smiled at her as I vowed to stop shopping for two months…..or one.