“How do I look?” Cassie asked, the answer far more important to her self confidence than either of them knew.
“You look amazing,” he said.
“Thanks.”
Cassie made her way out of the bathroom with deliberate steps but it felt unreal, like she was watching someone else play a first-person video game of her life in that moment. She must have made similar walks like this hundreds of times and, sure, there were always butterflies but it was never this bad before.
“I love that top,” Tony said.
“Me too,” she said. “I’ve had it for a little while now. It’s super cute.”
Neither Cassie nor Tony knew what to do next. Neither wanted to be the one to advance this little game to the next phase.
Tony once again broke the silence. Not because he wanted to but because it was too painful not to.
“So …” he said. “Are you, like, okay with this?”
“Yeah,” Cassie said. “It’s no big deal.”
“Okay.”
“Okay,” Cassie said, taking a deep breath. She reached and unlocked her phone again. On the counter next to it was a bluetooth speaker she had pulled out of her luggage case a few minutes ago and brought with her for this exact moment. It was a clear cube and changed colors as you listened to music on it. You could also put it on a stationary color. She chose black because it seemed fitting given her cousin’s outfit request.
“What kind of music do you want to listen to?,” she asked, opening up her Spotify account.
“Uhh,” Tony stammered. “I’m okay with whatever.”
“Alright.”
Cassie immediately searched for and played the theme song for the kids show Paw Patrol. It was a joke meant to lighten the mood and it did just that.
“Are you serious right now?” Tony laughed, jokingly falling over on the couch. “OK. Let me be more specific. NOT THAT.”
Cassie laughed, shut off the silly kids show theme song and knew exactly what she needed to search for.
She was a big fan of Spotify. It never disappointed her and it wouldn’t tonight. For a music app with unlimited tracks and artists available, it was ironic that the biggest feature she loved was something the creators likely never put much thought into: Community-created custom playlists for just about any mood.
Whether she was working out and needed some high intensity rock music to elevate her heart rate or wanted some relaxing and soothing background noise while she wound down and read a book before bed, she could always find the exact music she was looking for by hitting the search bar.
Tonight was a bit different and a situation she’d never been in before but the app proved itself worth the ten bucks a month she paid once again.
Cassie typed in “Strip Club music” and found a ton of options but it was the first playlist that popped up, which was aptly titled “Strip Club Playlist” that caught her eye.
A mix of 80s hair metal like “Cherry Pie” by Warrant, “Here I go Again” by Whitesnake and “Girls, Girls, Girls” by Mötley Crüe, the playlist took classic strip club songs and combined them with the more recent rock and pop hits you’d actually hear if you went into a club today. She knew this because strip clubs were one of her favorite places to go with her girl friends and a great place to get ideas for sexy outfits for the photos she paid to have taken for her ads.