MJ stared at herself in the bathroom mirror.

No.

No way.

There was just no way in the world she could possibly leave this room wearing this.

"Are you decent, Love? I'm dying for a look at you," Melanie called.

"Uh, just a sec," MJ called back.

She pulled down on the hem of the dress, which was pointless. The hemline remained where it was, a good two inches above her knees. This would be considered relatively sedate by today's standards of women's fashions, but MJ had never worn anything so short.

Her thighs showed.

Never mind that it was only the first two inches, she felt like she was walking around in her underwear.

And then there was the neckline. It molded to the shape of her breasts, curving and dipping daringly low, in a rather pretty swooping shape.

Nope.

And her arms, my god, her fat arms were exposed, not to mention how the fabric hugged her body all the way across her huge belly, there was just no way--

The door opened behind her and Melanie stepped in.

"Oh my god, MJ, you take the sight right out of my eyes, look at you--" Melanie gasped.

MJ did the only thing she could think of, and reached out and flipped the lights off, suddenly immersing them in darkness.

"MJ?" Melanie's voice was cautious. "Love? Why'd you do that?" She flipped the lights back on. "That's all kinds of better, innit?" She stepped up next to MJ. "Look at you, Love."

MJ shook her head. "I can't wear this out of here, Mel, I can't."

Melanie grasped MJ by the shoulders. "Course you can, Love, course you can. Lord, this fabric's the shit, don't you think? Really brings out your beautiful skin. I have excellent taste."

MJ smiled and nodded in spite of herself. It was a gorgeous print, pink flowers on a white background.

"Look, MJ, see your arms,  see how lovely they look?"

Was she kidding?

"Melanie, don't you see how fat my arms look?" MJ asked before she could stop herself.

Melanie looked at MJ in the mirror and stamped her foot. "No, I don't see how fat your sodding arms look, I only see how soft and lovely and pink they look next to the flowers here," she said, pointing.

Oh.

She was right. They did look kind of nice.

Pretty. And white and soft.

Hmm.

"And look, your décolleté is so pretty, and also looks so soft and white? I'm telling you, MJ, your skin is absolutely stunning, you should show as much of it as possible," Melanie said, nodding for emphasis. "Your legs have got the nicest shape, and you always wear pants, too, silly goose," she said, slapping playfully at MJ.

"I've got it," she announced with a grin. "You need to just run around wearing nothing at all, that's what."

MJ gasped.

"Yeah, you should just be starkers, all the time," Melanie said firmly.

MJ laughed.

"Now, come on, then," Melanie said, turning MJ while she was laughing. "Let's just go down to the car and get ourselves to the club, yeah?"

And before she knew it, that's just where they were.

Yikes.

🍹🥂🍹🥂🍹🥂🍹🥂🍹

MJ got a text from Heath while they were in the car.

Are you on your way???

She sent back:

OMG yes.

She immediately received back:

Yeah! (lots of fist pumping going on over here lol)

She sent:

Lots of vomiting going on over here...

Heath sent back:

Oh pish posh. Are you wearing the dress??

MJ smiled and sent back:

Yes, I'm wearing the dress. Remember, though, that we're a celebrating our monthiversary in secret, right? No one knows about us?

And after a bit:

Right, right, but we can be seen together, having a friendly drink or whatever. It's going to be ace! See you in a bit!

Mel smiled at MJ.

"That him?" she asked.

MJ nodded.

"No one knows about us," she began uncertainly. "I mean, nothing's really happened yet, so there's not really much to know, anyway, but--"

"You don't have to say anything more," Melanie interrupted her. "I get it, and I know to keep my mouth shut, no worries, love." She put a hand on MJ's. "I think it's just grand, I do."

"And you really think I look okay?" MJ asked, swallowing.

Melanie nodded. "I do."

They arrived at the club, which was called blaues Glas, and were let right in, though as far as she could tell, neither she nor Melanie looked famous at all. She felt extremely uncomfortable, and was having a hard time walking in the pretty strappy sandals Melanie had given her to go with the dress.

They were shown to the table where people from the tour were sitting, which was huge and centrally located. A cheer of greeting went up when they were seen, and MJ was given second and even third looks as everyone took in her dress.

"Wow, look at MJ," she heard from more than one person.

Heath was beaming like a Halloween jack-o-lantern as he gestured to her. "MJ! Over here!"

She walked around the table, aware that nearly everyone was watching her move, feeling rather odd about it. She could see Meredith whispering to her cousin and friends as she went.

Heath made everyone move over to make room for her in the booth, which was awkward. He didn't seem to care, however, and greeted her effusively. "Hello, darling, you look amazing," he said, pulling her in for a hug as she sat down.

"Thank you," she said with a smile as she took her seat.

"Here's some champagne for you," he said, pouring her a glass, laughing happily as the entire table toasted to the show or something, MJ wasn't quite sure. The club was crowded and loud.

The person on her left was named Darwin, and MJ wasn't quite sure what he did. She'd seen him around, but she didn't know him very well. He had an easy smile and absolutely immense biceps, and a very broad back, so he was probably one of the road crew, who managed the heavy equipment.

After a few minutes of greeting everyone and getting situated, Darwin spoke to her.

"So, MJ, how are you liking being on tour?" Darwin asked.

"I'm really enjoying it," she replied. "I'd never been out of Los Angeles until this tour, so it's really exciting for me to do this, to go anywhere." She drained her champagne glass.

"Oh? Your first time out,  huh?" he filled her glass for her. "You should let me show you around a little, then. This is my third time out with Meredith's tour, so I've seen everything." He smiled at her again.

MJ was taking a breath to say something when Heath leaned in, his arm around MJ's shoulder. "That's the thing, though, you know, Darwin? Being Meredith's PA keeps MJ so busy. She's hopping from dawn to dusk, no spare time at all." He pulled MJ slightly away from Darwin, so she was leaning into his own body.

"That's a shame," Darwin said, his eyes flicking from Heath's hand on MJ's bare shoulder to Heath's eyes, down to MJ's cleavage for the barest of seconds and then up to MJ's eyes. "Maybe you have time for a dance later, MJ?" He said as he rose. "We can talk a little more, maybe? I'd like that."

"Uh, okay, me too," MJ agreed, nodding. "Let's have a dance later."

"MJ, no, you don't agree to dance with him," Heath said in agony. "Now you have to talk to him later, and what if he asks you out again?" His dark blue eyes were wide with worry as they met hers.

"What's the harm in dancing with him later?" MJ asked as she drank more champagne. "It's just a--wait, what did you say? He didn't ask me out!"

"MJ, you're like a beautiful baby deer wandering about in the forest," Heath moaned, face palming, shaking his head. "Of course he asked you out! What do you think he meant when he offered to show you around, for fuck's sake?"

MJ made a face. "It was just an offer to show me around. How much have you had to drink?" she asked.

He looked at her. "I'm not pissed, if that's what you're inferring," he replied with dignity.

"I think the word you're looking for is 'implying'," MJ responded, leaning back and laughing.

From across the table, Meredith caught her eye.

"Bathroom break," she called. "You in?"

MJ nodded, and joined the throng of girls going to the ladies' room. She was surprised when, instead of going to the restroom they'd passed on their way in, they headed upstairs.

"There's a less crowded one for us VIPs up here," Meredith's cousin Virginia informed her.

All MJ knew about Virginia Renner was that she resembled her famous cousin a little bit, and her real last name was Quackenbush, but she'd changed it to Renner to take advantage of Meredith's fame as she tried to launch a career in the modeling business. Meredith's friends this week were named Alyssa and Gwen.

"So, you clean up nice, I guess," Gwen said to MJ with a snicker as they entered the bathroom. As expected, most of the women around them were speaking German.

"Thank you," MJ said as she entered a stall.

"If you want to call what she's done to herself 'cleaning up,' I guess," Meredith called from the stall next to her. "Did Melanie fix you up with that huge dress?" she continued.

"Yes," MJ answered. She flushed and emerged to wash her hands and check her make-up.

"Aww, I think she looks nice, y'all," Virginia drawled from next to her as she applied a fresh coat of lip stick.

"No, no, she does, she does," Meredith agreed as she, too, flushed and came out to wash her hands. "It's a pretty dress, anyway," she said, looking MJ up and down. "And it's nice that Heath's found his DUFF for the tour, too, right?" she laughed as she borrowed Virginia's lipstick and touched up her own.

MJ swallowed. She knew what DUFF meant, and she knew everyone else in the room, did, too.

"You guys, MJ doesn't have to be the DUFF," Alyssa protested as she poked at her hair and sprayed fresh perfume that she didn't need. "Not every tour has to have a DUFF, right?" She looked over at MJ. "Besides, she doesn't look fat enough or ugly enough to even be the DUFF, I think," Alyssa added.

MJ smiled at her. "Thanks." She looked around. "We all ready? I promised someone a dance, so I should get down there."

They all trouped downstairs, where, as she knew he would be, Heath was waiting for her.

"What?" he asked immediately. "What's happened? You were happy when you left, and now you're not."

"Nothing," MJ said briefly. She looked at Heath, at his worried face. "You want to dance with me, Heath? That would make me really happy, so you want to?"

"I do, actually," Heath answered, smiling the smile that had been loosening girls' thighs the world over for nearly a decade. "Please, Ms. Jave-moussaka, dance with me."

So they stepped out, and as serendipity and the fates would have it, a slow number started just then, so MJ got to put her arms around the neck of the boy she was falling in love with, and Heath got to wrap his arms around the waist of the girl he was falling in love with. They got to hold each other close, and move to the music, and smell each other, and feel each other, and get turned on by each other, and it was heaven for both of them.

"This is lovely," Heath whispered into her ear, and he could feel her nod. "The only way it could be more perfect would be if I could kiss you."

She nodded again.

As it was, he could feel her supple body pressing against him in ways he never had, with her beautiful skin exposed like it never had been before. He ran his hands down her arms, all the way from her round shoulders to her hands, before grasping her waist once more. He buried his nose in her fragrant hair.

"You're so beautiful, MJ," he murmured. "Your skin is glowing, your body is the most wonderful shape--I know that me simply telling you doesn't make it so for you, but it's true to me, okay?"

Nod.

"Happy monthiversary, darling."

"Happy monthiversary, Heath."