21 April 2007 Evening

Cuddy stood in front of her mirror, mouth twisted as she critiqued her appearance. Wilson hadn't given her any specifics on the expected dress for the jazz festival but most campus events tended more to the casual side. Actually, on campus it was likely clothing styles would run the gamut from formal to ultra-casual. She decided to shoot for somewhere in the middle. She had to dress up for work--although she admittedly had her own definition of business style--and she had to dress up for hospital associated functions and she had to dress up for the occasional blind date. She kind of liked the idea of dressing down a touch to hang out with a friend. It would be a nice change of pace.

Actually, both previous outings with Wilson had been a nice change of pace. It wasn't that she never attended cultural events before. It was that she was spending time with Wilson in a way she never had before. She'd known him for years, of course, but so much of the way they related to each other had always been determined by their relationships to House. She felt like she was just getting to know Wilson in a way--the Wilson who wasn't part of House's tilted orbit. It was nice. Wilson was nice. She enjoyed having him as a friend.

If he was nothing more than a friend, though, she really shouldn't be spending so much time worrying about how she looked. She always liked to look nice but she'd chosen clothes that had some sex appeal as well. Snug black slacks, a hot pink silk blouse and a cropped black leather jacket were definitely on the sexy side. And the high heels, naturally--she never went anywhere without those. The outfit was sexy without being too revealing. But...maybe too sexy? If Wilson was just a friend, should she maybe dial the sexy down a notch? Demure wasn't really her style but she worried she might be sending the wrong signal by wearing an outfit that was, well, kind of hot.

She shook her head and opened her jewelry box to find a pair of earrings. No, she wasn't sending any signal at all. She always liked to look sexy and there was no reason to change, not when Wilson was accustomed to the way she dressed. Besides, he wouldn't be looking for the wrong signal because he wasn't looking for anything more than friendship.

And she was out of time to fuss about it anyway. As she fastened a dangly silver earring to her left ear, there was a firm knock at her front door. She shouted that she was coming and quickly fastened the other earring before grabbing her purse and heading down the hall. She opened the door for Wilson, still juggling her purse as she tried to slip on a bracelet.

"Hey," she said with a big smile. "Sorry you had to wait but...." She gestured at herself to indicate the way she was still putting on the finishing touches. "You know how it is--can't leave the house without my jewelry."