Danny didn't even recognize some of the things in the back of Penny's closet. He knew what they were, he'd just never seen them before. "She never wears this stuff," he said to himself. He held up what must be a skintight sheath dress in a glowing pink, covered in little bronze plastic disks that would move and shimmer when the wearer walked. "Mom would have a freaking elephant if Penny ever wore this!"

Dad on the other hand would laugh himself comatose, Danny reflected. "Disco lives in my sister's closet," he said aloud. "Maybe all this stuff belonged to someone else?" Who, though? This had been Penny's bedroom, and off limits to prying little brothers for more than eight years. The few times his sister had caught him snooping around her things, she had thumped him severely--once even getting grounded for giving him a black eye. He'd gotten grounded, too, of course, for provoking her.

He wasn't sure exactly why he wanted to investigate his sister's things. For some reason he just did and he'd been planning this raid for months, ever since he'd learned that Penny had been accepted into Berkely and wouldn't be back till Thanksgiving. It had become almost an obsession and he kept his excitement at finally being in his sister's closet tightly wrapped. He'd suffered many pangs of anticipation waiting for his sister to leave for her chosen center of higher learning.

In order to defuse his adrenalin, he made stupid jokes to himself as he sorted through the strange and wonderful--costumes?--his sister had collected. A pair of Daisy Dukes and a skimpy, pink gingham bandeau would definitely have sent Mom on an all expenses paid trip to Conniption, Oklahoma if Penny had ever worn it. Danny even found a pair of rhinestone-encrusted cowgirl boots with four-inch heels against the back wall; footwear that surely must go with the Daisy Dukes.

"Nukyoolar physics," he muttered, conscious of the mispronouciation. "What the heck does a geekoid like Penny need with sexy clothes like these?" He held up a simple, black cocktail dress. It had a Peter Pan collar, cap sleeves and a slit in one side of the very short skirt. It looked practically mundane amid the other finery--except that the collar felt like the softest fur imaginable. Inky black, too.

What would it feel like to wear some of these clothes, Danny found himself wondering. "As if any of them would even fit," he complained.

Only one way to find out, he decided, selecting one outfit and heading toward the bathroom. He wanted to get a shower first, no sense getting Penny's stuff all stinky. His hands shook a little and he almost squealed outloud, forcing down the outburst with effort, his control almost as ragged as his breath.

Would it fit? How would he look in it? He couldn't wait to find out.