Caroline replied to say she would be there. She stopped by her apartment to change clothes. She was happy to get out of her bra, which felt unusually tight. She changed into a yellow sundress. Absentmindedly, she didn't bother with a strapless bra, but she didn't need one anyway. The mermaid virus had caused caused her chest to swell from a B to a C.
Caroline gave Jennifer a big hug outside the bar, the contact passing on the mermaid virus. They had been college roommates and stayed friends afterwards. Jennifer had gone into a corporate job and liked to blow off steam afterwards. She introduced Mindy and Julie. Mindy was Jennifer's neighbor and gave off the vibes of a serious businesswoman. Julie was one of Jennifer's coworkers, and easily the smallest of the four - slender and barely five feet tall.
The women made their way to the bar and ordered drinks. Caroline discreetly asked about Julie. Jennifer explained she had to practically drag the meek woman out to socialize. She was a sweetheart, but painfully shy. The four made small talk. At one point, Caroline unwittingly picked up Mindy's glass of wine. Not realizing it, Mindy in turn drank from Caroline's glass, becoming infected with the mermaid virus.
As the evening went on, two things happened: guys at the bar kept hitting on Caroline but not any of the other three women, and Julie pounded drinks at a rate disproportionate to her size. Jennifer became annoyed by both and suggested they call it a night sooner than she would have otherwise wanted.
Caroline was even accosted by a man on her way back from the restroom, who tried to give her a sloppy kiss. He didn't succeed, but unbeknownst to him he did get infected with the mermaid virus. So did the bartender, having leaned in too close to Caroline to hear her order.
As the four women said their goodbyes in the parking lot, Julie muttered something about how beautiful Caroline was then flung herself onto Caroline, giving her an open mouth kiss and getting the strongest dose of the mermaid virus of anyone infected at the bar. Caroline was surprised, but didn't resist; instead, a horrified Jennifer pulled Julie off her friend. Julie apologized; Caroline, Mindy, and especially were shocked at such behavior from the otherwise bashful woman. She was clearly too drunk to drive. Mindy volunteered to take Julie home, to spare her from embarrassing herself any further in front of Jennifer.
Caroline sat in her car and contemplated the phone numbers guys had given her, trying to decide if she should call any of them. Some had been very attractive. With her dalliance with Isabella and the kiss from Julie fresh on her mind, Caroline was feeling horny. She was also thirsty, and the itch in her leg was back stronger than before.
Jennifer drove home feeling jealous of all the attention Caroline had gotten, embarrassed by Julie's behavior, and thirsty.
Mindy tried to coax directions out Julie, but they seemed incoherent. She got the address from Julie's drivers license instead. As they drove, Mindy tried to keep focused on the road while Julie alternated between apologizing for her behavior and babbling something about the ocean.