Chapter 38
The Dress
CHARLOTTE
At the mall, we walked into the first dress store, and she picked out about twenty dresses for me to try on, while she had fifteen for herself. I was told I had to model each dress for her, and she would model hers in return.
The first one was a skintight, strapless red dress that went to my ankles.
I walked out hesitantly. Tracy had me turn in a circle—and whistled at me.
She was wearing a light-green, knee-length dress with a flowing skirt. It was pretty, but it didn’t really fit her style.
“Girl, you are smoking in that, but you’re also very uncomfortable. And this dress is definitely not the one for me. Next!” she declared.
My next dress was yellow—like, the middle of the sun, blinding yellow.
Why would Tracy pick this color? And who would it possibly look good on? The dress was strapless and had a fitted top with an empire waist that subtly flowed into a long, elegant skirt. Not awful, if you could ignore the color.
I reluctantly walked out of the dressing room in this hideous color, and Tracy couldn’t even contain her laughter.
“Did you give me this just to laugh?” I asked her, not amused.
“No. I wanted to see the cut on you, to see if we could find something similar in a different color, but that color is just too much,” Tracy said, still
laughing.
“Thanks, can I change now?”
“Yes, please do,” Tracy replied, starting to calm down.
None of the dresses we tried on really seemed to be the best option for either of us. They were either too long—easy when you’re my height—or too tight, or they showed off too much skin. I really wanted something elegant but pretty. To be honest, the cut of the yellow dress was my favorite —but ugh, the color.
Tracy and I made our way to another store in the mall where she found a few more dresses for us to try on. The first one she put on looked amazing on her. It was a deep emerald-green, mermaid-style dress with a slit that went up to mid-thigh. The neckline was heart-shaped and showed off an ample amount of cleavage. To be honest, it was way too revealing for my liking, but it looked like it was custom-made for her. She could easily pull it off.
“Wow,” was my only reaction when she stepped out of the changing room.
“I know, right? I have to get this one,” she gushed.
“Yeah, I agree.”
With her dress picked, we could focus on finding mine.
She had me try on a few more, but nothing seemed to be right. While I was in the middle of putting on a dress, I heard Tracy start squealing like a child. When I came out to show her the dress, she instantly handed me another and told me to go put it on.
I turned around and went back into the dressing room without her even really seeing what I had on. Oh well, I didn’t like it much, anyway.
I quickly took it off and pulled on the new dress. I looked in the small mirror in the dressing room and gasped. When I opened the door and walked out, Tracy just stood there staring at me with her mouth open.
The dress was almost Roman or Greek in style. It was a deep red, with a thin shoulder strap that went into a plunging neckline. Open, sweeping sleeves draped from the shoulders down to my wrists, leaving most of my arms bare. A thick, golden chain belt wrapped around high on my waist, just below the chest. The skirt itself was simple and flowed down, with a slight train. Extra pieces of fabric were gathered in the front and draped around elegantly on each side—to be gathered again in the back.
The dress was stunning.
“Wow! You look like a Roman goddess,” Tracy mused.
“I love this!”
“I think TJ will too. It’s so fitting, given how you two met.”
We quickly went to pay for our dresses before heading off to find shoes, jewelry, and hair accessories. Tracy somehow managed to find accessories that fit with the Roman theme. That girl was amazing.
“Oh, I forgot to ask, who are you going to prom with?” I had just realized that she’d never told me.
“Um, it’s a secret. You’ll find out,” she replied mischievously. Weird, but whatever.
By the time we had finished all of our shopping, it was well past lunchtime, and we were both hungry. We stopped at a burger place and ate a late lunch before going to my house. Tracy told me I had to hide my outfit and stuff from TJ so it would be a surprise. She also said she called dibs on doing my hair and makeup, which was fine by me since I had no ability to do either.
After all of that was done, Tracy finally headed home.
I was lying on my bed, half asleep due to the early wake-up, when I felt warmth close around me. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that TJ was lying beside me in my bed.
“Mmm, I could get used to this,” I said, scooting closer and putting my
head on his chest.
“Me too, baby, me too.”
“How did you get in, anyway?” I asked him, not that I minded in the least.
“Oh, your mom gave me a key to the door. She said they are gone so much, so they worry about you. They trust me to help keep you safe,” he told me.
Interesting. Mom was giving keys to our house to my boyfriend? They had known TJ as my best friend since we were ten, so it was a little
different—but still.
“Hmm, okay,” was my only reply.
“So, what’s on the agenda before practice, gorgeous?” TJ inquired, his fingers gently combing through my hair, his other arm securely wrapped around my waist—pulling me closer to him.
“Just this,” I murmured, content.
“Your wish is my command,” he replied, bending his head slightly to plant a kiss on my forehead.
After a few moments of silence, my mind drifted back to my earlier conversation with Tracy. I couldn’t help but wonder if TJ was genuinely
okay with us not going beyond kissing.
I was privy to many intimate details about his life that Tracy probably wasn’t—thanks to his seven-year-long misconception that I was a guy. I knew he wasn’t used to going long without being with a girl.
“TJ?” I asked softly.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“Are you really okay with us not going beyond kissing? I know more about your past than you’d probably like, so I feel the need to ask,” I said, treading lightly.
“I love you, sweetheart. I love your personality, your mind, everything about you. I’m not with you for your body, like I was with past girls. Don’t get me wrong. I am a guy, so I wouldn’t mind if you wanted more, but that’s not why I’m here. I want whatever makes you comfortable—forever,”
he reassured me with confidence.
“Forever, huh?” I asked.
“Sweetheart, I’d be content with nothing more than a kiss for the rest of my life, as long as that kiss was from you.”
“And if a better offer comes along?”
“That’s not going to happen. You’re the one for me. I plan on marrying you someday and keeping you forever,” he declared.
“You want to marry me?” I asked, taken aback.
“Absolutely. Not right now, of course. We should graduate first,” he said, chuckling.
“Yeah, my parents would definitely prefer that.” I laughed along.
We spent the next few hours sprawled on the bed, talking and making out. Kissing TJ had a way of making me lose track of time. I never thought I could love someone as much as I loved him. He was perfect for me.
“Sweetheart, as much as I love lying here with you, I think Nep and Plut will be upset if we don’t log on soon,” TJ said, pulling away from a particularly intense kiss that had left me dazed.
“Wait, is it time already?” I asked.
He chuckled.
“We’re actually about ten minutes late.”
“Oh no, the guys are going to be so mad. Let’s log on,” I said, jumping out of bed, only to feel slightly dizzy from the sudden movement.
“Easy there, babe,” TJ said, steadying me with a kiss.
I quickly logged into the game at the arena, ready to play PVP with the guys. It took TJ a bit longer to get booted up, and once he logged in, I just cracked up laughing, quickly followed by Nep and Plut.
“What’s so… Dang it! TRACY! Wait a minute, my computer has been here. She couldn’t get to it to change my avatar.”
TJ slowly turned to me.
“You make the cutest pink unicorn ever!” I exclaimed through fits of laughter.
“Some days I still think I need a new best friend,” he replied, exasperated.
“You know you love me. Now, come on, Sparkles, let’s play,” I told
him.
“Can I at least change first?”
I looked over at him with a big pout on my face.
“Fine, I’ll leave it,” he conceded.
“YAY!”
“Whipped!” Plut exclaimed.
“No, in love,” he replied, leaning over and giving me a kiss.
“Guys, you need to stop making out. We already have Nep for that. Oh, and please be on time. Between you and Nep’s latest fling, I need new teammates,” Plut grumbled as we logged on.
“Sorry, Plut,” I said sheepishly. Now that the guys knew who I really was, I didn’t bother with the voice changer anymore.
“So, Nep has a new girl?”
“Yeah, she’s quite the chatterbox,” Plut replied.
“Hey, Mars, how about some moaning for me? It would make this more enjoyable,” Nep chimed in, coming off mute. I wished he had stayed muted; Plut was right about the girl in the background. She was loud.
“Back off, Nep. My girlfriend won’t be moaning for your pleasure,” TJ
retorted.
“What a party pooper,” Nep grumbled.
“Let’s just get to practice,” TJ suggested.
With that, we focused on the game. Being the best meant constantly proving ourselves to others who wanted to take us down. Fortunately for us, it wasn’t going to be easy for anyone to topple the Romans.
