Chapter 52 #2
Everything about this third boutique screams it was made for taking photos in: Mirrors with fantastic lighting are set between the racks and racks of dresses that line the room, and uniquely shaped white couches face the center of the room.
Dressing rooms with glittering baby pink curtains sit atop a stage-like platform in the middle, and sparkling jewelry is showcased in glass cases around it like they are the crown jewels.
“Hello, ladies, would you care for some champagne while you look around?” The snooty sales associate asks after she’s given us all a once-over.
I can’t tell if it’s Emily’s unmistakably designer handbag or the fact that Sasha’s arms are already loaded down with shopping bags that earns us her sudden politeness, but I know with absolute certainty it isn’t me lingering near the sale rack.
Still, I smile sweetly, pretending I don’t notice the shift in her tone as she decides—apparently—that we’re worth her effort.
“Ooo yes, please!” Emily says as she begins pulling dresses to try on.
The sale rack is everything I expected, colors of dresses that should never have been made in the first place, and a few size double zeros.
While I wait for Emily to start her fashion shows, I casually browse the regular racks, admiring the beautiful cuts and fabrics, and then almost have a heart attack when I see the prices.
It’s not that I couldn’t afford to buy one since I’m earning a stipend and I almost never spend money, but spending so much money on a dress I won’t have many opportunities to wear over the next ten years feels like a waste.
“Lee,” Sasha sings from across the store to get my attention, and I immediately eat every thought I just had. In her hands is the most perfect dress that I just have to try on.
Emily fills her dressing rooms up fast, while I put the one dress in my dressing room before joining Sasha on the couch to sip our bubbly and watch Emily work the runway.
Her first option barely makes it a few steps out of the dressing room before we are sending her to change before she gets charged with public indecency.
The second is thankfully a little longer, so we’re spared from seeing her goods from the couch again. It’s a deep purple number that looks great on her, but would be better for a night out than a graduation ceremony.
Emily steps out in her third dress, an olive-green strapless number with layered fabric giving the appearance of ruching without the bunching. It’s cut mid-thigh at its high point, but with an asymmetrical cut, the other side ends above her knee. Sasha and I both gasp.
“What do we think?”
“You look so hot,” Sasha says.
I nod my head in agreement, “Like the Bravo guys might be tripping up the stairs when they see you, hot.”
Emily grins. “Perfect! Then Theo won’t be able to keep his hands off me after graduation,” she says with a wink before turning back to change.
As she gives the associate her dress and gets refills for all three of us, I slip on the dress Sasha pulled for me.
I’m instantly in love with the vivid royal blue dress with off-the-shoulder sleeves that are slightly oversized to add a whimsical feeling.
It’s neckline curves like a soft suggestion of a Sweetheart, and a bodice that’s molded to my waist, accentuating my curves before slightly flaring out just below my hips.
The vertical pleats give the appearance that my torso is longer than it actually is, and as I picture pairing it with the heels from Aiden, I can’t imagine a more perfect dress.
“We’re waiting, bitch!” Emily calls, making Sasha and me laugh.
“I’m coming,” I say before throwing on the nude heels I grabbed to give me some height, and walking out.
Neither of them says a word as they stare at me.
“Is that a no?”
“Yes!” Emily says adamantly. “Wait, no.”
“What she is trying to say is that you have to get it!”
“Yes, that! You look absolutely perfect!”
“And it has pockets!” I tell them excitedly, but then the doubt and guilt come back in full force. “But are we positive? Because this dress costs like two full paychecks, and maybe there’s another dress that’s equally as—”
I’m cut off by the sound of a phone ringing, and I realize it’s Sasha calling someone.
“Hey, everything okay?” Matt’s worried voice fills the otherwise silent space.
“No, everything is not okay,” Sasha says, not picking up on Matt’s tone.
“What happened? What’s wrong?” I don’t know where he is, but I hear something fall, metal clink, and stuff shuffling around like he’s getting ready to run here if he has to.
“What’s wrong is that you were right!” Sasha says with only semi-mock frustration. “She found a dress she looks incredible in, and she’s trying to talk herself out of buying it. Can you please talk some sense into her?”
She flips her phone around, and Matt’s face fills the screen. His worried expression quickly changes to an ear-to-ear smile. Sasha smiles up at me and passes me the phone.
“Now, why would you try to talk yourself out of a dress that looks that good on you? Aiden is going to love it.”
“Mattey, it’s sooo expensive!” I say as I walk back into the dressing room to talk to him privately.
He’s the only person who’s seen how hard I used to have to work to keep a roof over my head and the utilities on.
He’s also seen what happened the one time I didn’t have enough to cover the bills because I’d been sick and couldn’t work for a week.
The electricity wasn’t even turned off—just a late notice and a small fee—but my dad said it made him look bad.
In the end, he made sure I paid for his embarrassment.
“Do you have enough money?”
“Well, yeah, but—”
“Lee, you have a guaranteed paycheck coming in for the next ten years and practically no bills to pay.”
“Okay, true. But, I also have our track night dress to buy in a few months.”
“Which you have several checks coming in between now and then, with nothing to spend them on.”
“Maybe I want to buy a car or something,” I say, which earns me a loud snort from the other end of the call.
“You hate driving, and you have a bonded dragon. Try again.”
“I…can’t…” I admit. “I’m all out of reasons,” I concede with a little smile on my face.
“Show me the dress again.”
I do, and his smile is right back in place. “If you don’t buy that dress right now, then I’m coming down there to buy it for you.”
“No, you aren’t, Mattey!”
“Okay, then go tell the nice salespeople to bag it up real pretty and give them your money.”
That makes me laugh.
“Want me to bring you home lunch?”
“Of course, I do.”
I look at the time on Sasha’s phone, “Wait, it’s late. Why haven’t you eaten yet?”
“I did,” he says before he tries to make himself look innocent, “but I’m a growing boy, Lee. I need sustenance.”
“You’re ridiculous. I’ll send you a picture of the menu when we sit down.”
“Sounds good.” We both move to hang up, but his voice picks up again. “Hey, Lee?” He waits until I’m looking right at him before he continues, “Be safe.”
“Always. Bye.”
I change out of the dress and back into my clothes before handing Sasha her phone. “Thanks, Sash.”
“No prob, babe!” She says with even more enthusiasm than normal as she walks back to the bathroom.
Emily looks at me, a big smile on her face. “Yeah, I’ll be driving us home. The lady gave her another full glass of champagne while you were talking to Matt. She said she couldn’t waste it, so she drank it all down in three gulps.”
“Good for her! At least she’s getting our money’s worth,” I laugh.
When Sasha comes back, Emily and I are waiting for her, bags in hand, to go to lunch.
When we get back to Scion, I rush into my room to hang up my dress before Aiden gets back. It’s silly, but now that the guilt is mostly gone, I’m really excited to show him.
Matt met us in the parking lot, claiming it was because he was starving and couldn’t wait another minute to eat, and proceeded not to touch the food until we got back to my room.
“You weren’t joking, this chicken-fried steak is amazing!” Matt says between bites. "I’m eating it twenty minutes later, I can’t even imagine how great it would have been fresh."
“I want to try that place for dinner some night too. They have a tapas bar and a tequila pairings class that would be super fun to do.”
“I’m sold. We should do it before Bravo graduation so the whole gang can go,” he suggests.
“Ooo, yes! What if we plan a pre-grad party there? Maybe the weekend before graduation, so no one is hungover when they get to see their families.”
“You know I’ll be there,” he says, closing up his now-empty food container. “What are your plans for the rest of the afternoon?”
“Just going to stay in here and study. You?”
“I studied most of the time you were gone. I need to go do some laundry now.”
“Ahh, so you were making sure I wasn’t going anywhere that I would need a babysitter.”
“Not a babysitter, just a—” he pauses, trying to think of a way to placate me, “spirit guide.”
I grab Aiden’s pillow off my bed and hit him with it, “Spirit guides are for the dead! Does this feel like I’m dead?” I ask, hitting him again.
Our laughter fills the room, “I just watched Coco. Spirit guide was the only thing that would come to mind!”
“Shoo, spirit guide. Go wash your smelly laundry,” I say, motioning like I’m sweeping him out of the room with my hands.
After I get the other clothes I bought put away, I get comfortable on my bed—back resting on a pillow against the headboard—and start studying.