the dresses. She would show me one, and I’d shake my head.
After several noes, she approached me. “What’s your favorite color?” she asked.
“All of them.”
“That’s convenient.” She chuckled.
“What about this one?” she said, holding up a sea-green dress with a full skirt and a bunched bodice. I shook my head again.
“What do you dislike about it?”
“The big skirt. The color. The fact that it’s strapless.”
She nodded. “Got it.”
A few minutes later, she held up another dress, her eyes animated. “Look at this one!” She took a closer look at the tag. “It’s your size!”
It was blush pink, the long skirt soft and flowing to the floor, with a thick, gathered empire waistline that sat below a transparent bodice. The see-through fabric went over both shoulders, and hundreds of small silver rhinestones grouped together to cover the breast area and then broke apart as they traveled up to the neckline.
Julianne turned it around. The back was see-through like Alder’s dress, but the rhinestones lined the outer edges instead of grouping at the bottom.
“Do you hate it?”
I shook my head. “No, it’s kind of pretty, actually.”
“Yeah?” she said. “Why don’t you try it on?”
“I don’t know. I feel like I’d be wasting your money if I don’t go.”
“Phooey. Come on,” she said, pulling open the curtain to one of the dressing areas.
I took the dress from her hands and went inside, closing the curtain behind me. I pulled the dress from the plastic and stepped into it, pulling it up and slipping my arms through the holes.
“I found the perfect shoes!” Julianne said.
I tried zipping it up, but couldn’t maneuver my hands far enough up my back. “I think I need help with the zipper.”
“Can I come in?” she asked.
I pulled back the curtain, and she gasped. “Gracious,” she said quietly, lowering the shoes in her hands.
I looked down. “It’s nice.”
She took me by the hand and cupped my shoulders, facing me toward the three-paneled mirror. She zipped the back up the rest of the way and handed me the shoes.
“This is not nice,” she said. “This is spectacular.”
I caught Weston watching me dozens of times the rest of the week, always seeming like he was on the edge of saying something, but he never did. The green eyes that I used to long to connect with became a source of conflict, as I hoped to see them and dreaded seeing them at the same time. Finally, on Friday morning before class, he met me at my locker.
“It’s my last game tonight. You said you’d go.”
“We’ve both said a lot of things.”
He winced, and then he forced a nervous smile. “What…what does that mean? Are you really not going to go to prom after I told my dad about Dallas? It was a big deal. He yelled. Then he talked for hours about how much I’d grown up. After he accepted it, of course. I was scared outta my mind. But I did it.”
I kept my eyes on the back wall of my locker.
“I enrolled online for Dallas yesterday.”
I still didn’t speak.
“Please come to my game. I’ll make you a deal. Double or nothing. If we don’t win tonight, you don’t have to go to prom with me.”
I looked up at him. “Why? Is it really so important to you that you carry this out for Alder?”
His brows pulled together, and he shook his head. “Nothing is more important to me than you. I don’t know how to say I’m sorry. I would do anything to take back agreeing to Alder’s plan. I wanted to go with you. I wanted to spend time with you. The rest could have been avoided.”
“You want,” I glared up at him. “It never stops being about what you want, does it?”
“I guess so. I don’t want regrets. I want to hold the girl I love in my arms during the last dance. I want her watching my last baseball game. I want those last memories of high school, but I want them with you. But that’s all I want. I swear it.”
I shut my locker.
“Come to the game. If we
After several noes, she approached me. “What’s your favorite color?” she asked.
“All of them.”
“That’s convenient.” She chuckled.
“What about this one?” she said, holding up a sea-green dress with a full skirt and a bunched bodice. I shook my head again.
“What do you dislike about it?”
“The big skirt. The color. The fact that it’s strapless.”
She nodded. “Got it.”
A few minutes later, she held up another dress, her eyes animated. “Look at this one!” She took a closer look at the tag. “It’s your size!”
It was blush pink, the long skirt soft and flowing to the floor, with a thick, gathered empire waistline that sat below a transparent bodice. The see-through fabric went over both shoulders, and hundreds of small silver rhinestones grouped together to cover the breast area and then broke apart as they traveled up to the neckline.
Julianne turned it around. The back was see-through like Alder’s dress, but the rhinestones lined the outer edges instead of grouping at the bottom.
“Do you hate it?”
I shook my head. “No, it’s kind of pretty, actually.”
“Yeah?” she said. “Why don’t you try it on?”
“I don’t know. I feel like I’d be wasting your money if I don’t go.”
“Phooey. Come on,” she said, pulling open the curtain to one of the dressing areas.
I took the dress from her hands and went inside, closing the curtain behind me. I pulled the dress from the plastic and stepped into it, pulling it up and slipping my arms through the holes.
“I found the perfect shoes!” Julianne said.
I tried zipping it up, but couldn’t maneuver my hands far enough up my back. “I think I need help with the zipper.”
“Can I come in?” she asked.
I pulled back the curtain, and she gasped. “Gracious,” she said quietly, lowering the shoes in her hands.
I looked down. “It’s nice.”
She took me by the hand and cupped my shoulders, facing me toward the three-paneled mirror. She zipped the back up the rest of the way and handed me the shoes.
“This is not nice,” she said. “This is spectacular.”
I caught Weston watching me dozens of times the rest of the week, always seeming like he was on the edge of saying something, but he never did. The green eyes that I used to long to connect with became a source of conflict, as I hoped to see them and dreaded seeing them at the same time. Finally, on Friday morning before class, he met me at my locker.
“It’s my last game tonight. You said you’d go.”
“We’ve both said a lot of things.”
He winced, and then he forced a nervous smile. “What…what does that mean? Are you really not going to go to prom after I told my dad about Dallas? It was a big deal. He yelled. Then he talked for hours about how much I’d grown up. After he accepted it, of course. I was scared outta my mind. But I did it.”
I kept my eyes on the back wall of my locker.
“I enrolled online for Dallas yesterday.”
I still didn’t speak.
“Please come to my game. I’ll make you a deal. Double or nothing. If we don’t win tonight, you don’t have to go to prom with me.”
I looked up at him. “Why? Is it really so important to you that you carry this out for Alder?”
His brows pulled together, and he shook his head. “Nothing is more important to me than you. I don’t know how to say I’m sorry. I would do anything to take back agreeing to Alder’s plan. I wanted to go with you. I wanted to spend time with you. The rest could have been avoided.”
“You want,” I glared up at him. “It never stops being about what you want, does it?”
“I guess so. I don’t want regrets. I want to hold the girl I love in my arms during the last dance. I want her watching my last baseball game. I want those last memories of high school, but I want them with you. But that’s all I want. I swear it.”
I shut my locker.
“Come to the game. If we
Similar Books
