“How are your classes going? You haven’t talked about them in a while,” I said.
“They’re going…slowly. I can’t believe I’m in my final semester. It seems crazy to think that in a couple months I’ll have a degree in my hands. Like, you know, one I can hold and flaunt and hang on a wall in my cubicle,” she said.
“I can’t wait to get tons of pictures of you in your little hat and gown. You’ll be so damn cute,” I said.
“Oh, so now you’re coming to my graduation?” she asked.
“If you’ll let me. I bet your family will be there, so I’m not sure if you want me there,” I said.
“What? Why wouldn’t I?” she asked.
“I’m not always parent-friendly, what with the tattoos and car and everything. I scare people sometimes,” I said.
“They don’t give a shit about that stuff. My dad has three tattoos and my mom has one. Sure, they’re not covered like you, but they’ve always been able to see past exteriors and into the interior of a person. And with how happy you make me, they’ll definitely love you. I think that’s all that matters to them at the end of the day, for me to be with somebody who treats me right and is great to me. You’re definitely that,” she said.
“So you’re happy?” I asked.
“Happiest I’ve ever been in my life, that’s for damn sure,” she said.
I smiled, a warm feeling in my stomach, before I went back to my sandwich and traded small talk with Anna. We seemed to both slow down to just spend more time together, even though she had class and I had to get back to work. I just didn’t want to leave her.
Even though we ate slowly, we still got to the point where we were both finished, and we found ourselves playing footsie and looking at one another without saying a word. The café was getting busier, though, and we decided we should probably get back to our responsibilities, no matter how much we didn’t want to.
I gave her a kiss outside her car, even grabbing her butt a little, which she must’ve liked because she bit my lower lip a little as I did so.
“See you later?” she asked.
“Count on it,” I replied, closing my car door.
Chapter Twenty
Anna
The wedding was this weekend, and in all the madness of spending time with Bentley and focusing on school, I realized something. I had no dress for this special occasion, and wearing something I’d worn a hundred times before just wasn’t going to work. I needed to make a good impression, I was meeting his family, and just anything wasn’t special enough.
I knew of one girl, one very special girl with an eye for fashion, to help me. Luckily for me she was across the hall and smiled at the chance to go shopping with me.
“Ready to go?” I asked, sticking my head in her room.
“Yup, let’s go,” Nina said as she grabbed her purse.
It was now March, and the snow was confused about whether it should melt or stick around for a little while longer. There were patches of grass all around, albeit dead grass, and jagged chunks of ice were on many street corners, though it was black and gray and very far from white.
There was a mall about thirty minutes away, in a town much larger than ours, and Nina said she went there for most of her shopping, but especially for anything important. I guess they had a few department stores, like Macy’s, and she said we’d definitely find something there. I didn’t argue, since I was a bit of a virgin in this sphere, though she’d been around the block many times. That may have been a bad analogy, but it held true for more than just shopping.
The parking lots were fairly empty, only about half full, which she said was strange, though I thought it was still a bit much for a Wednesday afternoon. We parked close up and walked into the mall. The smell of vanilla seemed to fill the entire area. I looked up to the atrium above as it let in so much natural sunlight that the area was as bright as it would have been if it were actually outside.
“The store is down this way,” she said, getting my attention.
Mall walkers passed by us on either side as they shuffled their feet and pumped their arms, like little racecars zooming around the sides of the walkways. Booths selling cell phone accessories, beauty supplies, and more were scattered about, the desperate salespeople trying to get the attention of everybody except for those mall walkers too quick to be stopped. We walked around a bend, past a chocolate shop, before I saw Macy’s. It was two stories, and we came in on the second level.
“The women’s stuff is downstairs,” she said, walking around to the escalator.
The store was really three levels, as I looked down over the edge of the escalator and saw down to what must’ve been a basement level not accessible from the mall, though it definitely didn’t look like a basement. It was just as bright and white as the rest of the store, if not even more so.
As we walked off the escalator and into the women’s section, I quickly saw that it was divided between ages and how formal the clothes were. Prom stuff seemed to be out already, though that wasn’t quite what I was looking for. We walked into the Juniors section, which Nina said was a great place to find cute and hip stuff, and it was mostly geared at women our age and not younger girls, like the name would suggest. I went along with it, mostly because the sequins and sparkling tops mesmerized me as we walked through the aisles.
“Here we go,” she said as we came upon some racks of dresses.
“These all look great,” I said before I started to sort through them.
“Do you have a color or anything in mind?” she asked.
“Well, definitely not white, and probably not black, either. I think I want some color, but nothing that will make me stand out in a crowd. Maybe a blue, red, or green?” I asked.
“I like blue on you. Navy is always a good choice,” she said.
“I like it because it’s dark enough and slimming, but not black. I think I have too many black dresses,” I said.
“What about this one?” she asked, pulling one out.
“Eh, I don’t know. It might be a little short. Preferably it would go just above the knee, and not into my thigh, you know? I’m meeting his family for the first time, and I want to make a good impression. I don’t want them to think he’s with a bad girl,” I said.
“But you’re with a bad boy,” she said, laughing.
“True, but he’s not as bad as you’d think. We’ll put it in the pile and I’ll try it on, but I think we should keep looking,” I said.
I picked out a navy one, and she picked out a green and a red one for insurance in case I liked them more than the navy. After picking four or five dresses, I went into the dressing room as she sat in the comfy-looking chairs inside and waited for me.
“So you haven’t met anyone in his family before?” she asked as I changed.
“Nope, just Cash, but that was high school and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t remember me,” I said.
“Has he said what any of them are like?” she asked.
“I think his mom is a little opinionated, but I guess his dad is really cool. I’m sure I’ll get along with them just fine. I just hope his mom thinks I’m good enough for him,” I said.
“I don’t think you’ll ever have that problem, Anna. I might, but definitely not you. I think everybody who meets you can see how good of a girl you are,” she said as I zipped up the back of the dress.
“How’s this one?” I asked, walking out in the first navy one she picked out.
“I like it—love it, actually, but you were right about the length. It might be just a little too short for what you’re trying to convey. Next,” she said.
Knowing I was right, I walked back into the changing room and took it off before picking up the green one and putting it on. I looked in the mirror, liking what I saw, as I turned around to see my butt. It was a little tight, but not so tight that I couldn’t bend over or sit down without it coming up. I think it accentuated me quite well.
“Oh, I like that one a lot. I think that color is very nice on you. My only complaint is the stomach. It looks like it’s all bunched up, and it’s not flattering there,” she said.
“Yeah, that happened when I put it on. I don’t think it’s a size issue, but I don’t know,” I said.
“I don’t think it’ll work because of that. It was just cut wrong,” she said.
I let out a sigh, almost wishing it had just been the winner so I could buy it and leave, but sadly I wasn’t that lucky. The next one, another navy one, had a lace top and solid bottom, which I liked because I thought it broke it up and made it more interesting to look at. Plus, lace is classy, right? Bentley liked my lace panties, so surely he’d like me in a lace dress.
“I like this one,” I said from the dressing room.
“Oh, that’s nice,” she said as I walked out with a smile. “Turn around.”
I turned around slowly as Nina made approving noises like a judge on some reality fashion show. I could tell she was happy with it.
“I like it, but let’s try the other two on. I want to make sure we don’t miss something that could be better,” she said.
“Fair enough,” I said, going back into the stall.