“Do you trust me?” she asked. I wasn’t sure. The truth was, I trusted her with my life, but not necessarily with my outfit.
“Uh, I guess so… what are you going to do?” I waited nervously as she dug in one of her drawers. I gasped a little when I realized she was now holding scissors.
“Close your eyes. I don’t want you freaking out on me,” she said. I obeyed, holding my breath and scared as hell. Please don’t cut my hair, please don’t cut my hair. I was at first relieved when I felt Sarah pulling on the seams of my sleeves. Then clarity sat in and I realized she was altering my dress, and taking away the only thing holding it up.
“Sarah!” I screamed, pulling away a little. She grabbed my arm with a hard jerk.
“Nolan, for the love of god, just trust me. OK?” she was frustrated.
I relented and waited, still closing my eyes for fear of how this would all turn out. In a few minutes she ordered me to open my eyes. I stood, staring at her, blinking. I was petrified to move for fear that my dress would fall to my ankles. There was no bra underneath as I didn’t own one that would hide appropriately under the cut.
“Oh damn, Nolan. You look hot,” she said, backing away to admire her work.
Fearful still, I slowly turned to face her mirror. I caught my breath when I realized she was right. What was more, I could actually move without losing the cloth that was hugging my body. My bare shoulders curved from the top of the dress, bronzed from my many hours outside running in preparation for the next track season. My neck looked long and … kissable.
“We need to put your hair up, like this,” she continued, holding most of my hair on the top of my head but letting a few strands fall down my shoulders. I just nodded and let her have her way. Make up, perfume, butterfly clips – whatever she wanted to do. I had never felt more confident than when Sarah was complete with my mini makeover.
I was meeting Sean at the dance. Sarah was working on landing the attention of a senior named Marcus. I was pretty sure she would have success as she slipped on her black strappy heals to match her tight black dress with spaghetti straps at the top. Her hair was straight and fell down her back, her eyes deep and smoky. She may have “jazzed me up,” but she looked downright sexy.
We walked into the gym and found Sienna standing in a corner by the entrance. My sweet, uncomfortable friend was my solace. I scooted over to her side and put my head on her shoulder. She turned and teased me with a whistle and pawed at me like a cat. I giggled, a little flattered by her compliment.
The dance floor was empty as the mostly freshmen gathered at the dance early sat at the tables picking at cookies and downing paper cups of punch. We picked a table near the dance floor and piled our purses in the middle of the table. Then our fearless leader Sarah led Sienna and me to the middle of the floor, directly under the disco ball that was in full spin. The DJ was playing a hip-hop song that I sort of knew, and Sarah was moving to the music like a girl in the singer’s music video. Sienna and I swayed next to her, always the awkward ones.
Giggling and tossing her long hair over one shoulder, Sarah grabbed both of us by the hands. “Girls, we’ve gotta work on your moves. Here, follow me,” she said, showing us some simple moves that helped us look a little less like wallflowers. By the second song, we had it down, and Sienna and I were laughing, our arms over our heads while we moved to the heavy base thumping from the nearby speaker.
I jumped a little when I felt a pair of hands slide over my hips, but relaxed when I smelled Sean’s familiar cologne as his chin grazed over my bare shoulders and his lips found my neck.
“You, are downright hot,” he said, turning me to face him and pulling me in with both hands on my face.
I blushed when I pulled away to look him in the eyes, his smirk slightly sinister. Truth be told, I was enjoying the attention my new look was getting.
“You like?” I said, twirling a little and showing of my bare back and legs. I could get used to this confidence thing.
“Oh, I like…” Sean said, pulling me closer just as a slow song was starting. I nestled my face into his shoulder and neck and took in a deep breath. There was something comforting in his smell, like my grandfather’s wood shop up north. His hair was still a little wet from his shower. He was wearing a black V-neck sweater that accentuated his muscles and showed off his wide upper body. His worn jeans bunched at his feet, his brown leather shoes barely showing. I closed my eyes for a few seconds while we rocked back and forth, willing myself to fall in love. But when I opened my eyes and looked at the couple talking to the faculty chaperones at the door, I knew that no matter how hard I tried, I would never be able to talk my heart into leaping from my chest the way it did when I saw Reed.