Chapter 33: Trying On Dresses

I’m about to climb the stairs to my room when my phone screen lights up. I glance at the caller ID and see...Xander?

~Why would he be calling me? We haven’t spoken in forever.~

I answer the call, pressing the phone to my ear.

“Hello?” I say, my voice filled with surprise.

“Princess,” his voice comes through, cheerful as ever.

“Yeah, I can hear you!”

“Great. So, how’ve you been?” he asks.

“I’m good, thanks. How about you? How’ve you been?” I reply, opening the door to my room and stepping inside.

“Doing great!”

I settle into my chair.

“So, what’s up? Why the call? We haven’t spoken in what feels like ages,” I say, chuckling lightly. My foot idly brushes against the carpeted floor as I wait for his response.

“I know! We haven’t seen each other since I bailed on you last time. I’m really sorry about that. School’s been crazy! You probably know I switched classes, so we don’t have any together anymore.”

“Yeah, Kaylee mentioned it when I asked. I get it, school can be a handful. Don’t sweat it though! I’m not holding any grudges.”

He laughs.

“Actually, that’s why I called. Are you free on Friday? For bowling, I mean?”

I bite my lip, unsure of what to say.

“Um, I have dance practice on Friday. But Saturday should work for me.”

“That works for me too. See you on Saturday then!” he says, his voice bright.

“Yeah, see you.”

“Bye!”

“Bye,” I reply, ending the call.

~Fuck, what just happened.~

I shift uncomfortably in my chair.

Why do I feel like I shouldn’t have agreed to this?

But I didn’t mind before. Why am I so reluctant now?

Is it because of Asher? Or maybe because of what he said about Xander.

Something about this just doesn’t feel right.

~Relax, Addy. You’re just going bowling and then you never have to agree to go out with him again.~

~Right!~

***

I settle into my car, which my mom finally got back a few days ago. As I pull out of our driveway, I slam on the brakes.

I unbuckle my seatbelt and fling the door open.

I mutter a quick “Sorry!” to the car before turning to the cause of my abrupt stop.

“Asher, what the hell? You could’ve gotten seriously hurt. Who jumps in front of a car like that!” I scold, waving my hands around in frustration.

“Where are you going?” he asks, as if I hadn’t nearly run him over just a moment ago.

“Are you kidding me? You jumped in front of my car to ask me where I’m going?”

~This guy.~

“Are you okay?” I ask once I’ve calmed down.

“Yeah. So where are you going?”

“To the mall. I’m bored.” I look at him. He nods and steps out of my way.

I get back in the driver’s seat, closing the door behind me.

Suddenly, Asher is grinning at me from the passenger seat.

“Asher!” I whine. “Stop messing around, I need to go.”

I poke him.

“I never stopped you from leaving.” He buckles his seatbelt.

~So he’s not in a bad mood anymore?~

“You want to come with me?” I ask.

He nods. “I’m bored too, Buttercup. Might as well keep you company.”

“Oh... okay,” I say, still staring at him.

“But first...” He leans towards me and my breath catches as he places his hand flat on my stomach. Pushing me back into the seat, he reaches for my seatbelt. He pulls it across me and clicks it into place.

“I—I could have done that myself,” I stutter, my heart pounding.

“I know, but you were taking forever.” He ruffles my hair before settling back into his seat.

“Hey! I just combed it?”

He looks at me. “You look beautiful anyway.”

I gasp.

“We’re leaving now.”

~Before I have a heart attack.~

***

“Are you kidding me?” I ask as he grabs my hand and pulls me into Oasis. I try to resist, but Asher is determined to go inside.

Eventually, I give up.

“Who knew you liked shopping?” I laugh to myself, just as his hand tightens around mine.

I stop laughing but don’t pull away.

~I could get used to this.~

I glance up at him as he leads me through the store, focused on finding something.

“Gabe came here to pick something up for his sister. He had to exchange a dress or something. I was just wandering around and then I saw this dress.”

“You want to buy a dress for yourself? I didn’t know you were into that sort of—”

“Shut up, Addy!” he groans, and I laugh.

“And you want me to try it on?”

He nods.

“Damn it, it’s not here!” He paces around the same spot, still holding my hand, his brow furrowed. “I swear it was here.”

He runs his free hand through his hair and I can’t help but smile as butterflies flutter in my stomach.

My crush is walking around, hand in mine, trying to find a dress he thought would look good on me.

I could die happy right now.

I grin as I lead him to another rack.

“Don’t worry about that one. We can find something else…like this one.” I pick up a yellow dress. “Yeah, I like this.”

I pick up another patterned one, but Asher shakes his head. I put it back.

“I like this one.” He hands me a dress with blondes on it and I smile, taking it from him.

“Let’s just wander around and pick out stuff we like, then I can try them on,” I suggest, pulling my hand from his. I miss the warmth of his touch immediately.

“Okay, I’ll browse over here. You check out that section,” he says, pointing behind me.

I flash him a smile before heading off. I sift through the racks of clothes, my eyes landing on a stunning blue dress. I find my size and add it to my growing collection.

~Asher’s going to flip when he sees this.~

I can’t help but grin, continuing my search.

After another ten minutes and two more dresses, I look for Asher. I spot him holding up a dress, his nose crinkled in distaste as he puts it back.

~Adorable.~

He looks up just in time, flashing me a smile that sends my heart racing.

“I found these two,” he says, holding up a blouse and skirt.

I take them from him. “Let me try these on.”

The fitting rooms are tucked away in a corner at the back of the store.

I hand him my purse before stepping into a fitting room. I quickly change into the first dress and pull back the curtain to reveal a sunny yellow number.

Asher, leaning against the wall, looks up from his phone.

“Cute.”

He grins. “But the side is a bit…”

“Baggy?”

“Yeah,” he agrees, guiding me back into the fitting room. I slip on the next one. “What about this one?”

“Holy—next one!” He spins around to face the other way. I approach him, turning him back around.

“What don’t you like about this?” I ask, puzzled. “I kind of like it?”

“Too revealing,” he coughs.

I burst out laughing. “Says the guy who changed me into his shirt.”

“Next!” He shoos me back into the fitting room, and I go, still giggling.

After trying on the next three dresses, the only ones left are the blue dress I adore and the skirt and blouse Asher picked out.

I try on his choice first before stepping out. “What do you think?”

Asher bursts into laughter at the sight of the ill-fitting outfit on my curvy frame. “Next!” he chuckles.

“You’re the one who picked it out, jerk!”

“Do you have many left?”

“Just one,” I reply, heading back into the fitting room. I take the blue dress off the hanger, admiring it before slipping it on.

The zipper in the back runs from my hip to my neck, but I manage to pull it up before stepping out.

“Asher,” I call out, not seeing him anywhere.

“Buttercup, I’m here.” He steps into view, his gaze intense.

“I knew it would look good on you.”

“Huh?”

“It’s the dress I couldn’t find earlier.” He smiles, stepping closer. I twirl around, feeling a blush creep up my cheeks under his intense stare.

“You look stunning, Buttercup.” He blushes after the words leave his mouth, and I can’t help but smile.

“I’ll buy this one, then. I really like it too.”

“Yes!” He cheers.

I head back into the fitting room. Looking at my glowing reflection, I try to suppress my giddiness.

I push my hair to the side and reach for the zipper, but it gets stuck halfway down.

~You’ve got to be kidding me.~

I try to free it, but it won’t budge.

~Do I have any other choice?~

“Asher?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you come in here for a second? The zipper’s stuck!” I whisper-shout, just in case there’s someone else nearby. Asher pulls back the curtain and steps into the small space.

He grins at me.

“You can’t even do this!” He shakes his head, and I swat his arm.

“Help me!”

“Turn around, woman!” I turn so my back is to him. His hands find my back, working at the zipper before slowly pulling it down. I shiver, holding my breath.

“Hold still. It’s stuck again.” He fiddles with the stubborn zipper, his hands brushing against my back.

~Damn it!~

~Bad idea!~

~I should have figured this out myself...~

“Buttercup, stop moving and come closer!” he instructs, pulling me toward him. I stumble backward into him, gasping.

He freezes, and I hold my breath until I gather the courage to tilt my head back onto his chest, looking up at him.

His right hand on my back slides across my dress to rest on my stomach, and my breath hitches.

“What are you doing?” I whisper, unable to tear my gaze from his beautiful brown eyes. He lifts his left hand to my chin, tilting it further up.

“Something I should have done a long time ago.” He smiles at me before leaning in.

Are we about to have an ~ish~ Spiderman kiss? My hands instinctively find his as I wait for his lips to meet mine.

I feel the lightest touch of his lips on mine.

~Ringggggggg.~

“Ha,” I gasp, quickly pulling away from Asher. He curses under his breath before answering his call. After quickly unzipping the rest of my dress, he shoots me a look before rushing out of the fitting room.

I let out a breath, touching my lips.

~Who the hell thought this was a good time to call?~

I curse whoever it was before wriggling out of the dress.

~Man, I was so ready for that kiss!~