*Authors Note: Sorry its taken so long guys. Thank you for all the lovely comments :D If to my followers on Pinterest y'all for the most part have read the chapter. But for anybody else if y'all are interested in seeing a picture of the dress I chose for Mina, along with her shoes and makeup its all on my Unenchanted board on Pinterest. If y'all are having trouble finding it, just let me know :D

Chapter 11: Dress Shopping

It had now been a week since meeting Elena. She had started sitting with them for lunch since Nick asked her out. Elena and Mina had really hit it off. She fit in perfectly with their little group.

Mina was now with Jared, trying on different dresses. "What do you think of this one?" she asked, picking out a ridiculous bright orange gown.

Jared looked horrified. "Sure, if you want to look like sherbet."

She laughed and put the dress back. Her and Jared proceeded to look at different dresses. Her boyfriend was being so awesome, she thought, putting up with her dress shopping. He even offered to buy the dress.

"You owe me big time!" He told her in a deep, husky voice.

"Jared, I don't know if I can pay you back." she said.

"Oh! No! That's NOT the type of payback I'm talking about." He replied, looking her up and down.

Mina turned fifty different shades of red, right there in the middle of the store.

"Oooo..okay." Mina stammered. She couldn't look Jared in the eye. This was a totally different experience for her. She'd never been physical with anybody before. Well, she was still getting used to the idea of it.

They went through dress after dress. She tried on a bright, neon yellow dress that was floor-length and clung to her body, flaring out at the bottom. She tried another on that was a silk material, but it was dark purple, and it was so cute! Except for the slit. Mina blushed when she saw how far the slit went up, which was to her hip. Jared was more than willing to buy that one.

She tried on another one that was floor length, blue and sparkly, and had a see-through sparkly top. Her chest and stomach, though, were covered in blue sequins. Jared loved that one as well. He loved the slit that went to her hip and the low back. Back? There was no back. Where the back began, the skirt of dress began as well. Mina rolled her eyes. By now, they had gone through what felt like a thousand dresses.

She finally tried on a red one. It was floor-length, and the skirts were a blood red. The top was like a thick, pantyhose material, and the sleeves went to her elbows. The area that covered her boobs, stomach, and shoulders were covered with velvet, 3D flowers. It was stunning. The only problem was the neckline.

It was really low.

"Come on, Mina. Come out." Jared said, sounding tired. She took a deep breath and stepped out. When she did, he nearly fell out of his chair. Mina's mom came in at that moment. Sarah gasped and covered Charlie's eyes.

"Does it look that bad?" Mina asked, worried.

Bad? BAD? Jared thought...No, no, no... You look amazing, he wanted to say. Jared couldn't help it. His eyes were locked on the incredibly low neckline. The dress literally made Mina a whole cup size bigger.

The dress, though, where it lacked in showing off Mina's butt, it more than made up in the neck area. In the back of his mind, he heard Mina's dad in his head… "Promise me you'll protect her from teenage boys." He'd asked.

Jared had promised to do so, that he wouldn't let any guy take advantage of her. And if they did, he'd make them pay.

But technically, he argued in his head, he wasn't a teenager. He was just Fae prince who looked like a teenager. So that obviously did not apply to him and what he wanted to do to Mina. The ideas that popped in his head...

"I need help undoing the dress." Mina said quietly.

Jared jumped out his chair, "I'll help you!" Mina and her mom looked at him in surprise.

He realized that he sounded a little too eager. "I'll help you untie that." He said again, coughing and trying to look innocent, instead of looking like he had dishonorable intentions. Which he did, but he loved her. So didn't that make up for something?

Mina looked embarrassed, while Sarah glowered at him. "I think I'll help my daughter out of this dress." she told him, her voice thinly veiling animosity.

As she walked past him, she whispered icily- "Don't forget a certain PROMISE you made to my husband years ago."

Jared wanted to argue that was for TEENAGE, human boys! Not Fae princes that happened to look like teenage boys.

But he knew if he ever wanted to see Mina again, and actually be alone with her, he needed to keep his mouth shut. So he nodded. It was probably for the best, he thought, as he sat down. Jared sat back and noticed Charlie.

"So, Charlie, what's up?" He asked. Charlie shrugged and Jared nodded, looking at the dressing room Mina disappeared into. But just thinking about her slowly undressing...

That's it. He was going to take a very long, cold shower when he got home.
Mina was with her mom in the tiny room.

"Wow, did you see the way Jared reacted to this dress? He nearly fell over looking at your boobs." Sarah laughed.

"Yeah..." Mina replied, surprised her mom was handling it so well.

"I swear, I thought his jaw was going to break from it hitting the floor so hard." she laughed again.

"Mom!" Mina gasped. Okay, this was freaking her out. Wasn't her mom supposed to hate Jared? Hello, he was a boy after all... Mina laughed too. "Yeah, so did I." She said aloud as her mom undid the dress.

"So, what are the plans for homecoming?" Sarah asked.

"Well, we'd all show up at that new restaurant, down by the water...the Meridiana." She trailed off, quickly grabbing a hold of the dress her mom just finished undoing.

"Oh." was all her mom said, still busy trying to put the dress back on the hanger. Mina was putting on another dress. "Then, when we're done, we'll head over to the North Shore country club," she continued, while trying to put on a white cocktail dress.

It was so cute! Mina thought. The top was patterned to look like lace, and so was the bottom, with the band being a sheer material that had a train connecting that went to the floor, giving the dress a high-low look to it. On the band, it had a braided fleur-de-lis type thing on it. Mina swished around in it, feeling like a princess.

Sarah smiled nervously, "Let's try not to tempt Fate and go with a dress that looks like Cinderella's."

"This isn't Cinderella." Mina protested, "Cinderella was way more poofier" she laughed.

Sarah made a face at her daughter that sent her into fits of laughter.

She changed out of the dress and put her clothes back on. Once done, she exited the room. "Done?" Jared asked, surprised.

"Nah, we're going to go to a different store. Mom wants to find a dress this weekend, since there is two more weeks till homecoming."

Jared laughed. "You don't have to come along, if you don't want to." Mina added, thinking he must have been incredibly bored.

"Nah, it's cool," he said, smiling and grabbing her hand, kissing her on the cheek. Mina's insides quivered. Get a grip, girl… she thought.
With a smile plastered on her face, Mina, Jared and her family shopped some more. She tried on dresses and took them off. Never finding the dress she really liked.

Then she finally found it.

It was perfect and gorgeous! It was a cocktail dress that went to her mid-thigh. She twirled around. It was a plum and off-the-shoulder dress. It was form-fitting and made of silk-satin material. Mina felt sexy and incredible.

The sleeve was like a cascading waterfall, reaching down to her hip. It was slightly ruffled, giving some texture to the dress. The edge of the sleeve was lined with small, silver beads. Mina was grinning from to ear to ear.

Mina's mom had her hand over her mouth. "You look gorgeous." She said in a hushed tone.

"You think?" Mina asked, smiling.

"Yes, Mina. And the best part," she said, smiling at the tag. "It's twenty dollars."

Sarah put her hands together as if she was praying. "Yes!" She said, relieved they found something stunning yet cheap.

Mina laughed, "Come on, go show Jared." Her mom urged. She nodded and went outside. Jared was talking to Charlie.

When he looked up and saw Mina, he stopped breathing. She looked breathtaking. He sat there stupidly, with his mouth slack-jawed. "You...you look amazing." he said, unable to take his eyes off her. The dress was formfitting, accentuating Mina's figure.

Mina was smiling. "You like it?" She asked.

"Like it?" He asked, standing up. "I love it." Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her passionately. Mina kissed him passionately back. He lifted her off the ground and spun her around. She laughed, leaning her head against his; their noses were rubbing against each other.

They heard someone coughing to get their attention. Mina and Jared turned to look towards Sarah. She was giving them the parental stare off. Jared slowly put Mina down, looking slightly guilty.

Mina's cheeks were flaming. "Back away." Sarah said sternly. Jared gawked. "Step away from my daughter." she demanded, her tone deepening. Jared moved away, feeling sheepish. He was being stared down by woman who was way younger than him. He couldn't believe it.

"Mina, why don't you go change, and then we'll buy the dress and leave." Sarah told her daughter. She and Jared nodded quickly. Mina hurriedly ran into the dressing room and changed.
When she came out, her mom was looking at them both. Mina didn't dare and grab Jared's hand. They walked side by side, casting each other sideways glances instead. Mina smiled.

"So when were you going to tell me, Jared, that you were secretly seeing my daughter?" Sarah asked coldly. Jared practically choked on air. He looked down, unable to meet Sarah's eyes. She shook her head.

"You know, the day James was killed, I cried and swore I'd never let you near my family again after you let my husband die."

Jared winced. He wanted to protest though. He didn't let Mina's father die. James threw away the Grimoire when it didn't work...Jared wasn't a miracle worker. He too had his limits.

"I'm sorry, Sarah."

She sighed. "It's a little too late for that, but I appreciate your sentiment. Just promise me that you won't let anything happen to her on the night of that dance. You're not just the Grimoire now..." She broke off, wiping away a tear. "You're the young man dating my daughter, who is taking her to a dance. I expect you to be a gentleman. And since you know about this curse, I expect you to be prepared."

"Sarah, I promise to take care of Mina." he told her honestly.

"Good." was all she said. Then Mina's mom walked towards the checkout counter to pay for her daughter's dress.