HI LOVES! THE DAY HAS FINALLY COME!
First - I apologize GREATLY if there are a lot of typos. I wanted to get this up before I had to go back to work. I hope you forgive me and still love me! The outfits are revealed today! It's the start of homecoming! YAY! Are you excited?
Okay – WELL REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Let me know what you think! Love you ALL SO MUCH!
Del – I'm glad that you approve! I hope you like this chapter just as much! Lemme know! Xoxo
Lina-sama28 – HAHA. I'm sorry?! I guess "killing you" means I'm doing my job! Hope you like!
Cici – I hope I described it as well as everyone thinks I'm going to! I love hanna too – she's awesome girl. Well, I guess you have to find out! Lemme know what you think!
Guest – YAY! I'm so excited that they make you smile! I hope this one will too!
Pamy – here's your homecoming! Well part of it at least! A new chapter of Burn My Skin went up last night – did you read?
Insomatic-studios – HAHA! I knew you would be! No more teases. Here's the dresses!
Fieke1993 – Well, Em didn't know about it… though I've thought about putting another one in…. =) just for the hell of it! Hanna is awesome! She's so…Hanna! I hope you love it!
Othangels – THANK YOU!
Frombelow – I'm so glad! I'm glad that I can make you smile!
Whothewhat – YAY! What did you think of the past few chapters? Tell me what you think of this one!
Rain'smistress – YAY! I'm making people go get internet! HELL YEA!
OKAY YALL one of the moments you've been waiting for…. READ REVIEW! ALL OF YOU. ITS LIKE BREATH TO ME!
The week passed without much incident. Emily and I had spent nearly every waking moment together. We had a small meet Wednesday night – we won. I had spent the night at Emily's house after the meet because my father had a very early engagement and didn't want me to wake him by coming home after dark. Friday night my parents went out and so I had the girls over to the pool. It was so freeing to be able to be so close to Emily and not have to worry about who was going to think what. I wondered if that was how it felt when someone is out completely – being completely free.
Before she had left Friday night, I had asked Hanna to come by my house and help me get dressed for the dance. I had worn make up before but the whole idea of dressing up formally was foreign to me. Hanna had come over about 9am and we had eaten breakfast together and spent hours talking about my fears of dancing with Emily in front of the entire school. I wanted to dance with her so badly but I wasn't ready to come out that night. Hanna had assured me that she spoke to Caleb and they had a plan. When she told me what they were thinking, my eyes immediately brightened up - I loved the idea. I couldn't wait to see Emily's face.
I quickly showed as Hanna set up my room into something resembling a prestigious looking salon. When I reentered my room, I was immediately overwhelmed. She had a large box - a 'professional cosmetic case" was how she had described it - in the middle of my desk with a curling iron, a hair dryer and a straightener lying beside the box in a perfect order. She also had three kinds of brushes and a smaller box - much resembling the larger make-up box - with various pins, clips and other hair accessories. I looked to my closet and both of our dresses were hanging on the door - still cloaked in their respective clear plastic bags.
"Should I put on the dress...or?" I asked Hanna. I had no idea what I was doing.
"Absolutely not. Hair, make-up then dress. Here, put this on and a pair of shorts," she said throwing me a long-sleeve button up shirt about two times too big for her.
"Why can't I just wear a tank top?" I asked.
Hanna rolled her eyes at me. "Because if you wear a tank top, you have to pull it back over your head and it'll ruin my creation. Don't question, just do."
I walked over to my chest of drawers and pulled out a pair of shorts before turning my back to Hanna and changing into the shorts and long button up shirt. I put my towel into my hamper and walked back over to Hanna who was finalizing her set up.
"Okay...here I am."
"Okay. Sit... just sit here and let me perform magic."
"Takes a lot of magic huh?
"What are you talking about? Paige, you're gorgeous. Emily is a lucky girl."
"You're just saying that. You're Emily's friend. You wouldn't say anything mean about me."
Hanna walked around me and looked at me. "Seriously, you're hot. I'm just here to help...enhance. When I'm done with you, you are going to realize how hot you really are. Now, just sit back and relax," she said just before she walked over towards my stereo and turned up the volume.
Two and a half hours and two fully done hair/make up art pieces later, she finally had me put on the strapless bra that she had bought during the week for me. I had asked her how she knew my bra size without me telling her and she had simply replied 'fashion is what I do. Trust me'. She was right. The cup was a little small, but she told me she bought it that way purposely.
"It will enhance your bust line. Make you look fuller."
"Okay... I just don't want to come out of it..."
"It's not that much smaller. You're between a C and a D. The D's are more comfortable, the C's will bring you out. You'll be fine. Promise."
She took our dresses down off of the door and laid them across my bed before unzipping the plastic and removing the garments gingerly. She turned to look at me after each dress was laid out simply waiting for us.
"You ready?" She asked.
"Do I have a choice?"
"Not really," she giggled. "Besides, Emily will simply die when she sees you. She won't be able to keep her hands off you," she winked.
"I'm just worried about everyone seeing. She deserves to be able to dance."
"And she will. Don't worry. Caleb and I have it all set. Trust me. It's going to be amazing. Okay? No worries."
"Okay... I trust you."
"Good. Now we only have like two hours left. We gotta get you dressed and finished up. Emily is meeting you there, right?"
"Yea... Someone is going to have to bring her to me."
"That's fine. Aria texted me earlier and told me she has her mom's room key. So you two will meet in Mrs. Montgomery's room and then at the end of the night when all the slow dancing happens, "she paused and gave me a sly smile. "You just take her up. Okay?"
"I could never have pulled this off if it wasn't for you..." I beamed at her.
"I know. That's why I'm fabulous," she giggled. "Okay let's get you dressed!"
An hour later and I was looking in my floor-length mirror that was leaning against the far corner of my room. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Hanna was right - I was hot. My hair was down mostly - only two tight braids kept each of the front sides of my hair back and out of my face. A simple black butterfly clip holding the braids in place at the back of my head. Hanna had curled the ends slightly so my deep auburn locks hung just passed my shoulders. Hanna had applied a decent amount of eyeliner and mascara to my eyes before brushing over the lids with first a deep burgundy and then a lighter shade - it was blended perfectly and my brown eyes stood out from the rest of my face.
I began to trail down my form in appreciation of Hanna's art work. I had simple white gold hoops in my ears that matched the color of my silver water pendant that Kat had once bought me. That pendant meant more to me than any piece of jewelry - and it wasn't because of Kat. It was because of what it stood for - a reminder to always be myself. That was something I couldn't do then, but I could surely do now. The pendant set just about my exposed cleavage. Hannah had insisted on me wearing a strapless bra due to a strapless dress. I didn't understand why I couldn't wear a dress that covered me completely and she simply stated that I had amazing shoulders and needed to show them off.
The A-line dress was nearly a dark crimson. It was such a dark red that in some lighting it nearly had a burgundy off-tone to it. The top of the dress was a solid ruffle - it looked more like a wave than a ruffle in my opinion. The fabric clung tightly to my breasts and abdomen before a small white-embroidered sash-belt topped off my waist. The bottom of the dress flowed from the embroidered sash and flowed down my thighs in uneven pieces - the longest piece reaching just below the back of my knee. The fabric at the bottom was so soft and airy in contrast to the firm fabric above my waist.
I spun around a couple of times - enjoying how the bottom of the uneven dress flowed around my form. In a mid-spin, I caught Hanna's eyes. She had been sitting at my desk applying the finishing touches to her make up as I had put on the dress.
"Wow Paige. I was right. You're hot."
"You really think?"
"Emily isn't going to know what hit her. Turn around let me zip it up the rest of the way."
I turned my back towards her and she zipped the top of the dress. A small pull at my shoulder indicated to me to turn back around.
"And what did I tell you? Your boobs look fantastic!" She squealed. "Oh Emily is going to love it. I can't wait!"
I gulped.
"Why are you nervous?"
"I've never really worn a dress before…"
"All the more reason for Emily to lose it when she sees you! Here put these on while I put on my dress," she instructed.
She handed me a pair of slightly heeled black dress shoes. There were a couple of sparkles on the straps but for the most part, the straps that would across my feet were rather simple. As I put them on, I admired how much Hanna already knew about me. She knew I would have hated flashy shoes and anything higher than this heel would cause me to break my face. One small strap went from the back of the shoe and around my ankle while a thin, slightly sparkled strap trailed down the top of my foot and melded into another strap that went ever so lightly across the tops of my toes.
"I knew you would hate anything flashy, but you had to have something a little sparkly and something with a heel – otherwise it just wouldn't look right," Hanna defended.
"I figured. Wow. Hanna…you look…wow," I exclaimed seeing her dress on her for the first time.
Hanna was wearing a royal blue strapless A-line dress that ended about mid-thigh. The top accented her breasts subtly - the fabric covering her breasts made of a course-looking, glitter-covered material that ran into a black sash belt which bunched at the front in the form of a rose. The dress continued below the sash in large, soft, satin ruffles that looped continuously but still hugged her figure. Her hair was scrunched and rested just below her chin. She had only put on a light amount of makeup aside from the generous amount of eyeliner and mascara that – like me – made her eyes wide and bright.
"Thanks! I think Caleb will like it!"
"I'm sure he likes everything you wear. Caleb doesn't seem like the type to be so focused on how a person dresses."
"True, but it's always fun to dress up."
She gingerly slipped on her black open-toed 3-inch heels on before grabbing her silvery clutch purse.
"O I almost forgot," she called as she ran to the desk. "Here."
"What is this? A wallet on steroids?"
"No… it's a purse. Put your ID, some gum and your cash in it. That's about it. O and this…" she handed me a tube of lip gloss. " I would say have a condom in it just to be on the safe side but…I don't think you need one of those…"
I blushed furiously and shook my head taking the simple black purse into my hands and transferring only the items she had told me into the small space. I closed the purse and turned towards Hanna. She walked out of my room and down the stairs before opening the front door. We walked towards her car after I locked the door behind me. My parents weren't home at the moment but they were supposed to be shortly after I left. We got into Hanna's car after her numerous chants to me of 'be careful, be careful' and we headed towards the school.
"Do you have any plans for you and Em tonight?"
I shook my head. "Both of our parents are home… of all weekends for my dad to stay home…"
"I bet Emily has something planned…"
"How can you be so sure?"
"Emily has her moments where she thinks of everything."
"She's had a lot going on, lately."
"Yes, but you get her mind off of it."
"You think?"
"Paige, anytime I see Emily around you… she's always smiling. She smiles more being around you than she ever did with Maya."
"Can we not say that name?"
"Is it true?"
"Is what true?"
"Did you really knock her out?"
I rolled my eyes before responding. "Um… I hit her yea. The night she broke up with Emily. Emily came to my house. She was sobbing. I finally got her to sleep and I ran to Maya's house."
"Maya's house was like two miles away…"
"I was pissed. It felt like two blocks."
"I called her out and originally I just wanted to talk, but she was just so cocky and before I realized it…I hit her. I ran back home to Emily and didn't leave her side the rest of the night."
"You love her don't you?"
"I…I don't… It's too soon isn't it? I mean, I just came out last weekend – I just admitted it even to myself."
"You do. I can see it in the way you look at her. Even if you can't admit that you love her to yourself or to her, I can see you do. And she loves you back. I've never seen her this happy. I mean, her attitude began to change the moment you walked into Rosewood. All of us simply just thought that she and Maya were doing better. As much as Emily loved her, they had their problems."
"Yea, I found that out. I don't ever want to be like her," I scowled.
"You put Emily before yourself. There is no way you'd ever be like her," she confirmed just as she pulled into the nearest parking spot.
We got out of the car and Hanna immediately spotted Aria a couple parking spots away –then again, she was probably the easiest person to find in the whole area. She was wearing a strapless hot pink pedal dress. The top of the dress was a tight corset that flowed into two sets of pedals (one shorter than the other) that lay over a softer looking black tutu material that poofed out and rested just above her knees. She had a black belt right at her waist that had silver studs lined up in a small row on the leather. She had most of her hair up and it was perfected by a medium-size black headband containing a black bow which rested on the side of her head.
By the time we had reached each other, I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. It took all of my power and focus to remember to breathe. I knew it was only minutes before I would see Emily and the plan that I had had for this night would begin.
"Wow, Paige! You look amazing!" Aria exclaimed. "Good job Hanna!"
"I resent that…" I joked
"I did do well didn't I?"
"Hey, I'm right here…"
"We're kidding. Seriously, you're beautiful but Hanna really made you a knock out tonight. Emily's not here yet. She just let her house. You may want to get inside," she said handing me her mom's key.
"I can't take that…"
"Please... okay... Aria, you take Paige to your mom's room and I'll wait for Emily. When she gets here, I'll bring her in. Sound like a plan."
I nodded.
"Let's go get you set up for your girl," Aria replied grabbing my arm and dragging me towards the building.
After a few moments of walking, Aria led us into the last corridor.
"You nervous?"
"That noticeable"
"Just a tad. It'll be fine. I promise."
"I know, but what if she thinks I look stupid?"
"She definitely won't think that. Do you have everything set up for tonight?"
"I think so… but I haven't been up to see it."
"Who set it up then?"
"Hanna and Caleb. "
"If Hanna was involved it's probably perfect. Well, here we are. Just wait here for her. You heard Hanna. She'll bring her in as soon as she gets here."
"Thanks," I said as Aria reached over to hug me.
"Oh! Here…" she reached into her purse and pulled out a black silk scarf before handing it to me.
"What's that for?" I asked nervously.
"To put over her eyes before you lead her up."
"Oh… yea…okay."
"Don't worry, it's not supposed to be kinky," she assured with a small laugh. "Have fun."
"Bye."
The room was eerily quiet and completely empty. It was a typical classroom – a teacher's desk in front and about 30 student desks facing the front of the room. The air had a faint smell of chalk nestled into it. I reached the windows and watched the cars pull into the lot. Mrs. Montgomery's room was just far enough away that I couldn't see whose car was whose – nor could I see Hanna or anyone else.
I heard the door open faintly and I spun around quickly. She closed the door behind her before standing nervously in the door way. Our eyes met from across the room and even though that the one thing in the world I wanted to do – run to her – I couldn't. I was frozen solid. All air escaped my lungs and I wasn't able to take hardly in. She was breathtakingly beautiful. She had worn her hair down and it was slightly curled at the ends – it hung over her shoulders so perfectly. Her dress was deep purple – Charmeuse on the top and Chiffon on the bottom. The dress was held up by a gem covered halter strap that flowed down her neckline and transformed into two elegant loops that flowed into one another vertically between the valley of her breasts. The second loop streamed directly into a belt that divided the two different materials. The bottom the dress reached just above her knee in a wave of uneven fabric.
I mustered up all the courage inside of me and tentatively began taking steps towards her. Just as I was focused intently on her, she was focused intently on me. As I watched her body, I noticed her chest slightly heaving up and down – like it was hard for her to breathe. Her lips were parted slightly but the corners of her lips were still turned upwards. My eyes trailed down her body leisurely – taking all of her in…her strong, muscular thighs, her lean calves and her perfectly tilted feet held delicately in three inch dress sandals - one strap over her perfect ankle and one over her toes. My eyes traveled back up her faultless form until they locked with her own melted eyes.
"Wow…" I breathed.
She stepped towards me enclosing the distance between us.
"Paige…." She whispered. "You are stunning."
Our heads rested together as our breaths came in short inhales. My fingers traveled up her arms as she slid her hands to my back – pulling us together. My left hand reached her face and I pulled her lips into mine softly. My right hand traveled to her back. I could feel her heated skin underneath my fingertips. I had never touched her bare skin before and as soon as my fingers made contact with the skin covering her spine, a shiver engulfed my entire body. Electric jolts ran directly from the nerves in my lips to my blood stream and finally to my brain causing me to become lightheaded. Our lips moved slowly together as both of our hands trailed along each other's back – melding our forms together.
The kiss broke after several minutes. "Whoa…" Emily sighed.
"Yea…whoa," I replied resting our foreheads together lightly.
We took a few moments to allow our heart rates to return to normal – or at least more normal than 'break-out-of-chest fast'. Once we settled from the initial work-up, I looked into her chocolate eyes.
"You are breathtakingly beautiful."
"I could say the same thing about you."
"You ready?"
"I'm always ready to be with you."
"Em, you know that I'm… that I'm not..." I looked down in shame.
"Shhh," she held my face with both hands and forced me to look at her. "I know. And that's okay. But…there are dark corners of the gym and we can dance with Hanna, Aria and Spencer – like the concert….if you feel comfortable. If not, I'm still with you. It's our little secret. Okay?"
"Okay. I just feel bad," I continued.
"Don't. Don't feel bad. We don't have to lie to my friends and that was the biggest thing for me. You have done so much just to prove to me that you want me. Take your time with the rest. "
"Okay… Okay… "
"You ready?"
I grabbed her face quickly and kissed her soundly one last time. After our lips parted, both of our chests heaved up and down slightly.
"Now I'm ready," I answered with a smile.