The Red Dress
3. The Red Dress - Part One
Greg glanced over at the red dress that lay carefully across the passenger seat. It was perfect for her. He could picture her in the dress he'd specifically bought for her. He just hoped that she agreed to wear it. With such short notice he had to find something that'd fit her, and suit her, and this was it. He picked up the coat hanger as he got out of the car, and slung the dress over his shoulder. He wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do. Should he hand her the dress and politely ask her to wear it? Or leave it on her door step? He didn't know which would be the better option, but as soon as he found himself standing upon her doorstep, he knew which option he liked best. He gently hooked the coat hanger around the door handle and positioned the dress in a way that would reduce it from wrinkling.
With a burst of nervousness and anxiety he knocked on the door and ran. Greg turned the corner and paused, catching his breath. He wished he could see her reaction to the dress, whether she smiled, or screwed up her face in disgust. He cursed himself for not staying, waiting for her to open the door...But since she'd said she would act as his girlfriend, he hadn't been able to stay calm, or form a coherent thought when she was nearby, let alone a coherent sentence. He shook his head as he returned to his car. Even when she wasn't nearby his thoughts raced. He really did hope that she'd liked the dress. If she didn't, he really didn't know what he'd do. He sighed as he reached his car...the date was tomorrow. His thoughts wondered back to the red dress, and how beautiful she'd look wearing it.
But I'm just thinking about the red dress
I like the red dress
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Greg rolled onto his side and looked through drowsy eyes at his alarm clock...6am. Why was he awake so early? He sat up and scratched his head as he remembered...the date was tonight. His parents would be in Vegas later, and he would be on a date with a beautiful woman, his 'girlfriend'. He began to wonder how he'd actually been able to pull it off, to find a woman to pretend to be his girlfriend, and meet his parents all in one night. He'd be lucky to find anyone who'd want to meet his parents after months of dating. He got out of bed and headed to the kitchen for a coffee. It was going to be a long day, and he needed to keep his mind busy until then. His mind wandered back to the red dress...
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Greg sat on the couch again. He'd been walking around the apartment for almost an hour, waiting for the time to come when he had to pick up his date. He couldn't stay still, and so kept moving from chair to chair, from room to room, hoping to ease his nerves. But nothing was helping him. He'd never been this nervous before in his life. He'd been on dates before, but none like this. And none of his previous girlfriends had ever met his parents, except for one or two from his high school days...He stood again and stared down at the clock. Only 15 minutes until he needed to leave. This was killing him! The only thing keeping him sane was the thought of what was to come, when she'd open the door and reveal herself in the red dress, that red dress that he'd chosen specifically for her.
He continued to make laps around his apartment. Everything was in place...his parents were in town and ready to see him, and meet his girlfriend, he had a girlfriend ready to meet them in a gorgeous red dress, restaurant reservations were ready...All that he needed was for everything to go smoothly. He returned to his room and looked at his reflection. He hadn't worn a suit in a while, except for court, but other than that, he couldn't remember the last time he'd been so formal. He tried to comb his hair down to the side, but it wouldn't stay. He knew how much his mother liked him to have his hair combed down, but his hair wouldn't do it. He sighed and looked down at his watch. He grinned and felt like screaming, but instead, he kept himself cool and casually walked to the front door, as though someone were watching his every move. He closed the door behind him and began his trip to his 'girlfriend's' house. This was it...
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Greg stood outside the apartment, staring at the wooden door before him. He held his breath as he knocked on the door and waited. He heard the sound of heels clicking against the floor, as the door handle slowly turned and the door swung open. Greg stared wide-eyed at the woman before him, dressed in the red dress. He continued to stare, and realised that his mouth was open and she was returning his gaze...He caught himself, quickly closing his mouth and forced himself to speak.
"Sara...Wow." He smiled sheepishly.
"Wow yourself, " she replied as she looked him up and down, "again, I really didn't think your hair could do that..." She trailed off as she leant forward and tried to smooth down a small patch of hair that had a mind of its own.
He knew that he was staring again, but he didn't care. She looked amazing. The dress, her hair. Wow. Sara noticed his reaction and began to feel embarrassed. She knew that her cheeks were taking on a rosy appearance at that moment, and decided to try and move Greg's attention away from her, however flattering his attention may be...
"Thanks Sara...for doing this for me..." He blurted out and looked down at his feet. His nerves had a stronghold over him now, and he couldn't shake them.
"Hey, that's ok. You don't need to thank me." She replied. She still felt horrible about rejecting him the first time he'd asked. She wished things had gone different then, she knew what it felt like to be rejected, and to be rejected without even an explanation. She inwardly sighed and scowled at herself, thinking about Grissom. She smiled at Greg, she'd really never seen him like this.
"Thank you." He said again, feeling the need to thank her again and again. He was more grateful than she probably even knew, and would ever know. Without knowing what else to do, he grinned like the cheshire cat. He wondered what she was thinking. If she liked the way he was dressed. If she was even slightly attracted to him...Sara realised that the two of them had fallen into an awkward silence...
"So, what's our story?" She asked, breaking the silence.
"Story?"
"Y'know, how, when, where we first met, first date..." She trailed off, amused that he hadn't even thought of these things.
Greg almost shuddered. How could he completely forget to plan something? And what if his parents asked each of them questions? They didn't really know much about each other's pasts. If Greg suffered from panic attacks, he was sure that he'd be having one at that moment.
Sara shrugged it off, they could easily come up with something. It wouldn't be hard, just some twisting of facts and their dating history would easily come together."Well, we met at work..." She began, trying to coax Greg into developing their history.
He nodded, "I asked you out, you were dazzled by my charm and accepted..." He flashed his grin as he thought about their first date. He sifted through the numerous ideas he'd had in the past, of how he'd ask her out, how'd she'd accept and he'd sweep her off her feet. "I took you a flashy restaurant on the strip, and you've been head over heels with me ever since." He flashed his grin once again.
Sara raised an eyebrow, but couldn't help but smile. She was doing this for him, so she might as well go along with whatever story he produced, as long as it wasn't too extreme. She could easily imagine herself on a date with Greg, being impressed by his romantic gestures, flashes of gallantry, his humor and charm...
Greg found himself drawn back to Sara's dress, the hint of make up, and the way she'd done her hair. Her hair was curled, a lot more than usual, and it fell in ringlets around her face. Sara noticed his attention once again and nervously tucked a curl of hair behind her ear. She really wasn't used to this much attention from a man, any man, especially one that she worked with.
I like your hair much better that way
When it hangs out front when it hangs out front
With tilted head like a listener
But i'm just thinking about the red dress
I like the red dress
Greg cleared his throat and looked down at his watch. They needed to be at the restaurant in 10 minutes. Sara noticed the time and locked her door behind her. He still couldn't believe this was happening. He wondered what to do, whether to just casually walk her to the car, orescort her on his arm. Heshrugged to himself, andfigured it wouldn'thurt to get into the swing of things.
He offered his arm to Sara, "shall we Miss Sidle?"
"We shall," she smiled back as she took his arm.
Greg escorted her to the car like a true gentlemen, exactly the way he would have if this was a real date.He grinned, knowing that she was willingly accompanying him on a date...even despite the circumstances, he couldn't help but feel something.
Sorry for taking a little while to update, wasn't really in the mood and wrote something else featuring little Greggo that I might post later. Anyhoo,this was gonna be a three parter, but it's now a four parter coz of the length it's getting to, plus I'mstruggling with writer's block right now. Thank y'all for reading and reviewing so far, I hoped you like this part! I'll try update thefinal part in the next few days./ Britt
