Even though her offering help was out of guilt and her own way of apologizing for the things she said to me, I still took what I could get. “How can you have nothing appropriate in your closet?” she asked in utter dismay. “We should have gone shopping.” She fell on top of the clothes, and I chuckled.
“Come on! You promised to help.”
“Fine.” she pulled herself up and ventured back toward my closet.
“You know, if you didn’t try to steal my boyfriend, you and I would totally be BFFs,” she said with her voice muffled from dipping her head in my closet.
I rolled my eyes, watching her from where I sat at the dressing table. “I didn’t try to steal your boyfriend, Noelle. Whatever was between Jake and I probably ended the moment he set his eyes on you. He loves you,” I said softly, hoping she believed my words.
“He does, doesn’t he?” she asked and stood with a wide smile on her face and a large box in her hand. I knew that box.
“Put that back. I’m not wearing it,” I flushed.
“Why not?” she whined and pulled out the dress in the box. “It’s absolutely gorgeous,” she said, and indeed it was.
It was the silver gown my mom had gotten me last Christmas. I had flat out refused to wear it because it drew too much attention. It has a silky material that shimmers under the lights. Long-sleeved with a slit that ran up my thighs and ended a few inches below, the dress was a vision, even with it being backless.
“It’s too much for a high school party, don’t you think? I mean, most of our classmates will probably be dressed in t-shirts and jeans.”
Noelle’s eyes widened like I had said the most horrific thing ever. She scoffed, “Not everyone is like you, Katrina Dawson. Besides, you might find yourself quite surprised by tonight’s theme,” she said.
It was my turn to be surprised, “Why is there something happening that I don’t know about?”
“Let’s just say you are one lucky birthday girl,” she said cryptically before handing me the dress with a determined look on her face. “Now, get dressed before I force you into it myself.”
With no further arguments, I did as I was told. Noelle’s expression was quite clear: she planned to make good on her threat if I didn’t cooperate. It was a good thing I did because I had some difficulty recognizing myself when she was finished.
I had gone from an antisocial teenager to a confident woman within seconds. Far from what I had expected, the makeup she applied to my face was simple yet elegant. My hair had been styled into a complicated updo with tiny flowery pins at the front. I looked nothing short of beautiful. A chain with a ruby pendant, similar to the color of my shoes and purse, sat around my neck, finishing off the look.
“Wow,” Noelle exclaimed with an open mouth as she took a final look at me. “You look incredible,” she said, pulling out her phone and taking a few photos. “Your boyfriend agrees,” she finished with a sly grin, indicating that she had sent the pictures to Mason.
I let my gaze take her in too, and I’m speechless by what I see.
“Wow yourself, you look like a goddess,” I said to her, gesturing at the adoring red dress she had on, paired with silver heels and a choker. Her platinum blonde hair fell freely across her shoulders like a cascading waterfall.
She placed her hand on her chest as her eyes twinkled in delight from the compliment.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Now, come on. I know I said we should be fashionably late, but anything more than that is just distasteful, especially since you’re the birthday girl.”
We hurried downstairs and into her car before I remembered something. “Hey, I got you this.” I pulled out a tube of lipstick and handed it to her
“Oh my god, this is…”
“Yes,” I chuckled lightly at her surprise over the designer lipstick I had my mom help me buy from the fashion industry where she works. “Just a little something, as a thank you for helping me,” I continued with a smile.
Suddenly, she threw her arms around me. “Thank you,” she whispered into my ear.
Patting her back, still shocked by her outburst, I replied, “You’re welcome.”
“You know, you’re not so bad, Katrina Dawson,” she said as she pulled back to stare at me.
“You are not so bad either, Noelle,” I answered with a smile.
Laughing, she said, “Okay, we really should go now.”
And off we went to celebrate life and the opportunities that lay ahead with the people we loved.
CHAPTER SEVEN
