A New Beginning (Jai Courtney Fan Fiction)

Part 10

It was cooler today. The sun was cheerful and the scent of exotic flowers filled the air. Shops that lined the cobblestone street held their doors open, welcoming shoppers.

Rae took it all in. Every scent, every color, sound, every detail. She watched as Jess skimmed through a rack of formal dresses. She was on a mission to find Rae the perfect dress for the wedding.

With a squeal, she grabbed one more then ushered Rae to the dressing rooms, her arms full of dresses.

"I will wait out here. I want to see how every dress looks on you. " Confident, she pulled a small chair from against a wall and placed it in front of Rae and sat.

Rae blushed as she became nervous.
"Okay." And stepped into the dressing room. As she closed the door behind her, she stared at herself in the three full length mirrors.

Her hair was in a loose side braid. She had light makeup on and just a tint of pink lipstick. She looked away. She never felt comfortable looking herself in the mirror for long. With a sigh she started to hang each dress up according to color.

********

After trying on about 15 dresses, Rae was exhausted and had a killer migraine. How can women do this on a daily basis? It's so exhausting.

She had just one more dress to try on. With an over exaggerated sigh, she lifted it over her head and pulled her arms through. When she was done straightening out the skirt, she looked up, her eyes widened. She felt... beautiful. For the first time in a long time. It hugged her curves in the right places. It felt weightless on her.

With a smile and a gleam in her eyes she opened the door and stepped out.

Jess had her face in her phone as she was texting Jai, letting him know they were going out to dinner afterwards. As she hit send, she looked up and almost dropped her phone.

"This is it! It's so beautiful. The color, the material looks perfect on you. " She jumped up to trail her fingers through the skirt." It's so soft and light. Perfect for an outdoor wedding."

Rae spun around. She felt like a princess in this dress. She didn't want to take it off. Her hand skimmed a tag. Her heart sank as she studied the price.

Jess saw her expression and looked at the price as well. "No worries. I am buying!"

Rae gaped at her. "No, Jess I can't let you do that. It's so expensive. "

A trait from her mother she waved her hand in the air and said," Pssh, you will have this dress! "

With that being said, Jess all but shoved Rae back into the dressing room and closed the door.

******

Rae sat outside at a small iron patio table in front of a very elegant Italian restaurant. She faintly heard music playing as her head pounded against her skull. Not only did Jess buy her dress, she also insisted she needed shoes, jewelry and a clutch to go with it. Along with a dress for the bachelorette party this weekend.

She had never been so mentally exhausted like this before. The waiter placed her glass of Red Sangria in front of her. Relieved, she took a rather large sip from it.

Jess eyed her over a glass of Chianti.
"Thirsty are we?"

"Just want this headache to go away. "

The waiter came back to take their order. Rae figured she needed something filling so she ordered pasta shrimp amore with a garlic cream sauce. Jess ordered Broiled salmon with asparagus and a side of gluten free pasta with arrabiata sauce.