*Understanding Him*

Chapter Eight

"There. All done. We've gotta get ready now though, its going for eight o' clock" she said getting up and heading into the bathroom which left me alone to get ready myself. Picking up the light fabric from off the bed, I rubbed it between my fingers and appreciated its cloud-like texture.

"Well, its now or never" I thought to myself.

I peeled off my tshirt and flung it across the bed along with my jeans, leaving on my sneakers. It was kind of difficult to get my head through the hole and I struggled with doing so for a few seconds before it actually went through and I pulled it down my body.
My arms were rigid from holding them up whilst trying to get inside the dress but I didn't pay too much mind to it. I pulled it all the way down to it's end and smoothened it out over my body.

It stopped 2 inches above my knee and was snug, hugging my body and accentuating every curve I had been blessed with. I chose to not wear a bra because of the off the shoulder one strap design of the dress, but that wasn't too noticeable. I walked over to the vanity mirror checking to see if I had smudged my makeup.

As I saw that I was fine, I walked over to the elongated mirror that hung behind her door to get a better view of my entire body. I was completely awe-struck as a beautiful version of myself looked back at me. Her hair was stretched out into a curly afro and her makeup was neat to the T. Her beautiful dress sculpted her body and made her look more mature even; she had on a lace black choker and diamond studs to bring out her look. The girl staring back at me was gorgeous.

"Woooowwww, you look so beautiful Laria" Tulip cooed as she walked over to stand beside me.

She had on a dress similar to mine, but where mine was blue, hers was red. Where I had studs, she wore hoops and instead of a choker, she had gone with a chest length butterfly necklace. Even the red suede flats she wore added to the beauty of her dress. Her lips were blood red and her hair was in the same afro as mine; we were twins for the night.

"Talk about beautiful, look at yourself! You look amazing and you don't even try hard."

"Your right. I woke up like this" she grinned as I laughed at her quoting Beyoncé. This was the type of friend she was, the one who had a meme or quote or comeback for everything. Satisfied with our reflections, we made way to head out the door, eager to get to the party. It was eight o' clock exactly.

As we exited her room Tulip stopped us, "Wait! You haven't put on the flats I left out for you. Hurry up Ria; you knew I wasn't going to let you leave the house with those on". she said pointing to my converse.

Groaning I quickly turned back to make the shoe swap and left the room once more.

"Happy?" I asked her with a fake smile.

"Ecstatic", she replied with her own genuine one.

As we headed down the stairs I wondered where her parents were, seeing as the house was quiet and her mom didn't come in and offer to help us get ready.

Then I remembered that she told me they were on a business trip for the weekend. We hurried out the door as she locked it behind us and slid into her jeep. Speaking of parents, I sent a quick text to mine telling them I would be staying with Tules for the weekend.
Popping my phone back in the arm rest of the jeep I focused on willing myself to relax. I had a hard time when it came to being around lots of people; I wasn't a people's person by no means. I liked being by myself most of the time or around people I care for. But tonight would be different, I would be at a party with maybe a hundred people or less and I would have to adjust; the thought made me nauseous but I coped.

"Stick close to me okay? I don't want to get separated and then get flocked by a bunch of guys" Tulip said to me as she turned the last corner that held the house of the party.