The Misfortunes of Lolita

19 | when lolita asked

The Sheriff followed, pressing the button that lead to their floor, wearing a dress shirt and pants. Frank couldn't even acknowledge how strange it was seeing him in anything but his sheriff uniform, or how he actually looked casual, for some reason, despite his dressy clothes.

He could only stare at Lolita, his mouth slightly agape.

She'd left school early because she'd had to go to one of her cousin's weddings, and he'd had football practice till seven thirty, so they'd agreed to see each other the next day.

She'd brushed her lips over the skin at the curve of his neck, whispering goodbye, leaving him wanting to hold her even closer.

She glanced over to him now, raising her eyebrows just a little, but he didn't bother looking away.

The skirt of her dress dragged a little behind her when she walked, and her hair was twisted into loose curls around her face, dampened from the rain, and the glimmering fabric of her silver-gold dress caught the low lights in the elevator. The dress stopped once at her midriff, and started back again at her waist, revealing a patch of her golden brown skin. Extravagant swirls of bright detailing that started at her neckline, continued down her sleeves, and stopped at the bottom of her skirt, and from time to time her damp skin glistened in the dim light.

The elevator dinged, and the sheriff walked out. He didn't look Frank in the eye even once, and Frank wasn't sure if it was because he disliked him, or because he was embarrassed that he'd heard what he'd said about Frank.

Lolita gave Frank a little smile and followed, but he grabbed her by the hand, placing his other hand on the side of the door to stop it from closing. She glanced back, her eyes following down her arm to where his fingers gripped her wrist over the golden bangles she wore.

"I'll be right home," she called to her father.

The sheriff looked back, probably about to say otherwise, but then he shook his head. "Don't be too late," he said, and then walked down the hallway. The doors started ringing, the timer going off from holding them open for too long.

Frank pulled her inside the elevator, and she stumbled to him, the door closing behind them.

Lolita blew out a breath, folding her arms behind her, and his hands followed, wrapping them around her waist.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Hey," his voice was a whisper too. They were close enough to breathe in the air that another exhaled, and she looked up at him, and then glanced down at his lips.

"I went to the wedding," she said, tilting her head to move one of the strands of hair away from her face.

Frank brushed her hair back behind her ear, and her shoulders lifted when his fingers moved along the small of her back. "How was it?"

"Good," she muttered. "How was practice?"

"Good," he said. "Great."

The elevator travelled down, and opened the door, letting in an older couple, who glanced over at the two standing together. Lolita smiled, and Frank looked at her as she did.

"We didn't think this whole elevator thing through," she whispered, looking up at him with her black coffee eyes again, and he almost leaned in and kissed her, right then and there.

The old man narrowed his eyes, giving her outfit a onceover and muttering something to his partner. She looked back too, appraising them both.

Lolita smiled again.

"Is that a sari?" the woman asked.

"No," she said. "It's a lehenga."

"Oh," the woman nodded.