Learning to Swim

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

“I can’t do this,” I state shakily, causing Maggie to turn to me with alarm.

“What do you mean you can’t do this? You were excited like a minute ago!” she demands angrily.

“I…I just…can’t!” I stutter and she stares me down while placing her hands on her hips to show just how much she is not happy with that explanation. I bite my lip nervously and then whimper quietly, “What if it goes badly?”

“It won’t. You two are perfect for each other,” Maggie tells me with a conviction that is hard to rival. I try anyway.

“What if I do something wrong? I’ve never been on a real date before! I will end up making a fool of myself and then he will never want to see me again!” I say, practically hyperventilating. I never thought I would be so nervous about something as trivial as a date. But that was before I met Liam Chase.

“That’s not true. You will be fine. I mean, you guys have been hanging out during work for like a week now! If he doesn’t think you’re a fool or whatever you’re afraid of yet than I doubt tonight will make a difference. He likes you, Dakota. A lot. And why shouldn’t he? You are gorgeous, smart, and a million other amazing things. So, just relax and everything will be perfect,” she reassures me. “Now take a deep breath and put this on.”

Maggie shoves some fabric into my arms and then pushes me into her bathroom. I look down at the outfit she wants me to change into and groan. She picked out a tiny little dress for me to wear. I don’t get dressed up often and I almost never wear dresses. Probably since I don’t really have many nice clothes due to the fact that they cost more money. I brought some clothes with me to wear to my date, but Maggie took one look and said no way. So, now I am stuck with this dress that definitely makes me uncomfortable to wear.

The dress actually isn’t too revealing or short or anything like that, but it is obviously expensive. It is way more than I can afford, that I’m certain of. It makes me feel strange wearing expensive things because it makes me feel like I am pretending to be something I’m not. I yell this to Maggie, who is waiting on the other side of the door, and she tells me to suck it up and try it on.

I do as she says and then step out of the bathroom to show her. I tug on it nervously as her eyes widen.

“That looks amazing! You have to wear it, Dakota!” Maggie exclaims.

“I don’t know,” I reply, still feeling uncomfortable in it.

“Look at yourself right now and if you can tell me you don’t look amazing then you can wear something else,” she tells me and then positions me in front of her full length mirror.

I stare at my reflection, studying it carefully. Half of my dark brown hair is pulled back in a clip leaving the rest to frame my delicate features. My eyes travel down to my dress that I have to admit does look pretty good. It is a simple dark red dress that hangs just above my knees. It is tighter up top, making me look as if I have a bigger chest than I actually do and then becomes looser towards the bottom. It is simple enough that it makes me a little more comfortable wearing it. I don’t doubt it was expensive, but you can’t really tell just from looking at it. I suppose it was a good choice by Maggie after all.

After taking in everything else I lift my head and stare myself in the eyes. Normally when I look in a mirror I can see a sadness lurking in the depths of my eyes, but today it has been replaced with a cautious excitement. A small smile plays on my lips and I almost don’t recognize myself. Not because I look so much different than I normally do, but because I practically radiate happiness. I really hope everything goes well tonight.