The New American Dream

Part Four: Amsterdam | Chapter Forty-One

"You know, I just realized I don't even have anything nice with me that I could wear this evening," I said to Cassie when we had finished eating our lunch after the gallery.

We walked around the streets of Amsterdam somewhat aimlessly. Today the weather was way better than the day before, the temperatures were bearable and I enjoyed the sun rays hugging my skin.

"I guess you have the skirt," Cassie suggested.

"Meh," I said unenthusiastically. "I wanna wear a dress."

"Then let's go shopping again. After all you gotta look good for Dan, right?" she teased.

Poor Dan almost choked on the drink he was carrying and currently taking a sip of. "She always looks great," he quickly said, coughing.

"Damn right I do. But thanks honey."

"Anytime."

So shopping once again it was. My money was slowly but surely getting sparse, but I figured I could still buy a decent dress and comfortably go eat that night. After all it would be the last thing we'd do, we would leave right the next morning.

We checked out a few shops and I decided on a black skater dress that was held together around the neck and had cutouts on the sides. The top part was made out of see-through mesh but the area of the boobs was covered, thankfully.

"Do you have shoes for that?" Cassie asked. She had decided on a similar dress, only in a dark red and with spaghetti straps.

"Do you think I can just wear vans with that?"

Cassie shrugged. "Probably, heels would be too much, vans are more casual."

_____

At the hotel I took one final shower and pampered myself properly. My makeup was just as elaborate as the first day when I had done my makeup, this time I didn't straighten my hair, I felt like my natural curls weren't so bad after all anymore.

For years I had straightened the life out of my hair, only rarely had I left it natural, but lately I've been finding a liking in my curls. Cassie would be able to do something with my hair either way.

"Do my makeup and I'll do your hair." Cassie offered to me with a smile, her hair was artfully braided on top of her head.

"Deal." I started with her makeup and for her eyeshadow I used a color that fitted her dress. "Do you want lipstick? Or is that too much?"

"Goth me up honey."

Against' Cassie's brown skin the red looked even better, completely different than it would have looked on me, which figured. I was just a tad envious. Even if I lived near Los Angeles, I was almost as pale as a ghost, no matter how much time I spent in the sun. I'd sooner turn red as a crab than get brown in any way. Some things just never changed.

"Maybe you would look less pale of you wore color for once," Cassie laughed as she got to work on my hair and I told her about my thoughts.

"I wear color. Gray is a color."

Cassie just sighed but I saw her smile in the reflection of the mirror. "Half up-half down or all the way up?" she asked and brushed her fingers through my hair, a motion I loved.

"Half up-half down, or we'll look too similar," I said with a smile.

Skillfully she braided the top pf my hair, I would have never been able to recreate that. She also put some sort of curl definer in my hair, one that she used for her coily hair as well, and it made my curls look better than ever.