"Are you gonna show me any of them?" Jake laughed from outside the dressing room. I felt my face get hot as I spun around in the mirror, hating yet another one we had picked out. It would be added to the reject pile.
"Um.. m-maybe." I muttered, turning around again.
"I'm sure you look great, let me see."
All I wanted was to feel beautiful, and these dresses were doing anything but.
"Jaime, I'm sure they look great, I just want to-" He stopped as I timidly stepped out, peeking over at him, his lips curling into a gentle smile.
"Wow.." He sighed. "Look at you." My cheeks burned as I turned back to the mirror, spinning around again.
"I don't know, I don't really-"
"You're stunning." My heart jumped as I peeked back at him, a smile escaping my lips.
"You like it?" I asked. He nodded, looking me up and down.
"I mean.. I think I would love you in anything." He said, taking my hand, spinning me around again.
"That doesn't really help." I giggled to myself, holding on tight as he pulled me back in, wrapping his arms around my stomach, leaning his chin on my shoulder.
It was so much easier to love what I saw in the mirror when he admired it the way I wished I could.
"I think we should get it." He said simply, leaning in, kissing my cheek. "You look amazing. You're just gonna have to accept it." I playfully rolled my eyes, smirking back up at him.
"Fine." I sighed, reaching down for the price tag.
"Hey, no, no, no.." He said, quickly moving my hand away.
"Jake.."
"Just let me get it."
"You don't have to-"
"As your date, I want to." He insisted, flashing me a toothy grin. I bit down on my lip, unable to say no to him when he looked at me like that.
"Fine." I muttered again, going back into the dressing room.
"I think we should just ask for you to wear it out, we shouldn't waste-"
"No, Jake." I laughed, thankful to have someone like him to make me feel so beautiful.
As we pulled back up to the house, I felt my stomach drop when I saw Josh making his way out of the garage, looking over at us as Jake parked the car.
"I can't wait to see your mom's reaction. She's gonna love it." He said, reaching into the backseat and pulling out our shopping bag. We had found him a simple tie to match, insisting he didn't want anything that was "too much" so he didn't take away from my dress.
"Maybe we could just.." I started, peeking over as Josh obviously lingered, trying to conveniently meet us when we got out of the car. The last thing I wanted to do was talk to him about the wedding and how our plans had.. changed a little.
"Just what?" He asked, his face dropping. I hesitated for a moment, holding my stare on him.
"N-nothing. It's okay." I sighed, giving him a gentle smile before getting out of the car. I kept my eyes forward, hearing Jake follow closely as we made our way inside.
Jake's P.O.V
As we walked into the store, she took my hand, eagerly pulling me towards the dress section. I couldn't help but smile, seeing her so excited, all the while I was so excited just to see her so dressed up.
She didn't hesitate to go down the racks, picking up each one that made her eyes light up, handing it over to me to carry.
I loved getting to be this for her.
All I've ever wanted was to be this for her.
I would do whatever she wanted.
Be there, however she wanted.
"I can't wait to see you in these." I said softly, following her closely as she made her way through the racks, quickly flipping through. "Are you.. looking for anything specific?" She shook her head, peeking back at me.
"No, I just.. I just wanna look nice."
"You always look nice." I added, coming around to her side of the rack. She kept flipping through, keeping her eyes forward.
"But, I.. I want to look.. nice.. for you." She said quietly. I felt my face get hot.
I knew what she meant.
"Jaime, you don't have to get all dressed up for me to-"
"I just.. want it to be.. special." She peeked back up at me, her cheeks burning red. I nodded, biting down on my lip.
"It will be." I said, leaning down, kissing her cheek. She playfully pushed me away, trying to hide her grin.
She was so beautiful.
"Okay, I.. I think that's enough." She said, grabbing one final dress, holding this one herself as she lead us towards the dressing room. It was long, draping over her arm, blinding glitter shimmering in the light as the pink fabric practically glowed in her hands. I couldn't take my eyes off it as she quickly made her way across the store.
I couldn't wait to see her in it knowing I wouldn't be able to take my eyes off of her either.
"Okay, you wait out here.." She said, taking the rest of the dresses from my arms.
"Oh, you don't want me to come in with you?" I laughed, moving closer. "But what if you need help-"
"Then I'll come out and ask you." She giggled, practically pushing me out and shutting the door behind me. I sighed, going over and sitting down, waiting as I heard the sounds of hangers clanging, clothes being tossed onto the ground and loud zippers for much longer than it should take someone to put on a dress.
"Are you gonna show me any of them?" I laughed, hoping that if anything, she would let me see the pink one.
"Um.. m-maybe." She eventually muttered.
"I'm sure you look great, let me see." She stayed quiet, the sound of clothes being tossed around continued without her coming out once.
"Jaime, I'm sure they look great, I just want to-" I stopped as she finally opened the door, nervously stepping out in the pink dress, peeking over at me. I couldn't help but smile.
She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.
"Wow. Look at you." It was all I could manage as she spun around again, admiring herself. I hoped she knew just how beautiful she really was.
"I don't know, I don't really-"
"You're stunning." I sighed, getting up and going over to her as she peeked back at me, giving me an excited grin.
"You like it?" She asked. I nodded, looking her up and down.
"I mean.. I think I would love you in anything." I said, taking her hand, spinning her around again. I could already picture us dancing together, like we were the only two in the room, like it was our own weddi-
I shook the thought, not wanting to get ahead of myself. I was lucky she was becoming more and more okay with us just being "public" as it is. I'm sure if she knew how I thought about us, it would scare her off for sure.
"That doesn't really help." She laughed, holding on tight to my hand as I pulled her back in, wrapping my arms around her stomach, leaning my chin on her shoulder. Staring back at our reflection, I couldn't help but notice just how perfectly we fit within each other, like we were made for each other.
I wonder if she thought about us as much as I did.
"I think we should get it." I said simply, leaning in and kissing her cheek. "You look amazing. You're just gonna have to accept it." She playfully rolled her eyes, smirking back up at me.
"Fine." She sighed, reaching down for the price tag. I quickly moved her hand away, having already saw it before. I knew if she knew how expensive it was she'd insist on putting it back, but I wasn't leaving here without it.
"Hey, no, no, no.."
"Jake.." She fought, always so insistent on paying for everything.
"Just let me get it."
"You don't have to-"
"As your date, I want to." I said, flashing her a toothy grin. I only saved it for special occasions knowing that she always caved when I smiled at her like that.
"Fine." She muttered again, going back into the dressing room.
"I think we should just ask for you to wear it out, we shouldn't waste-"
"No, Jake." She laughed, shaking her head before closing the door behind her.
As we pulled back up to the house, I saw Josh lingering in the driveway, no doubt waiting for us, or more specifically, her, to get back home.
"I can't wait to see your mom's reaction. She's gonna love it." I said, trying my best to distract her.
I knew she had noticed him too.
I reached into the backseat, grabbing our shopping bag that also had a light pink tie that we had found for me to match her. I didn't want to do anything too drastic, just wanting her to get all the attention she deserved.
"Maybe we could just.." She mumbled, peeking back out the window at Josh. I felt my heart beat faster, always wondering what she thought about when she looked at him, praying she didn't think about when they were together, knowing that was something he still had over me.
"Just what?" I asked, my face dropping. She turned back to face me, holding her stare for a moment before reaching over, gently touching my cheek.
"N-nothing." She sighed. "It's okay." She gave me a gentle smile before getting out of the car, keeping her eyes forward as she made her way inside.