Chapter 27
“Oh come on you wear skirts and dresses all the time!” Julie complained.
“Not like this!” Ariana yelled back from inside the changing room.
“Stop being a prude and bring your sexy ass out here.” Charlie said, annoyed with her stalling already. He latched on and joined their girls day out and even acted like one of the girls by picking out outfits and giving advice Ariana wished he’d shove somewhere else. It was two against one, they both thought she needed to update her style and try new things.
Ariana looked in the mirror hanging on the wall behind her and examined the dress again. It was black, tight to her body like a second skin, short to just above her knee and barely any straps to speak of. She thought about how much Jax would like the dress and just how quickly he’d get her out of it. When she thought about it like that some of her fear eased. It’s not like she had to impress anyone else or seek their approval. He was the only one she wanted and for now she had him.
She pushed the curtain aside and let them see her in the dress.
“Oh la, la.” Charlie said with a big smile. “It’s a really good thing I dropped my crush on you and like us better as friends. From a guy’s point of view you look smokin.” He was supportive of her relationship with Jax and the only person she had to talk to about it, strangely enough she was glad for it and the changes that got them to this point. It was completely weird though.
Julie squealed. “I have such good taste.”
“I really don’t want to wear this in public, especially at a party with people I go to school with. I like it and I’d wear it but just not tonight.” She couldn’t take all those big steps at once after all, she was still scared to face her tormentors and their ridicule.
“No one at the party would dare talk any smack about you while I’m there.” Charlie promised, going from one of her tormentors to her protector. “And there’d be nothing to talk about except the shock of seeing how hot you can be.”
“Yeah.” Julie agreed, her cheeks still turning a slight pink when Charlie spoke. They had been hanging out for the last two hours but he still gave her butterflies.
“No.” Ariana shook her head, she wasn’t budging. “I am up for finding something else.” She turned back around to get back into her jeans and t-shirt. That reminded her of something. “How about I stick with the jeans and you can find me a daring new top?” she suggested.
“Hmm, I guess that can work too.” Julie was satisfied for any little change she could get from Ariana.
Ariana left the changing room and went and sat next to Charlie at the visitors’ bench. “What happened with your date?” she asked, it was the first moment they could talk alone without Julie shoving clothes into her hands to try on.
“She headed home after finding what she wanted.” He said with a shrug, it was obvious he didn’t care too much about the situation.
“You must be pretty bored to hang out with the resident geek and a thirteen year old.”
“Hey! Yeah sure you are the geekiest person in the world but Julie is pretty cool.”
Ariana laughed, Julie would faint right now if she had heard that. “Alright, I won’t press for answers.” she didn’t need him to confirm what she already knew; he was scared to be home.
“I thought you were going to try to get out of going to this party.”
“Yeah but my mom asked about it and suggested I go and then Jax jumped on the bandwagon.”
Charlie laughed. “Lover boy has some plans for you.”
“Shut up.” she felt her cheeks blush as she shoved his shoulder.
It was nearly an hour later when Julie was satisfied enough with the clothes part of their girl’s day out. Next it was time to pig out over pizza at the food court. It was after that they separated ways with Charlie.
“You guys are friends now?” Julie asked about him.
“Yeah it seems that way. He needed help with school and we started talking and getting along.”
“Just friends right?”
“Yeah, I don’t see Charlie that way.” Ariana explained, it felt weird to even talk about her and Charlie in a romantic sense, she actually saw him as the brother she never had, the way she was actually supposed to see Jax. It didn’t take long for her to become real friends with Charlie.
“Good because in five years I’m gonna be all over that.”
Ariana was really glad she had put her soda down because if not she would’ve spat it up. “In five years you’re really going to be something else.” She started to feel bad for Mitch because with Julie’s free spirit it wasn’t going to be easy to keep her out of trouble.
Back home Mary and Mitch were seated in the living room watching TV when the girls returned. “Did you have fun?” Mary asked.
“Oh yeah.” Julie beamed and began to recap their whole day together.
Ariana left them to it and headed upstairs to her room with the shopping bags. She felt pretty good about the new experience, it was rewarding to see Julie that happy and excited.
She didn’t have much time, they had gotten home late and in the next hour Jolene was expecting to see her at the party.
Jax was waiting by the front door for Ariana. He was tempted to go up and check on her, but their parents were right there in the living room and he didn’t want to raise any suspicions.
It was Julie who called up the staircase. “Ariana come on! You promised!”
Jax turned toward his sister. “Promised what?”
“To wear this new top I made her buy.”
That explained it, Jax thought, she was upstairs uncomfortable and chickening out.
“Fine!” Ariana called back, she knew by now Julie wasn’t going to drop the subject and was bound to any minute make a scene.
Jax waited like the rest of them to see what the big deal was. Ariana came down the stairs with a scowl across her face. He felt his heart stop for a moment. He knew she hated to be forced into new things and she was miserable right now but she looked drop dead gorgeous.
She wore the ripped right jeans he saw earlier with the new top Julie mentioned. It was a black halter style tied behind her neck, pushing her breasts front and center. The bottom of it was made from sheer fishnet material and showed off her waist. With this outfit there was no mistaking how womanly Ariana was, she didn’t look like the shy school girl anymore.
“I am a genius.” Julie was happy, grinning ear to ear. “Doesn’t she look hot?”
Jax blinked a few times before he realized she was talking to him. “Um, I guess.” How the hell was he supposed to answer that?
“I like it.” Mary piped up as she joined them all at the front foyer. “I’ve been trying for years to get her to try different styles, how did you do it?” she asked Julie.
“I threatened her.” Julie was proud of that.
After a few more minutes of gushing, Jax and Ariana were told to have fun at the party and what time they were expected back home. It wasn’t until they were in his car that Jax spoke. “I feel like I’m missing something.”
“Julie is trying to set us up and she wanted me to dress sexy to entice you.” she was still upset, it was evident in her tight tone and still crossed arms.
Jax peered at her outfit as he drove away from the house. “It’s working.” He wanted her to stop frowning and his bad attempt at being funny didn’t work. He kept driving past the turn for the party and continued to the abandoned parking lot nearby. “You know we can be a little late.” He didn’t plan to do anything that would be too time consuming. He pulled her onto his lap. “You look beautiful and I’m really happy that you left your hair down.”
“Aren’t you curious to know why Julie is trying to set us up?”
“She thinks I look at you funny, she told me a few days ago I should do something or hide it better.”
“What did you say?” she asked, running her finger across the chain around his neck. “What is this?” she picked up the pendent with her thumb and forefinger.
“My mom gave it to me when I was a kid. I had an urge to wear it.” He answered softly, he wanted badly to tell her why it was important to him, what it all meant but in the end he didn’t know how to form the words or what came after he revealed that truth.
“It’s pretty.” She said, her eyes still on the abstract design. “Is it silver?”
Jax chuckled weakly at the perfect opening that question could’ve been. “No, white gold. About Julie, what did you tell her?” he ran his hand under the sheer material of her top.
“That she’s crazy and we’re nothing but friends. You?” she grabbed his hand before he could touch anything too intimate.
“Pretty much the same thing.” He grinned. “Can I have my hand back?”
“Do you promise not to try anything sneaky?”
“No.”
“Thought so.” She climbed back into her seat before releasing his hand. “Let’s get this party thing over with and then it’s whatever you want.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.” Jax started the car back and headed to the party.
Ariana was nervous about what to expect, she had never gone to a party before. But what happened that night never crossed her mind. One thing was for sure, lives would be forever altered.