"Prom is in two weeks. Why are we going now?" I ask.
We are in Naomi's car on our way to the mall to get our dresses for prom. It makes no sense that we are barely going, but here we are.
"For the rush! I mean I know we should have been smart and have gone a lot earlier, but there was so much going on. Midterms, Florida, graduation shit... it was all piled on us. Let's just enjoy it right now. Someone text Jade," Naomi responds as she turns out the neighborhood.
I go through my phone and find Jade's name and leave her a message. She responds immediately and says she'll come with us. I'm surprised because she usually never joins us for things like this. I let Naomi know that Jade's going to be joining us so we are on our way to Zamari's house. It doesn't take long to get to the house and Jade is already out the door by the time I text her. She's in a black crop top and ripped jeans. She's not in crutches anymore but she does have a brace around her ankle. I scoot over to let Jade hop in the car.
"Hey!" She says and we all say hi in unison.
"Ready for late prom dress shopping?" I ask.
"Yeah, because most of us got the late prom proposals so it works." She jokes and I snort.
We chat about dresses and colors the entire way to the mall. Jade isn't one to wear dresses so she was asking for my advice.
"Well, I hope you know what Freddie is wearing because knowing him, he might be extra," I tease.
"Jesus, then I'll just go with black. It goes with everything anyway,"
We make it to the mall and we all make a bee-line to Island's Boutique, the best store to find prom dresses. I walk around testing some dresses with my hand. I definitely don't want to get an "over-the-top" dress, but I don't want to be extremely simple. I also check at the prices because I don't was to accidentally fall in love with a $400 dress and walk out the store disappointed. Jade and I find some cute black ones for her and tells me I can try some of the ones she chose.
Once all the girls have gotten at least a dress we swarm to the dressing rooms. I'm put in a small room with a red curtain to keep the pedestrians from seeing my naked body, which doesn't exactly work out when the curtain doesn't close all the way and people can peep through the edges of the door. I take a peek at myself before hopping into my dress. My legs and shoulders are a different color than my stomach and breasts. They're a tint lighter than the rest of my body. My stomach is pretty flat, but I can see a tiny muffin top over my underwear that I can easily get rid off if I tried doing some crunches. I turn around and view my ass, which is somewhat of an ass. It's not the biggest out there, but she's definitely there. I may not have the biggest breast out there either, but I'm glad to see I can at least fit in a 34C.
I grab the first dress which is a long black mermaid dress with spaghetti straps and an open back. The front has bra cups and a low v-neck so all my junk can fall out. I walk out and find everyone in amazing gowns. Jade is in an off the shoulder silk black gown with a slit right in the middle. Naomi is burgundy red A-line halter backless lace dress with a slit. There is a small trail of the dress behind her that makes her look like a princess. Esme is wearing a rose gold glitter mermaid dress with a strapless sweetheart neckline. Honestly, they all look perfect.
"Okay, I'm going to go hide now," I say, backing away.
"What? Why? You look stunning!" Naomi shimmies her way towards me.
"I feel like a penguin compared to you guys! You all look amazing!"
"Ana, you look beautiful! This dress is perfect!" Esme says grabbing my hand and spinning me around.
I giggle as I almost trip because of the trail at my feet. "I like it," I say looking at myself in the mirror. "But I don't think it's the one, you know? Like, I like it, but I should keep looking," I suggest.
"If other ones don't work, definitely look at this one again because you look gorgeous," Jade says.
"I will! But look at you! You look all cute!" I hype her up and she starts covering her face.
"I've never actually worn a fancy dress. This feels different. Is this what it's like to be a girl?" She jokes and we start laughing.
"You're shining. All of you guys are," I say looking around at the girls.
"Honestly, I'm loving this. I think this one might be the one," Naomi says, looking at herself in the mirror again.
"Take it, you look like a goddess," Esme tells her and hugs her shoulders.
"I will if you get yours. It's glamorous!" Naomi tells her.
"Well, I'm going to change. I'll strip the store till I find my dress," I tease and walk back inside the dressing room.
I strip down and go back into my regular clothes. I walk out the rooms and start to roam the store. I run my fingers through sheer fabrics and find different styles, different textures, and different designs. So many colors, so many options. Well, what makes it easier is knowing I don't have to worry about matching with someone, unless...
"I'm worried that Freddie is going to pull some random shit and come in an 80's suit with ruby bedazzled shoes," I hear Jade's voice behind me.
I giggle. "He might pull out a rabbit from the top box hat he's going to wear."
Fear explodes into her eyes and I burst into laughter. "I'm kidding! He wouldn't do that!"
"I'm scared of what you said because I feel like he would do something like that!" She says and my laughter becomes louder.
"Are you going with Luis?" She asks once she calms down.
I feel my face become sour and I shake my head no. "No, we broke up a few months ago," mention.
"Oh?" She asks, surprised. "Why? If you don't mind asking,"
"Because boys are stupid," I blurt, and she snorts.
"I live with two, I can agree with that," she says and I laugh. "But can I ask something?"
I nod. "Does it have anything to do with Zamari?"
My fingers tighten around a dress. I feel my cheeks get warm and I chuckle. "Well, we didn't break up because of him. The asshat cheated on me and had a ton of trust issues, so not really," I shrug.
"Oh, shit. I'm sorry," she says, voice getting sympathetic.
"Don't worry about it. It wasn't meant to be and it was going to happen sooner or later," I mention and start looking through the dresses again.
"That's fair. But do you have any feelings for Zam, though?" She asks. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to." She starts after realizing what she asked me.
I start laughing, but I turn to her and shrug. "I mean you don't feel weird listening to details about your brother?" I ask.
"I mean, yes," she blurts. "But I can pretend he isn't for a while."
I snort. "Well, if you want to know, yeah I kinda like him. But don't tell him!" I say pointing my finger at him.
"I won't!" She promises.
"I didn't think I did, but after being forced together every day for the past eightish months, I've been seeing him a bit differently," I pause. "I mean he's annoying and all, but I can't imagine not being around him anymore." She laughs out loud but gives me a smile.
"Yeah, he is annoying. If you want him you can have him. I'll finally get the dog that I've always wanted," she jokes and I snort. "All I'm going to say is to be careful with him. He's a great guy, but he does have his moments. I should know, I've known him for 18 years."
"What do you mean to be careful with him?" I raise an eyebrow.
She chuckles. "Nothing bad, Ana. It's not that serious. I'm just talking about his issues with our dad and him being overprotective with Amari and mom. And his jokes cuz sometimes he takes it too far." She says while looking at another dress.
I nod. I take a deep breath knowing I tend to overreact.
"Hey, look at this dress," she says and pushes a dress out the way.
I walk over to her take a peek at the dress that's stuffed between the fabric. My eyes widen and my jaw drops.
"That's the one," I say with a smile.