The Jerk Next Door

Chapter 42: Dress To Impress

Maksean

"Didn't know you were the jealous type, Maks." Dani teased as we walked, elbows linked, towards the dress store in the mall. The boys were behind us holding onto their bags and goofing around. They had even linked elbows to make fun of us at one point. I rolled my eyes at her words, but was happy that she didn't mention it until we were distanced from the boys as they got distracted by a claw machine.

"I'm not. I simply gave my boyfriend a peck on the cheek because he looked handsome. What's wrong with that?" I kept my eyes forward, not wanting to see the look that went with her "really" tone.

"Oh yeah, you just wanted to kiss him right in the store when two girls asked you, his girlfriend, if he was single. Sure. I'll believe that if that's the story you're going with, but you'll know what I'm thinking." She spoke teasingly but didn't continue when we heard an odd sound from behind us.

Turning around we found a group of people surrounding the claw machine that the boys were at. The crowd of people covered their bodies if they were still in there.

"Shall we?" I asked my best friend who stood on the tips of her shoes to see what the fuss was about. She turned to me with a concerned look.

"We shall." She unlinked her elbow from mine so we could squeeze through the crowd, but our arms were grabbed by a pair of hands each.

"Where are you two going? I thought we had dresses to try on?" Luka asked, turning us around to face him. We were met with the image of the two of them smiling brightly at us, and Asher with his arms full with two large stuffed animals.

In his right hand lay a fox with blue eyes and a white tail while his left hand held a dinosaur. I could already tell which was for whom. Dani had loved dinosaurs since we went to the museum in the seventh grade.

Sure enough after a moment, Luka grabbed the sauropod from Asher. With a smile he handed it to the girl who was trying not to squeal in the middle of the mall walkway.

Watching the two, I almost forgot all about my own boyfriend standing there. I was so used to third wheeling that I forgot we now go on double dates, versus their odd "it's not a date because Maksean is here, but we don't want to exclude her" thing.

Asher was at my side with the adorable fox in his arms staring down at me. I looked at him for a few moments, but when I looked back at Dani and Luka, they were already a few feet away. Heading to the dress shop.

"And for you. I wasn't sure what your favorite animal was, but this reminds me of you, and it has blue eyes to remind you of me. So" he trailed off. His eyes were trained on the animal.

My hands grabbed him and held onto the orange creature as well. "Thank you Asher, that was sweet of you. Now, let's try on some dresses." He let go of the fox and held my free hand tightly.

It wasn't long before we were entering the store to find Dani with two dresses in hand and an evil look painted on her face. Before any of us could speak, Luka threw his hands up and hollered, "this was not my idea in the slightest."

With a laugh from Dani, she grabbed my arm and drug me into the changing stall. Similar to the one in the men's store, this one was large with a small bench in the back and two mirrors. One on the door and one in the corner that was really three to show you the different sides. The walls however, were a brighter color. I wasn't sure what it would be called, but a shade in between orange, pink, and purple I think.

Daniela hung up the purple dress that I assumed was for her, I couldn't tell exactly how well it looked from how it was hung, but as soon as my eyes found the green dress she held up, I understood Luka's words.