In His Bed (18+)

Chapter 33

Walking out of my last class of the day, I snagged my stuff from my locker, not looking forward to going home.

Going home meant being alone in an empty apartment while Mom worked a double shift. It meant having nothing better to do than sit and stew in my own feelings.

So, instead of taking my usual route home, I drove to the mall.

Wandering down the wide hallways, I glanced at the shop windows, eyeing all of the wares that I couldn't afford to buy.

It's fine, I told myself, I'm saving money.

I wanted to buy a prom dress more than I wanted any of this stuff anyway.

Speaking of...

Looking down the thoroughfare, I caught sight of one of the massive, decaying anchor stores of the mall.

They were bound to have some prom dresses, right?

Shrugging internally, I made my way toward it.

Ducking past the roving fragrance saleswomen, I meandered through the junior's section until I found a corner entirely dedicated to rack after rack of vibrantly colored, mass-produced gowns.

Picking up short, orange sheath dress, I checked the price tag, verifying that it was indeed within my budget.

Unfortunately, with some of the design choices and extraneous accents, it was also a garment that I wouldn't be caught dead wearing.

Pity. The base dress was actually pretty cute.

Putting it back, I moved on, browsing through the other options in my size. I knew I was looking for something that worked as a prom dress but didn't scream prom dress. If I was going to be spending this kind of money on one garment, I wanted it to be something that I could potentially re-wear.

There were a couple shorter ones in relatively neutral colors that could work, and I folded them over my arm, heading for the fitting rooms.

Maneuvering the zipper was a bit of a challenge, but I managed to get the first one on before rejecting it almost immediately.

The second didn't fare any better, and by the time I was done scrutinizing the third, I began to realize that I maybe needed another opinion.

Pulling out my phone, I called Mom's number before I remembered - oh, right. She's working.

With a glance at my reflection, I frowned. Mom wasn't an option at the moment, and it would take maybe two minutes before Faith and Sierra took control of the conversation and made it all about them.

I should just come back later...

Then, I realized that there was one person I could call...

Navigating through my contacts, I dialed, holding the phone up to my ear.

"Hailey?"

"Hey, Grandma – can I ask your opinion on some dresses?"

"Dresses?"

"I decided to do a little prom shopping at the mall after school – I'm kind of having a hard time deciding."

"Oh, Honey – you should have let me know - I would've loved to help you pick out a prom dress!"

Guilt stabbed me in the gut. "It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. You know, Mom's working tonight, and it was either this or fall asleep in front of the TV."

"Well, either way, I'm happy you asked – what do you need?"

Looking into the fitting room's mirror, I grimaced. "So, I'm trying some potentials on, and I'm not really happy with any of them. Like, some of them have weirdly obvious seams, or the fabric bunches up in odd places, or it just doesn't fit the way it should – I think I might be too picky?"