Five Words

Chapter 9

~Cher

I cock my head to the side, as I smooth the sides of my dress. Admiring myself in the mirror isn't something I do very often, but this dress is the only dress I haven't worn in any occasion, believing that it should be worn only, and only when something epic is going to happen.

"Yes." Natalie nods her head vigorously, "This is definitely it."

"I don't know..." I say, "I think it's over the top."

"Are you kidding? Adrian is taking you out on a date, somewhere fancy, and he will give you a gift." She bites her lips, thinking of something, "I believe that he will give you a promise ring."

"Oh god, no." I face her, "Too soon."

Her jaw goes slack, "Too soon?"

"Yes. I'm not ready for this."

"You've been dating Adrian for three years, Cher."

"Je sais. I know." I sigh. "But—it's just that—I don't know." I end up saying.

"Cher, qu'y a-t-il? What is it?" Worry consumes her eyes, it is exactly what I have been trying to avoid.

"I love Adrian. I do, I love him so much." I say, "But whenever I want to say it to him, I can't form the words. I can't force them out of my mouth."

"Voilà, tu as ta réponse. There, you have your answer."

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion, "Je ne comprends pas. I don't understand."

"Cher—" Natalie starts, But a knock on the door stops her.

"Cher?" That's Adrian. "You ready?"

"No, give me a second, and I'll be right out, Adrian." I push myself off the bed and scurry towards the closet to pick out another dress.

"Okay, but be quick. The car is waiting outside."

"Okay," I say calmly but my heart is racing.

I pull down two dresses from their hangers and hold them out for Natalie to help me pick.

"Just wear this." She whispers, referring to my red dress.

"Its way over the top." I repeat, "Plus, Rochefort is a very simple village. He can't take me somewhere too fancy."

"You never know." She teases me as she raises her shoulders.

"Remind me why did I bring you here again?" I groan as I turn around to put one of the dresses I hold in my hand.

"Because you need me, and I'm awesome." She gloats, while I roll my eyes.

I decide to go with a simple sleeveless maroon dress, that wraps around my torso then it loosely falls off my waist. I pair the dress with a pair of maroon heels.

"You look stunning." She nods her head in approval, "But the red dress is breathtaking."

"Ughhh..." I groan, "I am not changing into it. End of discussion."

"What?" She leans forward, "Adrian is not special enough?"

"Shut up." I snatch the pillow she is resting on and smack her with it. "Adrian is very special to me."

"I'm sorry." She laughs as her hands jut out in front of her to protect her from my wrath, "Not."

"I'm not doing this with you." I run to the dresser to grab my purse. "I have a date to go to."

"Have fun."

"I'll call you to tell you all about it." I run my hands through my hair, giving it more volume.