paper rings (l.h.)

36

Luke and I got ready in separate rooms. He had given me the guest room to use as a makeshift dressing room, and I laughed saying that he probably needed a dressing room more than I did. I never asked for one, yet when I brought up Crystal's, he willingly gave it to me. I obliged, moving all my supplies onto the desk, and the boxes of storage in the corner of the room.

There was no light in here besides the overhead and the windows, and the only furniture was the desk which will be transformed into my vanity, only for tonight. It wasn't very long until my makeup was thrown about the top, new and old, and I listened to all my favorite songs as I attempted to get myself ready. I tried my hardest to make the most out of my natural features without accentuating certain things I wanted hidden. I gave myself golden eyeshadow and long wispy lashes. My lipstick was a sort of dark color, a maroon with hints of purple. I didn't look like myself, I realized as I stared into my tiny, battery-operated mirror. I was trying to swallow down the urge to wipe everything off my face and try again because I had not been as bold with my makeup before and I did not want an event as big as this one to be where I experiment. I didn't care. Weird or not, I was beautiful. And after I figured out my hair, pinned behind my ear to fall elegantly down my back, I placed myself in my dress. And the shoes I had brought that kind of matched barely peeked out from the too-long dress I did not hem like I had planned. Once I had my outfit assembled, my waist somehow being shrunk in the corset-type dress I wore without it even being tied - I looked beautiful. Not stupid like I thought I would a second ago. I didn't look like myself. I looked like someone else.

I felt a soft knock on the door. It was cracked, he didn't have to knock. I appreciated that he did it anyway. Looking over at him as I backed away from my small mirror, I straightened myself out. "I need assistance," I blurt, before getting a good look at him in the best clothes he's worn since I first laid eyes on him.

My eyes couldn't help but find the exposed, hair-covered chest that stood leaning at the doorway. It was clothed by a loose, purple silk button-up that was secured only halfway and fashioned to stay open. He wore simple black trousers that hung a little looser than his other trousers did, his white-purple shirt tucked in loosely. He wore a simple black Converse, completed with a black blazer and the scent of his vanilla musk cologne. He hadn't worn it before.

"Mary," he scoffs, not in disbelief but in pure awe. I felt elegant and looked elegant. I looked my age, and I felt it, too. Being alone here with Luke made me feel like I could do anything, be anywhere, and not be confined to my family. My Grandma needed me, and although I wished to move with Luke wherever that may be, I'd stay for as long as needed. I made a promise to her before Luke was even a thought in my brain, and I loved my Grandma so much that I was intent on keeping it. I was grateful Luke didn't mind.

"You look..." I continued, my jaw dropped as I felt my heart skip a beat with each step he took towards me. A smile began to form on his lips as he took me in, up and down my body as if he hadn't seen it a thousand times before. He took me by my waist, and although it was untied, I felt my body lean back to meet his eyes as he towered above me. My hand on his chest, I couldn't help but smile as my fingers played with the chain across his neck. I felt his lips graze mine as he held me in his embrace, I was too distracted to worry about my lipstick on him or anywhere else that isn't my lips. I couldn't help but pull away when I felt a familiar warmth between my legs after seeing him look so... "You should tie my corset now before I get any ideas."

I turn around and move my hair out of his way, grabbing the strings and instructing him on what to do. He seemed to get it right away, my hand grabbing onto the windowpane as I tried to steady myself. The wind rushed out of me after the tightening, but I could breathe just fine standing up. The shoes were painful, but Luke didn't seem to notice. "I came in here to give you something," he says, into my ear as I close my eyes to feel his breath on my skin. I wanted nothing more than to allow him to do whatever he wanted with me before we left, but I didn't. He knew he shouldn't, either. But I felt it rising inside of both of us like boiling water about to spill over. We couldn't stay.