BLACK ROSE

6 -

After walking a bit further, we arrived at a boutique Fatih knew. It was quite crowded inside. After a brief look around and checking out the clothes, Fatih came up to me with a few tiny pieces of fabric in his hand.

"I found a few skirts that should fit you," he said, holding them up. "Try these on, Ece."

Damn, were these tiny pieces of fabric resembling dishcloths supposed to be skirts? Was I supposed to cover myself with these tiny things?

"If I sew these three so-called skirts together, if I'm lucky, it might barely turn into a normal-sized skirt!" I protested. "Do you really want me to try them on? Fit into such a skirt?"

"Getting into one of these skirts is better than being thrown into Derin's pool."

"Pufff!" I grumbled. "Okay, give them to me, let me try at least." I took the skirts from him and went to the dressing room.

Once inside, I took off my pants and started trying on the skirts one by one. The first skirt was so short that I couldn't even be sure if my backside was exposed or not. I didn't like the fabric of the second one. When I finally tried to squeeze into the last and tightest skirt, I barely managed to fit in. I struggled to zip it up at the back, pushing the limits of physics. There it was... I looked at myself in the mirror inside the dressing room. No, no... I wasn't a mini skirt girl, that was for sure. I would try a dress instead.

When I asked Fatih for help, he quickly brought me a dress and handed it to me through the gap in the door. It was a black, sleeveless evening gown. Glittery, ending just above the knees, a midi-length dress. Its round neckline didn't offer too much cleavage, fortunately. The side slit was quite deep though. While standing, it didn't reveal much of my leg, but when sitting down, it left my leg quite exposed. I figured I could avoid exposing my skin if I held it with my hand while sitting down. After putting on the dress, I stepped out of the dressing room.

I met Fatih's eyes. "How does it look?"

"Hmm... Could you turn around?"

I did a full turn and waited for Fatih's comment.

"I still think they might throw you in the pool, Ece."

"Why?" I said in surprise. "I was dressed appropriately for the occasion..."

"Yes, but this time the dress suits you too well. They might throw you in out of jealousy."

I chuckled. "Don't exaggerate! It's just a plain dress, I won't attract much attention with this outfit."

Just then, my phone beeped, indicating a WhatsApp message from my uncle: "How are you doing Ece."

I replied: "I'm good. I'm out shopping with my friend."

"From school, right?"

"Yes, uncle."

"From your new school, isn't it, Ece?"

"Yes."

"Okay, have fun."

My uncle wanted me to hang out with open-minded friends at Freedom College, so he was pleased with my reply. If I could prove to him that I had changed—or at least make him think so—I could return to my old school soon.

But wait a minute... What's this!? My uncle wanted to start a video call with me on WhatsApp! I guess he wanted to see Fatih after I mentioned him.

Actually, thinking about it, this was a good opportunity for me. While sitting on the nearby beige couch with Fatih, I called out to him, "Fatih, please sit here. My uncle wants to do a video call. If I strike some intimate poses with you during the call, he'll think I've changed and opened up. That's okay with you, right..."

"Don't even mention it," said Fatih, sitting beside me on the couch. I answered the video call and showed us both, talking:

"How are you, uncle?"

"I'm good, youngsters. How about you?"

Fatih jumped in, "We send our regards. We're going to a friend's party this weekend. We went shopping to get Ece some new clothes beforehand. Hope it's not a problem. By the way, what's your name, sir?"

"Selim, my boy."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Selim."

Following my instructions to act friendly, Fatih started behaving more intimately. He put his arm around me, gently stroking my shoulder over the dress. Then I felt his fingers in my hair, gently weaving through it. I must admit, this situation had stirred up some excitement in me. Normally, if a guy touched me like this, I would say, "Don't touch me or I'll bite!" but right now, I was tied up in presenting a friendly image to my uncle. Literally, I had tied myself up.

I was waiting for my uncle to finish the conversation and relieve me from the obligation of posing intimately, when he deepened the conversation with Fatih:

"Which team do you support, handsome boy?"

"Trabzonspor, what about you, Mr. Selim?"

"Galatasaray. Congratulations, by the way. You were impressive this season."

"Thank you, sir. Wish you luck next season."

As the conversation continued, Fatih, following my instructions to pose intimately, now had his hand on my leg. The slit in my dress had left my leg quite exposed when I sat down. Fatih gently pulled the fabric to cover my exposed leg. Then he placed his hand on top of mine, which was resting on the arm of the couch. His fingers intertwined with mine.

This boy knew what he was doing. Not only did he fulfill my task of being intimate, but he also took on the role of a jealous lover. He was delivering an Oscar-worthy performance for Best Supporting Actor...

But... Damn it, I was getting too excited! Why was I feeling this way now? Especially when Fatih was just my friend... Was there a reason for me to feel embarrassed and blush just because he held my hand, a reason for my heart to pound wildly? Somehow, I had gotten excited. So much so that my fingers, held by Fatih's, were visibly tensed and rigid. While conversing with my uncle and trying to maintain a cool demeanor in this situation, I was inwardly struggling with my unexpected feelings.