Her Best Friend's Proposal #SYTYCW15 #Special Edition Suzanne Swartz

Chapter 11 #SYTYCW15 #Specialedition

In the fifteen years the ladies auxiliary had sponsored both the Spring and Winter Balls, Jack and Tess had probably been each other's date for at least seven of them. Those had been seven of the easiest dances for which she'd ever gotten ready.

She hadn't stressed over what she'd wear – if it was too short or too clingy; if it showed too much cleavage or had a neckline so high she resembled a 19th century schoolmarm; or if it was too bright and bold or too dull and sedate.

There had been no concern if she'd wear her hair up or down. No worry about the application of her makeup. No thought to her choice of undergarments beyond what was required by the design of the dress she'd wear.

No, up until this year, Tess had either pulled an old dress from the back of her closet or borrowed one from Paige. If she'd done anything particular with her hair, it was usually a messy up do that took her all of ten minutes to secure with a few strategically placed bobby pins or decorative clips.

Since she ordinarily wore little makeup, Tess generally just added a hint of blusher, lipstick perhaps a shade or two darker than the color she normally swiped across her lips, and maybe an extra coat of mascara. In less than an hour, including shampoo and shower, she could call herself ready to go.

This year, even though she was going with the same man who'd escorted her to those seven other dances as well as to countless other social functions over the course of their nearly twenty year friendship, Tess had absolutely no clue what she was going to wear, how to style her hair, and had even considered having her makeup professionally applied.

The ball was three days away, she was stressed to the max, and she felt like she was ready to go right over the proverbial edge. She was one hot mess.

"What about this one?" Paige asked, holding up a navy blue sheath with appliqued lace around the neck and bodice.

Tess made a face and shook her head. It was shorter than the last three she had tried on, and she'd thought they'd all been way too short.

Paige hung the dress back on the rack. "We're about to run out of choices, T."
"I know." Sighing, she threw up her hands. "I don't know why this is so freaking hard. I've never had this much trouble deciding on a dress before. Especially when I was going with Jack."

"You haven't ever wanted to impress him before."

"I don't want to impress, Jack," she denied even though her sister had hit the proverbial nail right on the head. Tess would rather scratch out her eyes than admit it to Paige though.

Dang! Everything used to be so easy with Jack. No worries. No stress. No angst. They just...were. "I shouldn't have to impress, Jack," she muttered.

"I'm sure Jack would say you didn't. I doubt he'd give a flying flip if you showed up in a burlap sack. But whether you want to admit it or not, you want to look good for him."

Again, Tess knew how right her sister was. Damn her. "But why? He's the only person besides family who's seen me at my absolute worst so many times it's hard to keep count." Hell, just a few weeks ago, he'd refused to leave her side when she'd been sick, looked like death on a stick, and probably smelled even worse.

If he still wanted to be around her after that freak show, why should the kind of dress she chose for the Spring Ball even matter?

"Because you're a girl, stupid. We always want to look good for our man."

"He's not my man," Tess protested.

Paige laughed. "Yeah, okay," she replied with a good natured roll of her eyes.