One Deep Breath

Chapter Ten

Friday morning Jolie didn't feel good. Her chest felt heavy and her pulse was quick; she was torturing herself by continuously checking to see if her heart rate had slowed down at all every so often. It hadn't.

The night before Jesse had texted her to confirm their plans, so she knew that he would be calling her once he was outside downstairs to pick her up at seven, and that there would be food there so she didn't need to eat dinner beforehand.

His texts were pretty straightforward, but he always found a way to work in something that would leave Jolie grinning like an idiot. Last night he had told her that if she wears anything half as pretty as what she had on last weekend she would be all set dress-code wise. He also bid her goodnight by saying that he couldn't wait to see her, a sentiment that Jolie definitely reciprocated.

Regardless how happy she felt before bed Thursday night, Friday morning she still woke up feeling anxious. It was frustrating to her that her happy, excited feelings were being overshadowed by her nerves.

She wandered into Ash's room around noon to find something to wear to the gala that night. Ash had pulled a bunch of stuff that she deemed black-tie appropriate, each option with matching shoes and jewelry laid out across her dorm.

Jolie smiled gratefully at her friend, more thankful than ever that Ash had been blessed with amazing styling abilities and a generous heart. She was also grateful for her dad's generosity with his daughter's spending habits.

"My shoes might be a half size too big for you, but they should be close enough," Ash said while Jolie took in all the different options.

Jolie pulled out two of the dresses that she was debating between, a deep red strapless cocktail dress and a black lace dress with long sleeves but an open back.

"I so knew you'd like those ones," Ash said with a laugh. "Basically you have to decide between your boobs and your legs. The red will push you up," she said while shoving her boobs up to demonstrate, "and the black one is pretty short." She gave Jolie a shrug, indicating she approved of both.

"Let me try on the red one," Jolie said as she held it up in front of her in front of the mirror.

"Go for it."

Jolie slipped out of her leggings and over sized tee and pulled the dress up, having Ash zip her up in the back. She knew immediately what Ash was talking about; the sweetheart strapless neckline made her chest look amazing.

"Ew. That totally looks better on you than me," Ash lamented. "But you should definitely wear that one. For sure." She grabbed a pair of nude sandals off her bed, handing them over to her.

"I like these best with that. Do you want the jewelry too? Look at these earrings." Ash grabbed a pair of oversized rubies, holding them against the dress to show her how well they went together. "I have a necklace too but I don't think you need anything else drawing attention to your bubs."

Jolie laughed, half due to nerves half due to her amusing friend's forwardness.

"Yeah. Okay so I'll wear this dress, these shoes and then those earrings. If you're sure you don't mind?"

"You know I don't. Besides you really do look better in that than me," Ash giggled. "I don't even know if I really want it back now."

"I doubt that's true," Jolie replied, slipping back into her comfy clothes. "You have no idea how much I owe you for this."

"No big. Honestly." A sly smile took over Ash's face as she continued, "but I want all the juicy details tomorrow."

Jolie shook her head and rolled her eyes, smiling at her friend before pulling her into a quick hug. Taking her goodies for the night ahead, she went back to her room.