Be Your Everything

t w e n t y

If I'm Lucky: e i g h t

"Help!" I poked my head out of the dressing room enough to pout at Manny. "I can't figure out the straps on this thing!"

"What makes you think I have any idea how that shit works?" He looked at me like I was crazy, but walked over to assist me anyways.

"This stuff is so complicated." I huffed while I continued to fuss with a strap around my waist.

"Why do girls even wear lingerie?" He laughed and stood there completely useless. "You put it on just to have him rip it off of you."

"I don't know, because it's fun?"

"Elle, I love you and all, but why not get Jaclyn or Jo? I feel like they'd know a little more about this stuff than me."

"They're not coming home for three more days," I pouted, "and Gigi is in Toronto."

"The fact that I'm your lingerie advisor though."

"I thought bringing a boy might be helpful..."

"Then why not bring Luke?"

"Oh my god, no!" I looked back at Manny like he was completely insane. "The last thing Luke wants to see is me in lingerie."

"Oh good," I held up my phone to show Manny the messages from Luke.

"Looks like he gets to see you in your undies after all," Manny cackled.

"We told each other we wouldn't act awkward about this stuff," I told him while also reassuring myself. "It's gonna be fine."

"Yeah, until you have to sleep in his bed after banging his friend." He gave me an evil smirk, but I didn't have a response. He was right. This was going to be so awkward for all of us.

"Elle!" A familiar voice called from the other end of the store. Michael's girlfriend and her friend that had the exact same hair as her came over to the dressing rooms and stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Manny standing with me. "Oh my god Manny!"

"Hi," he laughed as he pulled her in for a hug.

"It's so nice to meet you," Kat gushed while her friend smiled and turned to me.

"Hi, I'm Bennett," the friend said with a wave.

"I'm Elle," I said with my head still being the only thing visible outside of the dressing room.

"Elle is dating Luke," Kat explained once she and Manny had taken a few selfies together. I nodded dutifully, silencing the voice in the back of my head that reminded me that I was trying on lingerie for someone other than my 'boyfriend'.

"Speaking of which, I could actually use your help." As soon as I said that, Kat's eyes lit up with excitement. "I'm trying to buy lingerie, and I have no idea what I'm doing. Manny is useless to me."

"The fact that you actually thought I could be helpful in this situation is beyond me," Manny argued, making Kat and Bennett giggle. Both of them clapped their hands in front of their faces and bounced in place with anticipation.

"Does Luke know?" Kat asked, and I felt my pulse quicken for a second.

"Know what?" I asked innocently. She couldn't possibly know the truth about me and Calum, could she?

"That you're shopping for lingerie for him?" She giggled at my confusion. "Why else would you be trying this stuff on?"

'For Calum,' my subconscious answered.

"Oh no, he doesn't know what I'm planning," I told her with a mischievous smirk.

"Ahhhhh I see you," she returned my smile and gestured for me to move the curtain, "show us what you've got then!"

I hesitantly let go of the curtain and took a step forward in the all black ensemble. The multiple black straps on the bra were tangled around my waist, and I kind of felt like a kid that didn't know how to tie their shoelaces. Kat and Bennett helped me adjust the straps so that everything was on correctly, but when they stepped back, Kat frowned at me.

"You look so uncomfortable," she noted my arms self-consciously glued to my sides.

"I feel silly," I admitted while examining the clothing. The black fabric felt slippery against my skin, and I looked like I was trying to emulate Nicki Minaj's dress from this year's Met Gala.

"It's definitely not anything I would've picked out for you," Kat says, clearly thinking the same thing as me.

"Any suggestions?"

Kat flew to the wall lined with pastel colored bras and took a couple of options down before retrieving the matching panties. She walked over with a thrilled smile on her face and handed me the pile of lace in her arms. I ducked back into the dressing room and tried on a pale pink balconette bra with crossed ribbons holding the back together like a corset. The moment I had it on, I was absolutely in love.

"I love this," I announced as I stepped out of the dressing room.

"Girl, that looks so good!" Bennett nodded in approval while Kat did a little victory dance for making a good pick. I thanked her and noticed the absence of color from Kat's hair.

"Kat, what happened to the purple?" I asked sadly. I was disappointed to see that it was gone.

"Oh," she picked up the formerly-violet lock of hair and pouted at it's normal brown color. "I had to dye it back for recruitment."

"That's too bad, I really liked it," I said, mimicking her pout.

"Michael wasn't too happy that it was gone either," she told me dejectedly. "Elle, I hate to run off on you like this, but I have to get back to the sorority house and run the door stack."

"That's okay!" I assured her while pulling her in for a hug. "Thanks for helping me!"

"Of course," she giggled as she pulled away. "I'm always messing with Luke, but I'm glad to see he's found someone that makes him happy. You two have fun tonight!"

"Kat, we really need to run." Bennett grabbed Kat's hand and gave a quick goodbye as she dragged her out of the store. With just the two of us left there, Manny turned to me with a puzzled expression.

"Who was that?"

"She's dating Michael," I explained, but Manny looked more confused than before.

"That's an interesting couple." He gave me uncertain look, which made me laugh.

"Kat's definitely not the type of girl I'd see him dating, but I guess opposites attract."

"So, you ready?" Manny asked, referencing more than just my lingerie choice. Ever since we'd discussed it in the car, I hadn't been nervous about tonight until the moment that I had given Calum my key earlier this morning. Ever since then, the nerves had been settling in, and I was doing my best to block them out.

"Absolutely," I went back into the dressing room and changed back into my normal clothes. I fished my phone out of my purse and responded to Luke's messages from earlier.