50 Days

Day 21

DAY 21

"Rach, please, I really need your help for this one," Jace pleaded. I sighed into the phone.

"What I don't understand is why you can't just tell them that you don't have a girlfriend and move on," I said.

"You don't understand, Rach. For some people, that might work, but my parents are...different. Please, it's just one time, I swear," he said. I closed my eyes and thought about it. Jace and I had been friends for three weeks now, and his parents were coming into town. Apparently, they had this idea that Jace must have a girlfriend by his sophomore year of college. The problem was, Jace was happily single, and his parents had invited him and his "girlfriend" to dinner with them tonight.

Since I happened to be both a girl and a friend, Jace was asking me if I would play the part.

I sighed into the phone again. "Alright, I'll do it. But we should probably go over a few things first," I said. I swore I heard a smile from the other end.

"Great. You have no idea how helpful this is, Rach," Jace said. I grinned.

"Anything to help a friend," I said. "When should we get together?"

"About that...can you come open the door? This hallway is freezing," Jace said. I laughed and rolled out of bed, keeping the phone to my ear.

"Coming," I said, and opened the door. Jace stood in the hallway, clutching a garment bag and holding his phone to his ear. I ended the call and stepped aside to let him in. When I had closed the door, I turned to him, a smile on my face. "A gift? For me?"

Jace laughed and walked into my bedroom. I followed him curiously as he lay the garment bag flat on my unmade bed. He unzipped it, revealing three gorgeous dresses that were fit for a queen. I couldn't help the small gasp that escaped my lips. Jace turned to me, smiling.

"There are a few things you should know before we go over tonight. For one thing, my parents are ridiculously rich and use any excuse they can to show off how much money they have. For another thing, every meal is planned like it was for the queen herself. They don't tolerate people with no manners, and they abhor people that don't admire them. The last thing you need to know, is that my mother literally drapes herself in diamonds. Seeing as you probably aren't associated with people like that, I got some dresses I thought you would fit and that mother would like," Jace said. I heard distaste in his voice throughout the whole speech.

I nodded quickly, accepting all the information. I walked over to my bed to look at the dresses. One was red, one was white, and the last was black. I smiled.

The red one on top was a simple strapless dress. A sequined belt was sewn on underneath the bust of the dress, and soft material flowed down from there. When I picked it up and twirled it, I saw a slit open from the bottom of the dress to mid-thigh. I set the red one down and examined the white one.

Again, it was strapless. Small rhinstones were embroidered onto the chest in a pattern that curved across the bust and down into a v. They circled all the way around to the back. It was simple and plain, and the skirt hung straight. I set the white one down as well before picking up the black one.

When I saw it, I sucked in my breath. It was plain and simple, yet also classy and elegant. The front was plain, with a lowcut curve and simple one inch straps. It looked like it would become a halter top, but in the back, everything changed. The two straps were tied together with a thin satin ribbon. The straps continued down and around the shoulder until they joined with the front again, leaving the back completely open. Around the middle, both sides started to curve in again until they met at the small of the back.