Spinning || Josh Brozzesi

ten

I shimmer my eyelids with gold eyeshadow, adding a little bit of a dusty pink color. The eyeliner comes next. And then the red lipstick.

I take the spiral rollers out of my hair, letting the curls bounce over my shoulder. I comb them out with my fingers and I start a small braid on one side, pinning it underneath the curls and I do the same to the other side.

I put on my fake diamond stud earrings and my black, velvet choker.

I slide my black, lace tights up over my legs and the second to last step is putting on my dress.

I slip it on and zip it up on the side.

And then the last step is putting on my shoes. The black wedges Mom picked out for me at a store a few weeks ago.

I look at myself in the mirror and it looks like a different girl staring back at me.

I spin around and watch as the bottom of the dress twirls along with me. I smile a little.

I throw on my black leather jacket and grab my small, chain-strapped purse.

"Rosie!" I hear Grandma call out from inside the living room. "Josh is here!"

I rush over to my window and I see his car in the driveway. I feel my stomach twisting and my toes go kind of numb.

I breathe easy.

Breathe easy.

I grab my backpack that has everything I need for the trip to Florida and I head out the door.

I'm still so fucking surprised Mom said yes to me going to a concert. And out of the state, for that matter.

But I think it's because she trusts Josh. She really likes Josh.

Out in the living room, Mom and Granny are standing near the front door, where Josh has just walked in, corsage in hand.

He looks good. Like, really good.

Handsome, actually.

He looks up and sees me and there's goes his bright smile practically lighting up the entire room.

"Baby," Mom gasps. She's tearing up and has her hand over her heart. "You look gorgeous."

"Thanks," I say, feeling my body go hot. I feel beyond awkward just standing here with everyone's eyes on me.

"You look stunning," I hear Josh say. My eyes go back to him and they're as blue as ever. I swear I could swim in them.

"So do you," I say, smiling. I can't stop smiling. Fuck.

"Picture time!" Granny says, pulling out her phone. Mom does the same and I walk over to Josh.

We stand so close together, I can feel the warmth radiating off of him. He puts his arm around my waist and I do the same, causing us to close the small gap between us.

Mom and Granny snap pictures and call out poses to us. At one point, they tell Josh to put the corsage on my wrist so they can take pictures of that.

"Guys," I say, feeling kind of embarrassed. "We have to go."

"Okay, okay," Mom says. She walks over to me and pulls me into a hug. "Have fun and be safe. Call me if you need anything. I'll call you to make sure you're okay. I love you so much.

I tell her I will be safe and I love her too before picking up my bag and waving goodbye at them, heading out the door with Josh.

Josh takes my bag from me and throws it into the backseat, along with his.