** REWRITING ** Tidal Wave

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Grayson

I left Ellie upstairs to get dressed. Then, I went to go find my suit. My mom said she had left it hanging in my closet. A long dry-cleaning bag sat right in front. I zipped it open and found a... tuxedo? She had really gone overboard this year, and if I had to guess why, it would be because of the Parker's.

I sighed as I slipped it on. At least I had experience with this type of thing. I lifted up the bag to roll it up and noticed something was sitting at the bottom. I reached in and found two little white boxes. I opened the one that said For You.

Inside sat a classic red rose boutonniere. I rolled my eyes. Typical Marissa.

I picked up the other box that read For Ellie. There was a matching red rose corsage. The flowers sat on a beautiful diamond wristband that sparkled in the light.

I gently placed it back in the box. I couldn't give it to Ellie. We weren't going to prom. We weren't even dating.

I took them upstairs with me anyway. "Ellie," I called out from the top of the stairs, "you ready?"

There was bustling in the room. "Um, almost?" she answered.

I chuckled. "What do you need?"

"Your help. Come in."

I opened the door and my breath caught. Ellie stood facing me. She wore a short, beet red dress with spaghetti straps. It had very tiny cutouts on the front and sides showing the right amount of skin without being revealing. On any other girl, it would've been too plain, but on Ellie, it was perfect. Her skin glowed and her hair fell into flawless ringlets framing her beautiful blue eyes and--

"Grayson?" her voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

I did my best to close my gaping mouth. "Yeah?" I tried to focus on the floor. Not at her legs, or her hair, or--

"Zip me up?" she asked, gesturing to her hands holding the dress together behind her back.

I nodded and sat the boxes down on my desk as she turned around. Her back was bare. My mouth dropped open again. "Uh, Ellie?" I asked.

"Yes?" she responded.

"Are you, uh, wearing a bra?" I immediately regretted saying anything. I knew, without a doubt, a blush was spreading over her cheeks to match the color of her dress.

"It's built in," she answered quickly, "don't worry about it."

"Okay," I said as she removed her hands and mine replaced them holding the zipper. I didn't miss how she carefully avoided any type of contact with me.

I began to pull the zipper up. When I was halfway there, it wouldn't move. I heard Ellie sigh. "Do I need to suck in?" she asked worriedly.

"No, no, of course not," I said brushing her off. "It's just... stuck."

"Well, get it unstuck!" she said in an anxious voice.

"I'm trying," I told her, "I'm going to pull it really hard on three, okay?"

"What if it rips?" she asked nervously.

"It won't," I promised.

I could picture Ellie furrowing her eyebrows, deciding if it was worth the risk. She finally exhaled. "Fine."

"Okay," I said, "One... two...three!" I tugged the zipper up.

My fingers brushed up her spine. To say there was sparks would be an understatement. I knew she felt them too.