Nineteen

Chapter Sixty-Four

"Get this one," Clark holds a black, long sleeve, dress in the air.

"I like it," I say as I grab it from him.

Mac steps out of the dressing room in a pair of tight black pants and black dress shirt.

"What the hell, man? That's the same exact outfit as mine except a different color shirt," Clark says.

Mac replies by holding his middle finger in the air. I can't help but giggle.

"Your turn," Mac gestures for me to take his dressing room as he steps away.

I step in and pull the tight material over my head. It falls mid thigh and clings to my body. I usually avoid clothes that reveal too much, but this looks great.

I step out for the boys' thoughts on it.

"Wow," Clark says, "you look great." 

Mac smiles and gives me a thumbs-up. "That's the one."

I'm satisfied with my choice, and I head back into the room to grab my clothes.

"So, we just scan the tag through the self checkout? Are you sure we shouldn't just change out of them first?" I ask my friends for the night. We're all dressed in our club outfits without even buying them first.

"Trust me, it's fine," Mac replies as he goes first.

He scans his first, then mine, then he finishes with Clark. I argue with him, but eventually let him pay for my dress and shoes.

When we get back in the car, I use the mirror to straighten up my hair and use a little makeup I keep in the arm rest. The boys look great, as always, and I'm the only one keeping us.

"Let's go, Em. You look fine," Clark says.

"Are you sure?" I think I look okay despite the dark circles under my eyes that my emergency concealer refuses to cover. My body feels a lot worse than it looks.

"Yes," they say together. I smile and get back out of the car to walk across the street.

"How long are we going to stay?" I ask when we are all out of the car.

"Honey, we're going to be here all night," Mac says as he straightens out the collar of his black shirt. 

I grin and swat at him through the air. This man is a total stranger, yet I feel like I've known him my whole life.

Clark takes my hand as we cross the street and follow behind Mac. The line is ridiculous to get into the building.

"Let's go in through the side door," Mac suggests. I'm starting to get the feeling that this isn't his first time here.

We stay near the wall and walk around the corner of the giant building. It's darker on this side, but the line is nearly nothing. Why hasn't anyone else thought of this?

No more than a few minutes wait, we're walking into the loud and dark building. 

Once inside, you have to practically yell so the person beside of you can hear what you have to say. 

"Stay with either me or Mac," Clark says, "some guys at these places can be shady."

I nod my head in agreement. The last thing I want is to have another incident that results in another broken hand.

I follow Mac to an empty table and sit beside him. A lady stops by our table and he orders us all a lemonade. "Let's go dance," he says.

"I can't dance," I reply. He gives me wide eyes.

"You can dance, you just never had the opportunity."

I tilt my head at this. I went to prom, but the dancing never enticed me. Grinding and rubbing all over the boys I see everyday at school always made me cringe. 

"No," I laugh, "I can't."

"Well, neither can I," he says as he grabs my hand to stand up. He's practically dragging me through people to the area where everyone is dancing. "Thanks for the invite!" Clark yells to us as he stands to follow.

"Mac, I really can't!" I try to explain through my laughter, but he's not listening. "Mac!"

Once we're out in the middle, nobody is paying attention to us. They all look as ridiculous as I thought they would. Mac grabs my hands and begins to dance in a crazy manner.

I laugh and have no choice but to join in. We flail our arms and spin with each other until the song ends.