First Choice (Sam Wilkinson/Nash Grier)

Chapter 57

I wake up early Saturday morning so that I have enough time to get ready. Even though the ball doesn't start until noon, I will still probably be late. I am exhausted when I first wake up, I'd spent most of the previous night crying.

Nash and I had stayed on the phone talking all Thursday night after I got back from the mall, so I was in a relatively shitty mood when I got up the next morning but then once I got to school, Sam abruptly stood and left the table, Sarah's hand in his, and that was the moment I knew we were most likely done. This time hurt much worse than the time he'd left me sitting outside crying for him at the cabins on Matt's birthday weekend. I'd gotten my hopes up that we could work this out as long as we remained strictly platonic and as you can see now, it most definitely wasn't working.

The sting from his obvious avoidance of me in front of everyone was enough to ruin my day three times over, and that day when I got home and couldn't get ahold of Nash I lost it. He told me the night before that he'd be on a camping trip with his family but I just needed him so badly, he still hasn't replied yet today. I felt alone once again because Sam had decided that he was done with me.

I couldn't figure out which hurt most of all. The fact that he seemed perfectly fine, continuing to hang all over Sarah without so much as a nod in my direction, or the fact that he had done this before and like the stupid fool that I was, I had forgiven him and gave him another chance just for him to break my heart all over again.

My eyes were puffy and red and I didn't like to wear a lot of make up, and I had no idea how to apply concealer or foundation either, so I got a pair of chamomile tea bags and wet them before sticking them into the freezer. While they were cooling down, I went ahead and started on my hair. I planned to curl it but my hair just wouldn't fucking hold the curls. I couldn't figure out why for shit. The heat was all the way up, I held the iron clamped long enough, and I made sure to have hairspray ready right after each stupid attempt at curling a lock of hair but every time I released the clamp, my hair would fall out with nothing more than an awkward wave to it.

"Ugh! What the fuck is wrong with you?" I screamed at both my hair and the curling iron set down on the bathroom counter. My patience was already so damn thin and this wasn't fucking helping.

I had four hours to go so after about ten minutes of internally battling my laziness to attempt such a thing as what I was considering, I grabbed the small plastic bin of old curlers under my Mom's bathroom sink and set to work on my hair. I'd have ample time for them to set and I'd blow dry my hair right before I took them out just in case so the heat could give a little extra help.

It took an hour and I looked like some house wife straight out of the 1930's but I had other things to worry about. I took the tea bags out of the freezer, cursing at myself for forgetting them because I was so worried about my hair, so now they were completely frozen solid. After running them under warm water for a few seconds, they were still cold but not frozen anymore so I set them on my eyes and laid back on the couch, the soft hum of some television show that my mom had left on that morning before she left for work was playing.

When the ten minute alarm I had set on my phone went off, I was excited yet nervous to see if I looked any better. Looking at myself in the mirror, I did look much better than before. My eyes looked perfectly normal now and the flushed look of my cheeks was actually slightly flattering and made me look much happier than I felt. I mentally high-fived myself and stalked into my bedroom. I wiggled a little awkwardly as I slipped my dress on, trying to maneuver the opening over the big ass curlers on my head. When it was finally on correctly and I struggled to pull the zipper in the back up on my own, I glanced at the way the dress looks on me.

I'm quite certain the creme color of the main fabric under the maroon lace was designed to look nude colored on a white girl, but it still looks cute against my light brown skin regardless. If anything, it makes the dress pop more. The dress is perfect for someone with my body shape. I've got a good amount of cleavage, not too little or too much, so the slight dip in the front of the dress to showcase my chest is a huge plus. The way the dress flares out at the waist is perfect because my hips are wide and it puts them to good use. the shape of the bottom of the dress also makes my short legs look a little longer and it's just a gorgeous dress over all, and I end up admiring the look of the maroon lace for far too long. I rub my legs and arms with a creamy body lotion that has very subtle shimmer added to it, making my skin glow in the most beautiful way, before spraying a sweet smelling perfume that Nash and every single one of my other guy friends, including Sam, has told me smelled extremely good when I wore it.