Guys in Sweatpants

Grape Soda; Chapter 3

He tasted so sweet, and I knew he had drank grape soda before coming.
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    "Babe, which one do you like more?" My girlfriend asked, holding up two dresses by her sides that looked a little too similar for me to decide one. I hated shopping with her cause she always did this. She would tell me to pick something, disagree with my choice, and discard all of the options and move on to the next chunk of possibilities. I would be paying for it anyway, so I don't understand why she's being so picky. I personally think it's rather impolite.

    "The left one." I lazily answered. I knew it was pretty rude of me to do that, but I couldn't be bothered anymore. We came here for her, I'm not getting anything from this trip but money taken out of my wallet. It's just a little gathering between my mother's business partners, my father's friends, and a couple close cousins, but she insists on finding a new dress for every "party." Her parents were partners with my mother, and since their business relationship was so good, they wanted a social basis between them as well to withhold the future trades and actions, me and Jenine being chosen. At first I liked her, I was head over heels in love with her, but ever since she started to get bossy and insistent, I could physically feel the attraction and love I once felt for her seep from my body and die six feet under. I could barely stand her anymore.

    "Oh, come on, babe. You didn't even look at them properly!" She let her arms hang low but not low enough to allow the dresses to brush against the floor, her expression clearly mad at me. When I say this, I mean no harm to it, but I couldn't care less what she wore. If she felt good while wearing it, then I should have no other option but to support her in her choices. I don't dictate what she wears when she goes out, she's mine anyway. I'm not sure that's what I want though...

    "Which one makes you feel like a badass, Jenine?" I looked up at her with tired eyes, watching as her face reddened with anything less than shyness.

    "Don't cuss, it'll give you a bad reputation! And stop calling me "Jenine"," she mocked in an annoyingly nasal voice. "I still don't understand why you refuse to use petnames with me! I call you babe, please call me baby or something." She whined and tossed the dresses over to the pile that was at least half my height of no-goes, her eyes looking through the whole ass rack of dresses we brought into the fitting room. I cuss, so what? "I think I should go with one that'll impress the men, that way they get jealous of you." She nodded to herself, and all I could do was hum in agreement. "You seriously don't even care if they try to get at me? What if they flirt with me?"

    "I trust that if you like me, you will nicely decline their advances. If you don't like me, then tell me now, I guess." I'm giving her advice I wish I could follow myself. She walked over to me and cupped my face in her hands, pressing her cherry-stained lips against my natural, radiantly pink ones. I wish I felt something when she touched me.

    "Of course I like you, babe, you're the love of my life." She smiled but I was irritated already. I just wanted to get back to the house and take a cooling shower. "Now stop complaining and help me choose a dress, I need to look stunning." She's a very attractive young woman, and she doesn't need to try to capture the attention of any bystanders, but that didn't stop her from trying to be show-stopping. She was pretty, but she wasn't Ava Gardner.

    She finally settled on an elegant golden dress with a long lace tail, picking out jewelry to go along with it. I stood up front by the counter with the dress hanging over my arm while I waited for her to pick, insisting that she doesn't need me to help decide something I have no knowledge of. I sighed.

    "Big day?" The cashier asked, leaning on his elbow while watching Jenine shuffle around the store, looking at large flashy jewels and other things that she hoped no one else would have.