“Hey, you’re not dressed.” I said, taking in her casual jean and tee shirt attire.
“Oh, yeah. I shouldn’t go. This is your thing.” I furrowed my brow in confusion.
“What? What do you mean?” I sat next to her.
“Trust me, with all the attention you’ll be getting, you don’t need to be introducing your best friend to everyone too.”
I pursed my lips in thought. Maybe she was right, but I would rather her be there…anyway, I’m too grown to need a wing man everywhere I go.
“Okay.”
She gave me a quick hug, my damp hair caught under her arm but she didn’t care.
“Okay, I should start getting you ready now. You know your hair takes forever to curl.” I giggled softly.
“You want to curl it?” I fiddled with my split ends. Man, I need a haircut.
“Yeah, it will look really good with that dress.”
I nodded in agreement.
“Oh, I don’t think I have the right stuff to wear underneath! I literally only have regular bras or sports bras.” I rummaged through my drawer again for good measure. If I wasn’t sure I never did this kind of thing before, it is even more apparent now.
“Don’t wear anything. The dress has good support. Just wear some panties. It isn’t like you need to hide a gun or something.”
“What about my phone?” I asked her.
“Do you really need it?” I nodded, hoping I would have to take numbers down or something.
“Well, I don’t have an evening bag. I forgot.” She made a face as she scolded herself.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure I can leave it at the coat closet or something.” There were always those fancy coat takers at these things, right?
“True.”
She tugged me to the living room and we watched some more of the Oklahoma house wives show as she curled my hair. It was times like this when I wished I didn’t have so much hair, but I did. It was curly, full, and long. To top it off, it was the brightest strawberry blonde color. Sometimes I felt like it drew too much attention to me, and most of the time I would really rather hide. I was like that my whole life, I just wanted to keep to myself. It got worse after my mom died. I couldn’t talk to anyone or hold a decent conversation. It really wasn’t until I met Ivy in college that I started to feel somewhat comfortable in my own skin.
I looked at my reflection in my bathroom mirror as Ivy did her magic. I had complete trust in her and knew she would make me look amazing. I just hoped that my nerves would calm before I was thrust into a world that I never really was a part of.
Ivy was a goddess, and she made me look like one too. She made my hair into tight curls and then loosened them up so they fell in loose waves. She kept my makeup simple too; my eyeliner was light, and my eyeshadow a dark blue color to offset the dress. My lipstick was such a light peach color, it just looked my own lips that had been air brushed.
“This looks amazing, Ivy.” I couldn’t stop looking in the mirror. She smiled back at me and handed me the dress.
“Wait until you put this on, you don’t know how good you will look!” She squealed and left me alone to slip into it.
I called her back in so she could help me zip it up. But I didn’t want to look yet. I wore a simple pair of black flats since the dress was so long, no one would be able to see my feet even if I were sitting down.
Ivy put some last few touches on my hair and makeup, and spritzed some perfume she got from a release the past weekend. My best friend had the perks.
“Okay, you have to look now!”
She took out her phone and snapped a picture of me so I could see the full image.
Whoa.
I stifled a gasp. The taffeta was a lighter shade of blue from the tight bodice, which flowed into the darker shade of blue as it cascaded down my body. The sweetheart neckline made my chest look great, and Ivy was right, I wouldn’t have needed a bra anyway.
“Oh my…this dress is amazing.” I said, gazing at the photo in awe as if it weren’t me.