This was fake. We weren’t getting real married. I had to keep reminding myself of that and stop getting all carried away and swept up. I couldn’t let things get out of hand. I had to slow my roll.
“Huh, I guess I am,” she said. “That’s so weird. I haven’t thought of myself as someone’s wife. I mean, even if we’re just doing it for money and getting it annulled. Oh, you’re coming to my appointment, right?”
“Yeah, absolutely.” I still wasn’t sure how I felt about the whole dress thing, but anything to get her excited.
“Great. Listen, I’ve got to go right now, but I’ll see you on Tuesday? You know where the place is, right?” I didn’t but I had GPS in my phone.
“See you then, Care,” I said and hung up. The front door slammed and I realized that Lisa had left, so I could head to the kitchen to make something to eat. I couldn’t believe in a few weeks that she was going to be gone, Cara was taking her place, and all of my money problems were going to be solved.
Life was pretty fucking great right now.
Ten
“Are you sure about this?” I asked as I looked at the window display in front of the dress shop. It wasn’t what I expected. Instead of a cupcake fluff-fest, it was a little more edgy. The mannequin in the window had a high-low dress with a hint of pink in the skirt that was posed next to a moped and had a set of motorcycle boots on the other side. Okay, this was not your average dress shop.
“Yeah, I am,” Cara said, reaching out and holding the door for me. “Come on, this is going to be fun.”
I took a deep breath and walked into the shop. It was light and bright, but didn’t feel stuffy. There were comfy couches and chairs everywhere and at one end of the shop were mirrors and even a little runway. Several other people were already browsing as soft music played from hidden speakers. I stopped to listen and realized it was Etta James. Nice.
“Welcome to Love and Lace, do you have an appointment?” We both turned to find a consultant standing near us. She wore a black lace t-shirt with a leather skirt and black booties. It was a nice contrast to all the white around.
“Yes, I have an appointment. Cara Simms?” The consultant held up a tablet and scrolled.
“Great, you’re all checked in. I’m Chloe and I’ll be working with you today. Who have you brought with you?” Cara looked at me and I looked at her and then she looked back at Chloe.
“This is my fiancée, Loren,” Cara said, and I almost fell over. I mean, technically I was, but I didn’t think she was going to be so open about it.
“Congratulations to you both,” Chloe said, beaming at both of us. “Now do you want to get a dress as well, or are you looking for something else?” I still couldn’t get over the fact that Cara had called me her fiancée in public for the first time.
“Oh, uh, I don’t know,” I mumbled.
“That’s absolutely fine. You can look around and see what you might like and we’ll make another appointment. Now, when is the big day?” Cara and I shared a look.
“As soon as possible,” I said, and Chloe laughed.
“Okay, that makes things a little different. Usually gowns have to be ordered months in advance, but I can show you what we’ve got in stock. Now, do you want to see her in the dress, Loren?” Cara turned to me.
“I don’t think I can pick without you,” she said, and my heart did a little wiggle of joy. I loved that she needed my opinion to make this decision. Plus, Cara looked amazing in everything, so it was going to be a good time. I’d been totally anxious and apprehensive, but now I was getting excited. Little birds were flapping their wings in my stomach. Not butterflies, these flutters were bigger than that.
“You two are so sweet, this is going to be fun.” Chloe clapped her hands happily and I was glad she was almost as into this as I was. Part of me had been a little worried we might run into a homophobic consultant. You never knew when anti-queerness was going to rear its nasty head, but Chloe seemed totally on board and, after glancing around again, I noticed something you might not see in a more conservative bridal shop: white suits. There was a whole wall of them, some that had matching skirts that were cut so as to be open in the front to show the pants, and then that draped into the back. A mannequin had one of the contraptions on that had a sweeping train bedazzled with rhinestones and lace. Now THAT was a look.