-Jax-

The dress was ready.

Annamarie walked into the living room with a proud smile on her face, stopping to watch us for a dramatic pause. One by one, as the others noticed her, they turned to look at her in silence.

"It is done," the woman declared.

I stood up, feeling surprisingly nervous. Nic was the first to follow me when I followed Annamarie. He took my hand in his and gave me an excited grin, which turned my nervousness into giddiness.

We entered Annamarie's showroom, where the dress was waiting for us in the middle of it, dressed on a mannequin. I stopped to stare at it. There was no sign it had ever been taken apart. I couldn't see a single butchered seam or a piece of yarn sticking out. When I walked around it, the widened backside looked like it was supposed to be like that, with two pieces of new fabric on both sides of the zipper.

"You did such an amazing job," I told Annamarie. "Thank you so much."

She bowed at me a little. "I'm glad to hear that. And it was an interesting task. Why not try it on so we can see the result?"

I nodded but took another moment just to stare at the dress. My dress...

My dress.

Carefully, Nic and I undressed the mannequin and took it to the changing room. My emotions were all over the place when I put it on. I kept my back turned to the mirrors. I stared at the wall in front of me when Nic slowly pulled the zipper all the way up. I didn't feel one bit uncomfortable in it. It... It fit me perfectly.

"It looks so good on you," Nic said, his gaze traveling on my body. "It fits you perfectly now."

"Yeah?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah. Here – look," he said, nudging my arm to turn around.

I let out a silent breath, not really understanding why seeing myself was suddenly such a big deal. It couldn't be that different. I turned around slowly, still not quite facing the mirror at first, but when Nic stood behind me, wrapping his arms around my stomach and resting his chin on my shoulder, I finally found the courage to see it.

I stopped to stare at myself.

It was a perfect fit now. There were no saggy bits, no bursting seams, no tightness. It followed my not-so-curvy body like it was always meant only for me. And it looked good. Like, really good.

"You're so hot," Nic muttered and kissed my neck. "You make it look so good on you. I never thought a guy could make a dress look so good."

"Thanks," I whispered back. "I... I'm actually surprised by how well it suits me."

"You were meant to look good in pretty clothes," he purred.

I snorted lightly in amusement, then carefully touched the dress. "It is really pretty..."

"Uh-huh..."

I took a moment longer to stare at myself, playing with the delicate fabric. Nic watched me the entire time, smiling gently and planting a few kisses on my shoulder here and there.

"You know what makes me look even better?" I asked, looking at him in the mirror.

"No?"

"You," I said quietly.

"I do make a very good accessory, don't I?" he said, grinning.

I laughed at his joke, then turned around in his arms. "You're so much more than an accessory."

"Thanks, babe," he said, pecking my lips. "Should we let the others see it?"

I nodded. "Sure."

Together, we stepped out of the fitting room and were immediately met by Jessica's excited squeal.

"It looks so good!" she said, approaching me. "I told you! I told you it would look great on you!"

"Yes, yes, you did," I said, chuckling.

She suddenly gave me a tight hug, bouncing a little. I couldn't help but adore her enthusiasm when I hugged her back.

"I should thank you too," I told her when she pulled back. "I wouldn't have tried it on if you hadn't been there."

"You're welcome," she said, grinning and stepping back to take another look at me. "It looks so good... I just knew it!"

"Wouldn't look that good on either of us, right?" Dan asked his brother, who laughed.

"Not on you," Nic said jokingly.

"Hey! A little bit of makeup and I'm way prettier than you!"

"Ugh, boys..." Jess muttered.

"Seriously though, you're rocking that dress," Dan told me. "And never thought I'd say this to another guy, but you do look good in it."

"Thanks," I said.

"I agree," Annamarie said as she fiddled with my sleeve a little. "You have very delicate features and body shape. In my thirty years of owning my shop, I never thought a boy could wear a dress just as well as a girl."

"Thanks," I said. "I mean it. Not only for fixing my dress, but for doing it for a dude. It means a lot to me."

"Don't mention it, dear," she said gently. "I was happy to do it for you."

"So how much do I owe you?" Nic asked.

"Nonsense! I'm not taking money from my daughter's friends," she said, and when Nic tried again, she playfully covered her ears and started singing when Nic tried to speak.

"Fine," he said, finally giving up.

We decided to stay for a few hours longer just to hang out with Jess and Dan. When it was already dark, and we were walking to Nic's car, I noticed him peering up the hill. We could see his home where we stood. He stopped next to his door, still staring at his home, so deep in his thoughts he forgot to unlock the doors. He basically forgot all about everything else.

I waited for a moment, but then made my way around the car and stopped next to him. I didn't have to say anything. He turned to look at me, sadness in his eyes.

"You know what? That perfect life I had?" he said, his voice quiet. "It was just an illusion all along."

"Baby..." I muttered, touching his cheek. "You have good things too. Loving mom and at least one brother who cares about you. And you're so smart and good and handsome."

He shook his head, sighing. "I'm not that good..."

"Yes, you are," I said gently, wrapping my arms around his lower back. He shook his head again. "Why would you think that?"

He watched me with pain in his eyes.

"Nic?" I spoke his name with a frown. "Is this about the girls you've been dating?"

"Yeah..."

"It doesn't make you a bad person," I told him. "You never cheated on any of them, right?"

"No, I didn't," he said. "We should get going. Don't want to run into my old man..."

"Sure," I said, but spent a moment longer watching him.

He was still carrying so much bad in him... I wished I could take it all away, but I guess he just needed time. It saddened me to see him think so badly of himself...

Nic was still being pretty silent when we got back home and entered the empty house. I assumed my dads were out on a date, letting us keep the house all to ourselves. Nic followed me when I went to put the dress in my closet. He leaned against the frame, watching me the entire time with no expressions on his face.

Once I put the dress away, I turned to him.

"You hungry?"

"Not really," he muttered.

"That's not a good sign," I noted, hugging him.

"I suppose not."

"Let's grab a bite and call it a day, hmm?"

He didn't reply to me. He leaned in to kiss me instead, his hands making their way around my back. When I kissed him back, his hold on me grew tighter and he kissed me harder. I wondered if this was his way of trying to get out of eating, but I allowed the kiss to continue in case it was what he needed at that moment.

But I forgot all about eating when he turned us around and pushed me against the wall. The kiss heated up fast as he held me pinned with his entire body, his hands already going under my clothes. He was being quite rough... demanding... greedy... But there was something else... Like he was... desperate. Was it because he saw his home? Because of the things he said?

Something wasn't quite right, but I didn't stop to ask. The heat from this morning was back, and I didn't want to stop.

I wasn't quite sure how or when we ended up in my bed, with our shirts gone. The fire was still burning too hot for me to notice anything else but his lips and hands on me. Not even when I lay on my back with him hovering over me. Nic's breath was so hard he was practically growling... That sent a wild surge of need through me, but I was also out of breath. The only way I could let Nic know that was by biting his lower lip.

He stopped to look at me, smiling, his bare chest heaving and eyes burning.

He was so fucking hot...

Aaaaaaand we're back with the elevator music! In the meantime, you can read this scene on my Ream>>>

"Fuck, Nic..." I murmured in his ear, hugging him.

"Right?" he said, letting out an exhausted chuckle. "Fuck me..."

He rolled off me and pulled me tightly against his chest. He planted a few kisses on my cheek before he rested back down to catch his breath. I slowly moved my hand up on his chest, and he took it in his and squeezed it gently.

I looked up to see his face. He had a happy, relaxed smile on his lips. Good... That meant whatever he'd had on his mind when we arrived back home, it was gone now. I wished it would stay gone... But I had the feeling he would be having a lot of mood drops during the next couple of days, leading up to his father's stupid party.

If only it was over already... Things would be fine once that stupid party was over, and we'd be able to just forget about his stupid father and move on and be happy. Just a few more days...

Just a few more days...