Because of you

by J. , Lea

  “Compared to my family you’re all angels,” I say jokingly.

  Chapter 16

  Aaliyah

  I’m standing in front of the Loren boutique, where they sell elegant garments in the higher price range, and waiting for Addison to join me. When she found out Ryder will be taking me to the ball, she insisted we go together and help each other to choose a dress. As the last lecture ended half an hour ago, I decided to walk here since it’s not that far. Addison is not here yet, and I hear my phone ringing faintly from the purse. I am sure it’s her, so I don’t look at the screen when I answer.

  “Hi, Addison, you’re late, where are you?”

  “Addison, huh?” I am surprised to hear a hoarse voice on the other side of the line.

  Caden.

  “What do you want from me? I already told you I don’t have any copies.”

  “What? Do I have to have a reason to call my favorite niece?” Why can’t he leave me alone, now that he’s gotten what he was looking for?

  “Leave me alone!” I yell, angrily end the call and stick the phone in the purse. I hear Addison’s voice calling me from the distance, and she’s waving, walking quickly toward me.

  “I’m sorry I’m late, we were writing a paper for some project in Business, and it took longer than I thought.” I’m not really listening to her, trying to figure out why Caden is still bothering me, when I don’t have any more proof against him.

  “It’s okay, I haven’t been waiting long.” We open the door and enter the boutique. The owner, Loren, immediately greets us and takes us into the second room, where a few black, white and black-and-white evening dresses are waiting for us. I catch my breath when I see such gorgeous creations. And here I thought the shopping mall had beautiful clothes—this is something else entirely. Loren shows us each three dresses she prepared for us. We go to the dressing room and put them on. They’re all pretty, but none of them reflects my personality. I don’t feel comfortable in any of them—the first one is too big, the second one too revealing and the third one is too tight around my chest area. I hang them back on the hangers and take them to Loren, so I can try on some others. Addison is standing in front of the mirror, wearing a very intriguing dress—it looks like it was made for her. It is completely black and made of lace. It’s sleeveless and reaches to the middle of her thighs, but the transparent black chiffon, attached to the hem of the dress, reaches to the floor. She’s wearing lacy gloves that reach to her elbows. A big bow on the hip surprisingly doesn’t look weird, it gives the dress an edge.

  “I think you found the one, and on the first try,” I say excitedly as I touch the fabric of her dress.

  “I love it,” she says dreamily, when she turns around and looks at the back. “I think I’m going to take this one. I’ll try on some more, but I’m pretty certain this is the one.” Her gaze falls on the dresses in my hands, hanging from the hangers.

  “Not one?” she asks with a raised eyebrow. I shake my head no and go see the rest. After an hour of trying them on I collapse on the settee in the middle of the room, exhausted. Addison is still walking in and out of the dressing room, always a different dress on her.

  “I can’t do this anymore,” I say, raising my arms in the air. “I give up.”

  Addison goes to the counter with Loren to pay for her dress. She decided to get the black lacy dress, and I completely agree—it looked wonderful on her. A little disappointed in not finding a dress for myself, I walk through the front part of the boutique while I wait for Addison. Suddenly, a long black-and-white dress, wrapped in a transparent dress-bag, catches my attention. I carefully pull down the zipper of the bag and run my fingers over the silky smooth fabric. Apparently I’ve been admiring it for quite a while, as Addison and Loren approach me.

  “This one just came in. I didn’t even put a price tag on it yet. It’s gorgeous, right? Would you like to try it on?”

  “Can I?” I ask hesitantly. I don’t know if it’s available for purchase yet.

  “Of course, sweetie.” She takes the dress out of the bag and leads me to the dressing room, while Addison patiently sits on the settee, sipping coffee. I carefully step into the dress and pull it higher, put my arms through the holes and put it on. The bodice is white and a little puffed, shading into grey under the breasts, where crystals are sewn into the dress, and the skirt of the dress is black, reaching to the floor. A few shiny crystals on the shoulder make the dress more interesting. The skirt is flowy and the material looks like silk, gently falling to the ground. If I lift my leg a little a slit reaching almost to my hips is visible. The most interesting part of the dress is the back—there is none. The dress is backless to the top of my butt. Crystals trace the edges of the lower back part of the dress and connect with the crystals under the breasts.

  “Wow, Aaliyah, I almost didn’t recognize you. The dress is divine, you have to take it. It fits you like a glove.” Addison is staring at me with mouth wide open, thrilled by what she sees. I am speechless. I look at myself in the mirror and admire the beautiful garment. I’ve never seen a more gorgeous dress before.

  “How much does it cost?” I bite my lip, expecting to hear a big number. But as she tells me how expensive it is, I get dizzy and need a few minutes to collect myself. The number is much higher than I anticipated. I close my eyes in disappointment and quietly go into the dressing room to change. “I knew it was too good to be true,” I whisper as I dress in my ripped jeans and washed out shirt. I carefully put the dress in Loren’s hands and head toward the exit, downhearted. Where am I going to find an appropriate dress right before the ball? I look at Addison, urging her with my eyes to leave. She looks at me with surprise and walks to me.

  “What is wrong?” I shake my head.

  “Addison, it’s way too expensive, no way I can afford it. I’ll look elsewhere, maybe I can still find something in time.” I open the door and step outside, but Addison doesn’t follow. A few moments pass and when she’s still not coming out, I go in again and find her by the counter, where Loren just put the dress I tried on earlier in a box and gave it to Addison. Addison handed her a credit card. “What are you doing?” I ask as I approach her.

  “Buying the dress, what else. Ryder said he’s going to buy us dresses, and he gave me his credit card. I already bought mine, and I just paid for yours.”

  When we’re on the street again, I manage to pull myself together enough so I can speak. “Why did you do that? I told you it was too expensive. I will never be able to pay him back.”

  “Shhh, quiet now. He told me not to look at prices and buy something nice. And we bought something nice – I’m just following his orders.” I shake my head in surrender.

  “But I don’t want him thinking he has to buy me things. I don’t need anything from him except for himself.” She wraps her fingers around my upper arm and looks me in the eye.

  “Hey, don’t worry – he knows that.”

  Next, we go to the store that sells masks. There are many different models, but we are only interested in elegant black masks that cover everything but the eyes.

  “Addison, this one would be perfect for you,” I raise it and show it to her. It looks like it is made of lace, it has an interesting design and it matches the dress Addison bought. It fits her face perfectly when she tries it on. From the part between her eyes two wings extend upwards. They look like butterfly wings. I also quickly find a mask for myself. It is also black, framed by white rhinestones and beautiful patterns are carved into the mask. On the outermost left side there is a soft black feather, four inches long. I insisted on paying for it myself, and surprisingly it wasn’t even that expensive. Happy to have found everything we were looking for, we end the day in a café, where we order two large lattes.

  Ryder

  “Don’t be so nervous, they’ll be here soon,” Jackson is fed up with me constantly looking at my watch, waiting for them to show up—for Aaliyah to show up. They didn’t want us to pick them up because they wanted to
surprise us.

  “They’re taking so long, where are they?” I impatiently check the time again, moving toward the bar. The mask I’m wearing is uncomfortable and I can’t wait to take it off. If it wasn’t for the charity, I would never wear it. Every year one of the universities holds a masked ball and chooses an organization they will donate the money, raised on the ball, to. This year it’s our university’s turn and all the money will go to the organization helping sick children. The money is raised in three different ways: with the tickets sold, donations to the organizer, and the band playing donates the money from their performance to the charity. This year there is also an auction, where girls who want to participate come on stage and the gentlemen bid on them. The one with the highest bid may take the girl out. The auction is fun and at the same time raises money for a good cause.

  “Ugh, what is he doing here?” Marc nudges me as he approaches me and Jackson with Nikki on his arm. We both look at who he’s talking about and we all roll our eyes.

  “Ethan,” Jackson spits out. We turn away from him and order beer. In the middle of conversation, soft fingers grazing my hand interrupt me. I quickly turn around to nicely turn down the girl, because I’m only interested in Aaliyah. I am met by crystal blue eyes staring at me through a mask. I would recognize those eyes everywhere. With a smile on her face, she watches me as I eye her from head to toe. Her light blonde hair is up, but a few curls fall down on her shoulders, framing her face seductively. The mask makes her even more desirable, and the dress accentuates her fabulous figure.

  “Wow,” is all I manage to utter, struck speechless by her beauty. She puts her foot on the metal rung of the bar stool, the slit of her dress exposing her long, sexy leg. Eyes wide, I look at her, quickly grab the fabric flowing around her leg, and cover her up. “Are you serious? I don’t want anybody looking at you.” She rolls her eyes and kisses me passionately.

  “You look wonderful, too. I finally get to see you in something other than sports attire or jeans,” she winks at me and I pull her in for a hug. Instead of the dress I only feel the naked skin on her back. I quickly push her away and turn her around, so I can make sure I assumed correctly.

  “Do you have anything to cover yourself? You can’t walk around like this. You’re practically naked!” Her back is completely exposed, and that’s not all – her back is naked all the way to the top of her butt, stirring up a lot of interest from every man in the room.

  “What do you mean by that? Of course I don’t have anything to cover myself.”

  “Ry, don’t overreact, look how gorgeous she looks. You should be happy you have such a sexy girlfriend.

  “That’s just it—she’s too sexy. Everybody will be ogling her and I don’t want that. I’ll even end up in a fight if I see someone looking at her for too long.”

  “Don’t worry, just think about how easy it will be to take it off once we get home,” she winks at me.

  “Oh, God. I can already see all the other men thinking the exact same thing.”

  An all-female band, Stormy Surrender, has been playing for the last fifteen minutes and finally they start up a slow ballad, so I can take my girlfriend to the dance floor. I grab her hand and we stop in the middle of the dance floor where couples are dancing. She wraps her hands around my neck, I put mine on her hips, and we sway to the music.

  “Are you having fun?” I whisper in her ear. She nods and presses tightly against me.

  “Thank you for inviting me, I’ve never attended an event like this one. And thank you for the dress. Addison barely managed to persuade me to wear it. I don’t want you spending a lot of money on me.” I kiss her on the nose.

  “You’re worth every cent I spend for you. I want to spoil you and buy whatever you want.” Aaliyah shakes her head.

  “Please, stop. You know I don’t want that. I only want you, that’s it. I don’t need anything else.” She hugs me tightly and we dance in silence for a few moments.

  “I have another surprise for you,” I tell her as I am kissing her neck. She gives me a look.

  “Ryder, stop it, I don’t need anything.”

  “It’s nothing material,” I assure her. “In ten minutes you are going to sing together with Stormy Surrender.” She wrinkles her forehead and gives me a serious look.

  “Are you serious? Why would I sing with them?” I smile faintly.

  “I saw you singing the other day with a spark in your eyes. You turn into a completely different person when you sing, you were born to perform. Please, it’s for charity.” She covers her face with her hands. I embarrassed her.

  “Ryder, you should have asked if I am okay with this. This was Hope’s dream, not mine. I’m not as nearly talented as she was. What if I make a fool of myself?” I cup her cheeks with my hands and look deep into her eyes.

  “Baby, you were born to do this. You’re great, don’t hide your talent.” I kiss her forehead and give her a comforting hug.

  “Okay, but only because it’s for the kids—otherwise I’d never do it.”

  Aaliyah

  Damn it, the things I am willing to do for someone I love. On shaky feet, I walk the stairs to the stage, holding my dress so I won’t accidentally trip and embarrass myself before I even open my mouth. I have a big rock in my throat. I give the girls from Stormy Surrender a shy smile and we pick the songs. The first song we’re going to sing is Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys. The first notes are already filling the room, and I quickly grab the microphone. Still a little nervous, I look around the ballroom. It is beautifully decorated and the waiters are wearing black bow ties, white shirts and black pants. A few disco lights are set on the stage, changing colors. Most guests are gathered in front of the stage, listening to us with interest. My eyes land on Ryder’s, I see pride in them. He is glowing with happiness and I love this side of him. A big grin across his face, he whispers something to Marc. Addison and Jackson are dancing, holding each other tightly, and looking at each other with love in their eyes. I sing the rest of the song, excited, still keeping back a little—but Ryder was right. The feeling of being up on the stage cannot be described. I feel free, happy, it is so liberating. A loud applause fills the ballroom and I continue with Wide Awake by Katy Perry. A few songs later my performance is over. I leave the stage, adrenaline coursing through my veins, and head to the bar, because my mouth is dry from nerves.

  “Hey, babe, that was a sweet performance.” I turn to the voice, and see Ethan’s eyes all over me. He’s wearing a black tuxedo, a white shirt and a black tie. His hair is styled with hair gel. He takes a sip from a glass, filled with brown liquid and ice, and then licks his lips. His eyes are roaming down my body. “Can I buy you a drink?” I feel goosebumps rising on my skin from his closeness, but not the pleasant kind.

  “No, thanks, I just came to get some water.” I show him the glass, filled with the clear liquid.

  “Do you want to get out of here?” He points his fingers to the door. “We could have a lot of fun together.”

  “Ugh, no, thanks, I’m here with…”

  “Her boyfriend,” Ryder finishes the sentence, possessive hands on my hips. “Leave her alone,” he hisses, and takes me to the other side of the ballroom. “I want you to stay away from him, he only causes trouble.”

  “He came to me.”

  “I know, baby, still. He’s not a good person and I don’t want him anywhere near you.”

  Ryder

  “And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you’ve all been waiting for,” the organizer of the ball steps on the stage with a microphone in his hands, “girls, please join me on stage.” Addison, Nikki, Aaliyah, and a few more girls I don’t know that well, climb the stairs to the stage to participate in the auction. I knew Aaliyah would happily take part in this cause, because she loves helping others. We agreed on the amount of money I’m going to bid on her, so kids will get the money they deserve. I wink at Aaliyah, and I can’t wait to have her in my arms again. The opening bid is the same for all the gir
ls and the price goes up to the extent men are willing to pay for a date. First two girls already left the stage and a nice sum of money was raised for charity. Marc is bidding on Nikki and she soon leaves the stage. The organizer approaches Aaliyah, and now it’s my turn to bid. I wink at her and offer $100 and the auction price goes up.

  “Do I hear 550?” calls the organizer after 500. I am about to raise my hand to offer that amount, when I hear “950!” from my right. Shocked, I turn and I am immediately overwhelmed by anger, when I see Ethan joined the bidding war, most likely just to piss me off. But I’m not going to let him.

  “One thousand,” I jump in, and we start outbidding each other. Aaliyah is watching me with eyes opened wide, surprised by what is happening. Her lips are moving and she is trying to tell me something, but I’m not sure, what. She shakes her head, repeating.

  “Stop, it’s enough,” I manage to catch. I shake my head at her, I don’t want her to have drinks with him—I don’t even want her in the same room with him. Angrily, I make my way through the crowd toward Ethan.

  “Stop it, I’m warning you.” He raises one eyebrow and makes a clicking sound with his tongue.