I Take It Back

by Liza James

  We each chose a bed, not caring who took which, and began filling the closet and drawers with the few items we had brought for the weekend. I pulled out the beautiful blue dress that had belonged to my mother and hung it up in the closet so that it could straighten out before the event tonight.

  “I’m glad you finally got that dress,” Savannah said sheepishly.

  “How long have you known about it? I didn’t realize your mom had it.” I pulled the protective plastic sheet down so that I could get another look at it. It still shocked me how absolutely perfect it was.

  Of course, my mother always had amazing style.

  “For a year or so, but my mom made me promise not to tell you. Jenny always knew she was saving it for you, and my mom knew that. She wanted it to be a surprise, just like your mom had intended it to be. So, you know ... obviously I couldn’t blow that secret,” she explained, and I found myself smiling at the reasoning behind this mysterious dress. I ran my fingers down the front of the elegant lace, sending my mind back to memory of why my mom bought this dress in the first place. A shiver ran down my spine thinking that I could have worn it for a similar reason. Would Cade notice? If I was being completely honest with myself, he was the only one I wanted to notice me tonight.

  “Don’t go getting lost in thought on me, okay? Tonight is going to be amazing. You’re going to be amazing. Every single guy in that room is going to blow their lids to get a dance with you.” Savannah came up and hugged me like the perfect sister and friend she had always been. She was my biggest cheerleader, even when I didn’t deserve it.

  “Thanks, Sav. Speaking of, what time is the fundraiser tonight?” I glanced over at the small clock sitting on the nightstand in between the beds. It said 12:30 PM, so I knew we had quite a while before we needed to be in the banquet hall downstairs.

  “Not until six PM. At least that’s what Logan told me last. Him and Cade are just about to get here.” Her voice was completely nonchalant until she realized exactly what she said.

  “Ah shit, I’m sorry. I should have told you they were coming together. We won’t see Cade at all though, okay? He’s going to be slammed getting ready with the rest of the fraternity. They, uh, they all had to bring dates for the event tonight ...” I could tell she was trying to warn me of what to expect before I was smashed with the reality when I walked into the banquet.

  “What? They had to bring dates? I mean, of course they did. Cade has a million different girls he could bring tonight.” I tried to brush it off like I didn’t care, but who was I kidding? It stung. It seriously stung. I needed to get over this damn guy and reign in my wild, gallivanting crush.

  “Hey now, you are leagues better than any girl he could have ever taken tonight. In fact, you’re way out of Cade’s league all together. And in that dress tonight? Girl, you’re going to show him exactly what he’s missing.” I couldn’t lie, that made me feel a little better. I was actually really excited to put on this gorgeous dress, get dolled up and give them hell tonight.

  After all, he decided to leave, and I wasn’t going to let the fact that I had been missing him terribly over the last few weeks show tonight. I was going have a damn good time, meet new people, hang out with my best friends, and yeah, hopefully show him that he was the one who made the mistake by walking out. “Okay, okay. You’re right. Let’s do this.” I gathered my toiletries and headed to the shower.

  I walked into the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror, forcing these words to leave my mouth and willing them to be true in my mind.

  “I’m fucking fabulous.”

  Chapter 26

  Several hours later, Savannah and I had both showered, blow dried our hair and done our make-up. We had spent the afternoon painting our nails after failing to find any salons close enough to have them done professionally. Savannah had brought several pairs of shoes, thank God. So, I chose a tall, strappy silver heel that I knew would complement my powder-blue dress.

  We both worked on our hair in the large, rectangular mirror in our bathroom. I chose to pull my thick, auburn hair up slightly so that I could show off the open back of my dress. That was my favorite part of the entire gown, and I wanted to make sure everyone else appreciated it, too ... mainly Cade. Savannah chose to leave her raven hair down in long, vibrant waves that cascaded down her back. I always loved how thick and beautiful her hair was, but she always commented on much she wished hers looked more like mine.

  Grass is always greener on the other side.

  As we both slipped into our dresses, I felt the prick of goose bumps raise across my body. This dress was my mother’s. She was the last person to wear it before her accident, and she had kept it for me, her future daughter. I knew this dress meant so much to my mother because even Ruth knew the importance of it. She understood how crucial it was to keep it safe until it was the right time to gift it to me.

  “Oh damn,” were the first words I heard Savannah mumble as she came up behind me and adjusted the neckline of my dress, making sure it laid flat and straight as it dipped down my back.

  “Seriously, Emma. You look absolutely stunning. It’s beyond perfect.”

  Tears began welling in her eyes, and I immediately reached forward to catch them before they ruined her make-up.

  “Don’t you dare cry, Sav. We are strong, amazing, beautiful women, and my mother would be so incredibly proud of us. She wouldn’t want us to cry.” As I said the words, I felt the lump growing in the back of my throat, the tears beginning to prick my eyes. I shut my eyes for a brief moment, forcing the tears back where they came from, and opened them again to find Savannah doing the same.

  Savannah stayed silent as I moved toward the back of our room; there was a perfect floor length mirror attached to the wall so I could see exactly what my mother’s dress looked like on. Stepping up to it, I closed my eyes again and paused a quick moment, readying myself mentally for what I was about to see. I opened my eyes and scanned my body downward, taking in every inch of the way her dress fell on my body.

  It was perfect. Literally the most perfect dress I had ever worn in my entire life.

  It was completely skin tight throughout my shoulders, arms, chest, waist and hips until it loosened around my knees in a beautiful way and cascaded around my feet. It hugged all of my curves in the best way imaginable, but gave in the places I needed it, allowing for an incredibly flattering fit.

  I turned my back, hoping that the open concept would be just as flattering, and I wasn’t disappointed. It framed my shoulder blades and the small of my back, dipping dangerously low and landing in a perfectly tempting way. I smiled at myself as I turned back and forth, picking the dress up in my hands and watching the bottom trail around me. I looked back up and met my own eyes, remembering how Savannah had said I looked just like my mother. I had a lot to thank her for, her amazing genes and this perfect dress.

  Savannah came up behind me and rested her hands on my shoulders.

  “You’re right. Your mom and my mom would be and are incredibly proud of us. Annnd we’re going to kick ass and take names tonight,” she said as we both broke out in laughter. When we heard a light knock on our door, we quickly stopped and caught our breath.

  “Wait,” I said before she turned to see who was waiting on the other side. I hadn’t seen what dress she had picked, but I wanted to take a good look at it before Logan swept her away from our group, sure to keep her all to himself.

  She had chosen a long, stunning red gown. Of course, she was all about those brighter colors. But they were perfect for her. Instead of an open back, her dress doted a plunging neckline and the style literally screamed Savannah. She chose a pair of black stilettos for her shoes and she walked in them seamlessly as she gave me a quick turn, showing off her dress before heading toward the door.

  “You look amazing, Sav. I’m so lucky to call you my sister,” I said quietly, really focusing on memorizing this moment and this adventure we were on.

  “Don’t you dare start cryi
ng again. Keep it together, dude!” She was trying to keep the conversation light and I appreciated it. I needed that right now.

  She opened the door and began a sexy greeting to Logan when her voice quickly cut off mid-sentence and I glanced up at the door to see what had rendered her speechless.

  “Hey, uh, sorry. I was hoping Logan was up here? I need his help with my tie.” Cade’s voice tore through me and I felt a massive knot of uneasiness build in my stomach. I couldn’t stop myself from looking. I really, truly tried, but the curiosity of what he would be wearing tonight won over my common sense.

  “He’s not here.” Savannah’s voice was short and curt. No doubt because of everything that had happened between us.

  “Ah, shit.” Cade ran his hand up and down the back of his neck. A nervous glean was bouncing in his eyes when they suddenly landed on me. The clear, bright blue I was so used to quickly turned into a darker, ravenous deep color, and I felt the electricity we kept fighting shoot through my body.

  “Bambi ...” was all that he said, but he took a step forward, sidestepping Savannah before she could protest and coming to stand only a few feet away from me.

  I glanced at the floor, but reminded myself of my earlier mantra and quickly turned my eyes back up to meet his. Slow, steady and confident.

  “Hi,” was the only word I managed to say. I saw, just as much as I physically felt, his eyes drift down my body and thoroughly take in my appearance. A wave of nerves washed over me, but I forced myself not show that to him. I wanted him to think he didn’t have an effect on me.

  But how could he not feel this between us?

  If he felt this spark, the electricity that we shared, then he would never have left me alone in that dorm room so many weeks ago. I can hardly fight this as it is myself.

  “Wow ... you look amazing.” His words were quiet as his strong gaze met mine, and I saw the smoldering heat blazing within them. Suddenly, the nervous tension from just moments ago was gone. He slid his hands into his pockets and stood in front of me with as much confidence as I had hoped to be feigning in front of him now. He sounded like he was so sure of what was happening, like he genuinely meant every word of it, and I found my knees weakening underneath me.

  Tearing us out of this moment, another knock sounded at the door and, before Savannah could open it, Logan and Jake waltzed into the room.

  “Ladies, ladies. The men have arrived!” That was Jake’s humorous voice, but it was soon cut off by the awkward silence that was apparently filling our room. Cade still hadn’t taken his eyes off of me, but finally did when Logan wrapped his arm around his shoulder. Logan slowly tugged him out of the room while the two quietly talked with each other.

  “Blow Cade’s fucking mind. Check!” Savannah said as soon as Logan shut the door behind them.

  “Oh, hell yes, honey. Show him what he’s missing!” Jake joined in and laughed as well.

  I looked at them both and found myself falling into the familiar laughter with them. Cade had looked amazing in his perfectly tailored, black tuxedo, and I smiled at the thought of how I had affected him when he saw me. He was here with another woman, and soon the pangs of jealousy would ripple through me. But in this moment?

  He had been all mine, and I knew it.

  Chapter 27

  Cade had left without saying goodbye, which I expected. So, the four us began walking downstairs to join the fundraiser below.

  “I’m sorry about that, Em. Cade just needed help with his tie,” Logan said as he warily glanced over at me, trying to gauge my reaction.

  “It’s okay, Logan. I totally understand.” I wasn’t upset in the slightest; in fact, I was pretty damn happy Cade had stopped by and noticed.

  “Oh, it was more than okay, babe. Cade was practically drooling over Emma. It was epic.” Savannah laced her fingers into Logan’s as a smirk moved across his face.

  “I’m sure he was. You do look great tonight, Emma, you both do,” he responded as he leaned over and kissed Savannah on the side of her head. She was absolutely thrilled, her steps were almost bounces as we neared the open double doors that led into the exclusive charity event.

  Stepping through, the room was buzzing with people talking and laughing. Servers were walking through the crowd with trays of delicious-looking appetizers and tall flutes of champagne. There were large seating tables scattered across the room, and it looked like one Theta Chi brother was assigned to sit at each one, including his date.

  My heart began racing at the thought that we may be stuck sitting with Cade and his date, but I scanned the tables and saw that he had already claimed two seats at a table quite a distance away from us. We walked toward a table that was empty, closer to the backdoors, and chose our seats there. I chose to sit specifically with my back shifted toward Cade for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, I couldn’t bear to watch him eat, laugh, and have his hands all over another woman tonight. That would be too hard. As much as I was willing myself to have fun tonight and to forget about him, there was only so much that I could handle.

  Secondly, I wanted him to have a straight, open view of the back of my dress, or lack there of. If I had to sit here and be practically tortured with the idea of him seeing someone else, then he could sit there and be tortured in some other way.

  Would he even care? a voice whispered in the back of my mind. It was true, though, he probably wouldn’t, and the sinking feeling my heart was getting so familiar with lately took hold in my chest.

  I ignored the disappointing thought and focused my eyes to the front of the room where one of the fraternity brothers was moving toward a microphone. I noticed right away that it was Ryan, and quietly laughed to myself. He must really enjoy being the MC for all various types of events.

  As he was speaking, the entire room fell silent and we all watched him. In the corner of my eye, I caught sight of another person sliding into the seat beside me. It must be whichever brother chose to sit here with his date, and I glanced over, praying it wasn’t Dan, who had to have been the one spreading all of those horrible rumors about me a while ago.

  Actually, I wish it had been Dan.

  Because sitting beside me, with an awkward and smug look on his face, was Tyler. Sitting beside him was that cute petite brunette that had been with him at the restaurant. I sighed in relief at that, she seemed to be able to reign him in if he ever lost his temper too much. But I still felt the sick and uneasy feeling burrowing itself in my stomach and working its way up to my chest.

  I glanced back at Savannah and Logan in order to gauge their reactions. Savannah had the same wary look on her face that I held, but Logan’s was pure, red hot anger as he watched Tyler sit down across from him. I gave Savannah a questioning look. I wasn’t sure why Logan would be so angry with Tyler. As far as I knew, he wasn’t around when Tyler had come to our dorm room and he and Cade had gotten into their argument. But Sav shrugged back at me in response; she didn’t know what the problem was either.

  Ryan finished his introduction and everyone in the room clapped politely. He had explained how the auction would take place, the table with the items available was situated in the back of the banquet hall. He then quickly summarized the dinner entrees for tonight, and I was excited to get our food and focus my attention on something else ... like eating. I wanted to avoid any potential conversation with Tyler, but the fact that he was sitting so close to me made that impossible.

  I felt his thigh pressed hard against mine and our elbows would bump every now and then when we shifted. I tried to discreetly shift my chair over just a bit, in order to give us both some breathing room. But a few short moments later Tyler coughed, obviously fake, and shifted that much closer to me.

  “I didn’t know you were coming tonight, Em,” Tyler said coyly as our first course was being delivered to each of us. I could feel the hot stare of his dark eyes and shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

  “Yes, well, Sav, Jake and I decided to come at the last minute,” I explained, tr
ying to muster out all of the confidence that I could. But I couldn’t help the icy feeling that kept climbing its way up my throat. I wanted to feel amazing tonight, beautiful in my mother’s gown and have fun with my friends. But Tyler’s awkward encounter was ruining the vibe for me, I had to shake it off and ignore it.

  “I’m glad you came,” he said, and then I felt his fingers lightly caress my thigh, ending with a quick squeeze before he pulled away.

  “This is Emily,” he said as he wrapped his arm around the brunette’s shoulder, causing her to blush before she gave us all a tight wave.

  Oh god, Emily? That’s a coincidence, right?

  I looked over at Savannah, who had the same quizzical look on her face for a brief moment before flashing her award-winning, welcoming smile.

  We all went around the table introducing ourselves and I hoped the visible tension in each of us would relax as the night went on. We all chose to ignore the elephant in the room, with Tyler and Emily sitting with us, and continued with light conversation, talking about our majors, classes and events in school.

  “You have your showcase coming up, right?” Tyler had asked me.

  Instantly I tensed. How did he know about my showcase? I looked over at him, confused by his words and he caught on quickly.

  “Oh, I saw you outside of the auditorium, remember? You told me about the audition.”

  I did? It must have been when he asked me to the football game. I hadn’t realized I had shared that with him, but I seriously needed to get this paranoia in check.

  “Oh, yes, I forgot. Sorry, it’s set for the first week of January, but we aren’t exactly sure on the dates just yet,” I said, shoveling forkfuls of pasta into my mouth so I didn’t have to keep talking.

  Tyler must have sensed my discomfort because I felt his hand tactfully slide across my bare back as he leaned closer to my ear.