Little Gray Dress

by Aimee Brown

  “I am!” Esther has a sing-song type voice. “You must be Lily! I’m thrilled to meet you!” When she speaks, every single sentence ends with either a question mark or an exclamation mark. Lingerie obviously excites her.

  “And you must be Emi!” She looks at me with a huge smile on her face. “Lily told me a bit about you, and based on what she said I pulled out a few items for you to try on. They’re waiting in here…” She leads me to a giant dressing room with three-way mirrors and a plush velvet couch. “Try them on and come out for our opinions.”

  “I have to model?”

  “Well…” She glances over at Lily. “You don’t have to come out, but we’re here to help you make the best decision for this special occasion. You’re in a safe place and there is no one here with us.”

  “No cameras?”

  She bursts out a laugh then quickly stifles it away. “No! No. No cameras; that would make the news, dear. No, go, try and model.”

  I walk into the dressing room, glad there is a locking door as opposed to a curtain, and glance through the few things hanging on a rack. This lady has really high hopes for a girl to get laid. Even just looking at the skimpy, lacy, crotchless selections she’s made make me feel dirty. There is only one set that I will try on, and that’s only because it has the most material. It’s see-through, but it counts, I think.

  “Yeah… I don’t think these will work,” I say, struggling to pull the panties of the lavender baby doll set past my hips.

  “Why?” Lily calls back.

  “Because I don’t wear a size 2 and I’m not trying out for a porn movie.” I grab the robe and the… I dunno… outfits, and open the door. “Can’t I pick something? I feel like these all say I’m trying too hard. Jack is gonna know something is up.”

  “Something is up… You’re losing your Jackinity.” Lily and Esther both laugh at Lily’s joke.

  “Stop. I’m serious, don’t you have anything like… just normal but sexy?” I glance over at Esther who is sitting at a desk with a hot pink fluorescent light around the top.

  “Normal?” She hops off her stool and heads to a far section of the store out of sight for a moment, and returns with a few hangers in her hands. “Like these?”

  When she holds them out I know I’ve found my normal. Light gray, lace, girly bra and matching panties. “YES!”

  “Ems… Those are so… boring.”

  “I like boring.” I pull my actual double-digit size from her hand and head back into the dressing room. “Jack likes boring, too!” I yell through the door. Finally, I look like a normal, twenty-something girl who is having sex and not trying to look like she’s the lead in Emi Does Malibu.

  “Let’s see it,” Lily yells back at me.

  I hesitantly walk out into the store, checking first for eyes of people that weren’t here earlier and flashing red lights of hidden cameras that Esther insists don’t exist.

  “Well?” I ask, but both Lily and Esther have poker faces. “Not good?”

  “It looks lovely, dear, but for your first time don’t you want to wow him?” She holds up a bright red negligée and swings it back and forth.

  “No. If he’s not wowed by me being me, then he’s not the guy I want.”

  “Oh…” Esther lays the red nightie on her desk. “You’re a sweet girl. I have this set in a couple other colors if you’d like more than one?”

  “Load me up.” I glance at Lily whose face is not so approving.

  “This, is it?”

  “Yup… I’m not as flashy as you. Or as easy.” I smile before disappearing into the dressing room before she can throw something at me.

  “I’m not easy, I just want to test-drive my men to see if I should go on a cross-country trip with them.”

  “Whatever.” I laugh at her ridiculous comparison. I like to play it safe. That’s just me, though. From me, there will be no sleeping with a guy on the first date to see if I’d like there to be a second. That’s Lily’s game and she is good at it.

  I’ll admit, though, Josh is the first one for a while to pass the cross-country test.

  Today is the day, the day I go to Malibu with Jack. I’ve never been on an overnight trip with a boyfriend before and now I’m exiting a plane in southern California.

  “You get to meet my sister, Hannah. She’s really excited to meet the girl who’s stolen my heart.”

  “Aw… I stole your heart?” Mine races in my chest as we walk through the airport. “Wait, your sister will be there?”

  “Yeah, my whole family, they’re really excited to meet you.”

  “Jack! Oh my, God, you didn’t tell me I was meeting your family. I’m not ready.”

  I stop walking and try to stop myself from hyperventilating. Why would he surprise me with this? Meeting a guy’s parents for the first time is a big deal. Meeting them when you’ve prepared for a weekend of no clothes is an even bigger deal.

  “Don’t be nervous, babe. They’re gonna love you.” He runs his hand down my arm before squeezing my hand reassuringly.

  “Really? Cause this is important.”

  “I know.” He nods his head, agreeing with me.

  “I mean like… this is a we’re-in-a-serious-relationship kind of important.”

  “I know.” He says again, with only a smile.

  How is he not worried about this? We’ve never even talked about how serious we are or where the relationship is going. .

  “So, what you’re saying is, that we’ve reached that point, the serious relationship point, even though we’ve never… you know?”

  I watch him laugh before glancing around at the people walking past us. “Yes, I’m ready to hit that serious relationship mark. I actually wanted to… uh… talk to you about something this weekend.” He nervously runs his hand through his hair.

  Oh my God, he’s going to propose. This is way too soon; we haven’t even slept together yet. Please don’t hyperventilate Ems, this is not the time or the place.

  “Talk about something?” When it comes out all squeaky I know I’m not playing the cool card I’d intended to.

  “It’s nothing bad. I promise.” He takes my hand in his. “Ready?”

  No.

  “Sure.”

  I’m anything but ready, but I’m not telling him no.

  The house is nothing short of spectacular. Even Barbie couldn’t compete. It’s a modern-style house sitting on a rock bluff overlooking the ocean. The deck surrounds an infinity pool and there’s a path from the back patio all the way to the beach.

  “Hello, Jack, and you must be Emi?” We’re greeted by an older woman with dark hair pulled up into a perfect bun at the back of her head. Her face is pulled unnaturally tight, and made up like she just walked off Broadway. “Isn’t she just darling?” she asks Jack, as if I’m not standing right in front of her. “I’m Jack’s mother Amelia, and this…” She motions towards the next room at a man who’s sitting so still on the couch I didn’t even notice him. “This is Robert, Jack’s father.”

  Robert glances in my direction with nothing more than a nod before going back to the paper sitting on the table in front of him. “It’s nice to meet you both.”

  “How nice that you could join us. I’m sure Jack has spoken to you about the sleeping arrangements?”

  “Sleeping arrangements?”

  “Mom, we just walked in.”

  “You will be sharing a room with Hannah, Jack’s sister. She’s out by the pool.”

  Why the hell did I go to the trouble to buy lingerie in the preparation for our big night if I won’t even be sharing a room with Jack?

  “You can bring your bag up. Jack will show you the way.”

  I follow Jack up the stairs and into a room so pink that I feel like I just walked into a bottle of Pepto. “How old is Hannah?”

  “Too old for pink.” He laughs. “She doesn’t come out here often so the room hasn’t been updated since she was about fourteen.” He laughs as he looks around the room. “Listen, I
normally sleep out in the pool house so…” He glances towards the door. “I don’t expect you to stay in here. My parents never go out there so they’ll never know you’re there.”

  “What about your sister?”

  “She’s cool. She’ll cover.”

  “What if she doesn’t like me?” I ask, worried his whole family will think I’m a complete whore if they find out I’m sneaking into Jack’s room at night.

  “She doesn’t like anyone. But I’ll make sure she does this.”

  “Oh.” I feel like I’m sixteen years old again and quietly creeping out of my house to meet a boy.

  “I wasn’t going to say this right now, but I know this isn’t going exactly how you expected, so now is as good a time as any.” He sits on one of the pink twin beds and pulls me down with him.

  “Jack, I can’t have sex with you on your sister’s single bed.” I scrunch my face up in disgust.

  “God, no, I’m glad you feel that way. But that wasn’t what I was going to say.” A nervous laugh escapes his lips. “I asked you to come here so you could meet my family because I wanted to take things to the next step.”

  Oh my God. This is it. He’s going to propose in a hot-pink fourteen-year-old girl’s bedroom. Not exactly how I pictured it, but oh well.

  “OK,” I say, through the butterflies swirling in my chest.

  “We’ve been together now for six months and it’s been the best six months ever.”

  “Really?”

  “Of course.” He stops and takes a deep breath. “I am falling in love with you, Emi, and from here on I don’t want to see anyone but you. I think you could be the one.”

  Has he been seeing other people until now? No, Emi, stop. That’s not what he’s saying. He just said he loves you. Why did I think he was proposing?

  “Did you hear me?”

  “Yes, yes. Me too.” My heart flutters in my chest. I wish I had more of a way with words that could maybe impress him just a tad more.

  “You too?”

  “I mean… I think you’re the one too. I fell in love with you before I even officially met you.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah. I’m sorry, I know this is so romantic but I’m so nervous about being here with your family. I don’t want to ruin this.”

  “You’re not going to ruin it.” He pulls me off the bed with him. “Come on, you can meet Hannah then we’ll go relax.”

  I follow Jack out to the pool and see a tall blonde wearing a pink tiny bikini, lying next to the pool. She’s perfect: her hair, her skin, her designer swimsuit. She’s completely the opposite of me.

  “Hannah… I want you to meet someone.”

  We both watch her turn her head in our direction and prop herself up on her elbows, looking me over through her mirrored lenses.

  “So, you must be the infamous Emi?” She lifts her sunglasses and lays her magazine on her chair. The way she says it I can already tell she’s not impressed. I’ve been here less than thirty minutes and so far this is the worst trip of my life, even though the man of my dreams just basically told me he’s falling for me.

  “I am. It’s nice to meet you too, Hannah.”

  “I’m sure it is.” She pats the chair next to her and flashes a million-dollar smile at me. “Come sit, I can’t wait to get to know you.”

  I glance at Jack, who looks as nervous as I am about me having a private chat with Hannah. She has a quality about her that screams I’m going to chew you up and spit you out. I’m a little scared, but I followed her command and sit down.

  “So…” She starts talking but stops and looks over at Jack who is still standing off to the side of the patio watching us. She lifts her glasses “We’re fine, Jack. Go do whatever it is that you do.” She rolls her eyes, slides her glasses back on and then turns back to me.

  I nervously chew on my lip. Hannah is intimidating, and I didn’t expect this. Jack and I haven’t talked much about Hannah other than that he has a younger sister whose dream is to be a southern California socialite. Not only is she gorgeous, she’s also perfect. She doesn’t have a single blemish on her skin. Her makeup is flawless, even in the sun. Her long blonde hair is perfect, even in the wind. She seems practically supernatural.

  “So…” She pauses dramatically. “Tell me what you love the most about my brother.”

  “He’s…” I pause, not the way she did, but to pick out just one thing that I love about him. Even though it’s only been six months, I’m more in love than I ever thought possible.

  “Rich.” She interrupts my train of thought.

  “What?”

  “He’s rich.” Why do people keep saying this?

  “OK.”

  “So, you’re with him for the money?”

  “No. No, I didn’t even know he had money. This isn’t his money, though, it’s his parents’.”

  “Technicality. So, if not the money, then what?” She removes the glasses altogether and sits up in her chair. “What’s so special about Jack?” The way she says his name makes me cringe a little. I know brothers and sisters are often pretty mean to each other, but I could never say Evan’s name implying I was better than him.

  “He’s amazing, he’s a gentleman, he’s gorgeous, he’s kind, he’s…”

  “Ugh… I get it. You think you’re in love with him. They all do.” She rolls her eyes at me and lies down again. If eye-rolling was a sport I have a feeling Hannah would be the champion. “You’re just one of many of the women he’s brought here to meet us. He always thinks he’s found the one and then a few weeks later they’re gone.”

  “Gone?”

  “Not dead, but you know, dumped.”

  “Oh.” I bite my lip so hard I can taste the blood. “That sucks.”

  “Not really.”

  “So, you don’t like any of Jack’s girlfriends?”

  “I wouldn’t say any… but few. Jack is… Well, he’s too easy to fall in love.”

  “He falls in love a lot?” Crap. Not good for me at all.

  “Well… I don’t know if ‘love’ is the right word, but he’s been with some girls if you know what I mean.” She sighs and lifts her bikini bottom to check her tan line. “I guess if you make it out here more than once we’ll know that he’s more serious about you than the others.”

  I don’t really have anything to say to that. How can a conversation like this follow the one I just had with Jack?

  “Quit the crap, Hannah. You’re not scaring this one off.” Jack suddenly reappears on the patio, obviously having been listening from somewhere he couldn’t be seen. “Either you’re nice to this one, or you’ll never meet another. Stop acting like you’re Queen Bee of Nothing.”

  “JACK!” She screams at him, like a dramatic younger sister would, and throws her sunglasses across the patio before disappearing into the house.

  “Ignore her. She tries to act important a lot.”

  “Do you really bring a lot of girls here?”

  “No. I think you’re the second. Like I said… She’s a bit much, especially for the truth. The less you listen to her the better off you’ll be.” He reassures me with a kiss on the lips and lies down in the chair Hannah had been using. “She’s a bully, Ems. I meant what I said earlier. I love you.”

  “You love me?” He didn’t say exactly that earlier, he said he was falling in love with me. This is a whole new level.

  “I do.”

  “I love you too. I even bought something for you especially for this trip, before I knew your family would be here.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah, but it’s not exactly, uh, family-friendly if you know what I mean.” His eyes get as big as saucers and his smile is contagious. “Hopefully, I’ll be able to show it to you later.”

  The look on his face tells me I’ll probably be able to show it to him many times over. Just as long as we don’t get caught by his parents.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Present Day

  Portla
nd, Oregon

  The Friend Zone

  “You have to find him,” Hannah pleads with me as Evan carries her bags out to their car. They were supposed to be at the airport an hour ago, but it’s been a rather sleepless night. After Jack stormed out last night no one has heard from him since, and he’s not answering any calls or texts.

  “Hannah, they’ll do everything they can,” Evan reminds her. “Jack is a grown man. He’ll take care of himself.”

  “I know, but how horrible to lose his fiancée, the love of his life, and find out he’s going to be a father – all in one weekend?” Hannah has been crying since this revelation last night. I don’t think crying is the way you want to go on your honeymoon.

  “Go, Hannah,” I say. “We will find Jack and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

  “Promise?”

  “Of course.” What am I doing? The last thing I need is to be promising things I have no control over. In all honesty, I don’t know what I would even say if I found Jack right now. I know he’s going through something so much bigger than I know what to do with. But all I can think about is how this affects me and the inner turmoil I’ve got going on. The whole Greta being pregnant thing has muddled up my picturing us together again. “Lily and Josh are right here with me to help.” I shoot Lily a help me look, only to watch her roll her eyes.

  “I know you’ll find him. He needs you,” Hannah says over her shoulder as Evan leads her out towards their car. “Call me and let me know!”

  Jack doesn’t need me. If he did, he wouldn’t have run out without me. What he needs is a family counselor.

  “We will.” We all wait until the door clicks closed before exchanging looks. “Shit. How am I supposed to pull this off?”

  “I’m sure you’ll find a way,” Lily says, before she and Josh both turn to head towards their room.

  “Wait, where are you two going?”

  “To pack. We leave in the morning. I suggest you pack too, so you're ready in case you’re on the hunt the rest of the time we’re here.”

  “Guys… You have to help me, I don’t even know where to start.” I haven’t been close to Jack in a while. I don’t know his habits or his favorite places anymore. I don’t even know where he lives.