“I can’t wait for you to see the dress I designed for the masquerade scene,” Lauren told Melody, an excited smile spread across her lips.
“I’m sorry,” Melody cut in, “did you just say dress?”
Lauren quirked a skeptical eyebrow. “Well, of course it’s a dress. Did you think Juliet would be wearing pants?”
“She could,” Melody argued defensively.
Lauren rolled her eyes. “Right, because girls always wear pants at grand balls …”
“Who said that there needed to be a grand ball? Juliet is supposed to be the daughter of an FBI agent, right? So what about a fight scene?”
“Oh my God,” Lauren marvelled. “It’s worse than I thought. This is why we found each other, so I can help you discover your inner femininity.”
“Hey, just because I don’t want to wear a ball gown doesn’t mean I’m not feminine.” The argument sounded weak, even to her own ears. Lauren stared at her dubiously the whole time.
“How many pairs of heels do you own?”
“One…”
“And how many purses?”
“Why do I need purses when I have pockets?”
“If you think pockets count as a substitute for purses, then I may have my work cut out for me.”
“And what work would that be?”
“To introduce you to a less …dark form of fashion,” Lauren answered. “Not that those boots don’t have its charms,” she quickly added.
Melody raised in eyebrow. “So what forms of fashion do you have in mind?”
“Well, firstly we need to inject some colour into your wardrobe, y’know, other than black.”
“But black goes with anything.”
“So does white,” Lauren pointed out. “Anyway, fashion isn’t about all colours going with everything. It’s about finding a balance - experimenting. Which is what we’re going to start doing with you.”
“So I get to be a Barbie doll?”
“You get to be my project,” Lauren corrected her. “And it will be awesome!”
She took Melody’s hand and led her to the backstage dressing room crowded with racks of costumes reminiscent of the 1920s Prohibition era. A shimmery array of flappers dresses, ranging from mid-thigh length, to floor length caught Melody’s eyes, their gold, red, white, silver, and black sequins glittering in the light. Feather boas dangled from another rack, and Melody glared at them. If she had to wear a dress, fine. But a feather boa? That was just too wrong on so many levels. Lining the tables on the adjacent wall were cloche, feathered, and peekaboo hats. Hand mannequins wore satin shoulder length gloves.
“I’m trusting you, Lauren,” Melody grumbled. “Against my better judgement.”
Lauren smiled widely, excitement sparkling in her eyes. “You won’t regret it.”
“That depends. Do I get to wear black?”
Lauren pinched the bridge of her nose. “Didn’t I just say no more black?”
“Not directly.”
“Fine. No more black.”
Suddenly, muffled conversation and the sound of footsteps could be heard from outside, after which the doors burst open and Eric emerged, followed by Bobby, Casey and Logan.
“I have arrived,” Eric announced.
Lauren shot him a slightly annoyed look. “What are you doing here?”
“Mrs. Bing asked me to check on my costume,” Eric answered.
“Well, you can’t be in here right now.”
“Says who?”
“Says me,” she retorted. “Mel was just about to try on her Juliet costume.”
“Really?” A small smirk played across Eric’s mouth. “I’m just in time then.”
Melody felt a blush creeping across her face.
Lauren let out a sigh. “You’re just in time to leave.”
Eric ignored her. Instead, he walked over to Melody and wrapped his arms around her waist, smirking down at her. “Would you like me to leave?”
Melody shook her head. “No, you can stay. But no laughing.”
“I would never,” he assured her before turning to throw his sister a smug look of satisfaction.
“Mel!” Lauren protested, giving her a look of disbelief.
“What?” Melody asked. “We haven’t seen each other all day.”
“You can thank my step-mom for that,” Eric grumbled.
Melody recalled the recording Lauren had played to her earlier that day of Eric being lectured by Janet. He had clearly been affected by her words in some way, and the idea almost caused Melody to laugh, until she realised that she wasn’t supposed to know. After all, Eric had no idea that the entire event had been recorded.
“Let’s not bring that up again,” came Logan’s voice from behind a line of costume racks. Melody guessed he was probably looking for his outfit.
Melody feigned confusion. “Bring what up?”
“Oh, y’know,” Eric shrugged, “the fact that I’m never having k-”
“Kangaroos live in Australia, right?” Casey suddenly cut in.
“Kangaroos?” Bobby echoed. “Why the heck did you just mention kangaroos?”
“To get E to shut up.”
“And the first thing that came into your mind were kangaroos?”
“Well, I was watching this documentary last night, an -”
“Oh my God.” Bobby put his head in his hands in defeat. “Not cool, Case. Not cool.”
“I love watching documentaries,” Lauren said.
At that moment silence fell, both Lauren and Casey’s eyes met and Melody noticed a warm blush creep into her friend’s cheeks. Eric looked at Melody and rolled his eyes, pointing a finger at his mouth as he pantomimed gagging. The silence might’ve continued had Logan not re-emerged.
“E, I saw your suit. It looks pretty cool.”
“I wanna see -”
“No!” Lauren stopped him, finding her voice box again. “You second. Mel first.”
With that, she took Melody’s hand and led her to the corner of the room where a mannequin stood with a white sheet draped over it. There was an ecstatic look on her face, her eyes vivid with confidence excitement as she reached for the sheet to remove it, asking Melody, “Are you ready?”
Seeing her new bestie’s enthusiasm, Melody forced a smile. “I’m ready.”
Lauren waited until Eric and the boys had taken a seat, and then, like a magician doing a magic trick, she ripped the sheet away to reveal a stunning floor length ivory dress, falling delicately. The fabric was gossamer and delicate. The dress had a plunging neckline, capped sleeves of gossamer, lacy material, and an empire waist. At the center of the waistband, a flowery arrangement of eight black beads was fixated, other small beads surrounding the top portion of the skirt, the dark beads contrasting with small white beads. Where the cluster of white and black beads ended, a liberal sprinkling of pearls was artfully scattered across the rest of the skirt.
“Well?” Lauren asked, practically brimming with excitement. “What do you think?”
“Not bad, alien,” Eric commented and his friends nodded in agreement.
Lauren’s eyes turned to Melody, and she bit her lip. “What do you think, Mel? No, wait. Before you say it’s not your style or your colour, I want you to try it on.”
With that, she lifted the dress off the mannequin and thrust it into Melody’s arms, shoving her into the dressing room.
As Melody slipped out of her clothes, she could hear the conversations outside.
“Can you show me my costume now?” came Logan’s voice.
“It’s my turn,” Eric cut in.
“Your costume is next door,” Lauren informed him. “Samantha’s fixing the shoulders right now so you’re gonna have to wait. Come on, Logan. I’ll take you to see yours.”
The sound of footsteps walking away could be heard.
“Eric, you still there?”
“Yep,” he replied.
“Can you talk to me while I change?” she asked, even as the request left her lips she felt stupid, but the dress in front of her, as beautiful as it was, made her feel self-conscious, and she needed something or someone to distract her.
“Sure,” Eric agreed. “What do you wanna talk about?”
“Why don’t we start with why I haven’t seen you all day.”
“Missed me that much, have you?” Melody could practically see the smug look on his face. A moment later, she heard him sigh. “I’ve been trying to hook Reese up with another girl.”
Melody frowned as she started slipping into the dress. “I thought Reese was dating that cheerleader.”
“He is; I’m just planning to get rid of her.”
Melody couldn’t help but chuckle. “You found anyone yet?”
“No,” he grumbled. “But I’m gonna keep looking.”
Melody laughed. “You’ll find someone for him. Verona is crawling with cheerleaders.” She fiddled with the zipper for a minute, but could only pull it up to her midback.
“You almost done?” Eric asked.
When she emerged from the dressing room, she found Eric standing by the mirror, absently playing with his phone. He must have heard the quiet rustle of her dress, as his head snapped up, and his sea-blue eyes widened and began to drink her in. She suddenly became self-conscious of her appearance as the draft in the room hit her bare back, and she folded her arms across her chest, feeling small under the weight of Eric’s gaze- like a child playing dressup in her mother’s closet.
“You’re staring,” she said, severing his trance. “I look ridiculous, don’t I? I tried to tell Lauren, but she wouldn’t -”
“Mel,” Eric said, gently prying her arms away to place them against her sides. “You look…amazing.”
Melody smiled in appreciation. A warm blush flooded her cheeks, but his compliment felt so genuine, the self-consciousness evaporated. When she looked in the mirror again, she felt better about what she saw, and for the first time, she actually believed him.
“Thanks, Casanova. My mother would have loved all of this. She was part of drama club, and she always loved classic Hollywood era and vintage clothing. You know, she was actually named Elizabeth, after Elizabeth Taylor.” Melody rolled her eyes but a small smile quirked her lips. “Maybe she’s the reason I’m doing this play.”
Eric nodded in agreement with a small smile of his own. “Maybe she is.”
Melody placed her arm behind her back, trying to tug the zipper into place. But no luck.
“Eric?” she asked quietly, “do you think you could help me with the zipper? It’s stuck.”
Eric’s brow quirked in amusement. “Have you tried pulling it?”
She threw him a look. “Yes, smart-ass, of course, I have, but it’s not working.”
He chuckled and signalled for her to turn around. His fingers brushed against her bare back, a trail of goosebumps rising in the wake of his touch. For a moment, his fingertips lingered against her skin, sensual but at the same time gentle. Melody shivered as Eric tugged the zipper, and it glided into place.
“There, that wasn’t so hard,” he teased.
“You took long enough.”
“Maybe that was intentional,” he winked.
“Maybe?” she repeated, quirking an eyebrow.
“Definitely,” he nodded, moving closer. Eric placed his hands on her hips, drawing her close. Their noses almost touched, and he leaned in for a kiss. But fate had other ideas.
“Oh my God!” a girly squeal interrupted them and making both jump back in surprise. “Mel!” Lauren exclaimed, eyes wide and a huge smile sprawled across her lips. “You look gorgeous.”
“Perfect timing, alien,” Eric grumbled.
Lauren ignored him as she handed Melody a pair of satin evening gloves that went all the way to Melody’s elbows when she slipped them on. As Melody donned the gloves, Lauren fixed a white headband on Melody’s head.
When she wasn’t looking, Melody reached a hand to remove the headpiece. Lauren caught her in the act and scowled.
“Mel! Leave it on!” she admonished as she lightly slapped Melody’s hand away.
Defeated, Melody sighed and let her arms fall to her sides. She fixed Melody with a stern glare before turning to Eric.
“Okay, as annoyed as I am that you interrupted mine and Mel’s girl-time, I need you to put on your outfit, too.”
“Is it finished?” he asked.
Lauren nodded, pointing to the open-door at the far end of the room. “Ask Samantha to give it to you.”
Eric walked off to the direction of the room and Lauren waited until he was out of earshot before turning back to face Melody.
“This is gonna be so great! I can’t wait to see you both in costume together!”
Melody smiled. “It will be. Eric in a suit? That’s priceless.” What she didn’t mention was that she had seen that before. But Melody would gladly see it again.
Lauren smirked. “I know right.? Now, here comes the fun part. I get to style your hair.”
“Come on,” Melody protested. “I’m in a dress. Isn’t that enough?”
“It’s a start,” Lauren said.
“Is it supposed to be this … loose?”
He was dressed in a three-piece suit, grey in colour, over a deep blue high-collared dress shirt.
“It’s the 1920’s, Eric, the jackets weren’t supposed to be fitted. Now where’s the tie?”
“Here,” Eric pulled it out of his pant pocket. “I can’t fix it, and Samantha’s busy with Logan -”
“I can do it.”
Both Eric and Lauren met Melody’s gaze in surprise, and Melody noticed Lauren eyeing her skeptically. Ignoring Eric’s mystified look and Lauren’s doubtful one, Melody took the tie from Eric and set to work fixing it. As her fingers deftly moved - putting the tie’s end to the right side, then the left side, then bringing the tie up in a loop - she could hear his breath hitch, smell his cologne and feel his chest move up and down. Melody found that she couldn’t look up into his eyes otherwise she would blush. Investing all her concentration on the task at hand, several minutes passed until she was finally done. Smirking, Melody took a step back.
“How’s that?” she asked Eric.
Eric looked down to evaluate his tie before meeting her gaze, half-bewildered and half-impressed all at once. “I have no idea what you just did, but well done.”
Melody smiled and shrugged. “My mother’s father was old fashioned, and made her learn how to fix a tie. She always had to fix my dad’s tie, so she made me learn. Never thought it would come in handy.”
“And then I came along,” Eric winked.
“Yes,” Melody nodded solemnly. “The reason we found each other was so I could fix your ties.”
“And my hair, too,” he reminded her.
“And your hair,” Melody conceded. “You’re a hot mess, Casanova. What can I say?”
“A hot mess?” he echoed, quirking his brow with a smirk. “I like the sound of that.”
“Good, because that’s another thing you’re the posterchild for.”
“What was the other thing again?”
“Cocky rich boys.”
“Right,” he nodded with a wider smirk. “How could I forget?”
“I don’t know,” Melody replied, returning the smirk. “But I do know,” she began casually, “you look really nice in that suit.”
“Mel,” Lauren complained, looking nauseated. “Don’t do that. His head is big enough already.”
“Don’t interrupt,” Eric hushed her with his hand and turned back to Melody. “You were saying ..?”
Melody played along, cocking her head to the side in appraisal as she placed her hands on her hips. “I think you heard me the first time.”
A mischievous glint sparkled in his eyes. “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t…either way, it wouldn’t hurt to hear it again. You know how I love compliments.”
She rolled her eyes, but a teasing smile quirked her lips. “Well, you clean up nicely.”
“I do, don’t I?” he teased. “Then again, you don’t look so bad yourself…”
“Is that really the best you can do?”
He quirked an amused brow. “Is that an invitation to make you blush in front of everyone?”
“Why?” Melody smirked. “Does it happen to involve your wildest dreams?”
“Well-”
Lauren cleared her throat pointedly, cutting him off before he could finish his sentence.
“I hate to interrupt,” she said, sounding not at all like she hated to interrupt, “but Mel and I are busy, and you’re distracting her.”
Eric shot her a frown. “And you’re distracting us.”
“Well, Mel and I were here first.”
Before Eric could respond to that, Casey emerged from the adjacent dressing room.
“Uh, Lauren,” he began, frowning down at something long, dangly and thin in his hands, “what are these seatbelts doing in my pockets?”
Lauren smirked. “Those aren’t seat belts, Casey. They’re suspenders.”
Casey looked even more confused than before. “Why do I need to be suspended?”
“Because you’re an idiot,” chimed in Logan, who reappeared with his costume folded over his arm. “Those are to hold up your pants.”
“But I don’t need help holding up my pants.”
Lauren couldn’t help but shake her head at his growing confusion before walking up to him and taking the suspenders from his hands.
“I’ll show you how it’s done,” she said. “You take one side of the clip and attach it to the front of your pants.”
Casey followed her instructions. But as soon as he’d attached it, he let the other end fall.
“What now?” he frowned, still clearly very baffled by this new accessory.
“Now you need to bring the other end over your shoulder and attach it to the back of your pant.”
Once again, Casey followed her instruction, but once he’d slung the other end of the suspender over his shoulder, he appeared to find it difficult to attach it to the back of his pants.
“Guys, a li’l help here,” he struggled. “I can’t reach.”
None of his friends moved an inch.
“Come on.”
“Sorry Case,” Eric apologised. “But watching you try is just too entertaining.”
“Y’know,” Logan mused aloud, “I’ve always thought your arms were unusually short.”
“Funny,” Casey rolled his eyes, still trying to attach the other end of the suspender to the back of his pant.
“I could help,” Lauren offered, but Eric quickly beat her to it. Clearly he wasn’t about to let his little sister get cozy with his friend on his watch.
Melody, sensing Eric’s intentions, tried to distract him. “Eric, I need to redo your tie. It looks crooked.”
“It’s fine,” he tugged at it absently.
Lauren exchanged a knowing glance with Melody, who winked at her. She shook her head. “No, Mel’s right. It’s definitely crooked.” She subtly scooted closer to Casey.
“Is someone gonna help me with this, or not?” he frowned, still trying to reach for the clasp with great difficulty.
“I am,” said Eric, “I’ve put on stupenders before.”
“They’re called suspenders,” Lauren corrected him. “Anyway, I’m the head of costumes, so let me do my job.”
Eric did not look pleased as he watched Lauren walk over to where Casey was, standing too close for comfort as she helped him with his suspenders.
Logan, who’d been watching all this with an air of amusement, threw his friend a knowing smirk. “It’s all getting a li’l awkward, isn’t it? That’s what happens when you give your friend permission to date your little sister.”
“Are you sayin’ I made a mistake?”
Logan shook his head with a chuckle. “I’m sayin’ you better get used to it.”
Melody noticed the way his gaze followed Lauren and Casey, settling on them with a frown. A furrow formed between his eyebrows, like it did every time he was frustrated.
Trying to dispel the tension, Melody cut in, “I can fix your tie for you, Casanova.”
But Eric was thoroughly uncomfortable. “I don’t care about the stupid tie.”
Melody rolled her eyes, ignoring his grumbling. “It’ll only take a minute.”
Eric stiffened as she leaned forward and started to unwind the knot before relooping it to form a triangular knot. He carefully avoided her gaze and she noticed a faint red flush crawling from the back of his neck to the tips of his ears. She worked with deliberate slowness, and by the time she was done, Lauren had successfully helped Casey with his suspenders. Unfazed by his partly bewildered and exasperated look, Melody smirked and stepped back. “There.”
Eric stared down at his tie and cleared his throat awkwardly. “Looks the same to me.”
“Yes,” Melody agreed, giving him an innocent smile, “but now it’s straighter. You’re welcome.”
Eric scoffed. “You were trying to distract me.”
“It worked, didn’t it?” Melody replied cheekily.
Eric frowned but of course, wouldn’t admit it. Laughing, Melody took his hands in hers.
“Come on Casanova, lighten up.”
“I can’t.” His frown deepened as he swallowed, putting both hands in his pockets. His gaze was still firmly on Lauren and his friend. “How am I supposed to get used to this?”
“Get used to what?” Melody asked.
“My sister and one of my best friends being a ... “ he paused to clench his jaws uncomfortably, “... thing.”
It took all of Melody’s will power not to laugh at his seriousness over something so insignificant.
“Casey just asked her to the Deb ball, that’s all,” she tried to explain, “I don’t think that means they’re a thing just yet. They haven’t even been on a proper date -”
“They have,” he cut in. “A few months back.”
Melody’s eyes widened. This was news to her.
“How did it go?” she asked, slightly annoyed that Lauren had kept that from her. She made a mental note to ask for an explanation the next time they were alone.
Eric shrugged. “She’s not exactly gonna tell me, is she? Then again, she doesn’t have to. Look at them, they look like they’re already married.”
Melody smirked, arms folded and a satisfied smile on her lips as she watched Lauren laughing as she helped a struggling Casey, blushes painted on both of their cheeks. “Yep. Definitely the honeymoon phase.”
Eric grimaced before turning away.
Melody sobered, and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hey,” she said gently, “you don’t have to worry so much.”
“She’s my sister,” he retorted, “the only one I have. It’s my job to worry about her.”
“I know that,” Melody replied, “and it’s good that you look out for her, but she can look after herself too.”
Eric’s jaw clenched and he looked away, glaring at the wall. Melody realized it was time to switch tactics. At this point, it was too early to get through to Eric. He still needed time for her words to permeate. She decided, maybe she could distract him for a few minutes, or a moment if nothing else.
“You know,” she began casually, “I think your costume is missing something.”
Before he could respond, Melody turned away from him and began searching through hats. She selected a gray one and approaching him, Melody ruffled his hair before setting the Fedora hat on the top of his head, angling it, so its wide brim shaded his eyes. She imagined him in a black and white movie, feet kicked up on a desk, and hat covering his eyes. She couldn’t help it; she laughed.
He pushed the hat up, showing his eyes as he quirked a slightly offended brow. “Are you … laughing at me?”
I would never,” Melody assured him, “I was just thinking about how good you look, Casanova and how you look like you just stepped out of an old movie.”
“Yeah?” he smirked at that. “Like the Godfather? Or Scarface …?” He pointed at the small, faded scar that ran down the side of his left eye.
“Exactly like that,” she agreed, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his left cheek, right where the scar ended.
When she pulled away, she could see the slightly puzzled look on Eric’s face.
“Lauren was right,” Logan mused, watching Eric and Melody, “It is like you’re married.”
Apparently that comment was too much for Eric. Blushing furiously, he immediately removed the hat from his head and aimed it at his friend, narrowly missing his head as Logan ducked in time with a chuckle.
“Stop picking on him,” Bobby intervened.
“Yeah, can it, Logan,” Eric grumbled, a blush still creeping in his cheeks from his comment.
His friend merely raised his hands in mock surrender. Barely a second passed before Reese strolled into the costume room. Melody frowned as her eyes fell on the girl walking closely beside him.
Eva.
Melody glanced over at Eric and it was clear that he too was far from happy to see her here. It certainly wouldn’t help improve his already sour mood.
“I thought we were meeting at Casey’s after school,” Reese asked, aiming the question at his friends. “What are you guys doing in here?”
“Mrs Bing cornered Eric after fifth period and said we had to try out our costumes,” explained Bobby.
Reese frowned at that. “Then how come you didn’t tell me?”
“Because we knew you’d bring your annoying shadow,” Eric muttered, quiet enough for only Melody to hear. She didn’t bother to hide her smirk.
“What?”
“It must’ve slipped our mind,” Eric explained.
Eva smirked unpleasantly. “Forgetting things already, are you? Isn’t that supposed to happen when you hit, like, forty?”
“I dunno, Eva, you tell me,” Eric said, coolly shrugging off her insult. “You’re the one with the wrinkles.”
If Reese’ girlfriend was offended by that comment, she was good at keeping it in. She airily tossed her hair to the side and pursed her lips together.
“I’m gonna go check out my costume,” Reese told her, before walking off. It wasn’t long after he’d left that Eva narrowed her eyes on Melody.
“Wow, Melody,” she exclaimed, cocking her head to the side. A look of false surprise settled on her plastic face as she said, “You actually almost look like a girl.”
Anger simmered in Melody’s blood like lava. One thought played in her mind. Don’t punch. Don’t punch. Don’t punch. She clenched her hands into fist, balling them in the fabric of the ridiculous skirt.
“Wow, Eva,” Melody parroted, mimicking her as she tilted her head to the side in thought. “that’s the longest sentence I’ve ever heard you use. And you used a four syllable word. Good for you; you get a gold star.”
Eric and his friends didn’t even try to stifle their laughter. Eva rolled her eyes but she stiffened, looking slightly nervous as she saw Melody’s hands clenched into fists. Melody didn’t miss the look of apprehension on Eva’s face.
Melody stepped closer to Eva, who flinched. She threw a helpless glance over her shoulder to the racks of clothing where Reese was.
Melody offered a wry smile and said, “What? Were you expecting me to waste a perfectly good punch on you? Sorry, but I won’t help you find an excuse for another nose job. Maybe the next girl you insult will, though.”
Without looking back, Melody pushed past Eva, Eric, and his friends and stormed off.
“Mel, wait -” Eric chased after her.
Ripping off the gloves and headband, letting them fall to the floor, Melody paused to throw Eric a look over her shoulder as she called, “I guess you were right, Eric. She is worse than Ruby.”
He threw her a look of sympathy. “Don’t let her get to you. She’ll be gone by the end of the week.”
“Gone from life?” Melody asked hopefully.
He chuckled, approaching closer to close the gap between them. “I would, but murder isn’t really my style …”
“As disappointing as that is to hear, I guess it wouldn’t make a difference even if it was your style. Evil never dies that easily.”
“At least she’s not dating one of your friends,” he pointed out. “Imagine what it’s like for me when Reese drags her along everytime we go out.” Eric paused to let out a sigh.
“I will get rid of her. I just need to find the right girl to replace her.”
“Just keep looking. Though if you change your mind…”
Eric shook his head. “I won’t.”
“But you should.”
“I should what?” he asked.
“Change your mind.”
He looked at her like she was crazy. “Why would I do that?”
“Because she’s a bloodsucking leech, so good luck getting her to latch off that easy.”
“I got rid of Ruby, remember?”
“Barely,” Melody pointed out. “They’re like boomerangs; they always come back.”
“I can handle it,” he assured her. “Have a li’l more faith in my abilities.”
“I will when she’s gone.”
He chuckled. “I’m gonna hold you to that.”
Melody smirked. “I can live with that if you can.”
He nodded. “Let’s get outta here. I don’t know about you but I’m starving.”
Melody laughed. “You’re always hungry, Casanova.”
“I am,” he admitted. “It’s the fast metabolism. Let’s go.”
He was about to turn and head for the door when Melody stopped him. “You might want to take off your costume first.”
Eric looked down at his attire. “Oh right.” With that, he began to remove his jacket and unbutton the waistcoat underneath, tugging the tie loose until his neck was free. He then proceeded to undo the buttons of his dress shirt
A blush overtook Melody’s cheeks as she watched him unbuttoning the dress shirt. He seemed completely oblivious to her presence. As Eric reached the top button, she cleared her throat. She decided to focus on his face instead of the strip of skin peeking through the dress shirt.
Clearing her throat, Melody said, “Casanova, I’m still here.”
“Hm?” Eric glanced up at her for a moment and then the realisation of her statement hit him. “My bad.” With that, he turned around so that his back was to her. However, he still continued to remove his shirt. The air of casualty and familiarity and comfort surrounding him took Melody by surprise. Lauren and Casey’s voices jibed in her head, “It’s like they’re married.”
“Thanks,” Melody said weakly, as he undid the last button before slipping the shirt off. She could see his back muscles rippling, and realizing she was staring, she quickly dropped her gaze to the floor. Eric slipped on his Polo shirt, fastening the buttons, and then smoothing down the wrinkles and fixing his collar. He stared at her expectantly only to find her gaze averted.
“Mel? Why are you looking at the floor?”
She ignored the question, instead turning, so her back was to him. “Could you unzip me?”
Eric smirked. “Struggling with that zipper again?” he teased.
“Hey, it’s not my fault I don’t have monkey arms and can’t reach all the way down my back. I swear whoever made zip dresses is an idiot.”
He chuckled before walking up behind her. Melody held up her hair for him, and Eric began to unzip the dress very, very slowly.
“Tell me when to stop,” she heard him say over her shoulder.
Melody couldn’t help but smile at how..how gentlemanly he was being. There was that warm sensation in her chest, spreading through her veins. It made her feel valued. Special, even. His words from the other Saturday at the mall danced through her mind when she had told him she was nothing special. I disagree, he’d argued, with that stubborn but tender gleam in his eye, “In a very short time, you’ve become quite special to me.” A shiver crawled down her spine at the light touch of his fingers through the fabric, as he was careful to avoid contact with her bare skin.
“Uh, Mel?” Eric began, once he reached her mid-back, and he paused. He even sounded slightly uncomfortable. “I think you can take it from here.”
Melody shook her head. “No, you’re almost there. You can keep going.”
She could imagine the embarrassed grimace on his face as he, with more deliberate slowness than before, carefully pulled the zipper down to bottom. He quickly withdrew his hands. Turning to face him, Melody flashed him a smile before giving him a peck on the lips- their first kiss all day. Even in the dim lighting of the dressing room, she noticed his vivid blush.
“Thanks, Casanova.”
“Y-your welcome,” he said, his voice slightly dry.
She didn’t have to look at his neck or ears to know they were turning pink too.
Giving him another smile, she squeezed his hand, surprised to find his palm was slightly sweaty. “I’ll go get dressed, and then we can get the hell outta here. How does that sound?”
That seemed to perk him up a little. “Sounds good.”
Just as Melody was about to leave, they heard a familiar and unwelcome voice.
“Eric, where are you?” Kelley called, strutting inside.
Melody scowled. Barbie #2, because one enough isn't enough. Melody made sure to close the small distance between herself and Eric, pressing close to his side and interlacing her fingers with his.
Not bothering to hide the disdain from her voice, she asked, “What do you want?”
Kelley barely threw her a glance. Her eyes were locked on Eric. Taking the doll baby out of her bag, she said, “Your turn.”
Eric rolled his eyes. “Throw it.”
“No!” Kelley exclaimed sharply. “When are you gonna stop treating her like a football?”
“When are you gonna stop treating it like a real baby?” he retorted. His fingers slipped away from Melody’s, but as he was passed her to approach Kelley, the bottom of his shirt suddenly caught with her the zipper of Melody’s dress.
Melody winced and Eric grimaced as he tried to pull apart but to no avail. As he awkwardly shuffled forward to accept the doll, Melody had no choice but to follow. Kelley watched with a smirk.
“Wardrobe malfunction?” she asked innocently. Her eyes traced a path from the top of Melody’s head, all the way down to her feet, noticing every little detail. Kelley's lips pursed critically.
“Eva was right,” remarked Kelley, “you almost look like a girl, Melody.”
Without missing a beat, Melody replied, “Eric was right. The doll looks more real than you do, Kelley.” She plastered a fake smile on her face.
Kelley frowned at the insult, but just like Eva had done, she held her anger in. With a smile of her own, she met Eric’s eyes again as he awkwardly managed to collect the doll from her, his other hand still trying to unhook his shirt from Melody’s zipper.
“Cheerleading practice has been cancelled, so once your time is up, you’re going to have to drop her off to my house.”
“Kelley, can I ask you something,” Melody interjected. “Have you lost what little of your mind you had?”
Kelley raised a perfectly plucked brow. “Excuse me?” This time she didn’t try to hide her offence.
Eric, who had been listening quietly until now, decided to intervene to avoid a confrontation.
“Fine, whatever, I’ll drop it off. You can leave now.”
Kelley smirked. “I’ll see you then.”
As Eric was preoccupied with trying to free his shirt from the zipper, Kelley leaned forward and patted his cheek before strutting away. Melody felt her blood boil in her veins as she watched her go.
“I see why you needed help with this,” he grumbled, very much unaware of what just happened.
She rolled her eyes. Once Kelley was gone, Melody reached behind her back, tugging hard on the zipper until it finally gave. “There. Now, I’ll go change, and we can go for lunch. Sound like a plan, Casanova?”
Eric just nodded, clearly relieved his shirt was finally free.
Melody slipped out of the dress and back into her t-shirt and jeans. She was relieved to be back in her own clothes, that felt as natural as a second skin. With the dress draped over her arm, she exited the dressing room. Standing near the door was Eric. Melody placed the dress back on the mannequin and turned to Eric with a smile.
“Ready, Casanova?”
“Of course I am,” Eric scoffed.
Taking his hand again, Melody’s grin widened as she said, “Great. Let’s get the hell outta here.”
Gender:
Points: 3342
Reviews: 108