Always There

Chapter Sixty-Five

But my favourite part of it has definitely got to be the colour.

It's a deep, rich shade of emerald green.

Green, the opposite colour of red.

"This is perfect, Kennedy. I like this one the most already. And it's the perfect colour, too," I tell her with a grin, taking the dress from her hands.

She claps her hands together in excitement. "Finally! It's going to look perfect on you. The colour will bring out the little bit of green in your eyes."

I beam at her before disappearing back into the changing room, letting the door click shut after me.

I hurry to strip out of the red dress that I'm wearing, letting it fall to the floor at my feet without really thinking about it. I then pull the green dress off of its hanger before lifting it up over my head and sliding it down onto my body.

I slip my arms through the thin straps of the dress, adjusting them slightly so that they sit on my shoulders properly. I then smooth down the rest of the dress, finding that it falls to just above my knees.

Finally, I turn to face myself in the mirror.

I have to blink a few times until I'm able to comprehend what exactly I'm seeing in my reflection.

It's me, but at the same time, it isn't me.

It's a girl with the same face, the same hair, and the same body as me, but she has a gleam in her eye that's so not Lexi that I'm momentarily stunned.

Because the girl staring back at me in the mirror just looks so happy.

I don't really blame her, because she looks fantastic.

Well, I look fantastic.

The green dress is tight to my body, and it hugs my figure in the most flattering way. I was right to assume that the neckline would be perfect, and when I pull my hair over one shoulder and turn around so that I can see the back of the dress, I have to blink again.

Because to my surprise, I look sexy.

And sure enough, the colour makes the green in my hazel eyes pop.

Now very very very excited for tonight, I open the changing room door and step out of the room so that my friends can see my dress.

Three pairs of eyes simply stare at me for a moment, silently.

Then, Kennedy turns to her right and asks, "Do you have a boner yet, Knox?"

Knox's gaze remains entirely focused on me, and so for a moment, I think that he's just going to ignore Kennedy's question.

Until, to my surprise, he says, "Not quite, but it's getting there."

Kennedy laughs at this, leaning her head against Knox's shoulder. "Poor thing. We understand, though. We know that you haven't gotten laid in awhile."

Knox pinches her in the arm before turning back to me to ask, "Can we see the back, little one?"

I beam at him and spin around slowly so that they're all granted a view of my back, as all of my hair is still pulled over one shoulder.

"I can't wear a regular bra with it because of the back, and so I guess I'll just go braless tonight," I say, turning all the way so that I'm facing my friends once again.

Kennedy raises an eyebrow at this. "The Lexi I knew two months ago would never dare to go out in public without a bra on!"

I giggle at her teasing, pushing my hair back over my shoulder so that it can fall freely down my back once more. "I'm a changed woman, Kennedy. Next time you see me, my hair'll be pink and cut in a bob."