Taking in the zipper on the back of her dress, I could see that parts of the fabric had been pulled into the teeth of the zipper in several spots. How had she even zipped this up?
“I see what the problem is now,” I told her. “The fabric is pinched into the zipper.”
“Well, can you fix it?”
“Yes, but not while sitting up here. I’m going to need to go back there.”
“Like in the backseat with me?” she asked, her voice coming out squeaky. “Will we even fit back here together?”
I gave her a cheeky grin. “We’re about to find out.”
“Slate,” she exclaimed in a reprimanding tone, but I was already out my door.
When I opened the door, she’d already slid over to the far side to give me room. I climbed inside, filling up the small space between us.
“If you wanted me to take your dress off, all you had to do was ask,” I said playfully.
Her face was serious. “Very funny.” She turned her back to me. “Now let’s hurry so we can start driving back.”
Being this close to her in a confined space had me realizing how good she smelled. A floral but sweet scent. Some kind of flower mixed with honey. I breathed it in but then quickly realized how weird it was to be sitting here smelling her instead of helping her.
Reaching up, I took the zipper tab and slowly started to pull it down, while my other hand pulled at the fabric, trying to pull it out of the teeth without ripping it. Little by little, the zipper made its way down, exposing more and more of her smooth skin. As I inched closer to where her bra strap would be, my breathing picked up.
I wasn’t sure why I was acting like a fifteen-year-old boy about to see a girl’s bra for the first time because, like I’d said earlier, it wasn’t anything I hadn’t already seen, multiple times, but this felt different. It felt more intimate. IknewIsla, we were friends, and now here I was unzipping her dress and seeing parts of her I’d never seen before.
It is a back, for crying out loud, my inner voice yelled at me. I needed to get a grip.
Focusing on the zipper instead of her skin, I kept working to get the fabric unstuck. I passed her bra, whichwasthe same color pink as her dress, but I didn’t let my thoughts go any further than that.
“How far down is it stuck?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
I paused. Was she nervous? I hated the thought of her feeling uncomfortable with me or being worried about me taking advantage of the situation.
“Hey,” I said gently. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” She let out a nervous laugh. “I’m just embarrassed.”
Confused by her being embarrassed, I asked, “Why?”
“I’ve never had a guy unzip my dress before.” She hesitated before continuing. “Josh is the only guy who’s ever undressed me, and those times, it was exciting and sensual. Having a guy friend take off your clothes because you can’t is awkward and embarrassing.”
“I’ve never had a girl tell me she felt awkward while I was helping undress her,” I mused, hoping to lighten the mood.
Her lips lifted in a satisfied smile. “Well, there’s a first for everything.”
Smiling and shaking my head at her, I ignored her comment. “You’re overthinking this. I’m not taking off your dress, I’m simply helping with the zipper. No need to feel awkward or embarrassed. I’m almost done.” I went back to work, continuing to make slow progress. “But if I see your underwear, it will definitely turn embarrassing,” I teased.
She looked over her shoulder at me. “Lucky for me, I’m not wearing any.”
I tried to swallow but couldn’t. Instead I started coughing, choking on my own saliva.
Real smooth, Slate.
She laughed. “You okay there, big guy?”
“Yep.” I couldn’t tell if she was joking or not, but I kept going, acting as if her not wearing any underwear didn’t affect me at all. One more snag, and she would be able to do the rest on her own. Getting the stubborn fabric free, the top of her panty came into view, the same color as her bra.
“That was mean.” I sat back against the door.
