“Come on, you look fine,” Jules said when she checked her makeup again in the mirror. “You're just draggin' dis out and I wanna get dere so I can discreetly drool over Cody Brannon.”
Mia rolled her eyes. Cody was Julius's latest crush. “Fine. I guess I'm ready.” The dress she'd chosen was something she never would have imagined herself wearing. The top fit snug against her chest and pushed her breasts up a little. It had beads and sequins that sparkled when the light hit them just right. The skirt began just below her breasts and in the back it brushed her ankles. The front, however, came up above her knees. The inner layer was soft satin with an outer layer of chiffon. The dark green color went great with her red hair. For the first time in forever her hair hung free down her back and her mama had given her a pair of emerald earrings to wear with the dress. She felt under dressed in it but she wasn't going to show up at the Homecoming dance in jeans.
“Damn, Mia, you're barely wearing dat dress,” Beau teased. “You tryin' to catch someone's eye?” He knew damn well his sister had a crush on Gage and had for years.
Mia glared at him. “No. I just liked it,” she retorted. The two inch heels she wore put her a little over five feet but she was still considerably shorter than her twin. They suffered through several photos their mama just had to take before Beau gave them a ride to school. He'd graduated the year before.
Gage
Gage has his arm draped around his latest conquest, bullshitting with some of the guys on the team, when one of them whistled at someone who'd just entered the gym where the dance was being held.
“Damn, if I'd known she cleaned up so well I'd have asked her out.”
Gage turned to look where his teammate was looking and his pulse jumped. He'd never seen Mia so dressed up and god she was gorgeous. That dress, though. It was too fucking short! What was her mama thinking letting her wear something like that?
“Excuse me a second.” He let go of his date and made a beeline for Mia and Jules. He curled his fingers around her arm and pulled her aside. “What da hell are you wearin'?”
Mia arched a brow at him. “It's called a dress. I know I don't wear dem much but you know what a dress is, Gage.”
“Dat's not a dress, it's half of a dress,” he hissed.
She gave him a confused look. “What's that supposed to mean?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I can't believe your mama let you wear someting dat short.”
“Mama helped me pick it out, thank you very much,” she said indignantly. “Don't you have a date to get back to? If you leave your latest conquest too long someone might try to steal her from you.” Who did he think he was trying to dictate to her what to wear?
Gage stared at her. This was a side of Mia he'd never seen before and he wasn't entirely sure how to handle her newfound assertiveness. “Fine, but don't get pissy when guys tink you're easy,” he grumbled under his breath before he walked away.
He returned to his date and wrapped his arm around her. Every now and then he found his gaze going to where Mia sat. More than a few guys stopped to talk to her but from what he could see, she didn't seem all that interested in any of them. “Hey, babe, I'm gonna go ask my friend, Mia, for a dance. We had a little argument earlier and I want to apologize to her and she looks a little lonely just sittin' dere.”
Christy pouted at him. “Fine, go be a good friend and have one dance with her. But only one. They'll be announcing Homecoming King and Queen soon.” They were in the running for it. Usually it was announced ahead of the dance but this year they were doing things differently.
“Sure thing, babe.” He gave her a quick kiss and headed to the table where Mia and Jules were sitting. “Hey, Mia. Look, I'm sorry about da way I acted earlier. Will you dance wit' me and let me make it up to you?”
Mia hesitated to answer. “Won't your girlfriend get mad?”
“Naw, she's cool wit' it. Come on. Let me make up for bein' an ass earlier.”
“I guess I can do dat.” She stood and slipped her hand into his. His fingers were warm where they curled around hers and her skin tingled from his touch.
Gage led her onto the dance floor and pulled her close. “You look really pretty tonight.”
“In other words, I don't look like me.” She tried to hide the bitterness she felt behind sarcasm.
“No, dat's not what I mean. I just mean dat dress looks really good on you, even if it is a bit short.” His fingers brushed against her hair where it hung down her back. “You should wear your hair like dis more often.”
“Like I said, I don't look like me. I like havin' my hair up but dis dress looked better wit' it down.”
“You still look like you, just better...different.” At the look she gave him he almost growled in frustration. “Why are you makin' it so hard to give you a compliment? You look good and I'm not da only one who noticed.”
At first Mia scowled at him but when he said he was trying to give her a compliment she sighed. “Sorry.” She bit her lip briefly. “Thank you,” she finally said.
Gage wanted to say more but the song ended. “I should get back to Christy. Dey'll be announcin' Homecomin' King and Queen soon.”
Mia took a step back, putting some distance between them. “Yeah. I voted for you, you know.” She mentally kicked herself for the admission.
Gage gave her a cocky grin. “A'course you did. You're my number one fan.” He winked at her and headed back to his girlfriend.
