"Meet you here in half an hour." With that she disappeared into her own room. I stared after her for a minute before shaking my head. With nothing else to do I went to my own room to shower. If I didn't, I know for sure Hannah will come in here and kill me.
I took my time getting in the shower. Personally I was in no rush to get ready. Wasn't like I was going to impress anyone. I had full plans on coming home alone after this date and watching some tv before bed. Just a usual Friday for me.
I did take some time to wash my hair and make sure my legs were shaved. Wasn't going to show up to the restaurant looking like a Yeti. I may not have a boyfriend but I wasn't going to go outside looking like a cave person.
Humming under my breath as I came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around me, I didn't notice Hannah sitting there until she cleared her throat. Cursing I jumped, clenching the towel tighter around me.
"Fuck don't do that!" I hissed, my heart racing.
"You've been in there for ages. Come on we need to get ready." She ignored my words as she stood up and headed for my vanity. I then noticed she was wrapped in a robe and that she already had tons of mine and her makeup spread out on the counter.
"So I'm going to do your hair first then mine and then get in our outfits before makeup." Han listed off rapidly. I could see her nervousness started to show as she fluttered around my room.
I let her do her thing as I grabbed some underwear and my robe from the back of the door. I slipped into the bathroom and quickly changed before emerging again. As soon as I came back Hannah was right there.
"Sit." She demanded. I kept my tongue in my mouth as I followed her directions and sat in front of my mirror. Immediately she got to work on brushing and drying my hair. When 10 minutes passed of pure silence I finally spoke up.
"Han...are you okay?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" She answered too quickly for me to believe her. I sent her a look through the mirror.
"I know you too well for you to lie to me."
With a sigh she answered, "Fine. I'm really nervous."
"Why? I thought you were excited?"
"I am excited but we've only ever met in person two times and it's been like a month. What if he doesn't like what he sees anymore? Or what if I built him up in my head to be this amazing guy and he's actually an asshole?"
My hands came up to grab her wrists, bringing her attention back to me.
"Han, you have been talking non-stop to this guy for the past month. Endless texts, phone calls and yes I've heard you in there face timing him almost every night. If he didn't like you or see something in you then he would have left a long time ago. Yes I don't know him but I do know how incredible you are. I'll say it again...I'll kick his ass if he so much steps out of line."And I meant every word. No one would get away with hurting my best friend. We've been through enough shit together that Hannah is more like a sister to me than a friend. And if someone didn't treat her the way she deserved then they had a one way ticket to my foot in their crotch."He's like 6'2, B." Hannah giggled.
"Doesn't mean I won't try." I put my hands up in fists. "I hit the punching bag a few times a week." I boasted.
"Thank you."
"Anytime." I was just happy to see the smile back on her face.
"Back to your hair." With another smile at me Han got back to blow drying my hair.
The two of us gabbed back and forth for the next twenty minutes as she dealt with the mess that is my hair. I use to hate my red hair, kids always making fun of me in school for it. And I always hated how thick and wavy it was. But over the years I've learned to love it, although I rarely have it down now a days. Opting for ponytails or braids most of the time.
In the end Han pulled a few pieces from the front and braided them back towards my head, leaving the rest to fall down my back in curls.
"Okay go get dressed while I do mine." She instructed, practically forcing me out of my chair. I wasn't entirely sure why she was so focused on making me look good. This double date was basically for her.
Pulling the dress out in the bathroom I held it out in front of me and stared. It was really pretty and seeing it up close made me feel a bit anxious. The deep v-cut front was a bit daring for me. I never really show off my body like Hannah does. I'm perfectly fine in a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt. That is just who I am.
Even though I was slightly iffy about the dress a huge part of me wanted to wear it. I probably wouldn't get another chance to and why let a great dress go to waste. And Hannah would kill me for not wearing it.
I took extra care not to ruin my hair as I slipped into the dress. Zipping it up behind me I turned and stared at myself in the mirror. Damn. The dress hugged my curves like a glove, almost like it was made for my body.
The v-cut front was definitely something I've never worn before but somehow it looked good. The dress somehow managed to prop my boobs up, making them look better than they ever have.
I gently ran my hands down the front and chewed on my bottom lip. The white fabric made my skin look tanner and brought out my red hair. In the weirdest way possible I was a good mix of both my parents. I got my red hair from my mom but I was able to tan just a bit in summer thanks to my father. I never met my father since he ran out on my mom right after I was born, but I was at least thankful I didn't burn too badly like most redheads did.
Feeling a bit self-conscious for baring so much skin, I hesitantly came out of the bathroom. I almost wanted to cross my arms over my chest to hide my cleavage a bit. Maybe I could convince Hannah that a jacket would look good with the dress? Although I knew a dress like this deserved to be shown off.
"Damn." Hannah wolf whistled as I came out of the bathroom. "It looks even better than I thought."
"It's a bit...flashy isn't it?"
"Definitely not."
"I'm not too sure...."
"Bella, you have a great body. You work hard for it and you should show it off more. All you ever wear is loose fitting clothes."
"What's wrong with that?" I defended myself. I love my comfy loose clothes.
"Nothing unless you want to meet the love of your life. Tonight you are going to flaunt it." She wiggled her hips as she made room for me by the vanity. "Okay we have exactly one hour to finish up!" Her hands clapped right next to my ear making me cringe.
I eased into the chair once more and let Hannah do her thing. I could have easily done my own makeup, like I've done in the past, but I gladly let Han do it. If someone was willingly wanting to do my hair and makeup I wasn't going to say no to the offer that’s for sure.
In what seemed like record time Hannah did my makeup before declaring she was done. Looking at my reflection I wanted to wolf whistle at myself. In just an hour and a half I managed to go from a worn down, tired, 26 year old; to a sexy, confident, and honestly hot 26 year old.
The makeup was simple until you reached the eyes. Hannah didn't have to use tons of eyeshadow to make the look elegant and sexy at the same time. The brown and gold shadows brought out my green eyes, making them pop even more.
All in all I looked amazing.
"You always amaze me Han."
"Good! Now move your ass it's my turn. I left a pair of heels by the door for you too."
Impressed by how she already had everything ready, I left her to do her own makeup and finish getting stuff ready for our dates. While Han did her thing I made sure we both had everything we needed in our clutches; gum, extra lipstick, mace, extra money, house keys (we both had a set just in case the other didn't come home), and finally our phones. After putting on my simple nude heels I was all set to go.
It wasn't until Hannah had finished her makeup and got up to grab her own heels did I notice what she was wearing. She had donned on a skin tight black cocktail dress that almost looked glued on her body. The slit on the side showed off her long tan legs, legs I was always jealous about.
They always say men like when women wear little black dresses and then add in the bright red lipstick she had on, I knew without a doubt Ryan wouldn't be able to take his hands off of her.
"Damn, we both look hot." I pointed out.
"I know. I'm half tempted to ditch and take you out." Only a second passed before we burst into laughter. If you don't act gay with you best friend are you really best friends?
"We better go. We have about twenty-ish minutes to get there." I stood up, handing out her clutch and taking mine.
"Let’s go meet our men!"
Hannah and Ryan had agreed to meet at a new Italian restaurant just on the outskirts of our city Everett, Massachusetts. From what Hannah has told me Ryan lives closer to Boston so it was the perfect place to meet.Seeing that Han and Ryan haven't seen each other in a month I took the liberty of driving my car so I could at least get home afterwards. I had no plans of her coming back with me tonight. Not that I blamed her always.The closer we got to the restaurant the more nervous Hannah became. She jiggled her foot constantly and tapped her fingers against her thigh, making the bracelets on her wrists jingle. It slowly grated on my nerves but I ignored it seeing how worked up she was getting.It was still shocking seeing this side of Hannah. She's never one to be nervous when meeting someone. She's always been the life of the party, making friends with everyone and anyone at clubs or parties. Can't tell you how many times we've suddenly become friends with peo
Flashback...."Everyone I need your design ideas by the end of the week! As soon as you get me them the sooner I can approve and you can start. Remember you will have a little over 6 months to complete your final project. It is worth 70% of your grade."The class murmured at the new information. 70% was insane and just added to the pressure of making the best designs ever. I gazed around the room at all the talented designers the class had, anxiety washing over me. I was nowhere near as good as half the people here."You can either had them in or send me them over email. You have until Friday." The professor dismissed us. Great I now only have 4 days to come up with an idea and send it in. No pressure."What was I thinking taking this class." One of my friends, Elisa, in the class muttered. I whole heartedly agreed with her. As much as I hated to hate on this class it was one of my favorites. I loved designing and this was the perfect pla
Flashback continued....The two of us were quiet for a moment as he softly wiped the blood on my knees away with a cloth. The silence was a bit stifling and I didn't do well with pure silence."Looks like someone isn't going to make quarterback any time soon." I tried to joke again. He chuckled again, the sound filling my ears and making my chest tighten. How can someone have a sexy laugh? Cause he sure did."I'm actually the quarterback." He looked back up at me with the corner of his lip tilted in a small smirk.It took a second before it finally struck me.Holy shit balls.How did I not notice before! He was Harold James, star quarterback for our football team. He was a big shot on campus for leading our team to multiple championships and most likely going to the NFL at the end of the school year."Oh god. I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you!" I stammered out. I just told the star quarterback he needed to wo
Present..."Harold?" Standing in front of me was the last person I thought I'd ever see. Out of all the people on the planet Ryan's friend was none other than Harold James, aka my ex-boyfriend."Bella." He seemed just as shocked to see me."You two know each other?" Ryan asked, looking between the two of us. I had no clue what to say so I just nodded.As the two of us stood there frozen my eyes moved on their own, taking him in. The last five years has really done him well. Harold's always been in great shape with football, literally had the body every guy wish they had and girls wanted in a guy. Now he seemed to fill out a bit more.His shoulders seemed wider and his waist trimmer, a lot less bulky than in college. The dark grey dress shirt he had on hugged his upper body nicely, showing off his biceps. The sleeves were rolled up to this elbows. My eyes widened as I noticed the tattoos running up both his arms. Damn, those were ne
Harold....She looked different. Good different but different none the less. Seeing Bella sitting across from me made me feel like I fallen into another universe. I had absolutely no clue she was going to be my double date tonight. When Ryan said his girlfriend was bringing her friend he never once mentioned her name or anything about her.I wasn't prepared to turn around and see her standing there. Standing there in what had to be one of the sexiest dresses I've ever seen in my life. I could do nothing but stand there and take her in. Everything from the way her bright red hair stood out against the white dress, to the way the said dress hugged her curves.Bella looked different than when I last saw her five years ago. The obvious was that her hair was longer but it was still that same bright red that caught my attention five years ago. The same red hair I imagined in my sleep.She also seemed to have grown into her body more. I wasn't e
Harold....She looked different. Good different but different none the less. Seeing Bella sitting across from me made me feel like I fallen into another universe. I had absolutely no clue she was going to be my double date tonight. When Ryan said his girlfriend was bringing her friend he never once mentioned her name or anything about her.I wasn't prepared to turn around and see her standing there. Standing there in what had to be one of the sexiest dresses I've ever seen in my life. I could do nothing but stand there and take her in. Everything from the way her bright red hair stood out against the white dress, to the way the said dress hugged her curves.Bella looked different than when I last saw her five years ago. The obvious was that her hair was longer but it was still that same bright red that caught my attention five years ago. The same red hair I imagined in my sleep.She also seemed to have grown into her body more. I wasn't e
After our small conversation we lapsed back into silence. I picked at my meal and across from me Harold did the same, deep in thought. Besides us Ryan and Hannah were in their own little world. Harold and I's drama long forgotten as the pair chatted feverishly with one another.Hannah had moved to sit closer. Their hands intertwined on the table, the food long forgotten between them. I watched jealously. They both were so into each other and I was right in easing Hannah's nerves about Ryan not liking her. By the way he was gazing at her the man was in love. She didn't know it but she already had him wrapped around her finger."They may a cute couple." Harold said, making me jump slightly. I hadn't realized how full on staring I was doing."They do." I murmured. While I was slightly jealous I was happy for my best friend. She deserved it."I promise you he is a good guy. Probably one the best guys I've ever met." Harold looked at the couple before looking
We spent the rest of the meal swapping old stories, laughing at some of the stupid things we did. It almost felt like old times sitting there laughing along with him. The earlier tension between us long gone.Being around Harold was just so easy. It always has been from the moment we met. He always just had this thing about him that made you feel so comfortable. It was why I fell so hard and fast for him. That and the fact that he made me feel like no one ever has.Before Harold I had two boyfriends and neither of them were that memorable. One was my junior year of High School. I wouldn't even classify it as a relationship honestly. We 'went' out, and by went out we went to get ice cream like three times, for maybe a month. We only had one class together and had totally different friend groups so we rarely ever saw each other. We only kissed twice too. t was a weird random relationship and after maybe a month we both kind of just stopped talking.My second boyfr