Page 349 of The First Time

Page List

Font Size:

"Of course."

Natalie pulls a dress off the rack. It's simple ivory chiffon. Gathered waist. Barely looks formal.

"She's not going to the beach. She's getting married." Ashleigh waves the dress away. "Something dramatic. They'll be under the cherry blossoms. It's the middle of spring. We want lace. We want something feminine. Innocent but sexy. Pretty. Cherry blossoms represent the mystery of female beauty."

Damn. I've never heard someone wax poetic about a dress before.

I clear my throat. "That's the Chinese interpretation of cherry blossoms. In Japan, they're considered a symbol of the transience of life."

"Right," Ashleigh says. "So something beautiful, delicate, and dramatic all at once."

Natalie nods and suppresses an eyeroll. It's fair. How can a dress be dramatic and delicate?

She brings over another dress.

It's optic white, heavy satin, and beaded all over. It sparkles like the sun.

Ashleigh shakes her head and waves it away.

"You look like Blake did that day at the department store," I say.

"God, that bad?" She offers Natalie a pleasant smile. "Kat, maybe you could explain what you want."

"I'm not sure. Something pretty." I rack my brain for the right words to describe a dress. If I want to be an artist, I'm going to have to get a hell of a lot better at design. I steal the words Blake used to describe me. "Something beautiful and understated."

Natalie pulls another dress off the rack. A strapless ball gown with a sweetheart neckline. The puffy skirt takes up half the room.

"That is the opposite of understated," Ashleigh says. She stares at her phone. Her brow furrows. "Excuse me."

Natalie shakes her head. "Would you like to try it on to get a feel for it?"

Not really. It's ugly. But trying it on is better than sitting here helplessly.

I nodokayand follow Natalie into one of the dressing stalls.

"Did you bring a long-line, honey?" she asks.

"A what?"

"We'll try it without a bra. Just to get a feel for it." She motions to the hooks on the wall. "Call me over when you're ready."

Okay. Getting almost all the way naked in front of a strange woman I've never met. That's normal.

I strip to my panties and leave my clothes on the floor. "I'm ready."

Natalie enters the room. "Turn around, sweetie." She helps me into the dress, zips me up, and clips the back so I'm squeezed in tight.

I glance in the mirror. The dress has a corset top. It's tight on my chest and waist and then poof—this is less like a skirt and more like a hemisphere. I trip over the organza on my way to the main room.

Ashleigh is back on the bench. She frowns with distaste.

Natalie shoots her a dirty look.

"Let's try something else," Ashleigh says. "Unless you like it, Kat."

I stare at my reflection. I look like a Disney princess gone very, very wrong. "It's not my favorite."

Natalie offers me another dress. This one is straighter. It has a slight flare just about the knee, a trumpet style I think.