(41) Ready

Because she knew that Carolynn would wake her up, Makennah didn't set an alarm and let me body relax to sleep in. Around ten in the morning, Carolynn knocked and welcomed herself into the room.

"Good morning, junior homecoming court attendant! Today is the day!" Carolynn whispered excitedly. She sat on the edge of the bed and peeled the covers back from her face. The warm sunshine shone across her white comforter and heated her body comfortably. "I have a surprise for you downstairs so take a couple of minutes for yourself and then head on down, okay?"

Makennah raised her eyebrows. "Surprise? What kind of surprise?" Carolynn was very crafty so Makennah couldn't even make an educated guess.

Carolynn winked and patted her leg. "Downstairs. When you're ready." Then she left Makennah alone to fully awaken, brush her teeth and that sort of thing.

After a couple of minutes freshening up, Makennah wandered down the stairs, expecting some homecoming festivity things. That was the only educated guess she could make.

As she rounded the bottom of the stairs and made her way to the kitchen, Makennah heard unfamiliar voices chatting amongst themselves. She sneaked into the kitchen and gasped. "Oh my God."

"Hi!" Grace bounded around the kitchen island and threw her arms around Makennah.

"Good morning, sleepy head! The day is waiting for you!" Penny spread her arms wide, motioning to all of the unfamiliar items in the kitchen.

"Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!" Meredith waved a breakfast biscotti in the air before dunking it into her light coffee and crunching off a huge bite in her mouth.

"What are you all doing here?!" She asked excitedly. She couldn't imagine starting off homecoming any better than this. "You did this?!" She asked towards Carolynn

She nodded excitedly. "Of course! This is a big day! A big special day! I invited them all over for manis and pedis. Plus I have two hairstylists coming over and two make up artists to get you all ready for the dance!"

Makennah's eyes widened. "Carolynn...thank you. That's so nice." Because it was all so hectic, Makennah previously minded her business about the dance. Carolynn assured Makennah that she would take care of everything. She just didn't think it would be this amazingly extravagant.

Carolynn wrapped her arm around Makennah's shoulders and kissed her on the forehead. "Oh it's no problem, sweetheart. Really I'm the lucky one. I've never had girls in the house to do all of these fun things! This is a treat for me!" Clapping her hands in commencement of the homecoming preparations, Carolynn motioned to the array of food displayed on the counter. "So! This is for you girls to snack on all day. Light food that won't sit heavy and make you bloated. And then..."

"Amen," Penny jutted in while snacking on an apple.

"...and then...this is a glass of mimosas. Do not and I repeat, do not tell William. Do we understand, ladies?" She accusingly pointed her finger at all of the girls until they agreed to keep the mimosa thing a secret. Makennah giggled a little with Grace and sat at a bar stool. "The ladies to do your nails will arrive in about twenty minutes. So get situated and we will start soon!"

Forty-five minutes later, Makennah lounged in a chair beside Penny with her hands relaxed over the edges, freshly painted nails drying. Little white moisturizing pads were stuck to her face under her eyes to smooth out the skin and rehydrate before applying makeup. All four of the girls sported the same look, and Grace even wore a green gel like mask over her entire face.

"So Makennah...how much do you like Theo?" Carolynn questioned out of the blue.

Beside her, Penny started giggling and trying to cover it up by curling her lips into her mouth.

Makennah snapped the Cosmopolitan magazine stiffly to cover her face and her expression. "I don't."

Grace snorted across the room where she munched in some fresh fruit.

Carolynn echoed Grace and persisted onward. "Oh really?"

Her eyes scanned the magazine seriously but her mind didn't collect any of the words from the article about trimming your split ends at home effectively. "Right, I'm not totally sure what you mean, or what you're referring to?" To calm her nerves, Makennah graciously lowered the magazine into her lap and gingerly reached for her mimosa, cautious not to ruin her drying nails.

Carolynn raised her eyebrows and finished the rest of her drink. "You don't?"

Across the kitchen, Grace let out a little laugh without removing her eyes from her phone screen. Makennah shot her a look and kept the smile plastered to her face to maintain her innocent look. "No, not at all. Where is this coming from?"

Carolynn marched around the kitchen island and snatched the magazine out of her hands. "You like Theo," She taunted.

Her mouth dropped open. The audacity. "I do not!"

"Liar, liar, pants on fire!" Penny shook her head.

"Whose side are you on?" She yelled at Penny.

"If Carolynn notices, you must have it pretty bad," Meredith added to the conversation.

Makennah felt personally victimized by all of her friends. "Wow you too? I didn't expect this."

"Hold still please," the nail attendant said kindly to Makennah while she bent over her feet and continued painting her toenails.

"Sorry," she said weakly to the woman, trying to hold in her frustration. "I don't like Theo," she repeated for good measure.

"Just admit it!" Carolynn insisted with a smile.

Removing all laughter and smiles from her face, Makennah looked Carolynn straight in the eyes and said "I don't like him. I swear."

Penny glanced at Makennah. "Wow that was good, almost believable."

"No there's that twitch in her eye? Did you see it? That's how you know she's lying," Grace informed the group while gazing at her phone as if it were just another casual conversation.

"I've never noticed that," Meredith day up straightky and gazed at Makennah, trying to notice the twitch.

Makennah covered her face with her hands. "I do not twitch," she muffled behind her hands.

"You kind of did. Nice eye, Grace. I saw it too," Carolynn told Grace. "So now you just have to confess. Nothing bad will happen. It's not like I'm going to tell him."

Meredith snorted. "Oh please. He already knows. In fact, he's probably more in love with her than she is with him."

"No one said anything about love." At that word, she genuinely rolled her eyes. There was no way they were even near that sphere. They were in a whole different zone.

Carolynn chuckled at Makennah's discomfort and poured herself another mimosa in a tall glass. "Then why the shyness, dear? Just admit it."

She really really really really really wished this conversation would end. She was so uncomfortable that her body started to itch and she couldn't scratch anything with these nails.

"She doesn't have to say it out loud. Just look at her face. Wait until she sees him tonight," said Grace.

"Lights up like a Christmas tree," Penny finished for Grace as she snatched the magazine off of the counter to pick up reading where Makennah left off.

Her cheeks flamed with heat. It didn't help that she had those little moisturizing pads under her eyes which were white and showed off her red cheeks even brighter.

Speaking of, her phone lit up in the countertop with a text message from none other than Theo. Her heart raced as she glanced at it. Hoping no one else saw it.

"Ooo what do we have here?!" Carolynn collected her phone off of the counter. "So if you don't like him, you won't mind if I read this message?" She quirked an eyebrow, sending a dare to Makennah.

She pursued her lips. "N-no. I wouldn't mind at all."

"Um really?" Grace piped up from the other side of the room, raising her brows. Maybe she was thinking what Makennah was thinking....would Theo make any sexual comments about dancing together/seeing her naked/kissing her or otherwise?

"Fine." Carolynn opened her phone and started to read the message. A smile crept onto her lips and she slowly but surely slid the phone over to Makennah. "I won't read all of that. But you're right, Meredith. He's definitely in love with her."

"Ugh," she groaned. "Please stop." She couldn't handle all of this attention especially concerning Theo. As quick as possible, she snatched up her phone. What had made Carolynn stop reading?

T- good morning my queen. I woke up thinking about how I'm the luckiest guy in the world because I'm taking Makennah Claire Thomas to my senior homecoming. I'm sure by now Carolynn has you all dolled up. But don't forget that I like you just as much with messy hair and no make up on. I'll see you soon, sexy

Her every single cell in her body celebrated at Theodore Rose's text. How could she be so lucky. How could the universe be so kind to her. How could she possibly deserve this.

"Look at her cheeks. Definitely a cute text."

She ignored every single little statement after that and thought of something nice to say back to Theo.

M- you've got it a little twisted. You did all the hard work and I just had to say yes and get ready. You've spoiled me already. Dream of me while you're away xoxo

T- oh I have been

T- thinkin about that ass

M- way to ruin the moment 😐

T- was being my date to homecoming one of your little fantasy dreams? Option D? Cause I can make that one come true baby

M- No but I'm sure it's one of yours. Try not to undress me the moment you see me

T- no promises

He didn't. Undress her, that is.

All of the boys told the girls how pretty they looked. She was sure Meredith, Grace and Penny felt beautiful. Their dates held their hands and gave them corsages. They smiled prettily for the camera in the Sinclair's back yard under a massive tree. Their smiles told the story of how happy they were for this day, this moment, this dance. High school was flying by but this was one of those moments that you always remember no matter who the date is and who the friends are or how the night ends. They were making memories.

And this is one she wanted to remember forever. She wanted to remember how Theo got out of the car and instantly searched the crowd for her. She wanted to remember his charming smile that he trained on her the moment he saw her. She wanted to remember the way his gaze raked her up and down, taking it all in. She wanted to remember the way he didn't have many words to express how beautiful she looked but he still tried to make his tongue work anyways. She wanted to remember how good he smelled, how cute he looked, and how badly she wanted to run her fingers through his hair.

She was acutely aware of all of the eyes watching them directly and indirectly. Carolynn spied on her from afar especially after their conversation in the kitchen.

"I'm not totally sure how to do this," she whispered to Theo, holding up the boutonnière to his chest with the little pins. After all, she had never done this before.

His hands covered hers and helped her pin the little white flower to his chest. "There."

"Perfect," she said quietly. She wanted to stay in their little bubble just the two of them.

"You look beautiful," he whispered.

"You already said that," she said back with a little smile as she straightened the flower on his chest.

"I wanted to say it again." He cleared his throat. "I can keep saying it. Or I can kiss you. You choose."

Her eyes widened. "Theo."

At her uncomfortableness, Theo laughed. He rocked back on his heels and looked her over again. "I'm just saying. That dress makes me want to kiss you. And then take it off."

To steady her hands and nerves, she smoothed her hands over her dress. "Stop it." The little beads and bedazzled pieces rubbed against her skin. The material clung to her curves and accentuated her hips. Her long tan legs looked leaner, heightened by her heels. This was the dress. The night. The boy. The dance. The everything.

She kept telling him to stop, but really she enjoyed it a little too much. If anything, this dress deserved all of the love. It was everything she hoped for and more. She never knew she needed this dress but she would remember it forever.

Not to mention, her chest looked fantastic. More than once, she caught his eyes checking her out. Everything did its job. It all captured his attention just how she wanted to.

"Should we head out?" Theo asked, holding out his arm to her.

"It might be a little early," she commented.

He smiled down at her gently as if he adored her, revered her, respected her. "I kind of just want you all to myself."

"How can I deny that? Let me tell them we are heading out and they can meet us there." Makennah bid her goodbyes, hugged Carolynn, fist bumped Jonah, and caught up with her friends before she took Theo's arm, circled the Lexus, and slid inside. Her dress caught the light of the remaining sunlight and glittered everywhere, shining all over the car.

Theo got in on his side and started the car. "Ready?"

She smiled, wishing she could say she was ready for more. Ready to kiss him. Ready to be his girlfriend. Ready to show him off as her boyfriend. Ready for commitment and trust. But she feared she could never have that with him. With Theo. Not with Matt in the way. Not with a protective brother watching her.

But if she couldn't have that, Makennah wanted to enjoy all of this while it lasted. While he was still hers in some sort of way.

"Ready." And she really was.

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I would go back to homecoming right this second just to wear that dress

What do you think?

Xoxo

W. Carolina