Chapter 9

I am starving, finally. I get up, stretch my arms, and groan when I feel how wet I am between my legs. I have been having non-stop sex dreams about Hunter since he touched me in the hallway a couple of days ago, and it is making me famished and flushed. Hell, I can't pass him the hallway without whimpering in the back of my throat. It has been so hard not grabbing him by the arm and demanding he fuck me in the bathroom. Yeah, it's that serious.

I walk downstairs, my robe tied around my waist, happy that both of my parents are gone, and get some time to myself. I walk past the living room and then into the kitchen, and there goes my Zen moment. "Mom. What are you doing here?" She looks at me like I have lost my mind and puts her espresso down. My mouth waters looking at her cup of caffeine, and I just add it to another thing this baby has robbed me of. In the best way possible, of course.

"That's rich. Last I checked this is my house, no?" I feel like such a bitch. Instead of answering her, I go right to the fridge. "Besides, I haven't seen you since you dropped that prom bomb on me, and you know what?" I look at her waiting on her to tell me. Rolling my eyes at her attempt at drama, I shove a scone in my mouth and give her my best-annoyed look. "I am not taking no for an answer. So, you are going to finish your breakfast, march your frustrating self up those stairs, put on some clothes and get in the car. We are going to go dress shopping." My mouth falls open at her voice because I know her no-nonsense voice. I want to argue with her, but when my mom is like this, there is no getting out of it.

Breakfast finished, I walk into my bedroom, and immediately panic begins to suffocate me. I have not planned for this moment. I mean, she is going to want to watch me try on dresses. That is what mothers do, right? Besides that, what the hell am I going to wear? I go into my closet and see an oversized short-sleeved shirt from our Flashdance-themed homecoming dance, and then I remember I had some of the pants like what they wore in Just One of the Guys. Determined, I grab a sports bra with a thick strap on account of my boobs growing exponentially in the last month. I pull on a tank top over it and then the shirt. Grabbing the pants, I button them and then slide on my gym shoes.

I go into the bathroom and braid my hair to the side, pulling some bangs over my face. I add some highlighter to my eyes to pretend I am smiling and some gloss, and I am out of the door, praying that this hides my bump enough. The car ride is quiet and tense. She doesn't try to engage me in conversation because she also knows that I am not particularly chatty when I am being forced into a situation.

We pull up her favorite boutique and when the woman greets us, it is clear she made an appointment in advance. "Aww, the graduate. Are you excited?" The sweet, chubby woman, Iris, asks.

"Yep. Excited." I answer, trying to smile but failing. She ignores it, of course, and smiles, leading us to the dress rack. My mom, however, is not filled and gives me her death glare.

"Have you decided on a color?" Iris asks me, perusing the racks.

"No. I figured when I see something I like that will be the color."

"Decisive. I like it. Well these are some of the dresses we have. I have pulled five I think would look great on you, but of course feel free to pick anything you like." I take the proffered hangers from her hands and walk toward the dressing room. My mother begins to follow me, and I turn to her, letting her know I am not happy about this.

"No. You brought me here under protest. I am going to find a dress and try it on without you in the room and then I am leaving." She jerks back, shocked by my tone, and I feel like shit, but it is the only way I know to continue my ruse.

With the dresses in hand, I walk into the fitting and immediately eliminate the first three because they are meant to fit like a second skin. The fourth one is fine if this is Teen Witch. The fifth one, though, gets me interested. It is black with a floral undertone, and the bodice is covered in black beads. The cleavage is hidden by black lace, and the best part I see, once I put it on, is that it flares out also immediately after the bust, and that, along with the color will camouflage me quite well.

Satisfied, I pull it off, put it back on the hanger, and put my clothes back on. I take a deep breath because I am going to have to be bitchy again to get away from her. I walk out of the dressing room with a scowl on my face, shove the hanger at her, and roll my eyes.

"Happy now? Those are my parting words before I walk out of the store. The entire way to meet my Uber, I am dying on the inside because I love my mom, and hiding this from her is killing me, and I think that I'm irreparably damaging our relationship. I am, of course, going to tell her, but I just want to get through graduation. Everything will be fine after graduation. Right? I mean, it has to be.