"Well what do you think about this one?"
Aymie stepped out of the closet holding up a floor length, casual dress, cut with a deep V, multi-colored embroidery around the neckline, and colored with a deep olive hue. It was comfortable and, unlike a lot of her other clothes, didn't do much for Aymie's shape. She figured it would be perfect and she showed off the dress to Derek, who was lounging comfortably on her bed, shirtless, browsing some social media site on his phone.
"It looks fine, babe," he answered, without even looking.
Aymie threw a hanger at him. "You didn't even see it!"
Derek looked over after she totally missed him with the hanger and lofted a brow. "Why do you care so much about what you're wearing? It's your own party. Just wear what you have on."
Aymie looked down at herself in her near see through tank top and high-waisted jeans. She pursed her lips. No, this wouldn't do. It showed off too much. She wanted to fade into the crowd tonight, to not draw attention to herself.
Especially not his attention.
She resigned to the olive dress and pulled it out of the close completely, rummaging her drawers for a patterned bandeau to wear beneath the deep V, making it much more conservative. She'd tie her hair up in a bun and wear minimal makeup. That would certainly do the trick. She shut the door and began to undress, stripping down bare in front of Derek so that she could change.
He perked up immediately. "Mmm... Have I told you today that you're fucking stunning?" he asked, pushing up off of the bed to come over and put his hands on her.
Aymie stepped out of his grip immediately. "Yeah, you did earlier. But thank you." She shot him a forced smile over her shoulder and started pulling on the bandeau
Derek stepped in and tried to stop her. "You know there's still like, an hour before guests will show up. We could always...entertain ourselves." His tone spoke of much more than innocent entertainment and he placed his hands on her hips again, guiding her backside into his pelvis, where he already had the beginnings of an erection.
Aymie stiffened at the feel of it and stepped away again. "My mom might need help in the kitchen. I can't."
Derek let her go this time, and sat back down on the bed, keeping quiet and adjusting himself in his pants. After she'd pulled on the bandeau and the dress, he spoke up. "Is everything alright, babe?"
Aymie stopped and turned to look at him. "...Y-Yeah, why?" She felt a lump in her throat.
He reached up to scratch at the back of his head. "I don't know, you just seem a little distant. We've hardly spoken the last couple days and...well," he gestured to her. "You don't want me to touch you. That's like, a first for you."
She sighed and started to pull up her hair. He was right, of course. Rather than come clean and confess to Derek the moments she shared with Mr. Davis, she distanced herself from him near entirely except to invite him to tonight's party. Every time they spoke, the words threatened to tumble out, so she said as little as possible in an effort to put the whole thing behind her. Judging by her increasing heart rate as the day drew closer and closer to the party, and the near constant wetness between her legs from that anticipation, she was failing miserably.
Why did mom have to invite Mr. Davis? They hardly even talked and even when they did, it was little more than a passing 'hi, how are you' type of conversation; certainly not the type that two good friends would have. Maybe he wouldn't even show up. She knew that was unlikely, but Aymie held onto that sliver of hope that she was getting all worked up for nothing. After all, Max was still in a cast and needed to be looked after. Maybe Mr. Davis wouldn't ever step through her front door.
That thought made Aymie's chest tighten. She knew she'd be disappointed if he didn't come. Damn it all, but she had such a strong want for him to be near her. Something she didn't even understand, let alone know what to do with, and it made her stomach well up with butterflies.
"I don't know, Derek, sometimes things just...shift." She tied up her hair in a loose bun that let tendrils of her locks hang down around her neck. "Things aren't always going to be exactly the way they've always been. We grow and we...change and...I don't know." She put a headband atop her head and pushed her hair back from her face. "Things change."
Derek watched her and then ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, alright. You're right, I guess." He stood up and started pulling on his shirt. "Just feels like you don't want me anymore."
That made Aymie stop in her tracks. For fuck's sake, it had only been three days. It's not like she was holding out for months on end. She welled up with irritation and grimaced at her reflection in the mirror when she saw her cheeks reddening, her face growing hot. Derek tugged on his shirt and left her in there, heading out into the other room. Aymie heaved a sigh. Of course she still wanted him, she loved Derek! Just because she hadn't thought about him sexually in three days didn't mean she didn't want him anymore.
Did it?
Aymie shook her head and tried not to think about it. She dabbed on a bit of under-eye concealer and a sheer lip gloss, applied her roll-on perfume and put on some deodorant, then eyed herself in the mirror. She looked average, and that was exactly what she was shooting for. Nothing too fancy, but also not overly frumpy either. Something that would blend in with everyone else.
"Aym, honey, can you come out and help me with the pasta salad?" Rosaline called.
Aymie breathed deeply and looked at the clock. It was 45 minutes until the party's start. Hopefully she'd be able to keep her shit together and not make a fool out of herself whenever Mr. Davis came. Well, if he came. She was thankful that Derek was here, even if he was acting weird. She could cling to him all night and show Mr. Davis that this was who she really belonged with...even if her body was telling her the exact opposite.