In the Best Damn Dress I Own

I walked into the pageant room the Saturday after mine and Erika’s battle of words. Her chocolate eyes never left my face. Whenever my eyes accidently met hers, I was greeted with the proud look of victory. The dark irises shone, mischievous in what was going on in the brain behind them.

By lunch, I could no longer take the malicious stares. As she stood in line for her meal, I grabbed her arm, dragging her into the supply closet.

“What is wrong with you? What, just because I don’t want to be with you, you’re going to sabotage me?” I hissed. The tables had turned; my eyes now bored into hers.

“What are you and your not-so-happy rainbow ass talking about?” Her eyes were still lit with that look of victory, but genuine confusion made an appearance now.

“You told Evaleene!” My voice was raising, and if anyone were in a ten foot radius of the closet, they would have heard me.

“No, I didn’t. “ Now, it was I that was genuinely confused. “I’m not going to tell Evaleene. I want to see you expose yourself for the freak you are.”

What the fuck was wrong with this girl? First, she wants me; she wants me bad. Now, she was calling me a freak? When did the schizophrenia end? It was like I was living in my own soap opera. The drama and pain was almost too much to bear.

“Whatever, I’m out of here.” She turned and left the room. I didn’t try to stop her, assured that she wasn’t going to expose me. She was going to let my own slip-ups take care of that little problem.

After about three minutes preparing myself to go back out into the pageant room, I stepped out. As soon as my entire body was out the door, I was swept into a passionate kiss. At first, I pulled away, thinking that Erika was trying her luck again. Then, the mouth opened, and my tongue grazed over my kisser’s teeth. Right away, I recognized them as the teeth that kissed my lips every night, the lips I loved to feel against mine.

“Hey Frank. What are you doing here?”

“I brought you yumminess! And, I’m not just talking about that kiss.” I chuckled at his attempt at a joke. Then, he pulled out from behind his back, a McDonald’s bag. I jumped up and down in delight at the small token of thoughtfulness.

“Thank you! Fuck, Frankie, I love you. Have I ever told you that?” I squealed as I snatched the bag away from his hands. Now, it was he who giggled at my apparent starvation.

“Nope. Those words have never, before this moment, been said.” I playfully hit him before spreading the napkin across my legs and taking a huge bite out of the hamburger. It was piled with the works, and I was delighted that he knew exactly how I liked my hamburgers. He was a vegan, so we didn’t stop and McDonald’s very often.

Just as a piece of tomato was dangling helplessly from my mouth, Evaleene decided to walk over. She grinned a hundred watt smile that was sure to dazzle any straight man. Frank saw her, and returned that smile with his own, showing every single pearly-white tooth.

“Evaleene, this is my boyfriend, Frank,” I said after I had chewed my food. Frank extended his hand politely, and Evaleene took it in hers eagerly.

“Hello, I’m Evaleene Wright, the host and choreographer. Genna has told me so much about you. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“As you probably already know, I’m Frank Iero, Ger-Genna’s boyfriend. I’m so proud of her for following this dream of hers.” His hands slipped behind my back in a show of affection. I blushed as the eyes darted to me.

For the first time, I noticed that the entire room had gone silent. All eyes were on us, boring into my skull as if it were going to burn a hole. I had seen that look from plenty of women as Frank and I would walk down the street, our hands interlocked. It was a look of pure jealousy. How could I have someone as handsome as him, and why would he want me?

“Well, I’m glad that she’s following her dreams as well. She certainly brings plenty of charisma and individuality to the show. She’s a breath of fresh air, really.” She smiled that grin again, and a politely responded with my own. She looked pleased. “Well, I’m going to leave you two love birds alone now.”

With those final words, Evaleene left to go mingle with the other women. I looked over at Frank and he was still grinning, now rubbing his hand up and down my back. His hazel eyes sparkled, and I just couldn’t imagine what was going on in the brain behind them.

“Hey, baby, I’m going out to have a cigarette. Do you want to come out with?” He pulled out his carton of Marlboro Reds from his front pocket. I needed a cigarette badly, but I also had to use the restroom. Badly.

“Um, you go out. I’ll be there in a bit.” He shrugged, as if to say, “Okay, suite yourself.”

I saw him exit through the big metal door. Making my escape to the bathroom, I dashed in. My leg fidgeted as I waited. He was going to be done by the time I got out. After I was done, I pulled up my pants and washed my hands as quickly as humanly possible.

Dashing out of the restroom, I made a beeline for the heavy, metal door that Frank had just exited out of. As heavy as it was, I pushed it open rather easily. My heart pounding in my chest, I looked around the alley. In the distance, just twenty feet away, I saw Frank.

His lips were hungrily attached to Erika’s.