Blue (5 page)

Yes, he knew that Blue was there with both of them while they were alone together. He could have made them walk back to her parents, and everything would’ve been all right even if he did not get to kiss her in every dress that she tried on. He did not want to ruin his special day with Meganlynn, though, so he vowed to stay next to her and protect her. They then turned and walked into the dress shop.

“What about this one?” Meganlynn asked Justin. She was wearing a floor-length, green and purple dress that pooled out at the bottom with a frail tulle material around the skirt of the dress. The top was actually a dull shade of yellow and had very, very bright purple sparkles sprinkled all over it. The straps that came off of the top of the dress were a very deep blue that everyone would like, but were also the type of color that no one would possibly want to see on that dress.

“No, I don’t think so,” he said, stepping back away from her. He looked the dress up and down again. Meganlynn then walked over to her purse and took out her camera.

“Here, let’s get a picture,” she said while he held her close. She then held the camera up and got a picture of the two of them together. “Justin, here take my picture alone,” she said giving her camera over to him.

“Okay,” he said, holding the camera up so she could pose for it. She leaned up against a chair and then puckered up her lips. “That was a good one,” Justin said laughing at it.

“Oh, really?” Meganlynn asked, walking over to the camera so she could also see the picture. “Oh, yeah that’s totally the right picture to send to all of my family members.” She laughed.

“Let’s not get your whole family involved, let’s just keep this between our parents and some friends, okay?”

“Well, fine.” She breathed heavily and then laughed. She was having the time of her life, but the one person that she didn’t want there was there even if she didn’t notice him.

“Go, try on another dress,” he said, laughing at her back.

“Okay,” she said, walking away to go and find another dress, though she was still in the dress that was completely ugly on her. Now, it was time for some serious dress shopping. Then, she scurried back to the dressing room to try on another dress.

This time, when she came out of the dressing room, her dress flowed past the floor and onto the ground way past her feet. The dress was red and had fake diamonds on the line of the dress that was toward her neckline. The waistline had the same sparkles but on an optional belt. There weren’t any sleeves on it, and the bottom lining of it was decorated with the same sort of fake diamonds that the belt and the neckline had. There was also a small slit in the side of the dress. The slit was a very light pink that almost looked as though it was white. Meganlynn looked as though she was a princess, and she looked very beautiful in this dress.

“The dress is too long,” she whispered to Justin.

“If you get that dress, you could just get a very high pair of heels.” He smiled at her.

“So, what do you think about it?”

“Well, I don’t know; let’s see how you kiss in it.” He leaned forward to kiss her. He touched her lips very softly, and before Meganlynn knew it, she was in his arms and pressed up against his chest. She missed him, and she needed him. She still didn’t know that Blue was right behind her, and that he was stalking her all over the mall.

If she didn’t know, then she didn’t care. If he was following her all over the place, she didn’t have a clue about it since she was so excited about her book being published.

“So?” she asked Justin as he pulled away. He still held her in his arms.

“I think this could be the dress.”

“Really?”

“Well you kiss well and look good in it.”

“Still, I want to look fabulous,” she said, fanning out her arms and acting like a showgirl with her hip cocked and her feet hidden by the foot of the skirt of the dress.

“You do.”

“Not in jeans.”

“No. You still do no matter what you wear.”

“Well, still. I have to be the prettiest person there.”

“Why are you worrying about your looks so much?”

“This is my book, and I am getting my book published finally. I need to be the prettiest person there!” She had a smile on her face. Justin tried hard not to imagine the girl he would have to hold if she knew that Blue was right behind them, watching her every time she came out of the dressing room. He didn’t want to tell her, but a very tiny part of him still wanted to have her sad, because she was usually in his arms when she was sad. He wanted to hold her in his arms forevermore and never have anyone else hold her. He knew that it was only a matter of time before she would find someone else in the publishing world that was probably a whole lot cuter than he was, and who was probably a whole lot nicer than he was. He would miss her and didn’t want her book to get published for that reason.

“You don’t have to be the prettiest person there because you will already be the star for getting your book published.”

“Yeah, but along with being the star, you are the center of attention and the person that everyone looks at. So, with everyone looking at you, you naturally want to look good in your dress.”

“But you don’t need a dress to look good.”

“Maybe not, but this is still an extremely formal party that I’m throwing, and I want to look nice.”

“Fine,” he said, holding up the camera once again. They took a picture and then took one of just Meganlynn sitting down in a chair and looking up at the sky as if she was wondering what was going to happen the next day.

“That was a really good one,” whispered Justin, looking at the picture. “You do know that you could be a model, right?”

“Yeah, I know, but I love writing even more. I mean, sure it would be cool to be a model, but the girly-girl aspect just isn’t me.”

“I’d buy every magazine that you were in if you were one.”

“I’m sure a lot of people would, and that a lot of guys would make that promise and keep it.”

“This one will never let you down though.”

“Fine, you win.”

“Thank you,” Justin answered, smiling at her.

“You’re welcome.” They looked at one another for a few seconds. Justin took her in his arms and held her for a few minutes.

“Yeah, I think this could be the dress.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, but let me try on one other dress before you say anything about this one.”

“Fine.”

“Okay, let me pick out some more. What time is it?”

“10:50,” he answered.

“Okay, so we’ll pick our favorite out of all of them and then go and get the rest of the stuff.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Okay,” she said, stepping out of the dressing room. This dress was also floor-length and had a crisscross in the front. The neckline was a v-neck, and the back was open. The dress had a halter top, fake diamonds, and fake blue and pink sapphires on it. The crisscross in the front had the added beauty of having a little cross in the front made out of lab-created sapphires with lab-created pink sapphires all around the border of the cross. Where the crisscross would’ve touched even more material, the dress had an open back and had the material coming to her lower back.

“Now, we have to get a picture of this one.”

“Okay,” she said, poising her stance with tennis shoes in her hands while wearing a white, flowing, beautiful dress. She looked as innocent as she could, and it was by far the best picture of her that they had taken all day. Justin looked at the picture, and he wanted a copy of it just in case she decided that he wasn’t good enough because he wasn’t rich and famous.

“Can I have a copy of this one?” he asked her, holding the camera up so she could see the picture that he wanted.

“Can you have a copy?” she asked, smiling. “What do you think I am, a model?” She swayed back and forth. “Of course you can have a copy of this picture.”

“Thanks,” he said, kissing her on the lips. He then held the camera and snapped a picture of the two of them.

“Well, I guess I like this one the best.”

“Me too.”

“Yeah,” she said back. Then she turned around and went into the dressing room once again to change her clothes. She finally came out wearing her normal clothes and her tennis shoes on her
feet instead of in her hands. He looked at the picture again and then looked at the pictures of the both of them and smiled. If she really ever did leave him, he would miss her more than she would ever know.

“Let’s pay for this,” she said then walked to the cash register. Justin followed closely behind her, his hand around her waist in hopes that she would stay if he was touching her. She looked up at the people once again and then back at him.

“Look! The new makeup store. Let’s go in there.”

“I’m going to be out here, okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll only be a half-hour.”

“Better be quicker than that; we only have an hour before we have to meet our parents.”

“Fine,” she thought for a minute or two. “Ten minutes.”

“Okay, I’ll see you then.”

“Fine.” Then Justin kissed her once again and went out to the bench and sat down. She went into the makeup store. Once she had finally walked into the makeup store, he went into the jewelry store to get her something as well. He was proud of her, and he also wanted her to have something to remember him by if she ever had to move or go someplace.

“Hello, sir,” said the cashier. There wasn’t anyone in the store at the moment.

“Hey,” he said back.

“Can I help you with something?”

“I’m looking for something for my girlfriend. She just got her book published, and I want to get her something nice to remember me by if she ever has to go away.”

“Okay, what does she like?”

“She likes writing, crosses, animals, four-wheeling, and hearts—the shape not the thing in your chest.”

“Look at this necklace right here; it also comes with a matching ring for free.” He took a necklace shaped like a cross out of the cabinet. It had a sapphire heart in the middle of it. The cross was gold with a diamond in each of the four ends of the cross.

“Can I look at the ring?”

“Yes, it’s right here,” the cashier said, opening the cabinet once again to take out the most dazzling ring that Justin had ever seen in his life. The ring had sapphire heart outline with a diamond cross in the center of it.

“Hold the ring up to the light and read what it says. She is a Christian, right?” asked the salesman.

“Yes, she is,” Justin answered, holding the ring up to the light. In it, you could see the writing that read:
The Lord is my Shepherd.
Yeah, though I walk through t
he valley of darknes
s, I shall fear no e
vil for the Lord is
my Shepherd.

“What do you think of it?”

“I love it and so will she.”

“So, are you going to get it?”

“Let me make one quick phone call.”

After confirming her ring size with her mother, Justin hung up the phone.

“Are you getting it?” asked the cashier excitedly.

“How much is it?”

“Seems you caught us at eighty-percent off on our already on-sale prices so… probably around two hundred dollars. We’re having a huge markdown because we’re closing our doors.”

“I’ll take them both.”

“Okay,” he rung up the items that Justin had, and Justin handed him the money. The cashier wrapped the items in a velvet box and handed them both to Justin.

“Thank you.”

“I will,” answered Justin as he walked out of the door to the bench that was just outside the makeup store.

While Justin was in the jewelry store, Meganlynn had been shopping for makeup. She had found some eyeliner that was sparkly and sliver. The mascara that she got was gold and glittering. Her eye shadow was going to be white shimmer with just a hint of glitter. She was in the checkout line when she looked and saw Justin sitting on the bench.

Justin watched the door eagerly and waited for her to come out. They still needed to buy shoes and accessories for her. Then, he saw someone else that he knew heading for the door as well.

“What are going in there for, Blue?”

“I’m getting makeup for my mother. She ran out of eyeliner.” Then he turned to go into the store. Justin knew that he had to do something.

“Are you sure that it’s not for yourself?” he spat out.

“I’m very sure,” Blue said, turning back around and looking Justin right in the eyes.

“Really? I’m only asking because you look like you have a very thin line on your eyelids.”

“Now, do I?”

“Yes.” Justin looked in the window and saw that Meganlynn was still in the check-out line. “Or is that just a lame-line?”

“Or is that just a lame-line?” he mocked, turning toward Justin trying to pierce him with his eyes, which, since it was Blue, wasn’t very scary.

“Now look, I have to go now. Meganlynn promised that she’d be at the store over there at eleven forty. I have to meet her there,” he said, pointing at the jewelry store that he had just left.

“Oh, I’ll go over there right now.”

“No!”