Chapter Sixty-2

Before he could even retaliate, I immediately pulled away the second I heard Tiffany's footsteps resonate from outside before she entered the bedroom, holding the portfolio containing the design of Evan's custom-made tux. "I swear once you see the outlines of the design you'll love it, dear-" "Actually, you know what, you're right, mom." Evan cuts her off as she looks at him, surprised "I was overreacting when I said the tux is a bit too much, I'll wear it, don't worry." She blinked a few times before smiling widely "Ugh, thank you so much, dear! I'm glad that you agree with me!" Evan sighed as he bent down to whisper in my ear "Happy?" I smirked, nodding "More than." *  *  * December 31, 5:00 PM. Two hours away from the New Year's Eve party. I'm currently in my room unboxing the dress Tiffany had sent me a few hours ago in the recommendation of what I should wear for the party. What I didn't expect was the overall quality and design of the dress, however, because as soon as I took it out from the white and gold gift box it was placed in, I felt my literal jaw hit the floor. Because it was not just any other dress, it was a Gianni Versace dress, the well-known safety pin dress to be specific with the oversized golden pins holding together a massive slit that went down the left side torso. Long enough to reach my feet, I took the sleek black dress out of the box and held it against my body, examining the details and how beautiful it looked. I then noticed a price tag that was still hanging by the neckline and when I pulled it to see how much it cost, I felt my eyes practically bulge out of my sockets. With that, I was quick to get my phone and dial Evan's number, ringing him up as he answered right away "Hey baby," he greeted "Are you almost ready for tonight-" "Tell Tiffany I can't wear the dress she sent." There was a long stretch of silence on his behalf "Why? Do you want anything else? We can arrange to send another dress last minute if that's what you want-" "What? No! The dress is beautiful and goes way beyond what I expected." The confusion in his tone deepened as he asked "Then I don't get what's the problem?" "The problem is that it costs six thousand dollars!" The line went dead for a while, and per usual, his obliviousness didn't fail to present itself when he spoke "That's a problem because...?" I face-palmed myself, literally "Evan, just because your family is able to afford such things does not mean you should. I am not going to allow your mother to buy me a dress that's worth six grand that I'll only be wearing for a party. That's simply absurd plus capitalism is a disease enough as it is." I heard him let out a chuckle from the other end of the call "Maggie, it's just a dress, don't fret over it way too much." "That's the thing! A dress shouldn't cost this much! I simply can't just abuse six thousand dollars by wearing it for one night, plus I can't imagine Tiffany wasting this much money on me-" "Baby, it's alright, my mom wouldn't have given that dress if she minded, plus you love the way it looks, right? I bet you'd look really pretty in it." I examined the dress as I tilted my head "I mean yes, it is beautiful but-" "Then it's settled, just try not to think too much about it too much plus that dress is basically my mom's present to you. Wear it, rock it and just keep it, okay? You deserve it." I sighed "But baby..." "Try not to overthink it way, okay? This our night to let loose, so let loose. At least for me?" I could practically hear the pleading pout in his voice "Okay fine," I said, letting out a defeated breath. He sounded elated as he spoke once again "I'll pick you up at 7:00 PM, be sure to get ready by then, okay?" He bid his farewell as we both ended the call, a billow of guilt engulfing me as I inspected the dress once more, but just shaking my head to rid myself of such thoughts as I reminded myself of Evan's words. Just let loose. With that, I began getting ready. * * * I looked at myself in the mirror, quite impressed with what I was seeing. I placed the flat iron I was using onto the floor when I knew my hair was flat and straight enough before taking out the Versace hair clips that Tiffany included in the box along with the dress. Pinning each hair clip on both sides of my head as I tucked my hair behind my ears, I examined myself to see if I did my makeup in the same way Beth taught me over the phone when I was contemplating on what kind of look I wanted for tonight.