Late Eighteen

36| Chapter thirty six

I'm sorry this chapter would have to end on such a bad note after me going on a short break for Christmas and New year. Happy New year to you by the way! :-)

Micheal and his sister wouldn't be here for another fifteen minutes, but here I am rummaging through my fully packed closet contemplating about what to wear. And it normally doesn't take me this long to get dressed, but somehow at the back of my mind, I wanted to impress Mike.

Maybe we could have a long conversation like mature adults at the end of tonight's dinner, even through we're not, and see where this takes us. I'm not specifically expecting it to end well since we both have our diverse opinions and fears, and it occured in my mind that it could also end in shouts— which is mostly on my part— or merriment, but whatever option comes first, I'll be ready to take it.

I had a feeling I would be drained of all ounces of strength in me by the end of dinner tonight.

"Ruth, you're taking too long! You've been in his crammed place for three good hours, and you're yet to pick anything to wear, are you getting dressed for the president or something?" Zoe panicked as she rushed into my room, gesturing towards the hangers of clothes laying around in a mess on the floor. "They should be here in ten minutes tops, and you haven't even done you hair yet."

I looked around my own bedroom and realized that she was indeed right, different attires and heels were scattered around. Thankfully, my makeup was the first thing I did when I came out of the bathroom so I didn't have to worry about that. If only I could get a suitable outfit, pack my already matted curls into a bun, wear my shoes, then I would be more than ready to conquer the night.

But sadly I wasn't.

I picked up a lovely dinner pastel yellow tiny strap sundress and held it up to my body to see if it'd fit since it had been a while I wore it. "Tell mum I'll be down soon, just give me ten minutes. It's not like they're already here anyway, stop stressing me."

I finally decided to wear the sundress, with an open toe heels to match. Zoe stood behind me as I tried to slick my hair back with a styling gel opposite the mirror, her hands poised on her hips. "To be sincere, I'm still trying to understand what's taking you so long to prepare for a simple dinner. It's not as if we're going out, neither is it a fancy dinner, so why the stress?"

If I told her the reason, she wouldn't understand, simply because she's not the one in my shoes to experience this. Love is beautiful, yet corny. Not only does it make you act out of character, it is also an element that confuses the individuals involved, that is if the love isn't one sided. I'm not sure if what I feel for Mike could be classified as love or anything close to that, but it's definitely an emotion that makes me require distance yet still try to impress.

I'm trying to impress Micheal, it's a fact I'm still trying to get a solid ground on.

"That's not your business. Will you get out of my room or do you need help to?" I clasped the hook of the tiny silva necklace on my neck and shifted back a little to smoothen the invisible creases on my dress.

Not bad.

I heard Zoe scoff behind me, then her quick angry footsteps traveling to the door of my room. "With all the makeup and heels on, you still look ugly. Just get down before mummy comes up here, you have less than five minutes left."

"You're just angry you can't seem to match my vibe." I called back to her amusedly, hearing the sound of the door banging against the wall as she made her departure. Her loud chuckle resonated through the hallway as her footsteps faded down the stairs.