Wicked Love | √

Six

MY lips fold into my mouth as I continue to stare at myself in the large gold mirror I have propped up in the corner of my room. I turn to see the back of my dress as my dark eyebrows draw together in uncertainty.

"Are you sure this looks good?" I call out to my roommate and her cousin who are both finishing up their makeup in the bathroom that adjoins both rooms in the apartment.

"Well it's my dress so of course it looks good," Elizabeth teases popping her head out of the bathroom to reveal her long waves and perfectly painted red lips.

I roll my eyes and continue to assess the dress that hits mid thigh revealing my long legs making me feel slightly uncomfortable. I rarely wear clothes that are so revealing. My mother dictated my clothing for most of my life, which means I never really was able to develop my own sense of personal style.

Elizabeth loves color and sparkles and knows how to rock everything she wears simply by the air of confidence she has when walking down the street.

Annabelle is more simplistic chic but loves showing off her shoulders as her short hair perfectly frames her sweet face.

They both were allowed to experiment and grow into their own sense of fashion, but I never had that.

I wore what my mother gave me and many times I just wanted to appease her so I continued to wear what she chose as I grew older. Also my simple wardrobe that covered up more than showed off my body worked well with my father. It was one less part of my life for him to nitpick and look down at me for.

I am confident in my ability to learn and my intense focus to always work harder than anyone around me when it comes to school and my goals. But fashion is something I'm far from comfortable around, but I secretly wish I was.

"Here," Annabelle's soft voice comes from behind me. She hands me a delicate solid gold chain link.

I silently pull my hair to the side as she steps forward to help clasp the necklace around my neck.

My fingers trace the thin cool chain that now sits gracefully above my cleavage. It's simple but layered with my other necklace I never take off it somehow pulls the entire outfit together.

"You're good with accessories," I compliment with a tilt of my head as I now take in the whole image she so easily pulled together.

"It's the one area of fashion I excel at," she laughs with a simple shrug. Her short dark hair is pinned back on either side with gold clips, and she's wearing a white mini skirt and a black long sleeve mesh shirt with sparkly constellations stitched throughout the top. She has a white lace bralette underneath and a Gucci belt wrapped around her waist paired with black ankle boots. She looks effortlessly cool.

"And I excel everywhere else," Elizabeth calls out with a smirk as she walks out of the bathroom into my room with a strut and a flip of her long hair.

Her matching set looks stunning on her as she strides into the room. The top is a red and white geometric patterned bandeau and the asymmetrical skort matches showing off her toned and sunkissed body. She's paired the adorable outfit with chunky white heels, and her makeup is light with her lips being the emphasis.

Elizabeth instantly comes behind me to tuck away the tag of the dress I borrowed from her. Her wardrobe is filled with a mix of thrifted gems and luxury designers that one can only dream of and so much more. The Dior dress she's letting me borrow is one my mother would die at the sight of, and yet I can't help but feel absolutely gorgeous as I run my long fingers over the beaded fabric. The fitted black dress has thin beaded straps and hugs every inch of my body like a second skin. It reflects the light and sparkles with every movement because of the crystals sewn into every inch of the dress. It's simplistic yet sexy and it makes me feel exactly that way.