Raina walks down one of the many aisles of colorful fabric. Her eyes wander the many racks of dresses and she reaches out to touch the tulle of a deep purple gown.

    “What about this one?” a voice asks from a few racks away. She glances in her mother’s direction and sees her holding up a short green dress. It was pretty, but Raina’s dream dress was in a shade of purple and was spunky.

    “It’s ok, I think I want something in purple or maybe blue.” She says as she continues to search the endless racks of dresses. She pulls a short light purple cotton dress from the rack and smiles as she sees the large poppy on the waist band. “I think I found one. I’m going to try it on.”

    She walks toward the dressing room and tries it on. The light purple looked amazing against her ivory skin. The dress hit her right above the knee and had a modest neckline. It was beautiful. She walks out of the room and turns in a circle to show it to her mom. “Do you like?” she asks as she eyes her mom through the mirror.

    “Yeah, it’s gorgeous. How much?” she asks as she reaches for the price tag. She gasps and then tucks it back in. “Way too much. Dad would have a heart attack.” Her mom says as she looks at her daughters face drop.

    “How much is it?” Raina asks quietly.

    “$525”

Don't get any big ideas
They're not going to happen

    She glances at herself one last time and then returns to the dressing room. She knows that her parents don’t have that type of money to spend on a homecoming dress. She’s not like the rich girls at school that can get whatever they ask for and want.

    Raina and her mom continue looking for dresses and eventually gather three more dresses that are in their price and to Raina’s liking. Raina and her mom make their way back to the dressing rooms. Raina glances over at the entrance of the store and sees Justin walking past. He sees her also and stops to wave. She returns the wave and then runs to catch up with her mom.

    “Here, try this one on first. I think that will be the winner.” Her mom says as she hands her a short blue number. Raina slips it on and walks out to model it. The color is beautiful on her, but not as good as the purple was. It’s about the same length and almost the same style, minus the large poppy on the side. She smiles as she sees her mom’s face light up.

    “It’s beautiful, sweetie.” her mom says as she walks up to touch the dress. “and it’s in our price range” she adds with a slight laugh. “What do you think?”

    “I love it, but I want to try on the other ones.”

    She returns to the dressing room and switches into a short cream colored dress. She steps out to show her mom, but doesn’t see her around.

    “Mom?” she says poking her head out of the doorway of the dressing room. She doesn’t see her anywhere, so she steps back and looks at herself in the mirrors. Just as she turns to look at her back she sees Justin walk into the dressing rooms area. She smiles at him and he does the same.

    “Hey” she says as he walks up behind her and looks at her face through the mirror.

    “Hey,” He returns. “The purple one was my favorite.”

    Her face turns to surprise, “You saw that? How?”

    “From out there,” He points to the store, behind them. “Which one are you getting?”

    “Probably the blue one. This one washes me out.” She says as she brushes her hand over the cream colored fabric.

    “Why not the purple one? Your face lit up when you had that one on.” He asks as he continues to watch her closely.

    “Can’t afford it.” She says with a slight frown. “I loved it, but my parents don’t have the kind of money.” She looks at him and shrugs as if to say ‘ guess you can’t always get what you want’.

    “I’ll buy it.” Justin says, never taking his eyes off her.

    She immediately turns around to face him and shakes her head, “No, no. Are you insane? I can’t let you do that.”

    He raises a hand to quiet her. “It’s fine. I’ve got the money and it’s worth it to see you happy.”

    She stands there in shock. She’s not sure whether she should thank him or scold him. She hears her mother talking to a sales woman and their voices are getting louder.

You paint yourself white
And fill up with noise
But there'll be something missing

    “This is the dress we want,” Her mom says as she points to the blue dress hanging on the door. “Oh, Justin. What a surprise.”

    He smiles and shakes her hand. “Yeah, I saw you and Raina shopping and decided to stop in and say hi.”

    “How nice. What do you think of Raina’s dress?” she says lifting the blue one off the door. “It’s lovely isn’t it?”

    “Beautiful, but I think she should get the purple one.” He responds and glances at  Raina, who’s still wearing the cream colored dress.

    “I agree, but we just can’t afford that one.” Her mom says with a slight sigh.

    “I’m willing to buy it for her.” Justin says finally taking his eyes off of Raina. “In fact, I insist on buying that dress.”

    “Oh my, that’s very nice of you but we would never be able to pay you back.”

    “No need, seeing Raina is enough of a payment.” He smiles at her mom. They all stand there for a moment and stare at Raina’s mom for an answer. She finally gives in and nods her head.

    “I guess we’ve got you a homecoming dress, sweetie.” she says smiling from ear to ear. “Make sure to thank Mr. Timberlake.” she turns to Justin and smiles sweetly. “Thank you so much.”

    “You’re very welcome.” he says to her mother. She walks out to find the purple dress in Raina’s size and leaves Raina and Justin alone, again.

    “Thanks,” Raina mumbles as she walks towards him. “I really appreciate it.”

    “You’re welcome, but you owe me big time.” He says with a twinkle in his eye. She laughs and looks down at the floor. “You’ll look beautiful. You have to promise to come visit that night to let me see the dress.”

    “I promise.” She says holding out her pinky. He links his own pinky with hers and they both laugh. She returns to the dressing room to change into her regular clothes and when she opens the door again, Justin’s gone and her mom is standing there with the purple dress in a bag.

    “You ready?” her mom asks.

    Raina nods and they head for the food court to grab some lunch before heading home.

Now that you've found it, it's gone
Now that you feel it, you don't
You've gone off the rails
    _____________________

    “Oh Raina,” her mom says as they walk into their house. “Mrs. Timberlake called while we were driving home. She wants to know if you can babysit tonight?”

    Raina shrugs, “Sure, what time?”

    “I’ll let you listen to the voicemail for the details.”

    Raina grabs her mom’s phone to listen to the message.
    
    ‘Hi Cynthia, I was wondering if Raina would be available to watch the kids tonight. I know it’s last minute, but Justin had a work meeting come up unexpected and I  already made plans with friends. We won’t need her until 6:30, so just have her call me back before then. Thanks, bye.’

    Raina immediately redials the number and confirms the job. She needs to start saving for college. Both her parents didn’t attend college, so Raina wants to be the first in her immediate family to graduate from college and do something with her life.

    _____________________

    “Hi, come on in.” Mrs. Timberlake says as she opens the door wider for Raina to enter.

    Raina takes her coat off and does the same with her shoes.

    “The girls haven’t eaten yet. You can make mac and cheese, it’s already out on the counter. The emergency numbers have been updated, so those are on the fridge and I believe Justin should be leaving in the next five minutes. I have to go, but thanks for coming at such short notice. The girls love when you babysit.”

    Raina smiles at that comment, “It’s not problem, have a good night.”

    Mrs. Timberlake hurries out the door and Raina goes to start dinner. She can hear the girls upstairs playing and she also sees the light from the master bedroom still on. She assumes Justin is still in there getting ready, so she continues onto the kitchen to make dinner.

    She hears some footsteps entering the kitchen, “Please go wash up, dinner is almost ready.” She says to, who she thinks is one of the girls.

    “Great, cause I’m starving.” A male voice responds.

So don't get any big ideas
They're not going to happen

    Raina jumps at the sound of Justin being in the same room as her. She watches as he sits at the table. “Aren’t you leaving?” She asks.

    “Nope.”

    “It got cancelled?” She says as she turns back to the stove.
    
    “Something like that.”

    She hears him stand up. She tries to concentrate on the boiling noodles, but that’s becoming more and more difficult. She turns to ask him another question and almost drops the towel in her hands. Justin was standing right behind her. So close that she could feel his breath fan over her light skin. She watches, in shock, as his hand reaches up to her hair and tucks it behind her ear. Her mind was telling her to stop him, but she couldn’t move so instead she clears her throat in hopes to distract him or pull him out of whatever trance he was in.

    “You’re beautiful.” He says it with such confidence and knowing. It wasn’t ‘the dress is beautiful’ or ‘you’re hair is beautiful’, it was ‘YOU’RE beautiful’ which shocked Raina.

    Her eyes dart from the table, behind him, to the floor and back. She can’t bear to look at him.

    “You’re eyes are gorgeous.” He whispers as he leans in closer. She reaches up and pushes him aside as she grabs the plates and heads for the table. He can’t talk like this to her. It’s wrong on so many levels.

    He grabs her upper arm and grabs the plates from her hands. He leans down so she’s forced to look him in the eyes. “You aren’t working tonight.” Is all he says before setting the table. She stands there confused, watching him.

    The sound of boiling water becomes louder and Raina finally snaps out of her daze and takes the pot off the stove before it boils over. She adds the rest of the ingredients and calls for the girls to come eat. She glances over and sees Justin watching her from his place at the table. He’s smiling at her in such a way that she’s never seen. It’s almost like he’s proud of her. She sits down next to him and waits for the girls to arrive.

    “Can I say grace?” Kendell asks as she grabs Justin and Hannah’s hand.

    “Sure,” Justin says as he reaches for Raina’s hand. She places her small hand in his larger one, nervously.

    “Thank you for this food and my awesome amazing family. Amen.” Kendell mumbles quickly before opening her eyes and looking to her dad for approval.

    “Amen,” Justin says with a smile and kisses Kendell on the cheek. “Did you girls have a good day?”

    Hannah nods as she shoves mac and cheese into her mouth. Kendell does the same.
    
    “How about you?” Justin says turning to look at Raina.

    She nods and smiles at the thought of her purple homecoming dress. “Thanks again for the dress.”

    He shakes his head, “It’s not a big deal. You deserved it.” He says as he absent-mindedly pats her knee, under the table.

    “I got to color a picture.” Hannah says with wide eyes. “It was a bird!”

    “That’s cool. Did you hang it up?”

    “It’s not done.” She says with a giggle.

    Raina watches in silence. She’s not sure what to think of the slight touch Justin gave her and she isn’t sure what to think of his comments about her not working tonight.  
    
    “May I be excused?” Kendell says with a full mouth of food.

    Justin nods with a smile.

    “Me too?” Hannah says with pleading eyes.

    “Go ahead. I’ll be up to read you a bedtime story when you’re ready.” He says as both girls run up to their room.

    Raina stands and starts grabbing plates to clean up. Justin immediately stops her.

    “You’re a guest. Guests don’t clean up.” he says as he grabs the plates from her small hands. He sets them on the counter and grabs her wrist. He guides her into the living room, “sit and relax” he demands. “I’ve got the cleaning under control.”

    Raina does as he said and watches some TV. A few minutes later, Justin joins her on the couch. She feels him reach for her wrist.

    “That’s a pretty bracelet.” His fingers play with the clasp and slightly brush against her skin.

    Chills run up her back when his finger gently scratches her inner wrist.

    “Jamie used to wear dresses like yours and then we had kids. Her style was never the same since.” He says as his eyes travel from her bracelet to her dress and sweater.

You'll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking

    She reaches down to pull her dress farther down her legs, but it’s not useful. Justin gently pulls her hand from the hem and rubs his thumb over her smooth knuckles. She watches in shock as he brings it to his lips and places a quick kiss to the back, never breaking eye contact.

    “You’re really -” He starts, but is interrupted by Kendell who runs into the room. Justin quickly drops Raina’s hand and jumps off the couch.

    “We ready for stories, daddy.” Kendell announces as she holds her hands up for Justin to pick her up.

    Justin nods and runs a hand over his head and lets out a deep breath. He glances back at Raina as he walks towards the stairs. She’s trying to look anywhere but at him.
    
    Raina sits there for a few seconds before realizing what just happened. She gathers her belongings and leaves before Justin comes back. There is no other way to get home, except to walk. She starts the long journey and gets home an hour later. She reaches for the door and wipes her face with the back of her hand. It’s wet and she’s not sure why she’d been crying.