Achieving Unbroken
Chapter Fifty Three

—

"I lose my mind before I see you and I separated;
I'm so scared to lose you, never choosing to let go,
Love's so fragile, anything can happen, and we know"
Blind | PRETTYMUCH

—

Lilla
[Saturday, December 1st, 2018]

Jace❤️: Good morning, my beloved fake girlfriend. I have an invitation for you.

Me: I'm intrigued.

One minute goes by.

Me: Ok. Suspense has gone on long enough. Getting bored.

Jace❤️: Haha, sorry. I'll tell you.

Jace❤️: On Friday night, December 21st, my parents firm is having what my mom is calling a gala. Carl and the twins can't come but they want me there and said that I can bring a date because if I have to wear a suit and talk to their stuffy partners of the firm I'm going to commit a felony.

Me: That's so cool! Is this you asking me on a date? 😊

Jace❤️: Not just any date, Lilly. This is the Oakland Law Charity Gala. This is the one of the only times a year that the wealth of Seattle will actually wear formal clothing

Me: Ahaahahaha you're so right. I'm there. Thank you so much for inviting me!! I think I have the perfect dress too ;)

Running upstairs to where my mom is in her bathroom doing her hair, I have an unbreakable smile as I wheeze from not pacing myself.

"Mom," comes out in one of my exhales, "Jason invited me to a charity gala his parents are throwing and I need to borrow one of your dresses."

My mom, who took her turn working for some luxury clothing stores for a bit in the 90's, has a small group of beautiful gowns that she's worn to a handful of events. I used to try them on all the time as a little kid, but they never fit me... And now that I'm significantly more, erm, developed, they probably fit like a glove now.

"Oh, but Lilla, don't you want a new one?"

I mean, that would be cool, but why spend hundreds of dollars when you can wear a dress that you already own that is in perfect shape?

So that's exactly what I tell her. She clearly forgot about the dress hiding in the back of her closet that she never looks at and hasn't worn in 20 years, the dress which I dubbed the "mermaid" dress when I was younger. Funny, because it's actually the literal mermaid dress style, but I didn't name it because of that; I named it that because it has rhinestones all over it and is sea foam green.

It looks like a designer dress that a legitimate mermaid would wear.

"I'm not sure I have something that's a good style for this kind of event..."

"What about the mermaid dress?"

Her jaw slacks, lips forming a small "o".

"Weren't you going to wear that to prom?"

"Prom shmom. I'll get a new dress for prom. I really want to wear the mermaid dress for this!"

Mom doesn't nod or smile or laugh or anything, but the shine in her eyes as she looks towards the closer is my go ahead to try the dress on and see if it fits.

The dress, previously thought to never be worn again, is folded and wrapped in plastic on the shelf of my mother's closet. I slip out of my pajamas and pull the dress up and over my hips, seeing no issue in how it fits me. Grasping behind my back, I find the zipper and tug it up as far as it goes.

The full length mirror in her walk-in gives me a good view of how perfectly the dress fits. Not to be stuck-up or anything, but damn. I'm lucky that it fits well.

I walk out of the closet to show Mom how it looks, and this time, she does smile.

"It's perfect. Jesus, Lilla, it's perfect!"

She's so surprised, and it's amusing enough that I laugh. I do a few princess twirls wearing the dress, loving how confident I feel in it; and grab my phone next.

I take a picture of the bottom of the dress, camera looking down at my feet, and send it to Jason.

Me: Can't wait for winter break ;)

Jace❤️: God, me neither.

My faint blush goes unnoticed by my mom.

—

[Friday, December 21st, 2018 - 7:28 PM]

"Lilla, Jason's gonna be here soon!"

"Uh, yeah, I know!"

"Okay, well hurry up!"

I hear footsteps walking away from my bathroom door, my heart now beating rapidly due to my mother's rushing. Nothing makes me more nervous than her knocking on my door, because I know that it means I've got to hustle.

The only thing I really bought for the gala was an exquisite hair clip to pull the front parts out of my face and fasten them behind my head. It is silver, and has small, delicate designs where pearls are cleverly placed. It fits the oceanic idea I have in my head when I see this dress.

Stumbling out of the bathroom, I try to not step on the thin layers of fabric curling out from the dress, and grab the shoes on my dresser which I also borrowed from my mom. They have about a 2.5 inch heel (~6.35 cm), are silver, and have straps on them that lay over my ankle and close to my toes.

Finally attaining the silver beaded clutch that my mom put on my bed, I put my phone, lipstick, house keys and a mirror in it, snap it shut, and then walk as fast as I can on the carpet in heels to get downstairs. Jason still hasn't knocked on the door, which he said he would, so I am right on time. I also remember to get the beaded evening sweater that my mom is letting me borrow, so that I don't freeze in the December cold.

My heel pounds loudly on the hardwood floors of the downstairs, and the second it hits, more knocks follow, but not from my shoes; from the door.

Jason's here.

My mom, wearing slippers, runs to answer the door while I closely follow behind. For wearing stilettos, I can manage pretty well.

The two of them exchange pleasantries before Jason looks over to me as I walk into the light cast by  the porch light. In front of my other, his eyes trace up and down my figure and when they finally land back on my face, he smiles.

While he was admiring me (internal hair flip), I took the time to get a good view of him in his suit, and may I just say, I might force him to wear this same thing every day. Hot damn.

I've heard about "the tuxedo effect", but never believed it until now.

"Hi," he says, somehow sounding breathless even though he's been standing in a still position for a few minutes.

"Hi."

"You look... stunning."

"I think so too. Now, you two need to go, I don't want you to be late and loitering around on the porch the whole night. Go! Have fun! Love you!" Mom practically pushes me out the door, and I unexpectedly miss my footing a little and have to grasp onto Jason to keep myself steady. He gladly obliges, and wraps an arm around my waist.

By the time I turn to say a real goodbye to my mother, she's shutting the door on us, so I barely giggle out a "love you too!" before the the two of us are looking straight at a door and not my mom.

"Seriously. You're beautiful," I hear, and I look to Jason to see that he is way closer than I thought.

"And you are very handsome. You clean up ridiculously well."

"I appreciate your noticing. Now, the gala starts at 7:30, but everyone's going to get there at 8. They want us there a little early, so let's get going."

He keeps his hand on my back as he walks me to the passenger side of the car, and opens the door for me to get in. Once I am, he goes to sit in the drivers seat and starts the car, but before backing out of my driveway he reaches over and touches the bottom of my chin, and turns my head towards him.

He leans across the center console and I meet him halfway into a kiss, which makes me feel more beautiful than any words ever could.

Sometimes I wonder if we should stop doing this when we don't have anyone to act for. Then again, I'm pretty sure the both of us stopped acting awhile ago.

—

The ballroom of the Beaumont Hotel is a place typically utilized for wedding receptions, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, and the sweet sixteen parties for teenage girls who are fortunate enough to have the family money to afford a place like this.

Along with, of course, charity galas thrown by the successful techies and business owners of Seattle.

The color scheme of the gala is simple but elegant, with crisp whites and lavender purples. Jason told me that his mom was the one who picked out things like this, and that both his parents chose the food. I have to applaud Saige on this one, she did a fantastic job.

"This is amazing," I tell him. "I still can't believe you invited me. This is so cool."

"I'm just glad you're here, and excited."

We share a smile, and continue to walk around the ballroom.

"Lilla!" I hear behind us, and we turn to see Saige and Stephen approaching; Saige with open arms and speed walking, Stephen keeping his composure and strolling through at a steady pace.

Saige and I embrace in a hug, and I hear Jason off to my side mumbling "hi Mom, it's me, your son" in a sarcastic tone.

"I am so glad you're here, Lilla. When I told Jason to bring a date I was definitely hoping he would bring you."

"Thank you so much for having me, Saige. Everything in here is wonderful. You did an amazing job."

"Oh, I've been doing this for years. We took last year off, but... We thought this year would be the time to bring it back."

"Well I'm very glad, and I'm sure all of your partners and associates are too."

She then turns to Jason to give him a hug, and next to her, Stephen has appeared. I expect him to shake my hand, so I hold mine out. He gives me a look.

"Lilla, you've been with this family for awhile now. I don't shake hands with family." For the first time ever, I see him laugh, and he goes in for a hug instead.

This is how I know I've really made it.

The four of us talk, but then guests start pouring in, the live orchestra begins to play, and people either are taking their seats or dancing a little.

"May I?" I hear Jason say, and I look at him to see his hand out towards me, eyes shifting from me to the dance floor.

"You may."

We dance for two songs, and then Jason goes around to schmooze with me hot on his tail. Eventually, dinner starts, and I am seated with Jason, his parents, and some select partners from their firm. I engaged in a long conversation with Saige, later feeling guilty for pulling her away from her coworkers; but Jason reassured me that if she wanted to speak to other people she would have.

The food is beyond delicious, and after dinner everyone goes back to socializing and dancing. By the look in his eyes, I can tell Jason wants to dance some more—so I grab his hand without a word and yank him onto the dance floor.

We stay in each other's arms, dancing, for the rest of the evening.