AllFreeNovel
Share Us
With a small laugh, she said, “Yep.”
“Oh, little Elfie, when will you learn I’d never let you down?”
The drive into the city was calm and familiar. For years, we would do our Christmas shopping together and it felt perfect to have her next to me. She sang along to Christmas songs and we laughed about every adorable thing my niece had done the day before. If you didn’t know any better, you never would have guessed she spent one too many nights crying herself to sleep. Noelle put on the perfect mask for everyone around her, but I could see through it. The sadness seeped in when you least expected it and it broke my heart. My obsession with her grew at the same speed as my need to make her happy. When she was at work, I’d sneak inside with the spare key she gave my parents and moved some of my letters from the box she had in her closet to the nightstand. I would pick out one or two that I knew would bring a smile to her face when she read them before bed. Every night I wanted her thinking of me as she drifted off to sleep.
“Max, did you hear me?”
“No, sorry, I was lost in my head.”
“Do you want to drop me off and then meet up when I’m done?”
“Done doing what?”
“Wow, you really weren’t listening.” Her hand reached out and patted my knee. It took everything in me not to catch it in mine and force it to stay.
“I guess not, sorry.”
“I said I still need an outfit for Christmas Eve so I can get that done first, then come meet you and we can get started on the kids.”
“No, I want to come.”
“You want to come? Won’t you be bored?”
I smiled over at her as I pulled into the mall parking lot. “Bored watching you try on a million dresses and decide that you hate them all? Nope. Sounds like the perfect afternoon.”
We started at the largest department store and I had been sitting in a seat just outside the dressing room for longer than I would have liked. I told Noelle I wanted to see everything on her, but she still hadn’t come out.
I stood up and walked down the hallway of the bustling dressing room, much to the dismay of the women in there. “Noelle, where are you?”
“Max? You can’t be in here!”
I heard her voice from the last little room on the right and knocked on the door. She cracked it open, holding a strapless dress up to cover her breasts. I swallowed hard as I looked into the mirror behind her. The dress was unzipped and I could see she no longer had a bra on. Not only that, the zipper came down far enough that I stole a glimpse of her red lace thong and the top of her gorgeous ass.
“This better be an emergency,” she said through gritted teeth.
“It is. I needed proof of life since you still hadn’t come out to show me anything.”
“Nothing fit. Now go back out there and wait or I’ll meet you later.”
Her little temper was adorable. “You’re cute when you think you can tell me what to do. Turn around.”
“What?”
“Turn around and I’ll zip this one up for you.”
Her hand immediately went to cover her backside as if she just realized she was completely on display, but she turned slowly. I placed my hands on her hips to move her right where I wanted her and looked into the reflection in the mirror.
“You really are beautiful, you know that?”
Noelle just stared at me and shook her head slightly as I reached for the zipper at her back. My fingers caressed her warm skin, and I desperately wanted to lean down and kiss her neck, her shoulders, and her back, to reassure her of her beauty. Instead, I pulled the zipper up slowly and let out a little whistle, giving her a wink as she stepped toward the mirror.
“Now I know why you didn’t come to show me the others.”
“Why is that?” she said in a small voice as she ran her hand over the soft fabric and down her side.
“Because this one is perfect. It’s the only one I was meant to see.”
Her eyes caught mine in the mirror and, for the briefest moment, I let myself believe that the softness in her eyes was more than sisterly love. She looked away and back at her reflection. “I don’t know. It feels too tight.”
