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He couldn’t picture Sophie in the grand poofy dresses and abandoned them to look at ones with less frills. He sifted through them absently, trying to appear interested. The price tags for everything were outrageous, even for him. Why did they need to be so expensive? Who decided that ten thousand dollars was a reasonable asking price?
His eyes landed on a simple and elegant gown. It was sleeveless, with delicate lacy designs. Noah pictured the dress on display of Sophie’s curves. He pulled it off the rack and headed back towards the fitting rooms.
Sophie was there, waiting outside the stall as Beth stuffed it with different dresses. Her eyes caught on him and the dress and he suddenly felt self-conscious as he held it up to her.
She raised an impressed brow.
“I got bored… I thought it might look nice,” he stated.
“Thanks, Noah. I’ll give it a try.” She took the dress without looking at it and gave it to Beth to hang up.
Beth gave him a tight-lipped smile. Neither of them seemed confident in his efforts. At least there didn’t seem to be any poofy dresses in her fitting room, so maybe his choice wasn’t a complete failure.
Noah took his seat again as he waited for Sophie to come out.
The first dress was nice but that was all. The second one was too lacy, its abundance of flowers taking away from Sophie herself.
When asked his opinion, Noah tried not to sound biased. He wanted Sophie to choose whichever dress she liked best. After dress number nine she stopped asking and he was somewhat thankful, despite Beth’s looks of annoyance.
Noah didn’t like any of the dresses and it was obvious. Not that Sophie didn’t look amazing, because she did; she just didn’t look like a bride. Perhaps this was why grooms weren’t meant to come with.
Beth tried her best to encourage Sophie and make her feel good but it didn’t seem to be working. “Just try to envision yourself walking down the aisle… seeing Noah. Your first dance…”
Sophie appeared to be getting frustrated as she twisted and turned in front of the mirror to assess every angle. Maybe it was hard for either of them to picture her as a bride because it wasn’t real.
The thought made him shift uncomfortably in his seat. He felt guilty.
“Is that all of them?” Beth asked.
Sophie checked the room, “No, I have one more. The one Noah picked out.”
He heard her sigh from inside the room in frustration. She sounded so defeated. Noah had no idea that trying on dresses would be so emotionally draining.
Beth and Sophie whispered but Noah couldn’t make out what they were saying. Beth exited the room with a smile and disappeared behind a mass of dresses.
After a moment, Sophie popped her head out, keeping her body behind the door.
“Is everything okay?” Noah asked.
“Yeah. Beth just went to find a veil but I realized one of the buttons wasn’t done up.”
Noah stood, intrigued. “I can help.”
Sophie hesitated but seemed to remember that it didn’t matter whether he saw her or not. She stepped away from the door, revealing the dress that he had picked out for her.
Noah didn’t have the words.
“Do you like it?” she asked, rubbing her hands over her hips.
The dress fit her like a glove, hugging her closely all the way down to her calves, where it fell delicately around her feet. The lace design was perfect, accentuating and enhancing every curve.
Noah cleared his throat, “Yeah, I mean it’s— you look beautiful.”
She looked like a bride. His bride.
Sophie turned and the view was knee-weakening. The buttons pulled the dress tightly over her behind and halfway up her back, leaving the rest of it exposed. She reached her hand behind her, pointing out the undone button at the top. Her hair wasn’t in the way but Sophie brushed it over her right shoulder anyway.
Noah came closer, gently grabbing the fabric with both hands. The motion caused his fingers to brush across her bare back. He put the small button through the loop but didn’t step away, his fingers still holding on to the back of her dress, still pressed against her bare skin.
