39. Junior Prom part 2

Oh man. Sorry about that month long hiatus. I don't know where the time went. But let's get back to the story....

So I left you all in anticipation about once James* finally opened his front door to let me in.
I didn't know that James was going to be home alone, but he opened the door and just stopped for a second. He seemed to be a little speechless, which mad me grin from ear to ear. I rushed his butt out the door and sped back to my house so that we could take a few pictures with my family before we got on our way to dinner. James and I met up with everyone else at an Italian restaurant in town. When I say we had a big group, I mean we had a HUGE group. I'm pretty sure we had either 17 or 19 people. As you can imagine, dinner took a forever long time, and we ended up getting to the prom venue about an hour and a half after it started.

First and foremost, I have was, am, always have been, and always will be a lover of dancing. So I went to the prom to get my groove on. Unfortunately, my huge group of 17 or 19, including my James, didn't share my love of dancing the night away. Well, all except for one person. You see, Chase* came with us to the prom. He was a year older than I was, so it was his senior prom. And Chase and I had a little bit of history. My freshman year in high school, he and I were on the football homecoming planning committee. This year just happened to be the last year that my school held a dance. Chase was one of the nicest guys in school, and he asked me to dance....then told me that he thought I was beautiful I just ended up telling him I wasn't interested (remember, I couldn't tell you who I liked freshman year). After that, Chase hung out with my group of friends, which is how he ended up going to the prom with my huge group.

Anyways, most of my friends stood off to the side during the dancing part, including James. Every now and then, I could drag James to the dance floor for a slow dance, but he still wasn't a fan. Chase would dance with me quite a bit, and I think it finally gave James a clue that he needed to spend time with ME.

After we were at the venue for about an hour, everyone decided they wanted to leave to head to a bowling alley.I however, was not done dancing the night away, and told James he could leave with them if he wanted but I was staying put. He looked at me like I was crazy, and ended up staying the duration of the prom just for me. I knew he wanted to leave just as much was everyone else, but because he cared about me, he stayed just for me.

It was kind of a good thing he did too, I won a $50 door prize and he won a $100 door prize for staying the whole time. It was legit.

Afterwards, we went bowling for roughly an hour, then went and hung out with some of the guys in our group at his house.

I took him home roughly around 4 a.m., and enjoyed getting to sleep in the entire Sunday morning, reminiscing about how perfect it was spending my entire evening with James.

My name is Blake*, and I was crazy about that kid at this point.

*all names have been changed to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent. Mostly, I'm the not-so-innocent.


Chase went into the military after high school. Right now he is engaged. I don't talk to him much anymore.

38. Even better anticipation because I was crazy about this kid.

I went with my mom and both of my aunts to the local department store to painstakingly hunt for the perfect dress for my junior prom. You see, I was a very tall and slender girl in high school, so finding any kind of dress was always difficult. I never really liked the super poofy ball gowns that all of my friends seemed to enjoy, but I was also so self conscious of my lack of chest. I think I tried on maybe 30 different dresses until I found the one. It was a form-fitting one-shoulder dress that was COVERED in beadwork, and it was a fuschia and orange color. I LOVED it. And I thought I looked stunning in it, despite the curse of the two backs I had in high school.

I called James* to let him know that I had picked out my dress. I tried to explain it to him, but as you can read it's kind of difficult to explain. I think I attempted to explain it four times before he finally said, "Blake*, just tell me what you want my tux to look like and I'll go try stuff on." I wanted him to look just as sexy as I knew I was going to feel, so I decided that I wanted him in all black with a white tie, just because the colors of my dress were going to be difficult to match.

I took a picture of the dress to our local flower shop to have them make the corsage and boutonniere to match my dress as close as possible. As far as plans before and after the prom, we got a big group together and decided to go to dinner together before at an Italian restaurant. Originally, there were going to be about 10 of us, but by the time prom came around we went in a group of 19. James had a baseball game the morning of prom, so while I was spending all day getting ready, James was texting me throughout the day to let me know where he was, how things were going, and when I could be expecting to see him.

Two other friends and I had hair appointments at the same salon, and I had gotten my nails done a couple days before. My hairstylist and I had a hard time trying to figure out how to do my hair (this is the same person who had done my hair the year before, and my freshman year when I went to prom...I know I skipped over that). I explained my dress to her, and she said she didn't want to do something like the year before that was edgy, she wanted to give a little more class to it since the dress needed all the attention. She curled my hair with a flat iron, poofed it up a little at the crown, and then started pulling it toward the center of my head in the back. The best way we could  describe it is that my hair looked like it was in a banana clip without actually being in a banana clip. She also curled tendrils around my face to accent it as well.

The finishing touch was my makeup, and I had my aunt do it. She also didn't want to take away from my dress, so she did tan colors to accentuate my big brown eyes. She then added some shimmering powder just under my eyes and on my cheeks to brighten up my eyes.

The corsage and boutonniere each had ribbons on them that matched perfectly. We had white roses and carnations and then the florists found the perfect fuschia and orange ribbons to tie into the flowers. I stepped into my dress and my 3 inch heels and anxiously waited for James to call me and tell me he was ready for me to come pick him up (he was too young for his license, remember?). Almost everyone was there at my grandmother's house taking pictures together and with their dates, and everyone was there except James.

FINALLY, about an hour before our dinner reservations, James called me and said he was ready. I swear that boy could have taken as long as I could getting ready. My aunt let me borrow her Mercury Mountaineer to drive us to prom, so I drove out to his place to pick him up. I knocked on the door and anxiously waited for him to come to the door to see me in my dress.

My name is Blake, and this prom was my favorite. Good friends, good food, amazing date, and I looked damn good. Just saying.

*all names have been changed to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent. Mostly, I'm the not-so-innocent.

35. Nerves, with a shot butterflies

February came around, and I was starting to look for dresses for my junior/senior prom. Now like I've said before, James* and I were together without the title. I liked him a lot, and he liked me a lot, and I knew that I wanted to take him to prom. I just didn't know how he'd feel about going with me. So I finally decided that I did want him to accompany me, and I did what any responsible older person would do, I went to his parents and asked for their permission to accompany me to my junior prom. I'd have to drive us everywhere, and I wanted to make sure it was okay with them for me to steal him away for half a day.

So I asked his father if I could take him with me to prom, and his dad said, "Well of course, you jackass." That's why I love his parents.

Unfortunately, his father also told him that I was planning on asking him to prom. I think it was easier for me to ask his parents than it was to ask him, just because I didn't think he would want to go. So after school one day, before a basketball game, I finally got the nerve to ask him. I walked up to him and told him I needed to talk to him.

He and I were setting out chairs together, and I said "Soooo, James, I have something I need to talk to you about. I kinda sorta wanna ask you something..." and his reply was, "Yeah, I'll go to the prom with you."
"How the hell did you know that?"
"Oh, Dad told me you were going to ask me. That's kind of weird that you asked him before you asked me."
"I was only trying to be polite. I would expect you to have asked my mom if it was okay for you to take me if I were a freshman an you were a junior. Just saying."

So James agreed to go with me to my senior prom. The female manager of his team overheard our conversation and got mad. She had the biggest crush on him, and as long as he and I weren't "official," she felt she had a chance at winning his heart. Either way, his answer made me super happy, and I skipped to tthe locker room to change into my uniform and get my mp3 player.

I had the date, all I needed was to work on a dress! I was the happiest girl in the world.

My name is Blake*, and I still look back on his "yes" as one of the happiest moments of my young love life.

*all names have been changed to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent

26. A night to remember

Henry's*  parents rented a car for us to drive to his prom. Since it was his senior prom, his parents wanted it to be the nicest prom he had gone to yet. Henry showed up in a very nice rented Cadillac. He knocked on the door to my house and my mom opened up the door. The look on his face was the best part of the night. Now, I was one of the biggest tomboys you would ever meet, so for him to see me with makeup on and everything was kind of a big deal. But nothing could prepare me for his reaction when he saw the way I looked.

We did our usual where our parents took a ridiculous amount of pictures of just the two of us, just us by ourselves, and then us with Lizzie* and Tony*. Then the four of us piled into the Caddy and went to a nice little bistro for our dinner reservations. I had braces at the time, so I had to be real careful as to what I ate. Didn't want to show up to prom with lettuce and stuff hanging in my teeth!

After we finished dinner, we still had a couple hours before the prom started, so we went back to Henry's town to visit with his dad. This is where Henry and I separated from Tony and Lizzie. Tony wanted to take Lizzie by his house to show her off to his parents, and Henry and I were meeting up with Heath* and his girlfriend Dani*. This is the same girl that hung out with us on New Years Eve, so I wasn't very excited to be spending that evening with her. Heath had broken the heart of one of my friends to be with her, so I never fully trusted her, but I digress.

The four of us piled into the car and headed to the prom after hanging out with Henry's dad for a little bit. Dani had a flask and had brought some liquor in it, which she and Heath sat and drank in the back seat of the car. They offered some to Henry and I, but I refused and told Henry that if he drank while he was driving us, even if it was one sip, that he could just forget about me staying at the prom and I would have my mom come pick me up. So because I was  a bitch about it, Henry didn't drink either.

Once we got to the venue, Henry and I picked out a table and sat down for a little bit. My typical shoe attire every day was a pair of tennis shoes, so the small 3 inch heels were killing my feet. We sat down for a little bit, until Lizzie and Tony joined us, then the four of us headed to the dance floor and danced the night away. We danced all the normal ones you hear, like YMCA, Cha Cha Slide, and the Electric Slide too. But the one dance that I will never forget was a slow dance that Henry and I shared. "Our song" was a Hoobastank song that he and I loved a lot, but the song never got played. Instead, during the song "Amazed," a country song by Lonestar, Henry sang the entire song to me. Like I said, his voice was sexy, so hearing him sing to me was fantastic.

He and I stayed the duration of the prom, and then returned to his house so I could change. I think originally we were planning on going bowling after the prom, but because we had stayed for the whole time, we didn't want to pay just to bowl half a game. Instead, we decided to meet up with everyone at IHOP. I don't really like pancakes all that much, and to be honest I was exhausted and was just ready to go home. But we pulled into the IHOP parking lot and sat and talked for a little bit, and then he decided that he was ready to go home too.

I can't remember if I was allowed to stay the night with him or not. If I wasn't allowed to stay the night, I know I was allowed to stay out past my curfew. I feel like I did stay the night with him, but I can't really remember. I know I got home very early the next day. Henry and I didn't have sex that night just because I was so tired. It was one of the best nights of my life.

Even though that night created a euphoric memory for me, Henry and I were in high school, and you know how often high school relationships last....

My name is Blake*, and prom can truly be a magical night, just as long as you are smart about it. I didn't drink that night, and it was one of the best proms I ever went to.

*all names have been changed to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent

25. Anticipation is half the fun

I had gone to prom the year before with a friend of the family in the next town over. I bought the dress last minute, and wasn't in love with it, only spent a couple hours getting ready, and had my mom do my makeup. I wan't that into it just because I viewed him as only a friend. We went to a nice dinner and didn't stay at the prom for more than an hour or two before he took me home.

I was determined to make this prom different. Henry* and I had exchanged those three little words shortly before we had sex for the first time, so I knew that this year's prom would be different. I was going with a guy who was  my boyfriend, who I cared for and loved, and who I knew would love how HOT I looked in my dress.

I woke up way earlier than I had originally intended to on that Saturday morning because I was so incredibly nervous. I got up, ate some wonderful homemade breakfast of biscuits and eggs, and then called my friend Lizzie*. She and I had made plans to spend all day getting ready together. We still had a few hours to go before our hair appointments, so we decided to go get our nails done instead.

We both went with classier looks for our nails, we both got a French manicure on our hands and feet. She and I talked nonstop about how excited we were for the evening and how excited we were for our boys to see us in our dresses.

We left the nail place and headed to the salon to get our hair done. My hairdresser asked about my dress and how I wanted my hair styled to match it. Since my hair is naturally curly, I decided that I wanted something straight. My hairstylist was a creative genius, and put together something straight that was still an updo. I can't really explain what it was, other than she straightened my hair and then wrapped it around in a bun, but there were still pieces sticking out all over the place, and there were pieces framing my face. It doesn't sound very pretty, but by the time she was finished working her magic, I WAS IN LOVE. It was more perfect than I could have ever imagined.

Once our hair was done, Lizzie and I headed back home to do our makeup. This year, I still saved money by having a family member do it, but I also requested that my eyes be a little more dramatic to match my dress.

Of course between all of this, we made a Taco Bell run to keep us from passing out from the anxiety. It was that late Taco Bell run that made me feel like I was no longer going to be able to fit into my slinky little black dress. So after all of this getting ready, the time finally arrived. Our boys were on their way to come get us for our dinner reservations. My mom helped me into my dress, and I loved how it all came together...the hair, the nails, the makeup, down to the shoes. I loved it all. Now all I needed to go with it was my Henry.

My name is Blake*, and we all know the best part of prom is that "wow" moment when your date sees how pretty you look.

*all names have been changed to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent

23. Hello dress that made me feel like a sex kitten!

Tonight's post brought to you by....TEQUILA! (some coworkers and I went out for happy hour after work. OOPS. Blog post commence.

In my last post, I admitted that I became sexually active at WAY too early an age. As you can imagine, this changed my view about everything. Henry* and I had been fighting almost nonstop for almost three months by the time the sexual activity rolled around. I really wanted to break things off with him, but I didn't really know how to. Especially because he was my very first boyfriend.

Me being the SUPER SHALLOW person that I was, realized that it was roughly two months until Henry's senior prom, and I didn't want to break up with him and leave him stranded just before his prom. That, and I went to prom as a freshman the year before and didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to go again.

Also, my family decided to take me prom dress shopping shortly after the sex too, and I found a dress that made me look sexy as hell. Therefore, I decided to stick it out. Because I'm a shallow bitch. But I realize that now.

I bought my dress just before spring break from a department store. It was black, floor length, slimming (but I was a size 6 so everything was slimming), and had mesh plus beadwork detailing on a large portion on my back. Like almost to my crack. On the front, it had mesh plus beadwork detailing for a large portion of my stomach as well. I felt like a sex goddess in the dress.

We got the dress at a reasonable price, then it sat in the back of my closet for the next two months while I endured through all the fighting Henry and I were doing.

My name is Blake*, and I know I'm shallow. I can't excuse my actions.

*all names have been changed to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent