A/N: Okay, what blarney stone have I rubbed? I'm nominated for the IndieCRAwards! That's so awesome! Thank you so much for nominating me and supporting my work!
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I'm nominated along with two of my great friends and authors; angellwings and Standard-Ang3l.
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It was a sun-dress type of day. The sun was shining, the air wasn't sticky or muggy, her hair was looking decent, and she felt pretty damn good. Caitlyn hummed a little as she went through the little cabin closet, selecting a white dress with a pastoral flower print on the bottom trim. It was her go-to for when she felt like frolicking in a sundress. It was easy to accessorize too, a little brown belt at the waist and her cream crocheted ankle sandals and she could call it an outfit. Well, an outfit by her standards anyway. She felt good, feminine even, as she brushed her eye lids with a little bit of gold eyeshadow, a little cattail of eyeliner, and a smidgen of mascara. Caitlyn grinned at her reflection in the mirror before screwing her face-up in an over exaggerated smile and giving herself a thumbs up.
Her hands brushed over the skirt as it flowed lovingly over her skin, it was such a different feel than her usual blue-jeans and she wondered why she didn't wear dresses all the time.
"Caitlyn?"
Her smile faded as she faced the Gray brothers and saw their expressions.
Nate's eyebrows were lifted and he shifted his feet as he gave her a once over, Shane looked shocked and a little baffled, and Jason just seemed genuinely unimpressed.
She had to admit, it stung a little.
"Um, hey?" Suddenly she wished for the comfort of her skinny jeans and graphic tees.
"What are you doing?" Shane question, his gaze still locked in terrified mode.
Irritably, Caitlyn ground out that she was heading towards the mess hall for breakfast. What she wasn't expecting was the way her new company acted as they headed towards the aroma of food. Shane couldn't get over being surprised, Jason was completely indifferent and treated her the way he always had, and Nate was being overly polite like he was just discovering that she was in fact a girl.
Great, just great. This morning started out being pretty fantastic and was slowly being ruined because she'd decided to stray from her usual pattern.
I thought you were supposed to be rewarded or some shit for trying new things. Caitlyn thought bitterly as Nate opened the door for the mess hall, ignoring him completely. Jason let out a grunt of irritation, he'd always held the door open for Caity. Was the world purposely turning on it's head today? First Shane doesn't straighten his hair and now Nate is opening doors for people, what was going on?
Caitlyn tried to ignore the gazes of the other male campers as she stood in line for her meal, did they really think that wearing a dress really made that much of a difference? The further she got down the line, the worse she felt in her outfit. No longer were her feelings full of feminine pride but awkward tom-boyish despair. Why hadn't she just picked another pair of pants? Why did she pull out that damn sundress?
"Aye! Mija! You look fanastica!" Mrs. Torres beamed, serving up a heaping stack of her beloved pancakes. Caitlyn managed to smile weakly in return, heading to her normal table.
"Here, let me get that for you." Nate pulled her chair out for her and gently slid her back into place once she was seated. From across the table, Ella's pancaked slice fell with a smack back onto her plate. "You look really cute today Cait, no dance classes I'm gussin'?" Peggy asked, trying her best to ease the tension in the group. Caitlyn nodded her head, trying to ignore the rest of the table. Poor Andy was so nervous under Dana's glare, daring him to stare at Caitlyn the way everyone else was, that he ended up spilling his drink on her legs.
She sat there open mouthed as the sticky orange juice missed her dress by a mile but dripped down her legs.
Only my luck, only mine. Caitlyn thought angrily as Jason dashed to get napkins.
"Aw gee, Caitlyn, that's really to bad. Need some help with a new out fit?" Ella asked, trying to be a good friend and dying a little on the inside from how petty she was for cheering just a little bit.
"No. Missed my dress," Caitlyn gave a grateful smile to Jason and wiped up her legs. "I just need to wash my legs up a little bit." She stood from the table and went to take her tray but Nate's arm shot out. "I've got it Cait, go and wash up." Jason stood a little dumfounded. He almost always took Caitlyn's tray for her and from the look on her face she was just as surprised as him. Caitlyn couldn't mistake the look of hurt that flashed in Ella's eyes. The fashion guru was pining over the youngest Gray brother and Caitlyn knew exactly how she felt.
Hadn't she pined after Jason for three summers?
She trudged into the bathroom, flipping the sink on and gathering some paper towels.
The door swung open lightly and Caitlyn was unsurprised to find that Ella had ventured after her.
"Hey." Caitlyn offered, wiping up her left leg and blotting the orange juice on her shoe. Ella leaned against the wall and nervously twirled her hair around her pointer finger.
"Do you- are you-" Ella paused and shifted on her feet, her brow creasing and Caitlyn immediately knew what this was about "You're not interested in Nate, are you?" Her bottom lip quivered slightly, but Caitlyn knew that at any point if she answered 'yes', Ella would do what she thought would ensure her friends happiness. That was just the way she was, so it was time for Caitlyn to return the favor.
"Not anymore interested in him than I am in getting the plague." Caitlyn retorted, tossing one of her napkins in the trash.
Ella's lips turned in to a slight grin before frowning again and asked the question that had been sitting on her mind."So why is he treating you differently? He almost always take my tray for me but I don't-"
Caitlyn sighed and intervened "It's the dress."
Ella heaved her own sigh before stating the obvious,"I always wear dresses." Caitlyn nodded, starting on her other leg.
"Then flip, apparently it worked for me."
"Okay, I'll see what I can do."
"Hey Nate, remember to come by the wardrobe cabin for your fitting." Ella reminded him as she breezed by with a gentle sway of her hips. Nate looked up from his sheet music to complain or get rescheduled, anything to keep Ella around for a minute or two longer and talk about why she'd been so distant this morning, but he caught a sight of her as she walked away.
A green cardigan with a peak of yellow trailing down to what Nate could only describe as death-by-fabric.
Blue Jeans.
Tailored at her ankles, hugging her calves and thighs, before coming to the generous view of her backside.
Ass.
He sat there for a good minute before he heard something, a wolf-wistle coming from the lips of one Barron James. Ella looked over her shoulder at Barron before laughing and winking playfully. Nate's stomach twisted with jealousy.
No. Hell no.
"Hey Ella, is it okay if I do my fitting now?"
Caitlyn launched yet another rock into the lake and watched it skim over the surface.
One, two, three, and then the rock sank into the surface with a satisfying kur-plunk.
"Hey there Caity, got any rocks for two?" Jason gave her an easy smile and she reminded herself to be conscious of the length of her dress. She wasn't charging admission, but she definitely wasn't going to give a free show. She tried her best to smile, honestly she did, but Caitlyn couldn't quite get over that lump in her throat. She nodded mutely and handed him the rest of her collection.
Jason wound up and rocketed his rock across the water with a small grunt.
He went to launch another, but stopped and tossed it up and down in his hand.
"You- you know what I don't understand?"
Caitlyn sat on the pier adjusting the dress underneath her. "What?"
"That damn dress." Jason threw the rock into the water, which was swallowed up with out a single skip. "I- I mean, where do people get off treating you like you're someone else because of a dress?" Caitlyn's eyes watered up as she stared resolutely out over the water, his word digging in with every syllable. She was forever locked in friendship zone, she should have just accepted it years ago.
"I can't stand it." Jason finished, dropping the rocks into the water all at once. Caitlyn's lips trembled as she'd asked the one question she'd feared the answer of all day.
"Why? Why aren't you treating me differently?" Jason paused and stared at her with wide eyes.
"Because I've always seen you as a Lady. Caitlyn, you don't need constant affection like Ella, affirmation like Mitchie, but you need reassurance that you can be loved."
"Loved?" Caitlyn squeaked scrambling to her feet. Jason paused from his rant and his neck flushed.
"L-loved. Yes, Caitlyn, loved." Jason crossed his arms and tapped his foot in anxiety. "The way Nate was treating you, that really irks me. Because I do that type of stuff for you all the time. I get your door, your tray, your extra shoes for dance, even those little scrunchies that you like from town. I don't care how much Shane makes fun of me for it." Caitlyn grinned and slowly made her way over to him.
"You got me new scrunchies? Like the ones that mysteriously appeared in my bag the other day?" Jason's response was his entire face turning beet red. "Why?"
Jason stammered for a minute and ran a hand through his hair before just giving up the ghost.
"Because it's the way you deserved to be treated." Jason ran a hand down her arm. "Just because you don't dress like most girls doesn't mean you aren't a lady. You're my Lady Caity." She laughed wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Lady Caity? I think I like that." She responded, standing on her tip toes. "Now this lady has been waiting three years and is getting kind of impatient."
"Three years? Well, I guess I need to be more of a gentleman." Jason countered before lowering his mouth to hers for the kiss that they'd been waiting for for three years.