My Hockey Alpha



Chapter 0817noveldrama

Nina

"How's it looking in there?" I called out, rapping lightly on the wooden door of Jessica's fitting room.

"Um... decent, I guess?" her muffled voice floated back a moment later, although I could sense the uncertainty in her tone.

"Decent? That's it? Come on, Jess, this is your wedding gown we're talking about!"

There was a pause, then Jessica sighed loudly. "Alright, alright. Just... give me a sec to get decent again and I'll come out."

Obediently, I backed away from the door and plopped down on the plush waiting couch, idly resting a hand on my round belly. Leave it to Jessica to be so shy about something as silly as a dress fitting.

A few minutes later, the door creaked open and she emerged, her cheeks flushed. "Honestly? I'm not sure about this one." She gestured vaguely at the lacy white ball gown she had on. "It's pretty, but I feel like... I don't know, a kid playing dress up or something."

I fixed her with an appraising look, taking in the delicate beading and elegant lines of the design. It was a beautiful dress. "I think it's gorgeous, Jess. Very 'woodland fairy princess' chic."

She made a face at me. "Gee, thanks. That's exactly the vibe I was hoping wouldn't come across."

Before I could reply, a muffled shout came from the neighboring fitting room. "Everything okay over there?" "Yeah babe, all good!" Jessica called back. "Just getting Nina's opinion. Don't come out!"

There was a loud hmph from the other side of the door. "It's stuffy in here," Lori complained. "And I don't like this dress. Nina, can you come help?"

Rolling my eyes, I scooped up the small pile of discarded gown options from earlier. "I'll be there in a minute." Jessica's eyes crinkled at the corners as she shot me a grateful smile. "Thanks for doing this, Nina. Seriously, picking out these gowns with my best friend? Even with the stress of wedding planning making me feel like a total basket case half the time... it means the world."

"To both of us," Lori added from behind the fitting room door.

I couldn't help but smile at their words. Turning, I made my way into Lori's fitting room next-only to find her sitting on the floor, her head in her hands.

"Lori?" I hissed as I quickly shut the door behind me before Jessica could see. "What's wrong?"

Slowly, Lori looked up to reveal red-rimmed eyes and a pout on her face. "I hate it," she muttered.

"What? The dress?" I helped her to her feet, taking in the gown she was wearing-lacey and puffy, just like Jessica's.

Lori nodded. "It's too... I don't like dresses."

"No one said you have to wear a dress. They have beautiful jumpsuits and matching sets here if you'd rather try that."

For a moment, Lori bit her lip and looked in the mirror, considering this. Then, she let out a heavy sigh and sniffled. "It's not even just the dress," she whispered, meeting my eyes in the mirror. "It's... Everything." "What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "I know we're trying to follow the tradition of not seeing the bride in her gown before the wedding, and since we're both brides, it's a little more... complicated. But, dammit, we're not traditional. I want to see Jessica. I want to pick out our outfits together."

I frowned, watching Lori as I leaned against the wall. Jessica had been particularly adamant about the idea of not seeing each other in their wedding attire-but I knew it was getting to both of them.

"You know... we could break tradition just this once, if you want," I said.

Lori sniffled again. "We can't. Jessica would say no."