“Welcome to Neiman’s. What can I help you with today?”
“I’m looking for a dress. Something fly for the white ball tonight.”
“Ok.” A gorgeous girl smiled and led Mega to find a gown. “Follow me. I’ll show you our latest selection.”
She was a cute girl, but Mega wasn’t there to find a girlfriend. He was there for a dress, just in case Mila decided she wanted to show up on his arm that night.
“Any idea of what you’re looking for?”
“Something for my girlfriend,” he said without even noticing. “She’s about your height and build. Great shoulders. Slim thick, you know.”
“Ahh.” The girl nodded. “Well, if it were me, I would definitely wanna show off my shoulders.”
“Yeah? So, let’s go with something off the shoulders. Something with some length to it too. I want her to look like everybody’s at the ball for her.”
“She must be something special.”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
Although Mega said he had a girlfriend, the girl couldn’t help but feel like he was flirting with her. She kind of dug it. It wasn’t because he appeared to be rich either. She met rich men all the time and turned them down. There was just something about the one in front of her she couldn’t resist.
“What about this one?”
She held up an all white Mac Duggal gown, sprinkled with glitter and diamonds. The gown she fell in love with the moment it came into the store's inventory.
She told herself if it weren’t for having to pay tuition, she would have saved up to get that gown for herself. Even if she didn’t have anyone or anywhere to wear it to.
“That’s hard.” Mega eased the gown from her hands, held it up in front of her, and admired the look. “Do you mind trying it on for me?”
“You...you want me to put this on?” She asked, looking around to make sure they were the only two people still in the room.
“Yeah. You’re helping me out, right?”
She was hesitant, but when Mega took a seat on the plush sofa near the dressing room like he wasn’t going to leave until she put it on, she felt inclined.
"You are quite the customer," she said on her way into an empty fitting room.
While he waited, she slipped into the dress, unsure of what she was doing or why. Even though she felt like she was cheating on her boyfriend, she got a certain thrill from trying on the dress.
It was as if the spark she longed for ignited and lit up her world again.
“How does it look?”
Without a word, Mega got up from his seat and slowly approached her. He could tell she was nervous, which meant his charming alter ego had surfaced without his permission.
Whenever he was in the presence of female company and they were nervous or timid, it was usually because he was flirting. Even when he didn’t recognize it himself.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Jordyn.”
“Jordyn.” He looked her up and down as he spun her around to get a full three-sixty view of the gown. “What are you doing tonight?”
“Um,” she cleared her throat, “Nothing. I work until nine. And I have a boyfriend,” she nervously confessed.
“A boyfriend?” Mega laughed and flashed her an approving smile. “So, you don’t wanna go to the white ball tonight? With me?”
Jordyn took a look at herself in the mirror, with Mega standing behind her. He looked like he was her boyfriend at first glance.
Sizing her up, biting his lip when he locked eyes with an angle on her that he liked. If she didn’t know any better, she would’ve thought she had turned into a piece of chicken and he was lusting after her BBQ.
“I don’t know.” She sighed, feeling guilty for even contemplating. “I have a boyfriend. I’m sorry. You’re a really nice guy, though.”
“You know what,” Mega dug into his pocket, retrieved two tickets to the ball, and handed them to her. “Here. Come anyway. It doesn’t have to be with me. You deserve it. For not letting money buy you out of your relationship. I respect that.”
Jordyn looked at the tickets and smiled. When she thought about her relationship and how toxic it actually was, she wished she had the guts to take another man up on his offer to show her a good time.
But she was a good girl who was loyal to the bone. And afraid of making her boyfriend angry.
“I wish men were the same when it came to loyalty," she spoke softly.
Although Mega was technically single, he almost felt bad for flirting with her. When he thought about Mila and how badly she wanted them to become official, guilt tried its hardest to nestle in.
“Some are," he replied.
“Mhm.” Jordyn rolled her eyes as she headed back to the fitting room to take off the gown.
“I'm for real,” Mega laughed and sat back down on the sofa to wait for her.
“Well, I haven’t seen one yet.”
“Huh? I thought you had a boyfriend?” He smiled in confusion.
“I didn’t say he was a good boyfriend. Just that I had one.”
“Why you with him then?”
The room grew silent. Jordyn really didn’t know why she was with the man she chose to love. She just was. Oddly, she felt a sense of security. And he helped her out a lot with her mom being sick.
Mega started to feel like maybe he had said something wrong because she was so quiet, until Jordyn came out of the fitting room to continue the conversation.
“I don’t know why I’m with him," she said. "He helps me out a lot. I guess.”
“You guess? Do you love him?”
“You’re getting rather personal,” she blushed. “Let's box up this dress for you.”
“You can tell me if you don’t wanna answer. I can handle it.”
Jordyn didn't want to answer, but there was something about Mega that made him so easy to talk to. She didn't have many friends who were interested in hearing about her toxic relationship. So it felt good to be able to release some of her frustration.
“I do care about him. He’s just...” She paused, thinking about the hell he put her through and how badly she wanted to leave. “He’s just not a good guy sometimes. Maybe less than what I feel I deserve. Not that I’m cocky or arrogant or think so highly of myself or anything. He’s just not fair sometimes.”
“Get a new boyfriend.” Mega shrugged.
“Excuse me?” Jordyn laughed. “So I can run into a guy like you?”
“Like me?" Mega smiled. "What’s a guy like me?”
Jordyn couldn't help but blush. She felt like Mega was a smooth criminal trying to swindle his way into her heart against her will. Only, she didn't feel like it was against her will. Deep down inside, she wanted it.
“You’re buying a dress for your girlfriend, yet you’re flirting with me. How does that work?”
“Let me tell you how," he said, while pulling out a wad to pay for the gown. “I called her my girlfriend, and I do love her a lot, but I feel like we’re stuck. You get what I’m saying? Like every time we try to move forward to even be able to say, Okay, we’re in a relationship, something always happens and takes us right back to square one.”
When he noticed that he had opened up to a complete stranger, he felt foolish. Even though Layton constantly told him he should open up more and talk about the things that bothered him, it didn't come as easily as it did when he talked to Jordyn.
“Maybe she’s not the one for you then.”
Jordyn mocked him, but in a way that made him laugh and take in the reality of things with Mila. There were times when he tried to talk himself into facing the facts and putting their relationship on ice. But it sounded better when Jordyn said it.
“Maybe she’s not," he shrugged. "I guess time will tell."
Jordyn admired how he didn’t take offense to her clap back, but she also felt like he knew how to play the game. Like he knew exactly what to say to get exactly what he wanted, and that was what made her question every man she ever came across.
“You are something else, Mr." She double checked her receipt for his name, “Navarro.”
“Call me, Mega.”
“Mega. Navarro.” She smiled at him as she placed the boxed gown into a luxurious shopping bag. “You sure you wanna give me these tickets?”
“You sure you don’t wanna go with me tonight?”
“What about your girlfriend?”
“I’m pretty sure she’s going with someone else.”
Jordyn had taken his words into consideration during their conversation. She thought she deserved a fun night out, without her boyfriend for a change.
She wanted something fresh and new. She wanted to spend time with a guy who sparked her interest and kept her on the edge of her seat. And that was the guy who stood in front of her.
“What time?”
A huge smile slid across Mega’s face at the realization.
“You tell me," he said. "I’ll come and pick you up. Just tell me when and where.”
“Well,” she checked the clock, “I can leave early and just use some of my PTO to cover the rest of my shift. So, I’ll be ready by nine?”
“Cool. Put my number in your phone so you can send me the address.”
Jordyn was so caught up in her thoughts about the ball, she didn’t realize Mega was leaving without the gown until he was halfway out the door.
“Wait! Your gown..."
"Keep it," he smiled. "Wear it tonight.”
On his way home, he thought about how his night would play out. He wasn’t necessarily trying to be petty or stir the pot. He was just in a mood and tired of being in limbo with Mila about what they were doing. He also had a feeling that she was going to the ball with someone else.
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