Dirty Desires

Chapter 8

I push him away, and to my surprise, he lets me, even though he's stronger. As I walk off, I make sure to sway my hips, fully aware that he's watching me. I can't believe it—I actually let Carter Prince see my underwear! I knew it was possible with such a short outfit, but I never thought it would really happen.

Why did he even stop me to ask why I was dressed this way? He hardly ever noticed me, so how did he pick up on the fact that I felt uncomfortable in these clothes?

I would think that only someone who had been keeping a close eye on me would have picked up on that. Or maybe I'm just making it way too obvious with my weird behavior.

"What the heck did he say to you?" Jenna asks, her eyes wide with curiosity. "That looked like a serious conversation."

"It was strange," I reply. "He seemed upset about me wearing something so revealing. I can't figure out if he sees me as Clara's little sister and wants to protect me or if there is some other reason. He never really cared about Clara in the first place, so then why would he care about me?”

"Tell me exactly what he said," she insists, clearly intrigued.

"He asked why I was dressed like that and pointed out that I looked uncomfortable," I explain, trying to recall his exact words.

"Was that really it?" she presses, raising an eyebrow. "I can tell there's more to this. Your cheeks are practically on fire. He must have said something else that's got you acting this way."

I groan, "This is all Clara's fault. She made me wear this short dress, and now it's causing me all kinds of trouble."

"What did he say?" Jenna leans in, her curiosity piqued. She wasn't letting this go, was she?

"He said he saw my underwear!" I admit, utterly mortified. I felt like crawling under a table and hiding there for the rest of the day. I could not face anyone knowing what Carter had seen.

Jenna's jaw drops. "No way! I always thought Carter Prince had a dirty mouth, but I can't believe he actually said that to you."

Her reaction did not make this any easier.

"Are you sure he wasn't just teasing you to get you to change?" she suggests.

"I'm sure," I whisper, feeling a wave of regret wash over me. "He knew they were thongs, and he even called out the color."

My face turns an even deeper shade of red when I spot my sister approaching. I know she wants me to grab Carter's attention, but I can't help but wonder how she'll react to him commenting on my underwear.

"Has Carter seen you yet?" She asks as she joins our side.

Jenna shoots me a look and responds before I have a chance to stop her.

"I think he saw a bit too much of her," she jokes, a wide grin spreading across her face.

"What do you mean by that?" Clara asks, looking confused.

“He acted strange when he saw me," I explain to her. "He pointed out that I looked uneasy and asked why I was dressed like this.”

Her eyes widen. "Did he really ask you that? Do you think he's concerned because you're my little sister?"

She was wondering the same thing that I pointed out to Jenna earlier. It was the only obvious reason. However, Carter was hard to figure out.

I shrug. "Honestly, I think you understand his behavior better than I do. It felt a little weird. He's never spoken to me before, but the first time he did, he chose to comment on my outfit."

"I thought he'd react differently," Clara admits. "I figured dressing like this would catch his eye. It did, but not in the way I wanted. I had no idea Carter even noticed you; he never mentioned you and hardly seemed to pay you any attention."

That's true. Clara usually caught his eye while they were dating, especially when he wasn't busy entertaining other girls behind her back. At one point, I was sure that he was in love with my sister.

So then what happened? Why did he suddenly change? Were those other women truly worth ruining his relationship with my sister? They did not compare to her, and it showed since he never asked any of them to be his girlfriend even after Clara broke up with him for cheating on her.

"What do you think I should do next?" I ask her. "So far, this has not gone well. He noticed me, but not in the right way."

Definitely not the right approach. I didn't mention to Clara his comment on my underwear; I wasn't sure how she would react. But wasn't that what she always wanted? For him to be into me? According to my sister, Carter was the kind of guy who was swayed by a girl's clothing, so his remark about what I wore under my dress might not be as terrible as I thought.

"There's a pool party tonight," she says as her eyes light up. "Everyone's going."

Parties like this were events that Clara loved attending and she usually did so with Carter right by her side.

"I wasn't invited," I remind her. I had never been part of these kinds of events, and honestly, it didn't bother me. I didn't need a party invite to feel good about myself.

"Of course you're invited," Clara insists. "I already got the invites for you and Jenna. No one would dare say no to me."

"I'd much rather curl up in bed with a good book," I grumble.

She crosses her arms. "We've talked about this. This is your chance to make a move. If Carter notices you in a short dress, just imagine how he'd react if he saw you in a bikini."

"He's not the only one who would see me half-naked; everyone from school will be there too," I point out. "You know I can't handle that much attention. Today, it felt like everyone was watching me, and I almost tripped a few times because of it."

"That's great!" Clara exclaims. "It means we're on the right path if so many people noticed you on just the first day. Soon enough, you'll be as popular as me, and trust me, Carter can't resist a popular girl. He's got to chase every girl in the spotlight. I bet it's a competition between him and his friends. It's hard for me to believe he actually enjoys stringing along so many girls at once."

Hard for her to believe? What else did he need to do for her to believe that was his true personality? Clara still seems to be stuck in the past, believing that there was still some good to Carter Prince.

I, on the other hand, wasn't convinced. Why would he do it if he didn't enjoy it? Carter was a jerk, and nothing was going to change my mind about him.