Chapter 10: The Prom Queen

What a day, Stephanie mused as she pulled into the driveway. Her students had been unruly. The dean pushed another class on her. Darren hadn't been at the office when she called. She wanted to meet him for lunch.

"Oh, pooh," Stephanie growled when the garage door opener didn't work. She frowned and parked her car in the driveway. The kids would be home in three hours. Maybe I'll just take a long bubble bath, she thought.

She pulled her briefcase and her purse out of the car and walked up the steps to the front door, fumbling through her keys for the front door key.

She almost didn't see it, and couldn't believe she nearly missed it. It was a large bright pink envelope taped to the door with 'Stephanie' written on it in block letters. She pulled it off the door and after dropping her purse and briefcase on the table and kicking the door close, she opened it.

Not today, she groaned. How could he pick today of all days? She shuddered and sighed. Well, he couldn't know how bad her day was.

"You are cordially invited to the 15th Anniversary Celebration of your Junior Prom. Your dress is hanging from the shower rod. Your prince charming waits in the garage."

The envelope slipped out of Stephanie's hand as she stumbled back against the kitchen counter. She shuddered and reread the note. Nope, she hadn't been mistaken. It did say Junior Prom. Can it get any worse, she moaned to herself. Darren wasn't insensitive. I've never said anything to anyone about that night, she reminded herself. I still can't believe this. I don't know if I can go through this again. Dread filled her as she remembered back to that horrible night.

Well, not all of it was horrible, she reminded herself. She remembered how much fun she had making her dress with her mother. It was pink and it was strapless. She remembered worrying about her recently formed boobs holding the dress up. They weren't anywhere near their current size. If anything, they were a bit underdeveloped at that point. She remembered the look on her dad's face as she stepped out into the living room. She felt beautiful as she posed for a couple of pictures.

And then he showed up. Billy Benson. Now there was a face she had tried hard to forget. He was all smiles and compliments as he fumbled to pin the corsage on her dress.

It wasn't until later that the night went awry. She hugged herself as she remembered the feeling of his hands everywhere, pushing and poking, pinching and taunting. He expected her to go all the way; after all it was Junior Prom. He'd made that perfectly clear when they left the dance early. She hadn't agreed. They fought. He pushed her against the door as he kissed her hard. Her lips ached. Her arm hurt where he gripped her. The soft inside of her thigh bruised quickly as his knee pushed against it. He tried to reach her zipper. She fought back as hard as she could.

Finally, he appeared to give up and sat back. She had relaxed and started to sit up. That's when it came. His hand smacked hard against her cheek. She remembered the hateful way he spat his demands at her.

"You fuckin' teasin' bitch! You can drop the dress now or walk home."

She took the out he gave her and watched, dodging the gravel his tires slung as he hurried away from Lover's Lane. She cried as she took her shoes off and slowly walked home.

With a shuddering sigh, Stephanie wiped the tears from her cheeks. She reached for her phone as she stumbled up the stairs.

"Momma," she cried, dropping onto the bed on her back as her mom answered.

"Stephanie is something wrong with the kids?" her mother asked, immediately concerned.

"No, nothing's wrong with the kids."

"Thank goodness. Okay, Stephy, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"I don't know," Stephanie sighed. "It's just that Darren's thing this time is to relive my Junior Prom."

"So? Darren's not Billy Benson."

"I know Darren's not Billy Benson. I've never said anything about that day to him," Stephanie replied.

"Maybe Darren has pleasant memories of his Junior Prom. Or maybe he didn't go, but he wants to now with his favorite girl."

"Yeah, but..."

"No buts, Stephy. Go splash some water on your face and get yourself ready for your date. I need to get these cookies in the oven before I pick up Robbie and Katie."

"But, Momma, what if..."

"Talk to Darren, Stephanie. He's a good man and he loves you. I know he wouldn't hurt you on purpose."

Stephanie sighed. "You're right, Momma. Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow when we pick the kids up. I love you."

"I love you too, Stephanie."

Stephanie hung up the phone and sat up on the bed. She took a deep breath and opened the bathroom door and peeked in. The dress was beautiful, sea green with white lace covering the bodice and a cotton eyelet petticoat peeking innocently from below the hemline. Hmmm, well, I have to try this on anyway, she smiled, the weight of the day's problems slipping away slightly as she began unbuttoning her blouse.

One by one she removed her garments and tossed them out of the bathroom onto the floor. Finally, wearing just her white lacy panties, she splashed some water onto her face and looked back over at the dress.

It was still beautiful. She gently removed the hanger and held the dress up to her chest. If you ignored the red around her eyes, she could look beautiful in it. She unzipped the dress and stepped into it. She pulled the single spaghetti strap up over her shoulder and began zipping the zipper. The dress was a little snug around the tummy and the chest, but it fit. She looked at herself in the mirror.

Yes, she said to herself, I think I will go to the prom. Carefully she unzipped the dress and stepped out of her panties. Quickly, she showered, being careful to avoid getting her hair wet. She dried herself off and dabbed some perfume on her neck, down between her breasts and, feeling a little naughty, a drop right below her navel.