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Arisa listened intently as Alex explained what he had been up. She smiled knowing he was planning to spend the rest of his summer hanging out with her. 'What would they do' she wondered. She thought about all the events that would be going on soon in the city. There would also be a dance coming up too. She longed to Have Alex ask her to be his date, but he always seemed to be so damn shy. What she wanted was for Alex to be her one and only. She quickly had the idea of asking him herself but thought of how sad and embarrassed she would be if he rejected her. 'Maybe I could slip him a note' she thought again but that idea quickly died. 'He would think I was crazy' she pondered. She realized that she was no longer paying attention to what Alex had been saying. She quickly snapped herself back to reality.

"So Alex, ummm... well... I 'm really glad you enjoyed your vacation! I was just thinking about some of events that are coming up. I know we always go to the BBQ every year, have you thought about any of the other events going? Are you planning to go to anything else?

Arisa figured that by asking Alex what else he planned for the summer besides what he had told her about, she could gauge not only his feelings for her but also if he was interested in going to the dance at all. She was hoping for a positive answer but didn't feel as bad because she hadn't actually asked him out.

Arisa noticed that Alex had told her he just wanted to spend time with her. Surely that didn't anything but she she let the thoughts and visions fill her head. Arisa decided that with the big couples dance only about a month away, it was all or nothing. She made the decision to do what she was terrified to do. She would ask Alex to the dance. She thought about how she would ask him and prepared herself to be hurt if he said no. 'Okay I have to do this' she thought to herself. 'I can do this. He's my best friend, he just said it himself. But how will he feel about the fact that it's a couple's dance and each couple usually rents a room for night since the dance goes so late' she pondered.

'Here goes nothing' the last thought before she did the unthinkable. "So Alex, I'm sure you know about the couples dance next month. Well I was thinking that since we're best friends and all... ummm... well... ugh... I was just wondering if you might want to go with me? I know it probably isn't your thing but I would really enjoy going... and I would be willing to take the money I've been saving to pay for your tux and the room... I mean if we need a room, I'll pay... I have enough. Oh my God I'm babbling" she blurted out while blushing. 'Geez he knows I like him now with all that babbling, but I just can't shake the feeling that he's hiding something from me. Maybe he really likes me too' she thought with a glimmer of hope.

Arisa was so embarrassed. She felt like such a fool for rambling the way she. She like such an even bigger fool for thinking her best friend of so many years would let her down. Now the thoughts between to twirl in her head. 'Wait a minute, wait a minute... did Alex just invite me to his house to spend the night after the dance?' she thought to herself. Now the thoughts in Arisa's head started to become more erratic. 'Oh my God... should I purchase protection for that night? Is Alex still a virgin like me? Will he freak out if I ask him to go dress shopping with me? Am I overreacting? Okay Risa... get those thoughts together' she silently told herself. Arisa began to calm down and breathe slowly. She made up her mind that she was absolutely going to tell Alex how she felt about him... after the dance. She thought about whether she should buy sexy lingerie but decided against it. 'Let's keep things somewhat normal' she thought.

"So Alex... since you already have a tux, I thought maybe we could go look at dresses since you already know what your tux looks. Oh and another thing or two or three... Where am I going to sleep the night of the dance? I hate sleeping on floor! Wait before you say anything, I'm not taking your bed without you in it! Son of a bit-... I didn't mean it that way! OH MY GOD! You hate me now! Shut up Risa" she tried to say through tears. She fell apart right then and there. She fell to the ground and covered her tear stained face and just cried, awaiting her best friends response.

Arisa got up from off of the ground. Her face was a new shade of red and she felt extremely awkward. She started to wipe the tears from her face and all of a sudden hugged Alex very tightly to her. 'Those aren't pecs... I mean they feel like pecs but something seems off. I could just grab them.' she thought then realizing she was fantasizing. She realized they had literally been walking in circles. A smile came across her face and she figured out what her plan would be. "Umm... hun I may need you to put on my dress for a bit when I get it okay? You know how those pesky measurements can be? And plus were about the same size right?" She added at the end to sound convincing.

Arisa smiled. Maybe she was wrong she thought. 'Alex would tell me if something was wrong, right' she wondered. 'Damn, I need to know, this is killing me' she thought. Arisa continued to walked with Alex toward the mall entrance. She usually let Alex get his shopping done first since he was very quick about it. Video games, and on occasion new shirts. His shirts were a little tight though. She figured he would be stopping to pick up new ones on today's trip. She remembered that she had bought him a shirt while he was on vacation. He would have to stop by her house to get it. She was hoping to get her dress today so she could start her alterations sooner rather than later. Even though the original plan was just to see what was going on with Alex's muscles, she really would have to make some slight alterations. She followed Alex around the mall for a while but this time, he seemed to be taking longer than usual. It was taking him longer than it normally took her. 'Hmmm... maybe he needs something personal, but what? Oh well' she thought as she trotted off in the opposite direction. She figured if it was something personal that he needed, with her away for a few minutes he grab it then.

Arisa decided to just leave the store completely and text Alex letting him know where to find her. It was her turn to try to be discreet. She went to a lingerie store to buy a bra that she felt she so desperately needed. She looked, picked out, and even paid for her new bra and Alex still wasn't there. 'What the hell could he be doing?' she wondered. She decided to send another text and move on to a different store. She thought long and hard about buying condoms for the night of the dance. 'What if he gets the wrong idea though? What if he thinks they're for someone else?' she told herself to stop worrying. She still had time, and what needed her attention now was getting a dress.