74 Spicy-And-Sweet

"You sure took your sweet time to get here," Alice said as she sipped her fruit juice. It was currently three-thirty in the afternoon. The event would start six in the evening, which only gave them two and a half hours to prepare.

Before Abbie could even give a retort, Alice waved her hand and a bunch of staff members half dragged Abbie to a door that was located in the far right side of the room. The bewildered girl found herself inside what seemed to be a luxurious private open-air bath.

Its design resembled that of a hidden hot spring found deep in the mountains. The small hot spring was big enough to accommodate six Abbie's with room to spare. There were small rock formations surrounding the hot spring, and even some flowering plants.

The best part of all was the scenic view it provided. From where Abbie was standing, she could see a part of the beach that was not open to the public. The sounds of the waves crashing in the distance reminded Abbie of the time she spent frolicking with Alex in the shallow waters, and when the two of them went stargazing.

Abbie forcefully tore her gaze from the sea and looked at the hot spring in front of her. The surface of the water was littered with flower petals. Abbie picked one of them up and gave it a sniff. The cream colored petal gave an intoxicating, spicy-and-sweet scent. The chubby girl was not knowledgeable when it came to flowers so she decided to ask the staff member who was standing by her side.

"What kind of flower did this petal come from?" Abbie asked.

"That is a rose petal, Miss Matthews," the staff member smiled with pride as she answered. "I believe they are called Honey Perfume. I apologize. I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to flowers grown here at the resort. Should I call one of the gardeners who manages them?"

"N-No, there's no need to go that far," Abbie said with a stiff smile. "Um? You brought me here to take a bath?"

"Yes," the staff member replied. "Ms. Alice asked us to assist you. She said that you needed to be scrubbed until your skin became as beautiful as jade."

'As beautiful as a jade? Does that girl want to tear my skin off?' Abbie thought in disdain. "Um, can I bathe alone? I'm not really comfortable bathing with other people watching me."

"If that is your wish then we will comply," the staff respectfully said with a smile. "However, Miss Matthews, you need to finish within half an hour. We still need to help you dress-up for the event tonight."

"Half an hour? Alright. I can do that." Abbie knew that Alice was going all out for tonight's party. She, also, wanted to look good in front of Alex. After the staff left her alone, Abbie slowly undressed. She folded her dress neatly and placed it on top of a big rock near the hot spring.

Before she dipped in the water, she headed to the small open shower that was five meters away from the hot spring. She washed her hair properly and used the shampoo that was provided to her by the staff.

After her hair was done, she gave herself a thorough scrub. For the areas she couldn't reach with her hands, she opted to use a bath brush. It never crossed her mind that there would come a time when she would be this thorough when taking a bath.

'I thought that I will only be doing this kind of thing on my wedding day,' Abbie mused as the water washed over her body. A minute later, she walked towards the hot spring and dipped the toes of her right foot into the water to test out the temperature.

It was warm, rather than hot like she had anticipated it being, and Abbie happily soaked herself inside the small hot spring. Five minutes later, she raised her arm and gave it a sniff.

She could smell the spicy-and-sweet scent that was being infused into her skin. She never thought that a rose-scented bath could be this wonderful. Abbie closed her eyes and relaxed her body. She allowed the scented bath to do its magic and left herself in its care.

A few minutes later, the staff knocked on the door and reminded her that she only had five minutes left. Abbie said something in acknowledgement as she sighed in pleasure.

'I hope that I can experience something like this in the future,' Abbie thought. Her gaze narrowed and a small smile appeared on her face as a thought crossed her mind. A few seconds later, a red hue slowly spread over her face. She had imagined that she was taking the bath with Alex, and the two of them were doing something very intimate.

Abbie's wild imagination left her feeling a little light-headed as the intoxicating fragrance of the flower petals stuck to her skin. The chubby girl knew that she couldn't stay in the hot spring if this continued, so she decided to leave the hot spring.

There was a big bath towel prepared for her and she took at least a few minutes to properly dry herself.

The moment she left the luxurious private bath, she was whisked away by the staff members into the dressing room.

Abbie's eyes widened as she took in the light pink dress displayed before her. She lightly fingered the top couple layers of the tiered ruffle skirt that would reach her knees. Both layers were smooth and slick.

'So pretty,' she thought as her eyes continued to take in the dress.

The layers alternated between a solid shimmery pink and a translucent shimmery pink, giving the skirt an almost chiffon-like element to it. The waistline was noticeably pulled in with a pink sash that was hooked together with the most stunning crystal broach. There were nine crystals in total. Eight of them formed a diamond to frame the largest one nestled in the center.

The bodice was a pink that was a shade lighter than that of the skirt. The fabric was littered with rhinestones of varying sizes. Thickest at the neckline then thinning out as they approached the sash. Thin, pink, spaghetti straps completed the ensemble and would help keep the bodice in place.

(A/N: Special thanks to my editor RedPandaChick for helping me with the description of Abbie's dress. You're a lifesaver as always.)

(E/N: Thank you and you are welcome as always}

"Is this dress really for me?" Abbie asked, still not daring to believe that this dress was prepared for her.

"Yes, this ballroom dress was something that Ms. Alice had prepared beforehand," the staff said with admiration. "To be perfectly honest with you, Miss Matthews, I had never seen such a beautiful dress in my life."

Abbie lightly touched the dress again in amazement. The fabric was unbelievably soft to the touch and she couldn't take her eyes off it. The dress was indeed beautiful, but Abbie was feeling a bit worried.

"Will this dress fit me?" Abbie asked. She was afraid that the beautiful dress would not be big enough for her.

"This…" the staff didn't dare to give an answer. They were only told to assist Abbie and help her dress up for the party.

While Abbie was feeling anxious a carefree chuckled sounded behind her.

"Relax, Abbie," Alice said with a smile. "Other dresses may not fit you, but that dress will always be a perfect fit."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure, I'm sure."

"Where is your confidence coming from?" Abbie asked. Although she wanted to believe Alice, the anxiety in her heart wouldn't go away.

Alice leaned closer and whispered, "It's bought from the GGS App. Every type of clothing bought in the GGS App has an "Auto-Fit" function. It doesn't matter what your size is. That ballroom dress will magically resize itself to give you a perfect fit."

The worry in Abbie's heart melted away after hearing Alice's explanation. She gave the blonde beauty a smile filled with gratitude.

"I wonder what Alex would say after seeing me in this dress?" Abbie muttered.

"We will know the answer in a few hours," Alice patted Abbie's shoulder and chuckled. "Go on, Abbie. Twilight comes, and your prince...awaits."