“So we’re driving back home, and he’s mostly quiet, so I figured maybe he forgot, you know? And then suddenly, out of nowhere, he just blurts it out. I might have screamed, and he might have stomped on the brake suddenly.”
“Oh my God!” I can totally picture it. Nobody could say these two are subtle.
“Good thing we live in the middle of nowhere.”
“At least nobody got hurt,” I agree.
“True. Anyway, at first, I thought he was joking with me, asking me to go as a friend or something, and I’m taking nobody’s pity.”
“Of course not. You deserve a guy who’ll pull out all the stops.”
“Damn right. Every girl deserves only the best!” She nods her head. “At first, I got pissed off, because how dare he tease me like that, you know? So I was yelling at him, all in his face, when he pulled onto the side of the road and kissed me.”
“Whaaat?” I squeal so loudly that people start turning heads in our direction.
“Shhh!” Becky hisses, covering my mouth with her hand. I push it away.
“How was it?”
“It was… nice.” Becky sighs, a dreamy expression on her face.
“Just nice?” I ask, wiggling my brows.
“Oh, hush, it was amazing, dreamy, earth-shattering. Just… perfect.”
Yeah, I bet it was.
“So, did you say yes?”
“Once I found my voice again, sure.”
“Oh, Becky,” I laugh. She’s too funny for her own good.
“But now we have a problem.”
“What problem?” I ask, completely confused. Shouldn’t she be happy about this whole situation? Isn’t this what she wanted?
“Homecoming is next week, and I have nothing to wear. You know what that means, right?”
“That you’ll go through your closet and try to find something?” I offer. But I might as well suggest she go around digging through the dumpsters if it’s to be judged by the look on her face.
“No, missy. That means that you and I are going shopping.”
Becky: Be there in five.
I type a quick okay back and lock my phone. Grabbing a few bills from my money stash that’s growing thinner by the day—I’ll seriously have to look for a job—and together with my phone, I slide them into my pocket.
Although I could probably find something in my closet to wear to the dance, I don’t want to disappoint Becs. Besides, it’s also an excuse to get my ass out of the house. Which is for the best since Mom has been around since she got here a few days ago.
She still hasn’t mentioned the reason for her being here, and I still can’t decide what her end goal is, but for today I’m going to push it to the back of my head.
Penny’s out, having her piano class, and I’m going to help my friend find a dress that will make Miguel sorry he waited so long to ask her out on a date.
Seriously, boys.
Shaking my head, I walk out of my room and descend the stairs as quietly as possible. But apparently not quietly enough, because as I’m putting on my shoes, Mom appears from the living room.
“Going somewhere?” she asks, her brows raised as she looks down at me.
Tying my shoes, I get to my feet and dust my butt. “I’m going out.”
“I can see that. Anywhere in particular?”
“Why?” I cross my arms over my chest and turn to look at her. “Since when do you care?”
She has the audacity to look actually hurt. “I’ve always cared, Katherine.”
“Well, you have a funny way of showing it.”
I turn around and dash for the door. For all her words, she doesn’t even try to stop me. Surprising, I think not.
Becky is already parked in the driveway when I come out, so I hurry up and get into the passenger seat.
“Ready?”
I look toward the house, but it looks empty. “Yeah.”
As we drive to the nearest mall, which is half an hour away, Becky tells me all about the dresses she saw online and what she thinks would work best.
“Mom wanted to come.” She rolls her eyes. “But thankfully, Fin, my little brother, was an ass, so she stayed home to deal with him.” The door to the mall slides open, and we enter the cool interior. “Like, don’t get me wrong, I love my mom, but she can be so old-fashioned sometimes.”
“Right. So anywhere, in particular, you want to go?”
“Oh, no, honey, we’re seeing it all.”
Looping her hand through mine, Becky leads me into every single shop. She has this idea that she has to first see everything in the first walk around, and then she’ll actually go and try something she likes.
According to her, it’s a process.
If you ask me, it’s exhausting.
But I follow after her like the good friend that I am, as we enter store after store.
“I still think that dark pink one looked awesome,” I tell her through the curtain.
There is rustling on the other side as she changes, yet, again. I stopped counting the number of times she did it. You’d think the earlier process would help her narrow down her choices. You’d be wrong.
“Oh…”
“Oh, what?” I turn around and peek behind the curtain. “Oh. Becs, that looks…”
I shake my head slightly, at a loss for words. She looks stunning, the emerald dress hugging her in all the right places, making the red tones in her hair stand out. Ultra-thin straps cover her shoulders. The dress dips into a deep V, but there is a little wavy overlay that makes it look flirty. The dress fits like a second skin, reaching mid-calf with a slit on the side.
Her eyes meet mine in the reflection in the mirror. “Do you think he’ll like it?”
“He’ll love it.”
“He better because I love it.” She chuckles. “I’m taking it.”
“Great, you change, and I’ll wait outside.”
Closing the curtain so she can change, I exit the dressing room and go back into the store. I’m strolling around the shop when my phone vibrates.
Emmett: What are you up to?
Me: Shopping with B.
Emmett: :O :O
Emmett: What about me?
Me: You were at practice.
Me: Besides, do you really want to go shopping?
Emmett: You’re there. I think that answers it.
My heart skips a beat as I read the words on the screen.
“What are you blushing at?” Becky asks, looking over my shoulder so she can read the message herself.
I pull the phone to my chest, shielding it from her. “Just talking to Emmett.”
She rolls her eyes. “I should have known. You always get that look on your face when you talk to him.”
“What look?” I ask, pulling a dress out of the rack.
“That dreamy, I’m-hopelessly-in-love look.” Her eyes fall on the dress that I pulled out. “Hey, what are you wearing to homecoming?”
I return the dress back where it belongs. “What do you mean? I’ll find something.” I shrug.
“Find something?” Becky blinks, and then repeats, “You’ll find something?”
“Umm… Yeah? I’m sure I brought a dress from California.”