After stepping out of the way of the mirror, I saw what had moved him so. The configuration of this dress was literally perfect for me. I looked taller, but regal. My figure was elegant. The ragged hem of the overlay rested against my skin and highlighted how soft it was.
“Holy crap. This is magic.” I felt a huge grin spread across my face. “Wow. Wow. Wow!”
Austin high-fived himself then me. “Gaze isn’t going to know what hit him.”
He dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “Speak of the devil. You good? He has to go to the team dinner at the coach’s house. You and I can work on this if you want?”
I couldn’t imagine how much more we needed to do, but it was fine. “We can do that.”
Austin’s smile pulled sparkles into his deep brown eyes. “Let’s do it.”
Chapter 57
Gaze
I WAS HAPPY that Pixie and Austin were getting on. The social setting here at Coach’s house was tense. And I figured that was why he called this emergency spaghetti dinner. With prom looming this weekend, and all the senior stuff piling up, he wanted us to really focus on the game. Tomorrow was the tournament. Mike had told me that a few scouts were making their way to my school to watch me play to try to get them to be reassured despite my brief run-in with the law for punching Roe. He’d sent in a selection of videos of me playing previously. They were interested enough to agree to come to the games tomorrow. Mark cornered me after I filled my plate. “Ashlin said she saw Pixie buying her prom dress in a thrift store. Like pieces of it.”
I gave him the evil eye. “Sounds like Ashlin needs a hobby.” I did my best to step away from him. Getting in a fight now would likely get me off the team. I needed to play in the next game, but it was like Mark knew I was hardwired into Pixie. I needed to keep her safe, even if it was just her name in his throat.
Coach came up to me, holding out a basket of garlic bread. “Listen, Gaze. Can I get you to meet me outside on the patio? I really want to have a word.”
I hoped it wasn’t the end of the line for me. I swallowed hard as Mark started snickering behind me.
After I closed the sliding glass door behind us, I asked, “What’s up, Coach?”
“I know Mark is giving you a hard time right now. Trying to stir up some girl drama.” Coach shuffled the breadbasket to his other hand. “This tournament is really going to be one that matters for you. I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve had scouts come to a game. Especially this late in the year.”
I nodded. There was a thin line between being a snitch and warning the coach about shit that was going down.
“You’ve got real potential, but you need those guys to play their hearts out for you. Even Mark. You understand?” He put his hand on my shoulder.
I nodded and said nothing. I’d take what I had to to make sure that the coach, Mike, and Pixie were proud of me. And I didn’t tell anyone, but what Pixie had been through meant more than the scouts and my scholarship. She was my first priority.
“Now have a carb. Save me because I want to eat this whole basket.” Coach sighed while he looked at the bread.
Chapter 58
Pixie
THERE WAS ACTUALLY a lot more to do with Austin. We picked out a hairstyle and a make up style and we dug through my shoes to find a set of pumps that would work. Austin plucked sequins off the unused fabric and we organized them and hot-glued them onto the shoes while watching a crime drama on his phone. Minutes before Gaze hit the front door, we had tucked all of the prom stuff inside Austin’s closet.
We stood in the doorway pretending to be bored when he walked in. He was in a hoodie and basketball shorts, shower shoes on, and sneakers tossed over his shoulder.
“How was the getting? Good? Did you ball the basket?” Austin pulled on my hand and we walked to the couch.
Gaze lazily scratched his stomach, flashing his ridiculous abs. “Don’t pretend you don’t kick ass on the court. You’ve got the reach of Sasquatch.”
Austin put his arms in the air. “Oh, please. Like your arms aren’t the longest thing about you.”
Gaze held out one arm. Austin stood next to him and did the same movement. Then it was left up to me to be the judge. I pushed myself up and circled them while they trash-talked each other about arm length.
“Your arms are so long you can tie your shoes without sitting down.” Austin said.
“That might be so, but I can take five steps back and slap the wise outta your ass. And my arms are still shorter than yours.” Gaze play-slapped at Austin. Then Austin caught Gaze’s arm and took him straight to the floor. They started wrestling and I abandoned my job immediately to hop on the couch.
There were groans and grunts for a while. I had to laugh, because although they were throwing each other around, they were super careful to not actually hurt each other. Just like real siblings that liked each other.
Eventually, I jumped off the couch and skittered into the kitchen. I found a pot and a spoon and started banging it in their direction. “Knock it off! You’re going to get the neighbors to call the cops!”
Gaze scrambled up from the floor and grabbed me in a hug, also stopping the pot and spoon alarm system I’d hastily manufactured.
“Crap, Pix. You’re going to wake the dead.” And he didn’t mean it. He wasn’t trying to get that thought in my head, but we knew each other. I was thinking about Mom immediately. I wondered if my life would ever be in such a way that conjuring up her image in my head would give me comfort instead of pain.
“Hey.” I saw the regret in his face. “Sorry. So sorry.”
Austin sensed the mood change and lifted himself up from the floor. “I’m going to throw in some laundry down the hall. Anybody need anything done?” He didn’t give us a chance to answer before he was out the door—without any clothes.
I let go of the pot and pan, and Gaze palmed them, keeping them from hitting the floor.
“It’s okay. It’s a common saying. I have to get used to this stuff.” I shrugged.
“No. Not from me you don’t. Come on into our room and let’s talk.” He tugged on my hand gently.
As we trudged over, it hit me that he smelled nice. It wasn’t always the case when he got back from basketball practice. “You shower at the coach’s house?”
“No. His wife says that it’s the price of dinner—all of us shower in the locker rooms. Everyone has to pass a sniff check. She’s been in the coach’s wife business for a long time.” Gaze led me to the bed, and after I sat, he put his things away before sitting across from me.
“How was practice?” I watched his face, trying to put my mind right here, right now and not missing my mom.
“It was fine.” He looked down and to the left. Lying.
“Now tell me what really happened.” Gaze seemed to get along with his teammates pretty well. I knew they were amazed at his skills, but sometimes that also spurred jealousy.
He peered up at me, deep brown eyes seeing so much. “Ashlin is dating Mark.”
“She moves fast.” I leaned back against the wall, pulling my legs up so I could hug them.
“Yeah, well, she has a hard-on for you. I’m not sure what about.” He kicked off his shower shoes.