“She sent me shoes too?” I asked in surprise. “How does she even know my size?”
“Leo may have asked me, and I might have told him.” Troy grinned.
“This really is too much,” I muttered as I saw more shoe boxes on the bottom of one of her bags.
“Well, you did save her life,” Remy said dryly.
I rolled my eyes, good-naturedly. “We don’t know that for sure. We don’t know how good of a shot that guy was or whether if he would have caused her permanent damage.”
“Close enough in my book.” Jace gave me a gentle smile.
“I’m getting changed. Meet back here in ten?” Troy clapped his hands in excitement.
We all made some noise of assent. Everyone left the room, save Drake.
“How are you feeling?” I asked him.
He gave me a smile. “I can see right now, so good. Do you mind if I stay here?” he asked tentatively.
I laughed. “Of course, you can.” I slid out of my pajamas and gingerly donned the dress. It skimmed the bottom of my thighs, so I was okay with the length.
“Come here,” Drake bade me as he adjusted the neckline of my dress. It was an off-the-shoulder dress and was tight down to above my elbows, then flared at the wrists where it cuffed, leaving additional fabric to trail around my hands.
“Too bad I couldn’t have worked on a tan while I was here,” I joked as I looked down at my skin. I wasn’t pale, but I wasn’t tan either. A day in the sun would have given me a much-desired glow.
“Your skin is beautiful just the way it is,” he murmured as he kissed one of my shoulders.
I laughed. “You’re my boyfriend, you have to say that. You forget how my skin breaks out when my not so friendly ‘friend’ comes to visit.”
He chuckled as he drew me in closer. “A few days out of the month. Your breakouts aren’t that bad. Everyone gets a spot here and there. Remind me to show you pictures of Troy and Noah when they were teens.”
“There’s no way the flawless, no pore, olive-skinned Troy had any major breakouts, and if Noah was as meticulous with his nightly routine then as he is now, then there’s no way he would have gone out in public with even a minor break out.” I laughed in astonishment.
“I’ll show you pictures when we get back to the apartment.” Drake gave me a conspiratorial smile.
“I can’t wait,” I cried happily.
“Can’t wait for what?” Noah asked as he came back into the room wearing a pair of shorts, a brown polo, and leather thong flip-flops.
I smiled. “Nothing,” I said quickly, a little too quickly.
“I don’t buy that for a dollar.” Noah eyed us suspiciously.
“You probably shouldn’t,” I said impishly as I slid into my boots. The heels were about two inches high, but somehow, I didn’t think they would hurt my feet, even with all the walking we’d probably be doing. They felt like I was walking on clouds and fit perfectly. I looked at the name in the inside of the boot and gasped. I didn’t know much about shoes, but I hung out with Jemmy long enough to understand these weren’t cheap shoes.
“Did she go to one of her designer friends for these shoes?” I held up the box that they had come in. “Jemmy is going to be so mad when she finds out I have these.”
“Let’s be real here. She’s going to be upset with you for a while,” Drake teased. “Though I’m sure when she gets some of those clothes it’ll soften the blow.”
“Are we ready? I want some boardwalk fries with apple cider vinegar and extra salt,” Jaxson asked excitedly.
I realized then that I was thankful that I hadn’t seen him suffer through his seizures. I wish I had been here, but I would have been devastated seeing him in that condition. He reminded me of an overgrown puppy with endless amounts of energy and the mischievous streak to go with it. He seemed perfectly fine now, but I knew from experience that the attacks came from nowhere.
“I was thinking about some frozen yogurt or custard myself.” I smiled as I took Drake’s hand and led him towards the door. “Hopefully they have strawberry or strawberry banana.”
“I’m sure they will, it’s a common flavor,” Noah smiled as he took my other hand.
“Let’s go!” I cried happily. I had a feeling this was going to be the mental break I needed.