“Do you think?” Cleo glanced absently over one shoulder as she went through one of the racks like an expert, pulling out clothes here and there and peering at them with a furrowed brow before either draping them over her arm or putting them back. “I think they’re quite reasonable in this place.”
To you, maybe, I replied silently, but I didn’t let anything slip. She couldn’t help being raised in a family a million times as rich as mine, literally. And she was sweet and kind for offering to take me out at all. I should withhold my judgment for now.
She paused and then turned to me, laden down with at least a half-dozen dresses and a serious expression on her face.
“Okay, let’s get started,” she pointed me in the direction of the changing rooms, and before I knew it, I had been bundled inside with a bunch of dresses that cost more than a month’s rent at the condo would have. I tried them on carefully, handling them like they were ancient artifacts that could have been destroyed with just a moment’s mishandling.
“You all right in there?” Cleo called out, and I could hear the impatience in her voice.
“Yeah, I just need a little help with the zipper,” I called back, and she tugged the curtain open, stepped inside, and did it up for me. I turned to the mirror. I bit my lip to keep from laughing out loud. It looked terrible. It was a few inches too long, the waist flopping awkwardly down around my hips and the bustline drooping nearly to my belly button.
“Okay, that looks like crap.” Cleo shook her head and chuckled. “Maybe scrap this one, huh?”
“Glad you said it,” I replied. Any tension that might have remained between us was gone. We went through the rest of the dresses she had picked out for me, and I tried not to think too hard about the price tags. This was just fun, after all, and I was sure I could suggest a place a little more in my price range when this was all done with and pick up something there.
But then she handed me one last dress, deep green, a similar color to the one I had worn that very first night when Kristo and I had met at the gala. I slipped it on, and I knew at once without looking that I could spend the whole day searching and find nothing as good as this dress. It hugged me perfectly, skimming over the softer parts and clinging to the curves and bringing out this shape I knew didn’t come from me alone. I turned and looked into the mirror, and even I couldn’t keep from widening my eyes.
“Well, how it is?” Cleo asked, and she pulled back the curtain and cocked an eyebrow as she looked me up and down. “Holy shit, Amaya.”
“Yeah.” I turned back and forth, looking at myself from all angles. It really was close to that one I’d worn the first night we’d met, and that was why I loved it so much. I looked at the price tag and bit my lip. I could use Kristo’s card. He’d told me to, after all.
“I’ll take it.” I grinned at Cleo. “It’s gorgeous, don’t you think?”
“Kristo’s going to love it,” she replied with a firm nod. “Come on, let’s get it bagged up and go grab something to eat. I’m starving.”
I paid for the dress with his card and walked out of the store happier than I’d gone in. I couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when I emerged dressed up in an outfit so close to the first one he’d ever seen me in. Would he get the reference? I was sure he would. He seemed to remember every little thing about the two of us, about everything we’d been through so far.
Cleo took me to a small bistro that served the strongest, sweetest black coffee I’d ever had in my life. I had to get a sandwich before I ate my arm off, but it was well worth the wait. The coffee was better, but the place was known for the good stuff.
That seemed to be something that ran in the family, this love for something hot and caffeinated to make life a little smoother around the edges. She and I chatted about nothing in particular, about clothes and movies and books, and I found myself warming to her. She was full-on, but she was also fun and enthusiastic and a good person, just like her brother.
She drove me back to the apartment and hugged me as I started to climb out of the car.
“I had an awesome time today.” She flashed me a smile. “We’re doing this again soon, right?”
“Right,” I promised her. “Thanks for inviting me. I had a great time.”
And with that, she pulled off down the street and left me clutching my bag and smiling after her. I returned to the apartment again, and when I opened the door, I found Kristo waiting for me in the kitchen. He offered me a coffee, but I waved it away.
“I’m good. Cleo already took me for one,” I told him. “But thanks.”
“You have a good time?” he asked, and I nodded.
“A great one,” I replied, and I held up the bag in my hand. “Wait until you see what I’ve got in here.”
“Something for the fundraiser?” He came around the breakfast bar, cocking an eyebrow.
“Yup,” I nodded. “But I’m going to make you wait till then to see it.”
“I can hardly contain myself,” he replied dryly, but I could tell from the glint in his eye that he was at least being a little serious.
“You’re going to love it,” I replied, and I headed through to the bedroom to hang it up. “And I’m going out with your sister again, by the way. We had a lot of fun.”
“Oh, no,” he groaned playfully. “Last thing I need is you two conspiring against me.”
I grinned as I closed the door behind me. I couldn’t wait to see his face when I walked out in that dress.