I glance around me, looking for options, and then I see it. The perfect dress. My heart races as I stand up. It’s on a mannequin in the window of a boutique across the way. I slowly walk over there, just as Peyton walks out of Game.
“I’m sorry. I feel like I’ve let you down. Stupid store,” Peyton grumbles. I turn around and grab her by the shoulders, leading her over to the window. Her mouth drops open. She nods.
“Yes. Yes,” she cries, her eyes glassy. “That's perfect, Lanna!”
I race inside and search for the dress, but I can’t find it anywhere. An assistant finally walks over to help us when Peyton begins to get hysterical. I point at the dress, too out of breath to speak, from going through rack after rack looking for that dress.
“I’m sorry. That's the last one,” she says.
“What size is it?” Peyton demands.
“I'm not sure. Let me check.”
We both watch, holding our breath as she climbs up into the window display and unzips the dress. She looks back over to us.
“It’s a four,” she announces.
“Yes,” I practically cheer. Peyton throws her arms around me.
“Don’t get too excited until I try it on,” I say to her. She rolls her eyes, but nods.
“It’s going to be perfect.”
I hope she’s right.
I take it into the dressing room and peel off my clothes and then slide it up over my body. It's a perfect fit, but that doesn't mean it looks any good. I finally find the courage to lift my eyes and look at my reflection in the mirror. I’m stunned by what I see. The blue silk looks almost purple in some light, and it just clings to my body. It drapes softly against the floor, but with the right heels, the length will be perfect. I reach up and touch where the dress dips dangerously low into my cleavage. The amount of breast I’m showing is daring, but the conservative length of the dress kind of makes it okay.
Holy shit. That can’t be me.
My heart races. It really is perfect. I can’t even move, it’s so perfect.
“Are you ready?” I call out to Peyton.
“I've been ready for the last ten minutes,” she grumbles. “Hurry up already.”
I pull back the door and walk out. Peyton gasps. She shakes her head, speechless. I don't think I've ever seen Peyton speechless in all the time I've known her.
“You’re crying,” I say to her, laughing. She shakes her head and wipes away tears. “Seriously, maybe you're the one that needs to get laid,” I giggle.
“Trust me, I've been getting a lot of it lately, and I’ve got all the allergies to prove it,” she smirks.
“So how are things going with Mr. Vet?” I tease, referring to the guy she’s been seeing for a few months now. How he still doesn’t know that she’s allergic to dogs, I have no idea.
She smiles. “Really well,” she admits. “He’s so nice, Lanna. I think I need to tell him that I'm allergic to his giant dogs, though.”
“If things are going that well, you’ll work around it,” I say. She nods but doesn't look convinced. This guy must really love his dogs.
“Back to you and that dress. Please tell me you’re getting it?” she pleads. She grabs the tag, her eyes widening when she sees the price. “On second thought, you might need to take out a loan first,” she whistles.
“Good thing I have this, then,” I say, flashing the credit card at her.
“Is that Chase’s?” she gasps. “He gave that to you?” I nod. She shakes her head. “Okay, now I’m really jealous.”
I giggle and link my arm through hers as we walk over to the counter.I treat Peyton to a smoothie to say thanks for helping me shop. She races to the bathroom while I wait for our drinks. I stand beside the counter, feeling happier than I have in a long time. I feel like nothing can bring me down. I glance over to see if Peyton is coming back and my heart stops. It’s not Peyton that I see though. It’s Dani and Aaron. I turn around, praying they don’t see me and try to crouch down around the side of the counter, where I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to be.
“What are you doing?”
I look up and see Peyton standing there, shaking her head.
She’s right. What am I doing?
I can't believe what I'm about to do, but there's no doubt in my mind that I need to do it. I stand up and straighten myself up and then I walk over in their direction. They don’t notice me until I'm right in front of them.
Dani looks up first. She pales when she sees me standing there. I see her grip tighten on Aaron’s wrist. He turns around, looking visibly sick when he sees me.