“Damn.” I turned and saw Graham standing there, bare-chested, towel wrapped around his waist. “Look at you. That’s quite the outfit.” He smiled at Tara. “Hey, what’s up,” he said. “I’m guessing you brought the dress over? I know she didn’t find it in my closet.”
“Doesn’t she look amazing?” Tara asked.
Graham kept his gaze on me for a few seconds, taking it all in. I felt myself blush. “Yeah,” he said. “She sure does.”
I went into the bathroom so I could see exactly how I looked. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw my reflection; in part, I think, because I wasn’t used to seeing myself wearing something like this, but also just because the dress fit me just right and the shoes accentuated my legs and the whole outfit had just come together perfectly.
“I guess I better go get dressed, too,” Graham said.
Tara messed around with my hair a little bit, though it was so short there weren’t many options. “A headband might look cute,” she said. “I really do like it short.”
“Thanks. I do, too.”
Graham emerged from his room looking a little skeptical.
“Yeow!” Tara yelled. “Lookin’ good!”
And he was. He was wearing a pair of jeans, cuffed, with a black, short-sleeve button-down that he’d paired with low-cut Doc Martens. Few people wore jeans to the yacht club, but he was somehow able to make it look like a fancy outfit.
“You look great!” I said.
“I figured the rockabilly look would go along with your dress.”
“Let me take a picture of you two,” Tara said.
We stood next to each other and she took a couple pictures, and I looked at myself in the mirror once more before we left. The dress fit perfectly. I didn’t know if I’d ever be used to seeing myself wearing something like this, but even I knew that it looked good.
*****
We met my mother at the lounge and her eyes lit up when she saw us walk in.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was excited to see us,” Graham whispered as we walked over.
“Wow!” she exclaimed. She threw her arms around me as though we hadn’t seen each other in years, not days. “Look at the two of you!” She turned to Graham with the same enthusiasm but refrained from hugging him. She hesitated, as though she wasn’t quite sure what to do, and then finally held out her hand for him to shake. “I’m so glad the two of you could make it. You both look great. Where did you get that dress, Chloe? And those shoes!”
My mother kept up a steady stream of chatter as we moved from the lounge to the restaurant, which was overlooking the ocean. There was a gentle breeze rolling in and the air smelled like salt.
“Why don’t we sit here,” my mother said, gesturing to one of the empty, white linen-covered tables. “I’m going to go use the ladies’ room, but you two can start looking over the menu.”
“Sounds good,” Graham said. My mom gave us another big smile and then walked to the bathroom. We were about to sit down when something over my shoulder caught Graham’s eye.
“Hey, there’s Parker,” he said.
I groaned. “Are you serious?”
“Now, that wouldn’t be a very funny joke if it wasn’t him, would it?”
“Is he looking? Can we just pretend that we don’t see him—”
“He sees us. Here he comes.” Graham nudged me. “Just smile and tell him how good he looks in that pink polo shirt.”
I turned, taking a deep breath. I hadn’t seen Parker since the beach party, and I could only imagine how awkward this conversation was going to be. His shirt was very pink. But as he got closer, I saw how shitty he looked. Pale, tired, and nothing like I remembered him.
“Parker,” I said, unable to keep the surprised note out of my voice.
“Hey there, guys.” His tone was subdued, though I could tell he was trying to play it off like everything was normal, when it so clearly wasn’t.
“Are you okay?” I asked.