by Hotcheri
“I don’t have many options,” I pointed out. “I’m broke right now.”
“We’ll loan you the money for the dress, won’t we, Shaz babe?” Robyn said firmly.
“Yeah, sure,” Shazia agreed heartily.
I opened my mouth. “But-.”
“You can pay us back when you can,” Shazia told me softly, her voice compassionate. “I know you hate being indebted, but this is for a good cause.”
“Yeah. Shazia’s dresses are soo last season,” Robyn joked.
“Thank you, Rob,” Shazia said, giggling.
I gulped, trying to gather my thoughts as Robyn and Shazia had their mock argument. Did they just offer to loan me money for a dress?
“Guys. You’re awesome friends. I’ll pay you back as soon as I can,” I said fervently, a lump in my throat.
“When you can,” Robyn repeated. “No pressure.”
I nodded. “Thanks.” My voice came out barely a whisper and I swallowed.
“Hey, I have an idea,” Shazia said excitedly. “Girls weekend at my place! Aisha’s sending someone over to do my hair and makeup, she can do all of us.”
“Yay!” I exclaimed happily.
Girl’s weekends always rocked, especially if they were at Shazia’s, since there was the added bonus of a shirtless Ahmed.
“So be at my place after you finish doing your afternoon things and we’ll go find you a dress, Celsi,” Shazia said, leaving no room for argument. Not that I was going to argue about it. “I gotta go. I have a paper to finish. Bye, lovies.”
“Goodnight, Shaz,” Robyn and I said in unison.
There was a click as Shazia hung up. And then there were two.
“Don’t worry Celsi,” Robyn said bracingly, as I struggled to guess what she was talking about now. She changes subjects as fast as Luke! “Joanna and Wendy can’t start anything in front of their parents. Just make sure you stay with Luke at all times and you’ll be fine.”
“I guess so,” I said.
I had long stopped worrying about that. The dress issue weighed heavily on my mind. I hoped that we wouldn’t head to an expensive store, but knowing Robyn, she’d probably take me to the most exclusive shop on Fifth Avenue. She was just high maintenance like that.
“I know so,” she said, certainty etched in her voice. “Luke- he’s not going to let anything happen to you. And I’ll be there.”
Despite myself, I smiled. “It’s going to be a fun night,” I said, the old excitement seeping back into my body.
Robyn snorted. “Yeah right. They rarely are.”
Robyn’s ominous tone couldn’t stem the anticipation I felt. After years of wistfully hearing her regale me with tales about the woefully boring events her parents dragged her to, I finally had the chance to attend one and see for myself whether gala’s were a waste of time or a people watching feast. Even if it did turn out to be boring, my date more than made up for it.
“See you tomorrow, Celsi,” Robyn yawned. “You gotta get your beauty sleep. You don’t need bags under your eyes tomorrow.”
I stretched languidly. “Indeed I don’t. Goodnight, muffin.”
We both hung up and I turned over in bed, burying my head in the pillow. I hoped to myself that I would be able to find a dress that was cheap enough for me to pay the girls back. Because going to the gala with Luke was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I didn’t intend to miss it.
Next Day
After an hour at work on Friday afternoon, I headed to Shazia’s place, my clothes in an overnight bag. The concierge let me go up in the elevator and I rang the bell to the El Hamed’s penthouse. When the door opened, to my surprise, neither Shazia or Robyn was standing in front of me. Luke stood there, looking both surprised and pleased to see me.
Grinning widely, he said, “Hey, you.”
“Hi,” I smiled back, stepping into the penthouse as he held the door open for me. What a gentleman. “What are you doing here?”
He shrugged. “I’m waiting on Ahmed,” he told me, gesturing with his shoulder in the direction of Ahmed’s room as we stood in the entrance hall. “We’re going to Wendy’s place; she’s having a movie night.”
“Oh, sounds like fun,” I said. Not as much fun as Robyn, Shazia and I were set to have, but fun still.
“Yeah, but Ahmed takes so long to get ready! He’s like a girl when it comes to that.” Luke’s eyes flickered over me and he winced. “No offence.”
“None taken,” I assured him. Ahmed was a diva when it came to his appearance, yet when the shoe was on the other foot (as in, when Shazia took a long time getting ready) he went on a rampage. Hypocrite. “Have you been waiting long? Do you know if Shazia’s here?”
Luke stuffed his hands in the pockets of his blue jacket. “I’ve been waiting since school was out. Shazia’s in her room, she said she had to change.”
I heaved a sigh of relief. Now all we had to do was wait for Robyn then the shopping could commence. And hopefully end with me finding a perfectly wearable cheap dress. Hopefully. “Great.”
Giving me a mildly curious glance, Luke blew the air out of his eyes. “What are you doing here?” he asked, then grinned. “My turn to be nosy, don’t you think?”
“Absolutely.” I still couldn’t get over how easy Luke was to talk to. And how fun. And how fun, too. I never used to think he was a friendly guy when I didn’t know him that well. “We’re having a girl’s weekend.”
Before I could continue, Luke looked around and (apparently) remembered that we were still chatting in the El Hamed’s foyer. Not polite behavior at all.
“Let’s go into the living room,” he suggested, suddenly slipping his hand into mine and leading me down the hall. “It feels kinda awkward talking here.”
You don’t have to hold my hand, I’m not a 5 year old scared to cross the road! We aren’t even near a road! Still, I thought it was adorable that Luke was holding my hand.
Once we were in the living room, he let go of my hand (damn) and I sat on a couch while he sat on the armrest, swinging his leg against the side of the chair.
“So what goes on during a girl’s weekend?” he asked me, sounding like he really wanted to know.
I shook my untied hair back as I explained. “Well, we give each other makeovers, do our nails, talk about- we talk.”
Obviously I had been going to say ‘talk about boys’. That would have been a giant giveaway that we were going to talk about him all night long. Unfortunately, Luke pounced on this morsel.
“Talk?” Luke chuckled. “About boys?”
Damn, damn, damn! Guilty.
“No. We talk about music,” I fibbed, not looking at Luke.
He nudged my shoulder and I glanced up at him just as he was looking down at me, a cute smile on his face. “You’re so lying,” he chortled.
I blinked embarrassedly. “Well, maybe a little,” I conceded uncomfortably.
Snickering loudly, Luke stood up and stretched. “Are you psyched for tomorrow?” he asked suddenly, turning to face me.
I nodded, smiling. “Yeah.” The minx in me made me ask mischievously, “Are you?”
Luke pointed at himself, a ‘who, me?’ look on his face. “Don’t I look pumped?” he asked.
Still toying with him (hey, who said he always had to have the fun?) I shrugged. “No, not really,” I joked as he ran a hand through his messy hair.
“Dude, I’m so stoked.” He grinned down at me. “We’re going to have a blast,” he said surely, stuffing his phone into his pocket. “You’ll be glad you said yes.”
I smiled shyly up at him, my heart thumping at the look on his face as he stared down at me, a lopsided smile turning up his lips. “I think I already am,” I said, deciding to be honest.
His grin grew wider. “Cool. And Faith’s looking forward to seeing you too, so that’ll make two of us.”
I couldn’t think of anything to say in answer to that (thanks? Me too? What?!) but luckily I didn’t have to, because at that moment, Luke
started sniffing the air, his head cocked like a cute Collie. Hold up Celsi, did you just compare Luke to a dog? Shame on you.
“What’s that smell?” he asked, circling the chair I was sitting in as he sniffed.
Hoping that I hadn’t stepped in dog poop on my way over here, I asked, “What smell?”
“It smells like strawberries.”
I shrugged. Maybe another aneurysm symptom was phantom smells. I definitely couldn’t smell strawberries, even though thinking about them made me feel hungry. Thank you, Luke. “I don’t know- I don’t smell anything,” I admitted. Apart from you, Mr. Yummy, but somehow I get the feeling that’s not what you’re talking about. Still, I was glad the smell wasn’t dog poop.
Still sniffing, Luke walked around my chair again and stood in front of me, looking perplexed. He must be hungry, too. “It’s coming from- CiCi, your hair smells like strawberries.”
Oh, yeah. My Herbal Essences shampoo! Duh, Celsi.
“I washed it this morning,” I told him as he looked down at me, a mesmerized expression on his face. The boy must love him some strawberries.
“This is the most delicious smell out there,” Luke said enthusiastically, sniffing the air above my head.
“Uh, thanks,” I said slowly, wondering if Luke had some strawberry fetish. That was pretty hot. Weird, but definitely sexy.
“Can I have a- closer smell?” he asked me, flushing slightly as I gaped at him. “You probably think I’m weird, but I just have a thing for girls who smell of strawberries.”
Oh, my.
“Sure. Knock yourself out,” was all I could say.
With a grin on his face, Luke bent over, sliding his hands onto my shoulders, squeezing them lightly and sensuously as he breathed in the scent from my hair, his breath hot on my forehead. No pressure. I felt like I was about to faint from Luke touching me so sexily and I braced myself. Act normal, stay calm.
While we were in that distinctly incriminating position, Robyn chose that moment to walk in. A guilty looking Luke stepped back as Robyn cleared her throat, her eyes glued to us.
“Am I interrupting?” she asked curiously, absolutely dying to know what was happening. I could tell. Robyn always had to know everything. Although I suppose if I’d walked in on someone in the same position as Luke and I had been, I would act nosy too.
“Uh, no,” Luke said, blushing slightly as he sat down on a stool.
Robyn frowned, not getting the answers she needed. So she decided to go for broke. “Luke- what were you doing?”
Luke glanced up at her, the embarrassed look still on his face. I didn’t understand that. It wasn’t like Robyn had walked in on us kissing (swoon) or anything. So why was he acting so- shady?
Rather defensively, Luke replied, “I was smelling CiCi’s hair.”
Robyn tugged on her ponytail as she looked from Luke to me. “Uh huh.” She gave me a teasing smile. “Hi, ‘CiCi’.”
Rolling my eyes at the impish look on Robyn’s face, I said, “Hi, Rob.”
Perching herself on the edge of a couch, Robyn fixed Luke with a smile. “So, Luke, what color dress should CiCi wear to the gala?”
“Um, I don’t know,” Luke replied, shrugging. He looked at me, smiled. “I think she’d look good in any color.”
His sincerity made the heat rise in my cheeks and I bowed my head, hoping that Robyn wouldn’t notice how flustered I looked. But honestly, just how sweet was Luke? No guy had ever paid me so many compliments before.
“Yeah, but what color would go with your tux?” Robyn asked, the warm, fuzzy moment totally lost on her.
Luke gave a surprised chuckle. “My tux is black,” he told her. “Any color would go.”
“I just want you two to be color coordinated,” Robyn pressed. “What color’s your tie?”
“Astor!” Ahmed bellowed from the foyer. “Let’s go!”
A clearly relieved look on his face (Luke had obviously been interrogated by Robyn before) Luke stood up. “I don’t wear ties,” he told Robyn carelessly. Robyn gasped.
“But- you have to!” she exclaimed, shock in her voice.
“Nope,” Luke grinned, coming to stand behind me as Robyn frowned in his direction. “See ya, Robyn.” He lightly massaged my shoulders as he bent his head down to mine. “I’ll call you,” he whispered in my ear, right before he gave me a soft, shiver inducing kiss on the cheek.
And guess who decided to walk in at that very moment? Thankfully, not Ahmed (how the hell would Luke have explained that?) but still, Shazia’s expression as she saw Luke kiss my cheek was bad enough. I didn’t even want to look in Robyn’s direction as Luke let go of me, waved cheerily to Shazia and let himself out of the living room, whistling as he left.
“Astor!” Ahmed bellowed again, sounding irate.
Shazia’s eyes were still wide as she stared at me. I couldn’t look her in the eye.
“He so wants you,” she proclaimed in a voice full of conviction.
I groaned, hiding my face in my hands. “Guys, knock it off!”
“That’s why we need to get her the sexiest dress we can find,” Robyn put in, touching up her lipstick. “Something that will knock his socks off.”
“Or we could settle for finding me a nice dress that looks cute on me, that would work too.”
I didn’t want to knock Luke’s socks off, did I? Yeah, you do. Only a little bit, though.
“Yeah, no. Sexy is better. Even though with the way he was looking at you, he wouldn’t notice if you showed up wearing rags,” Robyn pointed out.
“Like I said, he so wants her,” Shazia repeated, a smug smile on her face.
“Are you guys sure I need a new dress?” I asked them, trying to steer the conversation onto safer grounds. Luke didn’t want me, but obviously Robyn and Shazia weren’t prepared to believe that.
Nodding empathically, Shazia said, “Yes!” She glanced at her watch. “We’d better move, too. The shops close soon. We need to find the perfect dress!”
CHAPTER 14
Once upon a gala.
As it happened, we found the perfect dress in the very first shop we walked into. Shop isn’t exactly the correct term; it was a small boutique, one of the high end fashion ones that Robyn frequents. Expensive.
The dress was on a mannequin right in front of me, in all its gorgeous pink, sparkling glory. I stared at it for a long second, my heart thumping with longing, but I knew I couldn’t have it. The dresses on the mannequins were usually the most expensive. Still, I could just look, couldn’t I? And look I did as Shazia and Robyn walked off to look around, a saleslady descending on Robyn immediately. The floaty dress was practically inviting me to try it on and I steadfastly ignored it, moving away to look through dresses on the rack. A dress that gorgeous has to be expensive. And I was in no position to even look at it, even though my gaze kept going back to it while I rifled through the cheaper dresses, gulping at the prices. Who spends five hundred on a dress? The more expensive ones didn’t even have price tags and I shuddered to think how pricey they were.
I finally picked out a light blue dress, the cheapest one on the rack, and found Robyn by the shoes. “Okay, I’m going to try this one on,” I told her, holding it up.
Robyn glanced at it and pursed her ruby red lips. “Hmmm. I don’t know,” she said slowly. “It’s too simple.”
“Simple’s good,” I protested.
“I just want you to wear something amazing-,” Robyn started, fingering the material of the dress. She wasn’t sold on it.
“Ooh, try this one on!” Shazia exclaimed, walking towards us with a dress in her arms. I groaned as Robyn pounced on it, her eyes gleaming. “Look at it, it’s gorgeous!”
As luck (good or bad, I wasn’t quite sure which) would have it, Shazia had honed in on the pink dress, gotten a saleslady to take it off the mannequin and was now handing it to me, not knowing that I wanted nothing to do with it.
“Nice choice, Shaz babe!” Robyn cooed, patting Shazia’s shoulder as
I reluctantly took the dress. It even felt amazing, soft, light and- perfect.
“It’s pink,” I objected, trying to pretend as though I didn’t want it, even though I did want it, and badly. “People dress in conservative colors at galas.” I looked at Robyn for backup. “Right?”
“But it’s so pretty,” Shazia exclaimed, her eyes shining.
“And you can wear whatever color you want, especially since we need you to stand out. Pink is the perfect color. Go try it on,” Robyn said.
Not helpful.
Whispering so that the saleslady couldn’t hear, I said, “It’s too expensive.”
Shaking her head imperviously, Robyn said, “Just go try it on.”
“Yeah, I saw you looking at it when we walked in,” sneaky Shazia added. Crap. Diplomatically, she said, “Try both of them on and we’ll choose.”
Groaning, I headed to the changing room, excited to try on the beautiful dress but sad because I knew there was no way I could afford it. I looked for a tag before I tried it on. None. It was a perfect fit, the bottom of the dress reaching the floor. As I looked at myself in the mirror, I found myself hoping that the girls wouldn’t like the way it looked on me. Even though it looked pretty nice, I had to admit. Taking a deep breath, I stepped outside to face the music. Please hate it, please hate it, please hate it.
Robyn put her hands up to her mouth, apparently shell shocked. The various ladies who were shopping stopped to look at me. Shazia gasped.
“This is it,” she said simply, clasping her hands in front of her like a fairy princess. She had a big smile on her face. “No question about it. This is the dress.”
“OMG, you look great,” Robyn gushed, circling me like an errant fly. “It’s so simple yet elegant!”
“I thought you were against simple?” I couldn’t help saying. They weren’t supposed to like it at all! No fair.
“I’ll make an exception with this one,” Robyn said.
Eager to get involved, the saleslady said, “It goes so well with your skin tone, too. You look beautiful.”