Page 59 of The Trophy

She glares at me from the screen and I sober up. “Sorry. What were you saying?”

“I know you guys have had your differences in the past,” Bay continues. “But Topher promised he’s going to make an effort to become friends with you.”

He’s making an effort all right. But again, I don’t say that.

“Lake,” Bay says, her blue eyes shining with emotion. “He explained he was under a lot of pressure with the team and some stuff between him and his father. He apologized for letting that affect our relationship. I have no reason not to believe him. Before we came back to campus for the fall semester, he was a great boyfriend and he’s back to his old self. I think he might be the one. If meeting his parents goes well, who knows, we might get engaged by graduation. Maybe even marry before we finish grad school.”

Shit.

I hate the thought that comes to my mind at her words. I need to find a way to get her to see what Topher’s really like. A way that he can’t talk his way out of or that doesn’t get all the people I care about in varying amounts of serious trouble.

“By the way, what’s the stuff under your eyes?” I ask, eager to steer our conversation toward a safer subject.

“Lakyn,” Bay bites out. “Haven’t I taught you anything? These are patches with cucumber, aloe and chamomile extract. They’re great to de-puff the bags under your eyes and minimize dark circles. I left a box of them in your bathroom. You should use them.”

I look at my own reflection in the mirror above my dresser. I have on minimal makeup, the way Bay taught me to apply it. I look good but still natural. “I think I’m ok for today. Blaze and Luca had an early practice but they said I could sleep in and I didn’t wake up until noon.”

“Did you have a late night last night?” Bay giggles.

I feel heat rise to my face. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“With both of them?” Bay doesn’t relent.

“Yeah. They—regardless, this isn’t why I called you.”

Bay curls up one strand of her silky blonde hair. “Why did you call me, sis?”

I explain that Cash will be here in half an hour and I can’t decide what to wear. “We’re staying in.”

Bay’s perfect eyebrows wiggle suggestively. “Oooh. You’re staying in. So I guess you’re trying to… deepen your relationship?”

That’s a fair way to put it. “Yeah. So? What do you think I should wear?”

Bay twists her lips in the typical way she does when she’s thinking. “You don’t want to look like you’re trying too hard, but at the same time, you want to look hot.”

I nod. “Yeah, that was exactly my thought. I was thinking leggings and that pink sweatshirt you got me for Christmas?—”

“No,” she shakes her head. “That would be perfect for a night with your girlfriends or for a double date. By the way, that’s something that we should try once you choose your actual boyfriend. A double date.”

At this rate, with all the biting I’m doing, my tongue will fall off. I’d rather go on a double date with Jack The Ripper and one of his victims.

But I don’t say that.

I don’t even explain that Luca and Blaze might be ok with the status quo. “Focus, Bay,” I interrupt her. “If not leggings and a sweater, then what?”

“If you want to seduce him, then you want to offer him easy access. So definitely a skirt or a dress. I left a denim mini skirt in your closet that would work perfectly with a camisole top. Or you also have that dark blue cotton t-shirt dress I gave you for our birthday. Both sexy and understated enough for a night in.”

I look at the denim skirt. It’s short but very cute. “I like the skirt. What about underwear? White or black?”

Bay sighs. “I wish you had told me about this date earlier, I would have brought you some new sets I got from one of my sponsors. White or black are a little basic. But it depends on what kind of camisole you’re going to wear. If it’s a light color, go for white underwear, because black will show through it and we aren’t in the late 90s or early 2000s anymore.”

Fashion has so many rules. But I’m grateful for Bay’s guidance. “I was thinking about a light pink top,” I say.

“Then go with white underwear. Show me though. You better not wear plain cotton stuff.”

I roll my eyes, opening the top drawer of my dresser and fishing for the new bra and panties Tasha got me last Christmas but I never had the chance to wear. I mean, who in their right mind wears a thong unless they’re hoping for someone else to see it?

“That’s cute,” Bay nods in approval. “Did you buy that?”

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