Page 6 of David

Will I spend a ton of money on a dress I’ll wear once to feel like I belong? Sure.

“You can rent a dress for the wedding,” she says, anticipating my objections.

“I can borrow one from Chloe.”

Her eyes glint with surprise.

“Is she back?”

“No. But she left me the key to her apartment. I can talk to her.”

“Okay… Do that, then.”

A smile tickles my lips.

“Do anything, just don’t say no to Thea.”

“You can’t say no to her. You’ll have to lie, and you suck at lying.”

“Like mother, like daughter. What are you going to wear?”

“My prom dress,” she says, picking up another slice of apple, her eyes tipped down.

“Seriously?” I say incredulously.

She pops the apple slice into her mouth.

The red sequined dress takes us all back.

My mother was a kid the year it was manufactured, and although she’s never confessed to me, I’m convinced it belonged to someone in the family, and she inherited it.

“Does it still fit?”

“Of course, it does. Plus, I’ll lose a couple of pounds before the wedding.”

“More like five.”

She laughs.

“You’re mean.”

“No? It’s not five?”

“It will fit. Don’t worry about me. I have time to get in shape.”

“Sure. Whatever.”

My chuckle makes her smile.

Her grin withers away before she sucks in a long breath.

“So… Are you going to talk to Thea?” she says, no longer smiling.

I lean back in my seat and fold my arms over my chest, slightly defeated.

“Do I have a choice?”

“Yay,” she says, ignoring my distress and grinning again.

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