Page 43 of Fragile

An hour later, the decorating is finally done, and the common room looks amazing. I decide it’s time for phase two of the evening’s preparations. I grab Indie by the arm, and this time, she doesn’t try to pull away.

“Quinn, where are we going? Aren’t we staying here?” she asks, confusion in her voice.

A mischievous grin takes over my face. “It’s makeover time.”

“Oh, no way,” Indie protests, digging her heels in. “I’m not getting dressed up. I’m fine in this. I like—”

“Your jeans and your boots. I know. But tonight, you’re wearing the dress that I bought for you. And before you object, it’s black.”

Indie grumbles, but she doesn’t put up that much of a fight. Once inside, I push her down onto my bed and go get the dress I found last week with her in mind. Springing out of the closet, I hold the dress on the hanger, “Ta-da!” I sing-song.

Her eyes sweep over the black minidress, and I catch a flicker of interest in her expression. There's no way this isn't a perfect Indiana Beck dress. It has a black slip underneath with a sheer mesh overlay that resembles an oversized T-shirt. It’s perfect for her. When I see her roll her eyes in resignation, I know I've nailed it.

“Ugh, fine. But just to be clear, this is the only dress I’ll accept, and the boots stay.”

“Noted,” I say, satisfied at how well I know my best friend. She tugs off her t-shirt and holds out her hand for the dress, and I have to suppress a squeal of glee.

While she’s getting dressed, I start working on my own outfit. I also found a new dress when I bought Indie’s, and while I got it originally to catch a guy’s eye, I’m now only hoping it’ll draw the attention of one guy. Nerves swim in my belly as slip off my clothes and into the dress. I think about seeing him and not touching him tonight, and I already don’t like the idea.

Indie clears her throat, and I spin around, having changed too. “Happy now?” she mutters.

“Very,” I say, beaming, squashing all these feelings brewing inside me. “You look gorgeous. Now, let’s do something with your hair.”

“Quinn, seriously, this is overkill.” She groans as I start fussing with her hair.

“Nonsense,” I say, pinning a few strands back of her wild curls. “You’re going to look amazing, and you might even have fun tonight.”

“What is this fun you speak of?” she teases as I lightly tug on a curl. “Hey!”

“Fun, Indiana, is something you need more of.”

She mumbles something I chose to ignore, as I pin back a few tendrils of her golden locks giving her a boho beach vibe. Perfect.

“Come on, let’s go to our party.”

As soon as we enter the room across the hall, the place is filling with familiar faces from class and some of my squad too. “Hey, Quinn, we brought mixers and snacks!” calls one of the girls.

“Amazing, the table is just over there by the door,” I shout back, looking around the room for a familiar set of brown eyes that make me weak.

Suddenly, two big arms scoop me up from behind. I let out a squeal and turn to see Hudson, slapping his chest. “Oh god! You scared me!”

“Did you just call me god?” He smirks as he puts me down.

“Not like that!” I squeak.

“Relax,” he laughs. “The place looks great. You smashed the party vibe.”

“Thanks,” I say, glancing around him, wondering if he’s here alone. “Did you come here alone?” I ask, hoping it doesn’t sound as obvious.

“Jay is on his way. Not sure about Miles and Seb. They were at the gym with me earlier, but I haven’t seen them since,” he says, distracted, looking around, and my good mood sours just a tiny bit. What if he doesn’t come because I told him he wasn’t invited? It was a joke at the time, but now things have changed, and he’s the only one I’d like to see here. “So, any of your squad single?” He wiggles his eyebrows.

Huffing a laugh, I sigh. “There’s no stopping you, is there?”

“Noooooope,” he drawls, then kisses my cheek and runs off into the crowd.

And I try my hardest to pretend I’m not searching the crowd for someone too, whilst secretly praying he actually shows up.

Chapter twenty

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