Page 80 of Why Not Now?

“It’s not Derek,” a woman’s voice says, full of laughter. Lis?

“And you not being dressed is perfect,” says another voice I’m almost certain is Adalie’s. “Put on a robe or something and let us in.”

I blink in confusion but do as they request, opening the door to find all three of them grinning like fools, shopping bags in their hands.

“We come bearing gifts,” Adalie says.

They enter my bedroom and lay out the things on my bed. Lis picks up the green teddy bear I hadn’t put away on the chair this morning.

“This guy is so cute.”

“Derek got him for her a long time ago,” Lacey says.

“How do you remember that?” I ask.

She shrugs. “I stole him from you after Mom and Dad died. I kept him for about a year.”

I’d forgotten all about that. When she gave me back the bear, I had put him on the chair with the other stuffed animals and tried not to think about him after that until Derek came back into my life. I shake the thoughts away as Lis returns him to the bed.

“What are you guys doing here?” I ask.

“We came to get you ready for your date tonight,” Adalie says, taking a look around my room. “Makeup and hair first?”

Lis nods. “Then the dress. He didn’t get you underwear. We advised against it, since fits can be tricky, even if you know the right size.” She pulls something out of one of the bags and I realize it’s a dark green dress. My breath catches as I see it, the ribbons at the top, the full skirt. It’s so pretty and cute and I just want to be wearing it.

When did he get this? I can’t believe he would have done something so thoughtful. Even though he spent more money, I can’t bring myself to say no.

Lis continues, “You’ll need something that will work with this. What do you have?”

I’d already put on some underwear, but I go to my drawer and find a different, matching set in black lace.

“I’ll go change into these. You don’t need to help me with the rest, though.”

“Bring back whatever you need to get ready,” Lis orders, and I can tell she’s used to taking charge. She leads a whole kitchen, so that’s not really surprising. I find myself doing as I’m told before I even think about it, heading into the bathroom again to change my underwear and returning with my makeup bag, hair brush, and blow dryer.

They’ve already taken all my stuffed animals off the chair and sit me in it when I return, Adalie beginning my makeup first while Lis and Lacey watch from the bed.

“If I’ve learned anything from my years running a wedding venue,” Adalie says as she works, “it’s that you should do makeup before hair.”

“Why are you even here to do this?” I ask. “I could have done it myself.”

“Of course you could have,” Lis says. “But isn’t this more fun? A bunch of girls hanging out, doing girly things? We should have some wine. Lacey, do you have wine glasses?”

“We don’t have any wine,” I say, but Lis pulls out a bottle of chilled pinot grigio from one of the bags.

“This one is a gift from me, not Derek.”

She and Lacey go upstairs for the glasses, returning shortly. After pouring and distributing it, they move on to my hair, Lis taking over. She brushes and dries it, twisting it up, pinning it in place so a few tendrils fall.

“Perfect. Now the dress. You want us to go?”

I shrug, already standing and eager to put it on. I haven’t worn something so pretty in such a long time. I drop my robe to the floor and pick up the dress.

“Um. Ava,” Lis says. “Are those hickeys?”

I glance down at my body and realize how many of them I have right now. Even after two nights of not being with him, the ones he’d given me previously are still there. A few are covered by my bra, but he’s given me a bunch on my thighs that are fully visible. I hadn’t really thought about it in my haste to get my new dress on.

“Maybe?” I say, my voice little more than a squeak. I glance at my sister, who isn’t looking at me, her face pink.

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