Page 33 of Sidelined Love

“Thrilled,” I deadpan, making sure my tone reflects how I feel.

Jade rolls her eyes dramatically. “Oh, lighten up, Hailey. We're gonna have a blast, I promise.” When I don’t reply again, I watch as her eyes scan my face in an attempt to read it. She knows parties aren’t my thing, and I wonder if she’s starting to feel guilty about pushing me to go.

“You’re not going to flake on me, are you?” she finally asks. The excitement in her voice is tamer.

I hesitate before answering. Jade's enthusiasm is hard to resist, but having her shift gears and sound disappointed in me hits a different button. Parties aren’t my scene. They’re Jade’s domain. But I made a promise, and I intend to keep it. It is a great opportunity for my best friend and me to hang out together.

“No, I’m not.”

“Tell you what,” she says. “If you get overwhelmed and want to leave early, just say the word and we’ll come back home. Deal?”

Having an easy out makes the idea less dreadful. “Deal. Let me go change,” I concede, managing a small smile.

Jade beams at me before looking down at the mess she’s made. “If you need something to wear, I probably have something in this pile of… stuff.” She gestures to the things on the floor.

“I’ll let you know,” I say as I head out of her room and into my own.

My room is the complete opposite of hers. Everything is in its rightful place, organized in such a way that it makes it easy for me to start with a clear mind each day and to end the day with a sense of calm. Well, most of the time anyway.

As I’m taking my phone out of my pocket, my eyes land on a text notification I should have been expecting, but yet I hadn’t been.

Levi: Hey, Hailey. Here are the blocks of time I’m free for chess lessons. Do any of these times work for you?

I must be in denial. I truly didn’t anticipate him reaching out to me, but here we are. For some reason, I can’t think of what to say back to him even though it should be an easy response.

No. I’m not going to worry about this now. I need to focus on going out with Jade.

As I put my phone down, I decide it won’t hurt to take a quick shower. I hurry into the bathroom and turn on the showerhead. While I wait for the water to warm up, I strip out of the clothes I wore to Brewed Beginnings and redo the messy bun I'd thrown my hair into. I don’t have any time to wash my hair, and to be honest, it is the last thing I want to do.

Once I step into the shower and pull the shower curtain to stop any water from getting out, I close my eyes and just breathe. The stress of the day slips away as I try to silence my thoughts.

The warm water falls down my body, soothing my tired muscles. I stretch my limbs as the steam fills the bathroom. This is the best idea I've had all day. I reach over to grab a bottle sitting on a small shelf in the shower. The familiar scent of my body wash fills the room as I pour the liquid onto my loofah.

In the back of my mind, I know I can't spend as much time as I want to in here because Jade is waiting for me. With thatthought, I start the dreaded process of wrapping up my shower and soon I find myself wrapping a towel around my body as I stare into a mirror that is more than just a little fogged. I lean back to turn on the fan to help clear out the steam in case Jade wants to use this mirror to do her hair and makeup.

I dry myself off and throw my robe on before walking back into my room. There I find Jade waiting on me.

“You know, I was just going to tell you I have no idea what in the hell to wear tonight.”

“And I could sense that, which is why I’m here. I have several options. Would you prefer to wear a dress or jeans?”

“Jeans,” I say without a second thought. Having to put on a dress in addition topartyingtonight isn’t the vibe I want at all.

“So I’m thinking a sparkly top would work, but I need to find a pair of dark-colored jeans.” She tosses the shirt at me and walks over to my closet. While she is looking through my pants, I stare at the top in my hands.

I’m watching the way the shirt’s silver material shimmers in my hands when Jade gasps. I look up and see her holding up a little black dress. “Why have I never seen you wear this before?”

I shrug, taking the dress from her. “Never had the opportunity. Plus, it shows more skin than I'm usually comfortable with.”

“Damn, because you'll look stunning in it.” Jade grabs the fabric, forcing me to hold the dress against my body. “See? All the guys will be drooling over you.”

I make a face. “Drooling guys is not my goal here.”

“I know… I know,” Jade says as she goes back to searching through my things. I let out a deep breath when she finds the pants she wants and gives them to me.

I quickly get dressed before walking over to my mirror. The outfit looks great, and I have to admit the top shows that I'veput some effort into this look. I tell myself I’m going to wear my leather jacket with this to tone it down a bit.

“Are you going to wear your hair down tonight?”

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