Page 28 of Wildly Inappropriate

“Fucking isn’t the same as dating,” I say, terrified at the thought of Lila meaning something to me.You cannot risk losing your best friend, JT. Get it together.

“Oh, I’m quite aware.” She glares at me one last time, and it takes all my self-control not to capture her lips with mine. To make her forget the name Matthew ever existed.

Chapter fourteen

Lila

“I can’t see anything,”Elise says from the speaker on my phone.

“Ugh.” I groan. “It’s a lot harder to have you help me pick out clothes when you’re hundreds of miles away.”

“I don’t remember getting this motion sick when we did it in person. Maybe you should just set your phone down until you pick something out and then I can approve or not.”

“Fine,” I say, walking over to prop my phone against the lamp on my nightstand. At least this way Elise can still see me as I inspect my closet. How is it that I own all these clothes and nothing in here seems to be remotely close to what I want to wear? Who was I when I bought these? To be fair, I only have two suitcases’ worth, but it still seems like a lot of options that I hate.

“So we are thinking no on the summer dress?” I ask, pulling out the cute light blue dress with puffy sleeves and a floral pattern on it. It was my go-to dressy outfit in college, so it feels like a good fit for a blind date with Janice’s nephew Matthew.

“You said you haven’t seen anyone wearing a dress since you came into town.”

“True.”

“And that dress is what the youths are wearing these days.”

“Are we even considered youths at this point?”

“Doesn’t matter. I assure you that style has not reached rural Colorado.”

“Don’t be mean, Elise.”

“I’m not being mean! Small towns just tend to be a few years behind on fashion trends, and even then, most people’s fashion just freezes the minute they move back to town. I’m not hating on it. It’s very practical. My mom wore the same clothes my entire life. Actually, now that I think about it, I’m not sure if it’s practical or sad.” She considers it while I stare into my closet as if more options might magically appear.

When nothing new materializes, I move on. “Okay, so no dresses. That helps narrow things down,” I say. “Next question: Jeans or dress pants?”

“It’s not a business interview, Lila.”

“Hey, I’ve got some cute wide-leg pants I could wear.”

“Nope.”

“So…jeans?”

“Yes. I feel ninety percent sure jeans are the correct option,” Elise confirms.

I hear JT’s door to his room open, followed quickly by the sound of him leaving through the front door. I’ve continued to avoid him since his little outburst yesterday. Fuck him for knowing exactly what to say to make me question everything about myself by making it clear no one could ever loveme. I’m embarrassed by how distracted I was at work today. I was creating a monitoring schedule for a new client’s online accounts, and it took twice as long as it should have because his words continued to play in my head. It likely didn’t help that I was trying to do it all myself without reaching out to Kelsey for guidance—she hired me for this job, so I should be able to do it.

I also refused to open our—no, my—book when I got home today because I didn’t want to see that version of JT. No, JT Johnson is a complete asshole, and I will not let myself believe anything else.

I grab a pair of my dark jeans and a silky, emerald-green blouse with a deep V-neckline. The shirt is just elegant enough to make it look like I dressed up, but the jeans and casual black slide sandals I plan to wear should make it look like I’m not trying too hard. I slip off my white blouse from work today and change quickly before stepping into Elise’s line of sight again.

“What do you think?”

“Perfect! That color looks amazing with the slight tan you’re getting and your dark hair.”

“Like I’m trying but not too hard?” I ask.

She gives me one more full-body sweep. “The exact right amount of trying.”

“Perfect,” I say, bringing the phone with me into the bathroom so I can do my hair and makeup. Janice immediately followed up our conversation yesterday by sending me and another number a group text introducing me to Matthew and him to me. It’s clear he’s been set up by his aunt a time or two before, because when he responded, it was to the whole group and politely asked me out for the next night. Once I agreed, he switched to a private text chain with me, apologizing for including his aunt but assuring me it was the only way to get her to leave us both alone. I trust him on this one. So here I am, one night later, getting ready to go out for pizza with a complete stranger who is “my age.” I considered asking Becca and Izzy for the rundown, but they weren’t in the office today, and I’m not sure if we’re the kind of friends who randomly just text each other yet, so I’m flying blind on my date with Matthew at the pizza place in town, Wild Crusts.

---