Page 14 of Something that Could Last

IT'S AFTER SEVEN-THIRTYby the time we leave Rosie's, and I’m dog tired. Too much booze and not enough sleep is a bad combination, and it’s starting to catch up with me. I decide to take a nice, long bath and go to bed early tonight. But first, I have to see if Tiff has a dress I can borrow for my date with Jacob tomorrow.

“I’ve got a couple of dresses in mind for you to wear to dinner,” Tiff prompts as we pull up to her house. “You wanna come in and try 'em on?”

“Sure.” I hope she has something long enough to actually cover my ass. Tiff's wardrobe tends to be a little on the, ahem, short side. “Nothing too revealing, though.” She shoots me an exacerbated look but doesn't reply.

Once inside her bedroom, Tiff goes straight to her closet and starts pulling out hangers with dresses. Some of them are way too skimpy and I veto them immediately. Some of them aren't quite dressy enough. I weed through those quickly. That leaves only three options for me to try on.

“I did a little recon on our boys,” Tiff informs me as I step into the first dress.

“What did you do?” I ask skeptically. Tiff practically lives on social media, and her cyber-stalking skills are impressive. And maybe a little terrifying.

She walks over to me and I turn so she can zip me up. The short, navy blue dress has a sweetheart neckline and ruching at the waist, with silver beads and navy sequins adorning the right side of the bust and the left side of the bodice in a cut-out pattern. The dress is beautiful, but it’s not really my color and doesn’t fit quite right.

“Nothing,” she replies innocently. “Just creeping on their Facebook profiles. Jacob’s is private, so I really couldn’t see anything without sending him a friend request,” she informs me, handing over the next dress. “Luke’s consists mainly of tagged pictures of him at parties.”

As she rambles on about Facebook and how neither of them has Instagram, I pull the one shoulder, magenta colored Grecian dress over my head. It, too, is beautiful with its wide, intricate silver belt. But it’s much too flashy for my taste, so I take it off.

Finally, an impatient Tiff hands me the last dress. “Are you even listening to me?” she huffs.

“Yes, I heard you. Luke’s the only one on Twitter and Jacob still hasn’t accepted your friend request. It’s like he’s living in the Dark Ages.” She scowls at my sarcasm.

“He’s not the only one, ya know.” Here we go again. Tiff acts like anyone in their twenties without social media is an agoraphobic social misfit destined to die alone and be eaten by their thirty cats.

“I don’t have time for all that.” I dismiss her with a wave and pull the dress over my hips, poking my arms through the sleeves. “Besides, what would I do with it?‘Going to work again. Hope nobody pukes on me today. Hashtag donteatbeforeziplining,’” I mock snottily. I just don’t see any point in all the asinine status updates flooding everyone’s feed.

Tiff secures the two fabric covered buttons at the base of my neck as she continues her lecture. “That’s not all social med- Whoa!” Her mouth drops open and her eyes go wide when I turn to face her fully.

My gaze lands on the mirror and I gasp at my reflection. A satisfied grin pulls up the sides of Tiff's mouth when she peers over my shoulder into the mirror. The little black dress is perfect. It’s strapless, with a three-quarter length sleeve lace overlay that lands at mid-thigh, just the right length. The dress is nearly backless with a large cut-out that reveals nearly every inch of tanned skin on my back. It’s fitted, hugging my curves in all the right places.

“Oh. My. God. That is perfect,” Tiff gushes to my reflection.

“I love it.” I slide my hands down my hips, smoothing the fabric and appreciating how well it flatters them. Turning my body from side to side, I check myself out from every angle, our social media debate long forgotten. I’m not the most confident girl when it comes to my body, but in this dress, I feel unstoppable.

Tiffany's phone dings, alerting her to a new text. I simply stare at myself in the mirror while she retrieves her phone. I can't believe how perfect this dress is. I feel beautiful and incredibly sexy. It's amazing what the right dress can do for a girl. Perhaps this dinner won't be so bad, after all.

“Um, Abby?” Tiff interrupts my reverie, apprehension clouding her features as her eyes lift from the screen lit up in her hand. “Luke just asked me if I wanted to go to Wolf's Den Lodge tomorrow night. You know, as a double date with you and Jacob.”

Oddly enough, I’m relieved to hear this. Having Tiff with me would alleviate so much anxiety. Then doubt begins to creep into my thoughts, rolling in like a fog and filling all the gaps in my consciousness with uncertainty. Why would Jacob ask Luke to go with us? I kind of got the impression he wanted to have dinner alone with me.

“Did Jacob mention anything to you about this?” she asks.

“Um,” I hesitate. “No, he didn't say any-”

A faint ringing registers in my ears, cutting off my words. I follow the muffled sound, dropping to my hands and knees on Tiff’s bedroom floor. I dig through piles of clothes looking for my shorts, pulling my cell from the back pocket when I finally find them. Jacob’s name flashes across the screen and my pulse accelerates.

“Abby,” he greets when I answer. His deep voice, just as sensual over the phone as it is in person, reverberates throughout my body, settling deep and low inside my belly.

“Jacob.” I try to keep my voice steady, despite the fluttery feeling in my chest.

“Hey, I uh,” he begins nervously. “There’s a bit of a problem with our date.”

“Hmm?”

“Well, Luke kind of hijacked it. And normally I'd just leave his ass behind, but he's already asked Tiffany to go.” He seems nervous like he expects me to be upset.

“Yeah, I know. I’m with her right now.”

The line is silent for a minute before Jacob responds. He seems to be deliberating on what to say next. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know he was going to do that. I would have never told him about our plans if I did.” He exhales slowly and I sense his irritation. “So... are you okay with that? Luke and Tiffany going with us?”

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