Page 134 of Choosing You

She races over and zips me up. The dress is a perfect fit. As if it really was custom made for me. It fits every part of my body perfectly. I don’t how that’s even possible. I just gave Garret my dress size, not my measurements.

“I totally love that dress,” Harper says. “And that color is so good on you. Here, try on the shoes.” She hands them to me.

For high heels, they’re actually pretty comfortable. Plus, I like the extra height they give me. Garret won’t have to bend down so far to kiss me.

Harper stands back and looks at me. “Wow. He did a great job with the shoesandthe dress. I didn’t think Garret had it in him. And he pulled this together in less than a week? That’s impressive. So where are you getting your hair done tomorrow? Maybe I’ll come with you. I could use a manicure.”

“I’m doing my own hair. You know I don’t have money for a salon.”

She gives me a look that says I can’t be trusted to do my own hair. It’s true. I’m not very good with hair. Or makeup.

“Let me do your hair and makeup. I did it for your birthday dinner and you liked it, right?”

“Yeah. Okay. If you don’t mind. Can you help me get out of the dress?”

After she helps me, she hurries off to get herself ready for her date. I have no date tonight because Garret has swim practice. He wasn’t supposed to, but asshole Blake skipped one of the practices last week and now the whole team has to make it up on Friday night. Did I say how much I hate Blake?

Around 10, Garret stops by. He’s wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and navy athletic pants. How is it possible that he can look so damn sexy in any type of clothing? There’s a light layer of stubble on his face and his hair is still wet from showering off after practice. I love how his hair falls onto his forehead when it’s wet. It’s so hot.

As soon as he walks in the room, I shut the door and kiss him before we even say hello. A long, deep, passionate kiss. I can’t help myself.

“So I take it you liked the dress?” he asks when I finally let him go.

“Yes. Thank you. It’s beautiful. You did a really great job. And the shoes, too. But you shouldn’t have—” I stop myself before I mention money, remembering Harper’s comment.

“I’m glad you like them.” Garret’s eyes are sleepy. I can tell that he’s exhausted from all the swim practice, plus school, and getting the dress, and whatever else he’s got going on.

“You should get some sleep, Garret. You look worn out.”

“Not yet.” He leads me to the bed to sit down. “I’ve got something for you.” He reaches into the front pocket of his sweatshirt. He smiles as he pulls out a small box and hands it to me. “Here. Open it. It goes with the dress.”

I open the box to find small, teardrop-shaped diamond earrings. “Are these real?”

“Of course they’re real. Try them on.”

“I can’t take these.” I shut the box and hand it back to him.

He looks hurt. I guess Harper’s right. It really does make him happy to buy me stuff.

“You don’t like them, do you? I can get you something else. I went to all these different stores trying to find what I thought you might like. But I guess I should’ve just let you pick them out. I didn’t know what I was doing. I’ve never bought a girl jewelry before.” He seems embarrassed.

I feel horrible. I’m sure he got a lot of help with the dress and the shoes, but the earrings he picked out himself. And I rejected them.

“Garret, no. I love the earrings. I was just worried about the money. That’s all.” I take the box back and put on the earrings. “How do they look?”

“Well,Ilike them. But what do you think?”

I go over to the mirror. The earrings sparkle from every angle. And they’re just the right size. They’re exactly what I would’ve picked out.

“They’re perfect. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” His eyes are getting sleepier. Even his voice sounds tired.

“You need to sleep.” I pull on him until he stands up. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I have practice at noon, but wake me up before that and we can have breakfast.”

“I think you need to sleep until noon. I’ll just see you when you pick me up to leave for the fundraiser.”

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