Page 43 of The Plus One
“You know quite a bit about waxing, don’t you, Harper?” Thu said innocently, nudging her friend.
“That wasone time,” Harper said, blushing as brightly as she did the day she’d suffered through a traumatic bikini-waxing incident four years prior. Lizzie laughed so hard she almost snorted up the petals from the rose she was sniffing, causing her to choke. Thu thumped her on the back.
“If you four can’t behave yourselves, I’m going to have you escorted from the room,” Jeremy said, brandishing a dahlia at them like a weapon.
“I didn’t do anything!” Harper whined.
“Teacher’s pet,” Thu said through a fake cough.
“Guilt by association, darling.” Jeremy offered her a sad but knowing smile.
“Can we focus, please?” Collin continued, raising his hands in exasperation. Everyone quieted down, and Indira pretended to scratch her nose while flipping Collin off. He pretended not to notice.
“We’re going for a whimsical, rustic, cottagecore vibe, but with an overture of luxury and refinement. Follow?” Collin said. “Tonightwe want to get the pieces for the end of each row of seats done. We’re envisioning a sort of random, wildflower, natural-esque look. To pull that off we’ve come up with a precise formula for composition.”
Jeremy went on to explain the value of having a three-to-two ratio of anemones with snowberry sprigs, and to never mix dahlias with the scabiosas. Indira peeked around the room, and was glad to see that everyone from Chris to Rake looked dazed and confused at the words being thrown at them.
“And once you’ve put together your bouquet, it’s time to wax!” Jeremy said, like he’d just explained something as simple as hopscotch.
Collin cleared his throat as he prepped for his part in this odd demonstration.
“So, we’ve heated the soy wax.” Collin gestured at the tubs of yellowish goo on the table. “And you simply dip the head of the flower in—not too long, don’t want it to be weighted down—and then you let the excess drip off over the edge before setting it to the side.”
“Sorry, I’m confused,” Indira said, raising her hand. “Can you show me again?”
“Of course. You take the flower.” Collin held up a deep-red rose. “Dip the head into the wax. Then let any extra drip off.”
“Hmmm.” Indira tapped her cheek as she tilted her head to the side, eyebrows deeply furrowed. She shot Jude a look and he nodded in confused solidarity.
“Sorry, Collin. Are you saying to let it drip first? Or dip first?” Jude asked, cradling his chin in his hand.
“Dip,” Collin said earnestly.
“Gosh,” Jude said, rubbing his temples. “I’m still getting all confused.” Indira snorted but disguised it as a cough. “Can you show us one more time?”
Collin let out a sigh but nodded. “Of course. You take the flower—”
At this point, both Indira and Jude erupted into giggles, shaking and spluttering, and thoroughly enjoying being little shitheads. Indira rested her forehead on Jude’s arm as they continued to laugh, and he placed his large hand on the small of her back.
The heat of his palm on her body stole all humor from Indira, every nerve ending rerouting itself to the spot where he touched her. It felt too good for it to be safe. She pulled back, trying to create space from the intimacy of it.
Then she remembered they were fake dating and, technically speaking, touches like that weresupposedto happen, and she kind of… jerked forward a bit, accidentally knocking her forehead against the point of Jude’s shoulder, then stumbled back. Jude reached out, stopping her from tripping into the wall by cradling the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her curls and tugging gently, sparking a sensation that traveled down her spine.
If that first touch felt intimate…
“You both are annoying little prigs,” Collin said, frowning at them.
Jude dropped his hand from Indira as Jeremy reached across the table, smacking them each on the head with a stem of leaves to defend his fiancé’s honor.
“I liked you two much better when you bickered,” Collin continued. “At least then you subjected each other to your evil and left me alone.”
“Quite the endearingly obnoxious couple, aren’t you?” Thu said in a sweet voice, scrunching up her nose with a cutesy smile.
Indira’s face heated to the point of discomfort, and she lifted her heavy curls off her neck.
“You know all about obnoxious, don’t you, Thu-Thu?” Indira shot back in a wobblier mimic of Thu’s tone.
“How long have you two been dating?” Lauren asked, all earnest eyes and friendly smile.
