Page 22 of Crash and Burn
Maybe it was better this way. Less messy. There wasn't any of the drama that came about when two people officially started dating. No risk of an awful breakup.
True friends could depend on each other, no matter what.
I stood from the bed. I looked into the mirror hanging on the back of my door. My wavy blond hair was disheveled. My eyes were red and puffy. I pointed a finger at myself in the mirror.
"Stop moping," I said.
Saying the words out loud helped, a bit. It was enough to propel me from my bedroom and into the bathroom for a shower. I even had the strength to blow dry my hair straight to try and tame the frizz.
I put on my cutest handmade dress and paired it with a matching purse and heels. A quick swipe of mascara and tinted lip gloss, and I practically felt like a brand new person.
I stared into the mirror again, now fully dressed and dolled up. No messy hair. No puffy eyes.
No one would be able to tell I'd spent the whole morning wallowing in misery, broken-hearted over the boy I'd fallen in love with. The Lizzy reflected in the mirror looked poised, upbeat and self-assured.
I stared at myself in the mirror.
Poised, aside from my trembling lips.
Upbeat, aside from my watery eyes.
Self-assured, aside from the hollow cavity in my chest where my heart should have been.
I firmed my lips, blinked rapidly and tossed my hair over my shoulder. I put on my perkiest, most charming smile, the one I reserved for cranky customers.
Now the Lizzy reflected in the mirror looked ready to take on the world.
I had no reason to feel anything but cheerful, after all. I had the day off work. I was going out to see a fashion magazine photoshoot. I was going to hang out with my best friend all afternoon.
I was going to make sure I had a great day.
Even if I had to force that perky smile the entire time.
7
When I arrived at the location I found a swarm of organized chaos. Everyone there seemed to have a job to do and they were rushing back and forth doing it. I didn't have to lie about being Grant's assistant because no one paid any attention to me.
I scanned the area. In one corner was a blindingly white backdrop. In the other was a makeshift hair and makeup studio. I caught sight of Grant off to the side. His dark hair fell over his forehead and covered his deep blue eyes as he hunched over his bags of equipment.
My stomach roiled.
How many times had I envisioned running my fingers through that hair?
I put a hand to my belly and breathed in slowly. I could do this. We'd been friends for years. Nothing had changed.
Except it felt like everything had changed.
With a smile that was only half-forced, I made my way over to Grant.
"Hey, I'm here!" I said brightly. Maybe too brightly. I smoothed my face and toned it down a notch. "How's everything going so far?"
Grant looked up from his camera bags with relief.
"Liz! I'm glad you're here." He beckoned me to kneel down next to him and pointed into his bag. "I can't find one of my camera lenses. I might have put it in the wrong spot. Can you try to find it while I set everything else up? It looks just like this one." He handed me a piece of equipment to examine it. "But it's got a red ring around it instead of white."
"I thought I was only pretending to be your assistant," I teased, but I took the heavy lens from his hand.
He flashed me a grateful smile. "You're the best, Liz."
