Page 27 of Roses, Pearls, and Hot Summer Nights
I felt like I owed them at least a little more information. “To her credit, I think my aunt tried to get me into the school at first, but they didn’t accept me. I did really badly last semester in Chicago.” I hated talking about it, but I pushed forward. “I’m dyslexic, or so my mom said. Anyway, I don’t think I’m very smart. Not when it comes to school stuff, at least.”
All three of them made some sort of sound to the negative, but I waved them away, disinterested in their faked assurances about my intelligence.They don’t know me well enough to make a call.
“Focus on the clothes. Does anything work?” I pointed to the closet, hoping to end the discussion.
Julian cooperated quickly, saying, “A lot of it, I think. Don’t get me wrong, none of us are what you would call experts on women’s clothing. In my opinion, though, most of this is like what I see other women wearing. We’ve gone there a lot because Barrett loves jazz. Here, try this and this, I think. If nothing else, I would really love to see you in this. You’re very pretty and …”
Barrett laughed, jerking my attention from Julian’s eyes to his own, which scanned down my body even as he ribbed his brothers. “No game. None.”
Julian grinned, rubbing the fabric of a sweater between his fingertips. “You’re just jealous because I get to touch her clothes while you have to watch.” His brother lowered his head briefly in acknowledgement before his smile appeared. I noticed they shared the same smile, then glanced at Jeremy confirming the identical expression on all three faces. I found it so cool, the way they could be so different yet so similar all at the same time. I blinked, shaking away the distraction of the three men. I needed to focus and get changed.
“Maybe you three could wait in the hallway while I change?” I suggested.
Barrett jumped up, his instant need for gentlemanly chivalry apparent. “Absolutely. See you in a minute.”
“Take more than a minute,” Jeremy said then winked at me. “There’s no rush. However long you need. He can patiently wait for his jazz for as long as you want. Personally, I would be happy to wait forever for more of your time. In fact, if you like, we could go somewhere else.”
Barrett shoved him in the shoulder. “She likes the music, too, you know.”
“She hasn’t experienced so many things. We’ll fix that.” They walked together into the hallway, laughing and arguing. I shook my head, wondering if life could ever be dull with them around.
Julian didn’t budge, though, his intense gaze making my cheeks flush before he even spoke. “You know you’re smart, right? You’re guarded, but I can tell. I find you utterly interesting. There’s so much about you I look forward to discovering. Regardless, though, and despite whatever happened in Chicago, it didn’t happen because you’re not smart. It wasn’t you; it was them.”
I swallowed. He didn’t know—luckily—the true depths of my stupidity, but then again, I wasn’t planning to tell him. He didn’t know how much of what happened that should’ve been obvious—wasobvious in retrospect—yet I remained oblivious until it was far too late.I don’t need to rehash it, I reminded myself, blowing out a breath.It happened.I couldn’t undo the past, so I had to keep moving forward. If I kept moving, putting one foot in front of the other, doing the next right thing, I would eventually be on my own.
After that, I would never see any of them ever again, just like my mom.
Julian waited as if he expected me to respond in some way.Does he think I’m going to burst into tears and thank him for seeing the real me?I almost snorted in laughter, because themehe described didn’t exist in reality.
Finally, he said, “I missed you today. That’s weird for me. I don’t miss people very often. I usually pride myself on having everything I need.”
I shrugged, his words falling off me easily. “Maybe because I don’t talk much. You probably just find me a challenge or something.”
He disagreed, one eyebrow quirked. “At least you seem to be talking a lot more today. Leave it to the Lents. If there’s one thing we’re good at, we can get a pretty girl talking.” He finally stepped toward the door. “I think eventually you’ll learn that you … are very important to us, too. By the way, if you don’t like whatI picked out, wear whatever makes you feel confident. You can’t go wrong.”
I certainly could, but I closed the door to my room behind him. For a couple of seconds, I just breathed through my nose, moved by his presence.Do they have to be so hot?
Whatever, I needed to focus and get dressed. I glanced at the hangers, finally paying attention to his choices. The silk, long sleeved shirt with a frilly, flared design at the wrist was called a statement piece by their grandmother, not that I knew what she meant. Julian must have liked it, too, since he paired the shirt with a very black, very short jumper dress. I took a second, holding them against each other, trying to decide how he intended me to wear them. It took me a second to realize what he must have noticed much faster than me—I could put the shirt underneath the black dress.
Both were short, so I spent a few seconds shocked at how much leg it would reveal. I wasn’t sure I would’ve dared to wear it normally, since the outfit drew attention—the polar opposite of my invisibility goal. Maybe I would’ve worn the shirt with a pair of jeans? I lifted my hair, tilting my head back and forth while considering my reflection. If I saw it as a costume, intended to make me fit into the otherwise alien landscape, maybe I could play the part for a night?
My hair proved more of a problem than I expected. I dropped my arms then stared at it. My style usually was either all over the place or braided. I pulled it up again, letting some of the wild, curling strands free while I tucked the rest into as neat of a bun as I could manage. Turning my head side to side, I decided it was the best I could manage on my own—close enough. I sighed, glancing at my dresser. I used to keep makeup on top of my dresser, but I threw away what little I had in Chicago. I missed my lip gloss most, but it wasn’t like I could pop some into existence with a wish.
Several new pairs of shoes—gifts from their grandmother, despite me keeping my old sneakers—sat near the door and I glanced over them. None specifically matched the outfit, but I picked up the pair with the lowest heels, the black ones, and slid them onto my feet. I glanced back, only hesitating a second before heading back for my one treat salvaged from my life in San Francisco. I spotted it in a vendor’s shop one day on a walk, and I couldn’t resist the necklace. It wasn’t expensive or anything, costing only about ten bucks when I bought it, but I didn’t buy much for myself, so it was special. I remembered my aunt’s derision when she saw the piece, calling iteh, but I put it on. Since she got rid of me the next month anyway, it wasn’t as if me pretending to be someone I wasn’t would win me any favors.
I twirled the gold circle on the end of the long gold chain, enjoying the weight of the piece against my fingers. I didn’t know why I liked it so much, but I did. I rolled it in my fingers, pleased as usual at its simplicity, almost calmed just by holding it. If jewelry said something about the wearer, I didn’t mind whatever it said about me. Maybe it said I was simple,eh, and maybe people would get sick of me. I couldn’t pretend to be upset about it, since at least I knew who I was—apparently I’m the kind of person who sees a golden circle and finds it beautiful, I mused, twirling the circle again. Someday, maybe I would even be proud of my choices.Eventually.
I grabbed my green purse, though it didn’t match the outfit, then headed out to join the Lents. Abruptly, I realized I might be overdressed compared to them.
Their conversation came to an abrupt halt as soon as I entered the room. They leaned against the wall by the powder room, but all three just stared at me.
Jeremy licked his lips, an almost predatory gaze coming into his eyes. “You look gorgeous.” His smile grew, the flash of histeeth almost a promise as he added, “Like … I want to look at you all night in that. I’ll even pretend to like jazz.”
I grinned back at him, finding his overt charm amusing. “Thanks.”
“We have to change.” Barrett pushed abruptly away from the wall. “She looks like a million dollars. We gotta up our game. Come on, you two. We take her home, get changed real quick, then head to the club. It’ll cut half an hour off the music, but you’ll have to endure, Jer. Let’s go.”
Julian nodded, his gaze locked on my body. “I knew you would make that outfit look special. He’s right, for once. We have to look as good as you.”
