Page 10 of Good Girl

“So, what’s with this sudden desire to spice up your wardrobe?” Haley asked, and her eyes narrowed playfully at me. “Not that I don’t love your summery librarian look, but... why now?”

“Oh.” I waved her off with a smile and focused on a row of grey skirts. “I just fancied a change.”

“Come on, there’s more to it than that. A girl doesn’t just wake up one day and decide on a whole new wardrobe. There has to be a reason.”

“There isn’t one,” I insisted, moving up the row to take a look at their T-shirts. I couldn’t tell Haley the truth. For the past week, I had been fantasizing constantly about Derek, and each time I saw him in class, those fantasies were getting spicier and spicier. Those words would never leave the safety of my mind, but what Ididnotice was that Derek always seemed to be looking at me in some way.

I knew it was because of where I sat in the lecture hall and that it was nothing personal, but if he was going to keep looking my way, I wanted to give him something better to look at.

That and in all of my fantasies I was dressedsexy, not frumpy.

“It’s a boy!” Haley squealed, and I jumped at her sudden outburst, nearly knocking a few shirts from the rack.

“What?”

“Look at your face. You’re blushing and you’re avoiding all my questions. Charlotte, you have a crush!”

“I do not!” I shot back indignantly, and my face flushed even hotter. Heat prickled down my spine, and this shop suddenly felt far too small. My denial only made Haley grin wider as she placed both hands on my shoulders.

“Oh, come off it, I know what a crush looks like. Who is it?”

“Haley, please—”

“Come on. You can tell me. Is it one of Paul’s friends? Oh, it’s not George, is it? He’s a bit of a sleaze. I mean if you like him, then awesome, but...” She wrinkled her button nose and smiled sadly at me.

“It’s not George. It’s not anyone,” I insisted. Haley simply laughed.

“Okay, sure. Let’s get you a brand-new wardrobe for a reason not atallconnected to male attention. Oh, how exciting!”

Haley’s decision seemed to have renewed her energy to help me, and she darted off down the aisle, pulling clothes into her arms as she went. While she wasn’twrongin her analysis, there was no way I could ever admit I was yearning for a teacher.

Especially not the teacher she and her boyfriend hated.

However, if she could help me dress a little smarter and look a little better, then maybe, just maybe, Derek would notice me enough that I could feel less invisible this year.

An hour later, I stood in front of a full-length mirror staring at this newversionof myself and I was not feeling confident. Haley had shoved me into a pair of jeans that cut slightly into my stomach every time I breathed in too deeply. The denim hugged unflatteringly to my larger stomach, and the tight fit of the jeans highlighted the uneven nature of my thicker thighs and calves. The look was topped off w a halter top that left my arms exposed, and the fabric seemed to cling to my stomach no matter how much I tightened my core.

“Are you... sure?” I asked warily. Haley’s grinning face appeared next to mine in the mirror, and she clutched at my shoulders from behind.

“Yes! Look, jeans are a best friend to everyone and they hold all the right things in the right places. Trust me, your ass looks amazing. And you have huge tits. A halter top just accentuates that, andanyone’s eye that you’re hoping to catch will definitely be in awe!” Haley gently stroked my hair behind one ear and rubbed my shoulder.

“Don’t you trust me?”

“I do,” I insisted quickly. “I just feel...” Exposed. On display. Like there was too much ofmeand not enough fabric. Never mind the thought ofwalkingin those jeans with my thighs rubbing together was making me sweat anxiously.

“Beautiful? Amazing? Like your best friend in the whole wide world knows what she’s talking about?”

Haley looked so hopeful that I didn’t have the heart to tell her how I truly felt. Maybe this was part of it? A new style would feel uncomfortable since it was a step away from my comfort zone. Maybe I really did just have to trust that Haley knew what she was talking about.

“Okay, I trust you.”

Haley clapped her hands together in glee, and I hurried out of the changing room to pay.

By the time I had paid for the clothes, my phone had lit up witheightmissed messages and calls from my mother. I hadn’t gone to the inn for the weekend like I had promised, using the excuse of college work simply getting in the way. The truth was I had, stupidly, hoped to bump into Derek just so I could see him up close, but my several pathetic wanderings around the campus hadn’t resulted in any glimpses of that gorgeous man.

I couldn’t tell my mother any of that. She would curse me to Hell if she knew I had a crush on someone like a teacher.

“Come on,” Haley declared, and she linked arms with me as we exited the shop and I scrolled through my texts. “Let’s go get some lunch!”

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