Page 13 of Virgin Sacrifice

“Okay, okay, okay.” She giggled, raising her hands in mock defeat. “Maybe Lucian didn’t kill his dad and aunt, but I still think it’s weird.”

“Or pretty tragic.”

Autumn scoffed. “I don’t think you’ll find many people who feel bad for Lucian Blackwell,” she said with another roll of her eyes before turning around to change the music, and the conversation drifted on to other things.

Fortified by sugar and a good night’s sleep, Autumn managed to convince me the next day that we should actually go out that night.

“It’s the first weekend of the semester, Luz,” she had whined. “We have to go to a party, just one party, please?”

I found myself defenseless against her seasoned pouting.

So here I was in her room again, except this time we were getting ready to go out to my first college party. Technically, my first party ever, but I didn’t share that detail with her.

“I need an outfit that says, like, ‘I’m cute and approachable’ but also, ‘Ew, don’t grind up on me, please.’” She sighed as she held up different shirts, trying to find the perfect one.

One of the things I appreciated about Autumn was that she was just as passionate and detail-oriented about her outfits as I was. Over the last week, I had learned that she always needed at least twenty more minutes than she estimated to be ready, she was obsessed with Y2K fashion and shopping on Depop, and that she had forty thousand followers on her TikTok channel, where she showcased her midsize noughties-inspired outfits.

“I wish I could pull off the, like, French schoolgirl, Lolita thing you have going on,” she moaned, now moving on to rotate between different skirt options. “It’s like you’re both effortlessly chic and adorable at the same time. It’s not fair.”

“I can promise you there is nothing effortless about me, and if anyone is adorable around here it’s you,” I said, mulling over my own options for what to wear tonight.

I didn’t have many.

With everything that happened with Mami, my last year of high school had been a nightmare, and I never made it to my senior prom. Although to be fair, I skipped my junior one as well. Still, with no parties to attend, no dances to go to, and no family beyond Mami to visit during the holidays, I didn’t own anything that seemed remotely fun enough for going out.

I mean, I had that one dress but I was saving it for a special occasion.

“Oh!” Autumn exclaimed out of nowhere.

“I just had, like, a total lightbulb moment!” she squealed, her head disappearing into the pile of clothes as she dove into her bed. “I have the perfect dress for you!”

“Nothing too bright, Autumn,” I said delicately, thinking about some of the color palettes I knew she favored. “I’m not really a bright pink or green kind of girl.”

“Like, duh, Luz,” she muttered, her voice muffled as various pieces of clothing flew up into the air around her with abandon. “I just said your style is all about chic meets cute, I’m not going to go and put you in, like, hot pink and orange paisley.”

Considering I had seen her wear a skirt with that exact print, I didn’t think my concerns were entirely unwarranted.

“Found it,” she sang, spinning up and around with a grin on her face and a saucy shake of her hips. “I bought it from an online seller who had it listed as fitting sizes XL to XXL, which to quote the great Cher Horowitz, ‘As if!’” She held up a simple white slip dress. “I think it would look amazing on your curves.”

The spaghetti-strapped dress had a cowl neckline and was made with a silky white fabric that looked synthetic yet expensive and would likely cling to every one of my curves. There was some ruching along the sides that would highlight my small waist and generous hips while the simple hemline looked like it would hit me about midthigh.

It was subtle yet stunning, everything I would have chosen in a dress if I had picked it out myself.

“Try it on,” she said, shoving it into my hands before turning back to the pile of clothes to continue her search for her own outfit.

Quietly, I slipped into her en suite bathroom. Autumn had previously demonstrated that she was wholly comfortable stripping down in front of me to change clothes, but I wasn’t quite there yet.

I took off my oversized band T-shirt and sleep shorts before pulling the luxurious-feeling garment over my head and shimmying it down my body. The exposed neckline of the dress meant a bra wasn’t an option.

I decided to forgo peeking in the mirror and instead went for a grand reveal, popping the door open and striding into the room to get Autumn’s reaction.

“Oh my God, Luz!” she shrieked. “It’s perfect!”

Twirling around to look in the full-length mirror she had propped in the corner, I had to agree, I looked pretty darn good.

Now it was just a matter of finding the right shoes.

While Autumn went to work putting on her final selections, I dashed back to my room to grab a pair of shoes. Although I stood by the adage that clean white sneakers went with everything, I wanted something different for tonight. Scraping through my closet, I landed on a pair of limited-edition lug-soled Doc Martens with gold details, which I had scored from an online consignment store. Autumn wasn’t the only one who could scrounge the internet for fashion finds.

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