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Chapter 16

Paisley

I sang quietly to myself as I fluffed my hair up in front of the mirror, checking my blowout, twirling in my outfit—I kind of looked like a fashion model in my sleek new high-waisted pants and fitted tank, and it really tied the whole look together when I pulled on the yellow coat that was totally my new favorite piece.

“Hey, gorgeous,” I laughed, doing another twirl in front of the mirror before I blew myself a kiss. “Oh my god. Narcissism never looked so good. Harper’s gonna love it.”

I just had to make it to the bungalow without anyone else catching me, because like… I wasn’t up to explaining this to anybody. As good as I looked, it would be embarrassing, and I’d die. So I hiked my bag up on my shoulder, slipped on my new favorite pair of heels—well, my only pair, but still—and I pushed out of the bedroom door and down the stairs, to where I instantly failed because Kay was in my living room.

“Hey—Paisley?” Kay clasped her hands over her face, eyes wide looking at me, and I gave her the very dignified and sensible response of throwing my bag at her face and screaming.

“Oh my god, what are you doing here!? You can’t just sneak into people’s houses!”

The bag hit Kay in the face, but she literally didn’t even care, which was unbelievable. She hurried out of the living room, eyes sparkling as she looked at me, and I wondered which window would be the best to throw myself out of. “Oh my god, is thatyou?”

“No! I’m…” I dropped my voice deeper, hunching my shoulders. “Uh… Harold.”

“You look amazing, Paisley. Oh my god, I barely even recognize you.”

I winced. “Um… really?”

She laughed, tugging lightly at my coat. “This is such a nice color on you. The material really works, too. I’d heard you went blonde, but… I didn’t know you’d had, like, a full-on glow-up.”

“Uh… I’ve been kind of keeping it on the DL.”

“You are, like, born for red lipstick. It looks amazing on you.”

Now, what was keeping Harper from complimenting me the same way? Kay needed to give her some lessons. I hunched my shoulders, looking away. “I’m gonna die of embarrassment over here. What are you even doing here?”

“Oh—I was just returning the silverware set I borrowed. Finally got my own… thanks for spotting me.” She stopped, furrowing her brow. “Also, like… literally who are you to try telling people not to appear randomly in people’s houses?”

“Ugh. Knock next time. You’re worse than a mouthful of bees.”

“Ididknock. A lot.”

I must have been singing too loud. I wondered if Kay had heard it. I’d literally die if she had, so I decided to believe she hadn’t. “Well, you’re welcome. Feel free to pay me back withdiscounts on bubble tea. Let me guess, you got a set in magical rainbow unicorn colors?”

Kay pouted. “They’re regular silver.”

“Really.”

“I mean… except for the dessert set.”

“I knew it. Paisley had you figured out from the start.”

Kay waved her hands wildly in front of her face. “Oh, but forget me! You look so cute! Is this what you ran off for last time? Going to go… I don’t know, go shopping, get your hair dyed, whatever you did?”

“Oh my god, leave me alone. Harper’s gonna be standing around waiting and…” I stopped, seeing the look on Kay’s face lighting up. “Um. I mean… Harper is a metaphor in this case.”

“You’re going on a date with Harper?” She sounded close to bursting.

“No! Just… um. We’re just staying at a seaside bungalow together because it’s something she’s always wanted to try.”

She paused. “With… just the two of you. While you’re dressed like that.”

“Um. No.” The walls were closing in. Maybe I needed to knock Kay upside the head and make my getaway.

“That’s a date. Oh my god, you’re going on a date.”