Page 17 of Give In

“They’re behind my door.”

She grabbed them and shook her head. “I wish my feet weren’t two sizes bigger than yours, or I’d borrow them and,” she lifted her hands to do air quotes, “forgetto return them.”

“And I’d totally pretend to believe you as I stole them right back.”

“It’d be worth it.” She quickly slid hangers as though she were Black Friday shopping an already picked over and underwhelming seventy-percent off rack. Stopping suddenly, she pulled a tank top out. “Oh, I love this. It’s so girly.”

The dark gray top had a deep rounded neckline that was surrounded by pink ruffles. It wasn’t overboard fussy, but it was more than I normally wore.

“It’s been an Indian summer, but it’s still September,” I pointed out. “Isn’t it a little cold for that?”

“Not with a sweater. Let’s see.” She continued her perusal of my limited wardrobe. “Nope. No… no…wait… this is cute, and I want it. Nope. Here!” She pulled out a black, short-sleeved sweater. “It’ll balance it out. You’re gonna look cute. Cute, without looking cutsie.”

I held the pieces together and agreed. “Perfect.”

She gave me a cocky smirk. “I know.” Narrowing her eyes, she scanned my face. “I can’t believe how good your makeup looks. No offence, but when I saw your sprawl of a million neutral palettes, I kinda figured it’d be boring. Like, so neutral it was barely there. And then you were flying through the steps, I was looking for makeup wipes in case your face ended up looking like an abstract painting. But it’s amazing. Subtle and glam. It takes me forever to do mine, and it never looks that good.”

“I’ll teach you as a thank you for helping with the outfit.”

Being on stage under all the lights and layers of sweat meant I’d needed to learn how to apply and touch-up my makeup fast without it looking caked or cheap. Setting sprays were a gift from makeup heaven, as were YouTube tutorials.

“Deal.” Tonia’s smile dropped as she trudged toward my door. “While you’re on your dream date with a dream hottie, I have to memorize music. It’s awful. My ears want to bleed.”

I grimaced. “Good luck.”

After I dressed, I looked in the mirror and bit back a giddy giggle.

I looked…

Normal.

Like a regular woman going on a regular date with a regular guy.

For a moment, I could almost forget I was overworked and frazzled. I could almost relax the muscles between my shoulder blades that were so tight, I forgot what it felt like to not have the constant ache. I could almost forget how emotionally raw I was—on edge to the point of physical pain.

I’m giving myself today to pretend. I have no past. There’s no Sinners. No school.

No Professor Caine.

Smiling at myself, I grabbed my things and left to be normal for once.

*******

Walking into the restaurant, my eyes scanned the already growing crowd before landing on Brooks.

Tonia is my hero right now.

The restaurant was really nice—not fine dining, but not one of the student frequented places I’d been expecting. Had I worn jeans and a tee, I’d have felt uncomfortable the whole time.

Even Brooks was wearing an untucked button-down and jeans, neither of which were wrinkly.

Maybe it was a sign of my low standards, but I was impressed with his wardrobe and restaurant choices.

The already good start got even better when his eyes landed on me and widened. A cute grin spread across his face before he dipped to kiss my cheek. “Wow. You look pretty.”

“Thanks, you, too.” I internally cringed. “Not pretty, whatever the guy equivalent is. Handsome! You look handsome.”

Shut up.