Page 51

Delores

“It sounds like you had a delightful time on your date,” Cori grins.

She’s standing on a block while I carefully pin the fabric around her, trying to follow the lines of her body the way she taught me to.

Our Halloween costumes earned us high marks for midterms, despite the professor being forced to wear one himself, but now we’re practicing our skills on more formal wear until we decide on our talent show number. My curvy friend has asked for a full-on ball gown because, according to her, she’s ‘just extra enough to show up to class in a fucking pumpkin coach looking like Cinderella, if she feels like it.’

I spit out the pins I’m holding in my teeth so I can answer, as I haven’t mastered Cori’s ability to converse with sharp shit between my lips yet. “Yes, it was a fantastic date. You two are borderline obsessed with my sex life, you know. I don’t ask about Rufus’ scorecard or your secret chica. ”

Rufus pouts at me from where he’s sorting through patterns. He’s determined to match Cori, so he’s trying to find patterns he can Frankenstein together to make a ‘tuxgown’. “You don’t need to ask about my hanger steaks because I tell you. But I’ll give you that—Coco is très secretive about her fish tacos.”

Cori glares at him, crossing her arms over her chest. “Don’t be a bitch, Ru-Ru. Girls have it worse than boys at this place. We’re expected to marry someone politically advantageous, and then pop out heirs like it's our job. The Council dipshits don’t care where you men dip your wicks—ever—as long as you wrap it until you breed. Women don’t get the same leeway, so the wallet often trumps the heart, unfortunately.”

My brows furrow. It’s not like Cori to be so irritable, but it sounds like whomever she was seeing chose money and power over love. I haven’t been friends with them for long, but this scenario seems to happen to the polar bear pretty frequently. I don’t envy her trying to find love outside of the norm in a society set up like ours.

“I have to be careful, too, Rufus,” I add, backing her up. “It’s not supposed to be a problem that I’m dating professors, but with my luck, some asshole will turn around and find some obscure bullshit rule to ding me for, and I’ll be forced to choose.”

“Would that upset you, Dollybear? Are we catching feelings for our sugar daddies?” He gasps as he holds up two designs. “This is what we need for my bespoke couture creation.”

Sighing, I walk over and take the patterns from him, giving him a light smack on the back of the head. “Of course I have feelings, you big dummy. I wouldn’t be so nervous if I didn’t! And don’t call them sugar daddies. If I cared about money that much, I would still play by my parents’ rules.”

The polar bear chuckles as I hand her his choices, before dropping to my knees to work on the gathers at her waist. “Dolly isn’t like us, Ru. She’s not a gold-digger; she’s happy with exiled princes. ”

I stop pinning and look up at her with an arched brow, not believing a word of it. “Us, huh?”

Her face turns bright red as Rufus howls with laughter. “Coco, if she didn’t say it, I would have. You pretend to keep things casual with your dates, but you always fall hard. It’s your soft heart, and we love you for it.” He strides over and plants a kiss on her cheek. “Now, do you think we can make this work?”

“Don’t be daft. I can make anything work,” she grumbles, although she’s clearly soaking in the affection.

Covering my mouth with my hand, I chuckle, enjoying their banter. This is the friendship I didn’t have with the Heathers, and everything I’ve experienced with Rufus and Cori only serves to shine a harsh light on the difference. I look up from the neatly pinned section and grin at my sewing teacher. “Did I get it right?”

She pauses, studying her pattern to beam at me as she takes in the row of pins. “Fuck, yes, Dolly! You’re a goddamn natural apprentice—unlike Mr. Noseypants here. Let’s get back to the subject of your love life!”

This time it’s my turn to blush. I struggle with praise still—it’s hard to accept it without expecting a smack down to follow. Lucille is an expert at backhanded compliments, and she always made sure I knew my worth was zero, no matter my accomplishments. However, I am getting better at opening up to my friends. “Okay, okay. No need to butter me up. I’m not gonna go into details about the bedroom antics, but I do have some interesting news.”

“Well, tell us, Dollypop! You know there’s nothing I love more than dick, but gossip is a close second.” Rufus plops down on the floor behind me, fiddling with my hair as I continue to work.

I have no idea how to react to a friend randomly deciding to do something nice, like braiding my hair, so I forge ahead with my news. “Fitz dropped me off at my room the next day, and by the time I’d cleaned up, there was a text in the group chat asking if I would come to their Thanksgiving dinner.”

“Ooooooo-wee! Girl, it sounds like you’re about to be the feast to be thankful for,” Rufus crows. He gets so excited that he accidentally pulls my hair too hard, but he doesn’t dismissively snort when I hiss. Instead, he soothingly pats the spot, loosening his grip as he works through the sides.

I don’t know what he’s doing, but it seems very fancy.

“Don’t be crude,” I laugh before sobering. “There’s actually something bothering me more than that … probable future scenario. Fitz asked me to date them all, and I agreed, but only if I was treated as an equal. I may have also demanded they all share more about themselves with me… which means I have to share more, too.”

Cori bats my hands away from the dress and steps down from the block to join us, giving me a curious look. “Dolly, I love you, but you are tight-lipped about your life. I don’t mean about sex; I understand you’re still getting comfortable with that. But you’re vague about everything —it’s like you’re worried we’ll judge you for your past and who you are now. How are you going to open up to them if you won't be open with us to start?”

Damn. She’s not wrong.

“Yeah, I promised him I’d share something new about me every day. Doesn’t always have to be big, but… So, during breakfast at th e hotel, I mentioned how Lucille said I shouldn’t come home during breaks. I guess he told the others...” As Cori had observed, I feel very exposed sharing this—like I did with Fitz—so I pick at my nails, unable to move my head and look away while Rufus is doing his thing.

“Ohhhh,” my friend breathes the word like it’s an epiphany. “You think they sent you a pity invite.”

Rufus snorts, gently tugging a strand to get my attention. “First, I’m pissed that you didn’t tell us about what Lucille said. You know, either Cori or I would have taken you home for Thanksgiving rather than let you stay at this creepy old school. Second, if you think a pack of men are feeding you at a holiday dinner for any other reason than they like you, you are out of your fuckin’ mind.”

“Truth,” Cori echoes. “Dudes don’t give a flying fuck about whether you’re a poor little orphan if they aren’t interested in you. It’s not in their DNA to be nurturing. My mama says if men had to raise the kids, all the species would be doomed.”

I chuckle, feeling a little better about baring my soul. “Lucille isn’t a sparkling example for women, either. She never even pretended to care about me, unless it benefited her.”

“I say go have dinner with your little squad of admirers and screw your shitty parents. Better yet, screw your hot guys. Work up an appetite before the big meal.” Rufus laughs at his own joke as he continues to fiddle with the other side of my hair.

I smack his leg. “You are such a thirsty bitch.” Cori high-fives me and I grin wider, proud of my burn. “But I am glad I won’t be alone during the break. With the dead body at the Halloween party and the weird decree about no extra security at school, I’d probably have locked myself in my room the whole time if it weren’t for them.”

“That murder shit was fucked up. I think the victim was in my web design class.” Cori’s rainbow curls bounce as she nods emphatically. “He was always leaving to take phone calls and the professor never said a word. It felt very skeevy.”

I arch a brow. Now that I think about it, the weasel left my classes a few times, too. All of my professors—including the guys—are pretty strict about phones in class. A student leaving to take calls all the time is very odd, especially as he wasn’t a Council heir or anything.

Who was that meek little shit connected to that earned him such VIP treatment?

“Maybe he was boffing Professor Marten in web design,” Rufus says as he waggles his brows.

Cori reaches over and punches him on the thigh. “Not everything is about sex, Ru-Ru! Don’t freak her out—professors here actually don’t make a habit of sleeping with students, so it only goes to show how serious Dolly’s guys are about her.”

I give her a grateful smile. “Thank you, Coco.”

“Hmph, I was just trying to make a joke!”

Since I still can't turn my head, I lightly pat the spot on Rufus’ thigh where Cori punched him. “I know Ru-Ru. I appreciate your humor, and the invite to come home with you if I ever need to. I’d love to meet both of your families someday. I’m sorry… I’m still learning how to trust people, and I’m not holding things back on purpose. I guess I didn’t realize how damaged I was by all the shit before I met you two.”

Rufus holds his hand out to Cori, who seems to have some sort of mind meld with him because she has a twist tie ready. “We know that, Dollypop. That’s why we adopted you when you showed up. Misfits like us need to stick together.”

He lets go of my hair, and I dig in my bag for a mirror. Rufus rolls his eyes, pulling out his phone to take a picture of the masterpiece he’s been working on, texting it to both of us.

“I look like a Viking!” I squeal in excitement. The intricate braid makes me look like a total badass, and I cannot wait to show Fitz. He’s going to love this.

They all will…

“Dolly, come hang out in our room tonight. I’ll show you how to preserve this look for your dinner. It’s only a day or two—and your sexy professors will love it.”

Thank Hera I found the two best friends a girl could have.