by Quinn Loftis
I’d really like to hear from you. Could you please text me, even if you’re pissed at me?
Okay, so you’re definitely cross with me. Text me and tell me to piss off.
Bloody hell, woman, you’re driving me mad. I need to know you’re all right. I’m not asking, luv. I’m TELLING you to text me.
“Wow, he’s getting bossy,” Shelly said from over her shoulder. “Just put the dude out of his misery and tell him you’re fabulous, you’ve moved on, and not to bother coming back.” Then she muttered under her breath, “Even if it is a big arse lie.”
Tara sighed and decided she’d made them both suffer enough. She sent him a text.
I’m fine. I hope that everything is okay with you and whatever the emergency is.
Within seconds of sending the text, she saw the bubble pop up that showed he was typing. A minute later the text appeared.
You certainly know how to make a man suffer. We have everything under control. I’m probably going to be gone longer than I’d originally thought. The problem is more extensive than we realized.
Tara frowned. What kind of emergency could they possibly have? Maybe some sort of toxin got into some soil or something?
I wasn’t trying to make you suffer. I was just working through my own stuff.
As she waited for the next text to come through, Shelly shoved a sandwich in her face.
“Eat or you’ll get hangry. I already have to deal with you being cranky as a part of your personality. I don’t need any other anger issues added.”
“Thank you for that glowing review of my personality,” Tara said dryly.
Shelly shrugged. “I don’t blow smoke up your skirt because I wouldn’t be doing you any favors by lying to you. Now eat.”
She took a bite of the sandwich and then turned her attention back to her phone. Another text from Elias appeared.
I’m sorry I had to leave so unexpectedly. After the day we had together Saturday, it was the last thing I wanted. I’ve got to go. I’ll text later. Will you respond, or do I need to prepare myself for disappointment and worry?
She snorted. “Dramatic much?”
*Shrug* It’ll depend on my mood, but there’s no reason to worry. It’s Buffalo, Kentucky. Nothing ever happens here.
His response came through seconds later.
Famous last words. Take care of yourself, luv. We have unfinished business.
Maybe.
She paused, trying to decide if she should send what she really wanted to say and in the end decided to just say it.
Please stay safe.
Tara slipped her phone into her backpack and focused on her lunch.
“Everything okay?” Shelly asked.
“He said he’d text me later and asked if I’d respond. I didn’t make him any promises,” Tara explained. “He seems worried about me, which I don’t understand.”
“Seriously. Why would he be worried? You live in Buffalo, Kentucky.”
“That’s what I said.”
Shelly popped a chip in her mouth and then muttered under her breath, “Don’t look now, but lover number one is headed this way.”
“Tucker is not and will not be my lover of any number, you overgrown four-year-old,” Tara growled.
“I doth believe she protesteth too much.”
“I protesteth just the right amount.”
“Hey, Tara, Shelly.” Tucker’s voice reached them from behind her. Then he was suddenly seated next to her, so close they were nearly touching.
Tara tried to scoot over to put some distance between them, but Tucker put his arm around her and pulled her in tight for a side hug. “I texted you yesterday but didn’t hear anything back,” Tucker said. “Everything okay?”
Tara forced herself not to be annoyed. Tucker didn’t know Elias had left, or that he was even on her radar. He didn’t know Elias had been texting her with that same question for two days. “I’m good,” she said, fighting the urge to pull out of his hold. “Just spent time with Carol yesterday. She’s been working a lot.”
“Gotcha. Totally understand. That’s valid.”
Tara felt her ire rise. What the crap did it matter if he thought her reason for not responding to him was valid? She didn’t have to respond to his every text. It wasn’t like she was his girlfriend and somehow obligated to respond to him.
He finally took his arm from around her and rested it on the table. He reached across to Shelly’s side and snagged a chip from her bag and tossed it into his mouth. When he was finished chewing, he turned his attention back on Tara.
“I had a great time with you the other day, T,” he said. “As I knew I would. I’d like to have another great friend-hangout with you and was wondering if you’d be my date to the prom.”
Tara was looking straight at Shelly as the words came out of his mouth. Shelly froze in mid-bite of her sandwich. Her eyes widened and her brow rose in question. Tara wondered if her own expression matched her friend’s. Someone kicked on the spin cycle in Tara’s stomach. She no longer found her sandwich appealing. She could practically hear every cell of her body screaming at her, retaliating at the mere idea of going on an actual date with Tucker. Elias’s face popped into her mind. She thought she saw hurt in his eyes—betrayal. That’s silly. We’re not even dating. But deep inside, she knew it wasn’t silly at all. Tara’s heart had already decided it belonged to him, and no one else would take his place. How had a guy she’d known for two weeks already ruined her for all others?
“Tucker, I’ll go with you as a friend,” she finally said. Tara was still looking at Shelly, who gave her a quick thumbs up. “And Shelly goes with us, just to make sure everything stays friendly.”
Tucker nodded. “I figured you might say that, but you can’t blame me for trying. A friendship date it is.” He nudged her with his shoulder. “I told you I’d take you anyway I could get you, and I meant it. If that means Shelly tags along, well, the more the merrier. Wipe the worried look off your face. We’re just going to a dance, not our wedding.”
Tara began to reply, but she found herself speechless. Nothing she could possibly say would make that statement any less awkward.
“I’ve got to get to class. You ladies have a good rest of your day.”
“Thanks, Tucker,” Shelly said. “You, too.”
Tara nodded her head but didn’t speak. Her mind was still racing, trying to process what he’d said.
When he was gone, Shelly leaned forward. “You should have seen the way he was looking down at you while you were sitting there all flabbergasted.”
Tara frowned and then croaked. “What are you talking about?”
“He was looking at you with greed and desire. Like a starving wolf staring down the first site of prey in months.” She shuddered. “It was creepy.”
Tara sighed. “Great, just what I need. A creepy wolf disguised as a man, pondering ways to kill me and eat me.”
“Since you’re not technically going on a date with him, I’ll drive us. It prevents you from being alone with him.”
“Why didn’t I just say no?” Tara huffed.
Shelly didn’t answer. Instead she started singing, “Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf? Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf, la, la, la, la, laaaaaaaa.”
“Thank you for that.”
Shelly saluted her. “I live to entertain you. Now, focus.”
“The last time you told me to focus, I ended up finding the first guy I’ve ever had feelings for,” Tara pointed out.
“That wasn’t my fault,” her best friend told her. “That was just bad luck. But that’s beside the point. We need dresses.”
Tara bit her lip to keep from groaning. It hadn’t crossed her mind when she’d said she’d go that she couldn’t wear her jeans and T-shirt. Stupid dance with its stupid dress requirements.
“We can go this coming weekend,” Tara said.
Shelly frowned. “That’s whole days away.”
“You�
�ll survive.”
“Fine, but I want the record to show that I am not pleased with the decision,” she said, raising a hand in the air with a finger pointed skyward as if to punctuate her remark.
“Noted. Though it doesn’t change a thing.” Tara gathered her leftover lunch and stood. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and glanced at her best friend. “Is there no one you want to go to the dance with?”
Shelly got up and followed Tara to the trashcan and then back inside the school. “I can think of several guys I’d like to go to the prom with. But I’m pretty sure that a couple are way too old and possibly inappropriate for the event, and the others would probably get restraining orders against me for stalking if I attempted to contact them.”
“I’m glad that I’m seeing some impulse control, Shell,” Tara said with a grin. “That’s showing real personal growth.”
“You can take your personal growth and shove it up your gluteus maximus.”
“And I take it back.”
Chapter 19
The week flew by. Even though Tara only received one text message a day from Elias, she refused to pine away like a lost puppy. Instead, she grumbled over the fact that Shelly kept reminding her they were going dress shopping on Saturday. And because she was a butthead, her best friend even went so far as to tell Carol, which meant her foster mom got all giddy and excited. Shelly knew Tara couldn’t stand to disappoint Carol, which pretty much guaranteed she wouldn’t get cold feet and back out of buying a dress.
“You play dirty.” Tara huffed from the passenger seat of Shelly’s car. They were headed to Riverbend for their dress shopping. Thirty minutes in the car with her torturer didn’t improve Tara’s mood.
“You’ve known that since we met in the park,” Shelly said. Which wasn’t a lie. “Have you told Elias about the dance?”
“Why do I have to tell him? We’re not dating. He’s just a friend.” Tara wasn’t trying to convince Shelly. Her friend didn’t believe her for a second and wasn’t going to believe her. She was trying to convince herself … and failing miserably.
“And I’m a monkey’s uncle.” Shelly laughed. “You can say you’re just friends until pigs fly and cows start bottling their own milk, but that doesn’t mean it’s true.”
“He’s only sent me one text a day. It’s not like I’ve had an opportunity to tell him.”
“So, you couldn’t tell him in your responding text? Or maybe—I don’t know, this is a novel idea so prepare yourself—you could send him a text all on your own. You know he will read it, of course, because he sends you a text every day without fail?”
“Why are you talking?” Tara glowered as she stared out the passenger’s side window watching the trees fly by. It was a beautiful spring day. The sun was bright, and the fresh leaves on the trees were a vivid green against the cool, blue sky. She really should be in a better mood. She also shouldn’t want to toss her best friend into a lake.
“What are you smirking about?” Shelly asked. Before Tara could answer, she held up a hand. “Never mind. I don’t want to enter the dark places of your mind. It’s a twisted cavern in there. I might get lost and be stuck in your cranky state forever.”
“You’re hilarious,” Tara said dryly.
Fifteen minutes later, Shelly pulled into the parking lot of the mall. As far as malls go, it wasn’t much. But it was a lot more than what they had in Buffalo, which was a Walmart.
“Sitting here and staring at the building is not going to make this go any faster.”
Tara slowly turned her head to look at her friend. She pursed her lips as she narrowed her eyes. “I know where you sleep, and I also know you sleep like the dead.”
Shelly waved her off as she climbed out of the car. “I’m not worried. Punishing me would require you to think about something other than Elias.”
“I’m going to kill you and dump your body in a landfill so you’re eternally surrounded by other women’s sanitary products,” Tara said as she opened the door and forced herself to get out of the vehicle.
“Okay, now you’re just being cruel. Although, I have to give you props for creativity.”
They walked into the mall, and the small exterior belied the spaciousness before them. The vaulted ceilings caused an echo from the voices of the shoppers which made the interior feel even larger.
“The only store that’s going to have the kind of dresses we are looking for is Visions,” Shelly said as she pointed left.
“It sounds like a place you’d get glasses,” Tara said.
“Their commercials end with ‘Let us make you a vision for him.’ Hence, Visions.”
“Clever.”
“Let’s discuss colors.”
“Black,” Tara said with a grin her friend didn’t see because she was walking a half step behind.
“Seriously?” Shelly asked, sounding shocked. “I thought you’d go with something bright and cheerful. I totally did not see black in your color palette.”
“Cute, Shelly.” Tara had known her color choice would get a rise out of Shelly. Getting a rise out of her friend was pretty much her mission for the day. What can I say? I’m evil.
“Can we compromise and do a dark navy?” Shelly asked.
When they reached the store, Tara’s eyes widened at the mannequins lined up in front of the tall, glass front windows. They were all in sequined dresses. They looked like they’d been rolled in glitter. “No sequins,” Tara quickly sputtered.
“Spoilsport,” Shelly muttered under her breath as she grabbed Tara’s wrist as if she’d known Tara had been about to bolt.
When Shelly finally let go of Tara’s arm because she couldn’t sufficiently rifle through dress racks with one hand, Tara began to explore. She found the sale section at the very back of the store and began browsing the wares. Unfortunately, the majority of the dresses on sale were not black.
“I’ve got the perfect dress for you,” Shelly called out from across the store.
Tara turned to look at her best friend and then promptly turned away. “Not if it was the last piece of clothing on earth. I’d rather walk around naked,” Tara said as she continued to flick through the sale dresses. It wasn’t until the third rack that she came across something she could actually see herself in. It was a black sheath dress with diamond rhinestones that started at the top and then gradually spread farther apart as they traveled down the fabric. It reminded Tara of the night sky.
She checked the size and grinned when she saw it was exactly right for her. Tara glanced over her shoulder and, when she saw that Shelly was distracted, she snatched the dress and quickly headed for a dressing room. Thankfully, they were already unlocked so she wouldn’t have to walk around the store looking for an employee to help her.
She undressed and then took a deep breath as she took the dress off the hanger. It had no zippers. It just slipped over the head. The material was a little stretchy. It had cap sleeves and a high neck. Tara bunched up the bottom until she had it gathered to the neck and then put it over her head. She pushed each arm through the arm holes and then tugged the sheath down her body. She had her back to the mirror, and it took her at least a minute to get the nerve to turn around and look at herself.
She raised her eyes and took in the dress. The dress hugged her curves and made her feel beautiful without making her feel exposed. It was perfect. Now, as long as the price was perfect so she’d still have some left over for shoes.
Tara took the dress off and then looked at the tag. Apparently, this dress had been waiting for her. At fifty dollars, that would leave her another fifty for shoes and earrings. She jumped when someone banged on the door.
“You can’t hide from me,” Shelly said from the other side. “Let me see what you’ve got. Or are you just sitting in there playing a game on your phone?”
She laughed. “I wish I could claim I was doing just that. But alas, I actually tried on a dress.” Tara quickly dressed and then pulled the door open. She held up the dress for
her friend to see and felt a little smug when Shelly grinned stupidly big.
“Okay, so the black isn’t soooo bad,” Shelly said.
“Thanks.” Tara noticed Shelly was holding something behind her back. “What did you find?”
“Um,” Shelly said as her face turned a shade of red that Tara rarely saw on her friend. “It’s just simple, nothing fancy.”
“Let me see.”
Shelly sighed and pulled the dress around. It was also black.
“Seriously? And you gave me crap?”
“It’s an Audrey Hepburn remake,” Shelly said, her face suddenly getting animated. “The classic black sheath with the high neck and the gloves. I’ve always loved that dress.” There was a vulnerability in Shelly’s eyes that made Tara decide not to give her a hard time about it.
Tara remembered Shelly had talked about getting something like it for prom but adding a cape to dress it up even more. “It will look amazing on your tall, slim figure,” Tara said.
“Now we just need shoes and I need a pair of gloves, both of which they have here.” Shelly pointed to the farthest right-hand corner of the room and made a beeline for it.
Tara grabbed her purse and the dress and followed. To her surprise, she was a little excited about wearing the dress. But then she remembered it wouldn’t be Elias who would be seeing her in it, which irritated her.
By the time they’d both found the shoes they wanted, earrings, and gloves for Shelly, Tara was shopped out. She was hungry and tired of the salesclerk following them around like a vulture, attempting to upsell them. Two hours from the time they’d entered the store, they checked out and climbed back into the car.
“I’m starving,” Shelly said.
