CHAPTER 12
Jess was speechless as she stared at her best friend standing on a pedestal in the center of the boutique in downtown Chicago.
She and Ali weren’t the girls that ever talked about what their weddings were going to be like or had their Barbies marry Ken. They were the girls that changed their Flight Attendant Barbies into fighter pilots. Instead of house they played clothing designers and when they played dress up, their go-tos were a news reporter and a lawyer, not a bride or a princess.
So, when Ali had asked to tag along with Jess on her weekend trip to Chicago for a beauty convention so she could dress shop, Jess had figured it would be a quick visit to a boutique. She’d try on a few dresses then they’d go hang out in the city. No biggie.
But seeing her friend in this gown…this was a biggie.
“What do you think? Is it…” Ali turned side to side as she ran her fingers down the torso of the dress. “I don’t know…too plain?”
“It’s…” Jess searched for the right word. Unable to come up with anything more original she settled on, “perfect.”
Ali’s eyes lifted and met Jess’s reflection in the mirror. Her forehead creased as she asked, “Are you crying?”
Jess wiped the extra moisture from beneath her eyes. “It’s allergies.”
Not crying had been a source of pride for Jess growing up. She would get test results that made other kids bawl but she wouldn’t shed a single tear.
Her friend smiled, “Oh that’s right, you’re allergic to emotions.”
Jess stuck out her tongue at Ali.
Ali just smiled wider. She swayed back and forth several more times and turned so that she could see the back of the dress before declaring, “I think this is the one.”
The simple sheath was the fourth dress Ali had tried on and had been Jess’s least favorite on the hanger. It was so plain compared to the lace and beading details on the other dresses that all had a “wow” factor.
Ali had looked beautiful in the other options, but as soon as her friend walked out of the room, Jess knew this was her dress. It was a showstopper. Stunning. It complimented Ali by highlighting her collarbone and neck and accentuating her curves. The other dresses were beautiful on her, but she was beautiful in this one.
“I think so, too,” Jess agreed.
“I didn’t think I was going to like it, but I guess that shows that you can’t be sure of what you want until you try it.” Ali’s statement was about the dress, but Jess had a feeling that it was really about something else.
Jess didn’t take the bait. She was worried that any conversation about Ethan with her best friend would only lead to her admitting it was a hoax. And she couldn’t do that. She’d told Ethan she wouldn’t. Jess lived by her own set of rules, and one of those rules was always staying true to her word. If she made someone a promise, she kept it. Which was why, all these years later, it still bothered her that Ethan had gone behind her back and told the nurse that she’d passed out.
Although, she had to admit, it bothered her a lot less after that kiss and the dance lesson. A shiver ran down Jess’s spine at the memory of the look in Ethan’s eyes.
The sales girl that looked like a cast member on Pretty Little Liars came back to check on Ali. The young woman barely looked old enough to drink but had more poise and class than Jess ever dreamed of having.
“So, what do you think?”
Ali’s lips scrunched. “I know it’s the one because I don’t want to take it off.”
“That is the true test.” The young lady grinned. “Should we take you over to alterations so you can speak to one of our specialists?”
“I think so.” Ali nodded and followed her out of the room.
Jess took a moment to let the fact that her best friend, her ride or die, her other half, her person was now going to be a married woman. She was happy for her friend, but part of her was grieving the loss of her plus one.
Growing up hadn’t been easy for either of the girls. Jess was sick, angry, scared and tended to lash out at her classmates. She’d been an easy target and because of that, shed had no issue fighting back and fighting dirty. One day Jess had been in the bathroom crying after being teased when Ali walked in. Jess screamed at her to get out. But Ali hadn’t listened, and the two were inseparable from that day on.
Ali might’ve been healthy, but her life hadn’t been a cakewalk. She’d never known her father and had been raised by an alcoholic mother who died when Ali was twelve. Patrick basically raised Ali, and then she’d lost Patrick. Suddenly, without warning, she was raising her twin nephews by herself.
Between the two of them, Jess thought that she’d had it the easiest. She’d always had her parents.
Ali yawned as she stepped back into the showroom.
“Was all the talk of tailoring that boring?” She joked, but then noticed that her friend looked a little pale.
Ali chuckled. “I think I just need to get some food in me. And caffeine. You want to go get something to eat?”
“Yes.” They’d barely had time to check into the hotel before Ali’s appointment, and Jess hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. “I’ll order an Uber while you change.”
Jess pulled out her phone to order the car and saw that she’d missed a text from Ethan. It was a funny meme of the Dirty Dancing lift. The top was a still from the movie and had the word “expectation” above it, and the bottom was a picture of a couple trying to recreate the scene at their wedding, except the bride is falling to the ground. The word “reality” was written over that one.
I hope I live up to your expectations, his text read.
He might’ve just been talking about the lift, but Jess felt herself getting emotional anyway. She kept trying to remind herself not to get attached. It was a ruse. She had a feeling that at the end of this, her fate would be similar to the bride from the photo who was about to faceplant onto the floor.
* * *
“Oh, by the way, I wanted to thank you.” Kade dribbled the basketball twice before passing it to Ethan.
Ethan reached out and caught it. “For what?”
He could tell by the smartass grin on his friend’s face that he was not going to like the answer. “For giving the town something to talk about other than Ali and me.”
“I aim to please.” Ethan took a shot and missed, again, but managed to recover the ball this time.
He could give a shit about what the town was saying, but Jess did.
When he’d talked to her last night, she’d said that she was happy to be getting out of town where no one knew about her and Ethan. Since her parents’ party, she told him that the only thing anyone wanted to talk about in the shop was the two of them.
He was starting to worry that this entire thing was going to backfire on him. His brilliant plan might not be so brilliant after all. He could feel her falling right back into her comfort zone of pulling away from him since their dance lesson, and he wasn’t sure why. But he knew that if she retreated now, the chances of him turning this relationship into something real was as likely as him sinking a three-pointer today.
The double doors of the gym opened, and Ethan saw Mrs. Weathersby enter the gym.
“Lieutenant Steele, can I have a word?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Ethan tossed the ball back to Kade, who gave him a look like he’d just gotten called to the principal’s office.
He grabbed a white towel from his gym bag and wiped the sweat dripping off his face before making his way across the court.
When he got within a few feet of her he stopped, but she motioned with her hand and jerked her head to the side in what he assumed she thought was covert but actually looked like she was having a seizure. He took another step closer to her and dipped his chin.
“I spoke to Miss Penelope, and she said that you and Miss Myers impressed her.”
“Oh, good.” As long as Jess was happy about the rehearsal, he was happy.
Plus, he’d never complain about getting to spend two hours touching Jess.
“She did say that you needed to loosen up your hips a little when you thrust.”
That sentence was not one he’d ever expected or had ever wanted to hear coming out of his eighty-year-old neighbor’s mouth.
Her eyes darted from side to side. “The trick is to bend your knees.”
She didn’t move her mouth as she spoke, as if she were afraid someone in the gym was trying to read her lips.
He rubbed the towel over the back of his neck, and as he did, he took a quick scan of the room. To his surprise, there were a few people paying very close attention to their interaction. Living in this town was like living in a soap opera. People created drama for their own amusement.
He ignored the onlookers and turned back to Mrs. Weathersby.
“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind,” he assured her. “You have a good day.”
He started to turn, but she stopped him. Her fingers wrapped around his forearm and she began gyrating her hips. “It’s all in the knees.”
She still wasn’t moving her lips as she spoke and now she was looking up at him with crazy eyes, grasping his arm, wearing a strange smile, and rolling her hips around in a circle. Forget him and Jess, this was what was going to have the town talking.
“Thanks.” He gently tugged his arm back. “I better get back to my game.”
“You let me know if you need any more tips!” She called out when he was halfway across the gym.
Ethan raised his arm in acknowledgment but didn’t turn around.
When he reached Kade, he held up his hands for him to pass the ball.
Instead, his friend tilted his head to the side as his mouth curved up in a half-grin. “What was she giving you tips on?”
“Nothing.” Jess had made him promise not to tell anyone about their dance. Between that and their faux romance, he felt like he was living a double life. He didn’t like that feeling.
“It didn’t look like nothing,” Kade chuckled before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone.
He tossed Ethan the ball before answering it. Ethan checked his own phone to see if Jess had messaged him back yet. She hadn’t responded, but she’d “loved” his picture. That was progress, at least.
“I gotta go.” Kade grabbed his bag.
“Everything okay?”
“Ali’s sick. I’m going to go get her.”
“I’ll drive,” Ethan offered as he grabbed his bag and followed his friend out of the gym.
“What?” Kade looked confused.
“That way you can drive Ali’s truck back and I’ll take Jess home on Sunday.”
“You sure?”
An excuse to spend two days in the city with Jess? Yeah, he was sure.