Chapter 9: Lucy
“Are you sure this is the one?” Fiona asked, spinning in a circle.
I rolled onto my stomach and looked at her from my bed. “Yeah, I’m sure. Of the shirts you showed me, that is by far the sexiest in the most understated way.”
She turned to look in the mirror. “Cause this is our third date, and I know I already slept with him, but tonight is my chance to leap across the valley.”
“The valley?”
She spun back around. “You know how when you meet a guy on Tinder and it actually goes well there’s that moment when the relationship either disappears like it never happened or it crosses the line into being an actual thing?”
“No, but I guess that’s just cause the valley gets me every time.”
Fiona put her hands on her hips. “Only because you go running and screaming into it so no one can ever get close to you.”
“That’s not true. I let most of ‘em get real close before I run off.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not talking about physically close.”
“So you think Peter’s worth the hassle of a real relationship then, huh?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know yet, but if I let what we have now dissolve, I never will.”
“Fair point.”
“What are you up to tonight?” she asked, disappearing from my room for a second and returning with a pair of strappy sandals.
“Don’t know yet,” I said. “Might call Aiden and see if he’s up for getting some ice cream.”
“Think you’ll break the news about Chelsea?”
“Maybe.”
“I don’t envy you.”
“Thanks.” I propped my chin up on my hands and heard a honk.
“That must be Peter,” Fiona said, grabbing her purse off the floor.
“Have fun,” I said.
She turned and winked as she left the room. “Don’t wait up.”
I heard the front door slam behind her and reached for my phone to call Aiden. I couldn’t avoid him forever. Plus, Chelsea’s infidelity was eating me alive, and I didn’t see why I should protect her when it meant failing to protect him.
Just when I thought he wasn’t going to answer, he picked up.
“Hey,” I said. “It’s me.”
“What’s up?” he asked.
I could hear the sound of glasses clanging in the background. “Sorry I missed your call earlier.”
“Don’t worry about it. What are you up to?”
“Nothing really. You okay? You sound kind of funny.”
“I feel kind of funny.”
I pursed my lips.
“Wanna come get funny with me?”
I smiled. “Where are you?”
“Firehouse.”
“Are you with Chelsea or-”
“Nope.”
“Are you by yourself?”
“Yeah, but the person I’m meeting should be here soon.”
“Oh.”
“You will be here soon, right?”
I sighed. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I will be when you come cheer me up.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Ugh. Can I just tell you when you get here?”
“No,” I said. “Tell me now.”
“Can I get another one of these?” he said to someone, presumably the bartender.
“Aiden!”
“What?”
“What’s going on?”
“You really want to know?”
“Yes.”
“I broke up with my girlfriend, and my best friend has been blowing me off all day.”
I swallowed. “You broke up with Chelsea?”
“Well, she didn’t break up with me if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I’m not. I just-”
“Good. How soon will you be here?”
“A half hour?”
“Sounds good. I’ll be the guy with the great haircut and an empty barstool beside me.”
“Got it.”
“And wear something low cut. I could use a pleasant distraction.”
My jaw dropped as he hung up. I didn’t know what to think. He’d never said anything like that to me in my life. Suddenly, I was overcome with anxiety. Should I wear something low cut to indulge him or wear a fucking turtleneck so he didn’t dare speak to me like that again?
When I finally picked my jaw up off the floor, I felt ridiculous. It was not okay for him to talk to me like that even if he was hammered. So why couldn’t I stop smiling?
I wished Fiona hadn’t left so I could ask her advice. Then again, I knew she would want me to dress like a total skank if I told her he said that.
I sighed. I supposed the least I could do was oblige him a little. Maybe some collarbone and a hint of cleavage just to be playful. I mean, he was probably being facetious anyway. I put on my favorite scoop neck black shirt and looked in the mirror.
What if he was embarrassed that he said that, and then I showed up with a low cut top on? What if he wasn’t embarrassed and he actually checked me out when I walked in?
I needed to calm down. It didn’t matter what I wore. He was just being drunk and flirty to take his mind off the fact that he and Chelsea broke up. If anything, I should just be happy that I was off the hook for telling him the truth about her. And even though he would probably just move on to a newer model of the same ridiculous type of person, that didn’t concern me.
What concerned me was being for him now when he wanted to get drunk and rant so he could move on with a clean slate.
I put in the little sunflower earrings that always cheered me up when I was feeling down and started to apply my makeup. I figured, given the circumstances, that it wouldn’t hurt to put on a few extra coats of mascara. After all, the guy sounded depressed and he’d basically asked me to get dolled up.
Which- as much as I hated to admit it- was really flattering because it meant that at least he didn’t think of me as a sister and recognized the fact that I was a woman. And maybe it was only cause he’d recently seen the shape of my breasts down my shirt but still. It was something.
I dug around for some lip gloss and blotted my lips on a crumpled tissue that was lying on my dresser. Then I slipped a short skirt and my black boots on and grabbed my purse.
I looked in the mirror again for a second and cocked my head. For a split second, I actually thought I looked kind of pretty, but a moment later, I felt a sad gnawing in my heart.
Even at my best, I would never be a leggy blond model who looked good in pink and could pull off electric blue eye shadow. I would never be the kind of girl that men fought to open doors for or the type that walked straight to the front of the line when she went clubbing. Shit, I could barely walk in heels to save my life.
The best I could hope for was to be attractive enough to distract Aiden for a few minutes when he was down on girls like that.
And I could be that girl.
I always had been.