She flips through the hangers on the rack and pulls out her size. Like her brother, she touches everything. Every rack we pass, every table stacked with jeans. Has she always done this and I'm only now noticing? Or is this new?
She takes an armful of clothes into the dressing room, and I plant myself on the bench to wait for the inevitable fashion show.
"Is Mateo seeing someone?" she asks out of nowhere.
I've never been more grateful for a door between us in my life.
"Why would I know?" I deflect. I'm not proud of it. I'm betraying my friend for dick, and I hate myself for it. "And what makes you think that?
"Because you're with him all the time?" She poses it as a question, as if I'm stupid for not putting it together myself.
The door opens, and Addie saunters to the three-way mirror.
"And there's no way he's smiling all the time from spending time with your grouchy ass." She sticks her tongue out at me and turns back to the mirror. She makes a face and looks to me for confirmation. I mimic the look back at her, and she heads back into the dressing room, tossing the shirt and hanger over the door to me.
"What's his deal, anyway?" I ask, hanging the shirt on the discard rack. "I honestly assumed I'd be fielding unwanted texts from horny women."
"Honestly? I don't know," she says. "Oh my God, ew. Nope. Who designed these?" Seconds later she tosses a pair of jeans over the top of the door.
"For a long time, I thought he was gay," Addie says, effortlessly switching back to her train of thought. "You know we've never met a woman he's dated? But last time we visited him in Baltimore, I faked being sick to get out of some stuffy dinner and found the NDAs in his safe. That's when I realized he's not gay, he's a manwhore."
NDAs? What the fuck?
"Wait, back up. Two things. First, what kind of NDAs? And second, you found them in his safe? Does he know?"
"I only read a few, but they were basically don't kiss and tell contracts.
My heart drops. The heart that isn't supposed to have feelings. The one that's not supposed to care. Has he done this before? Am I just another one for the books? I should be angry. Under normal circumstances, I'd be flying off the handle. But I'm not, instead I'm confused.
Addie exits the dressing room again in a slinky backless top and a pair of painted-on jeans.
"And of course he doesn't know, but he should also know better than to use easy codes and passwords on his shit." She makes a turn in the mirror and grins. "Sold."
After what feels like an eternity, she only ends up buying the backless top.
"I thought you were 'back-to-school' shopping?" I ask nudging her with my shoulder as we exit the store.
She shrugs, an impish grin plastered on her face.
"Jade," she says pointing to a fishnet top on a mannequin in a window display. "That would look hot as fuck under all those old ass band tees you wear."
I make a face, and she grabs my arm, pulling me into the store.
I grab my size and a pair of ripped black jeans with belt like buckles on the legs and take my turn trying on clothes.
Using the privacy of the dressing room, I send Mateo a text.
You didn't make me sign an NDA
I wait and watch as it goes from delivered to read.
No response.
I try on the top and throw myvintageband tee back on. I've gotta hand it to Addie, she wasn't wrong.
My phone screen is dark, so I unlock it.
Mateo
