Trying not to wake him, I edged inch-by-inch away, my skin growing colder with the distance growing between our bodies. I slithered like a very ungraceful four-too-many-limbed snake to the carpet. The pads of my feet made little tapping sounds on the floor of his bathroom as I made my way to my dress still lying in a puddle on the shower floor. It chilled me even further as I pulled it up my legs. Then I snuck like a thief into the hallway and then into my own room, hung my dress over the shower wall, and burrowed under my covers waiting for my body heat to warm the bed enough to be comfortable.
I wasn’t certain how long I’d been sleeping, but it was absolutely certain that I was late for my nail appointment with my sister and mom and Jamison’s mom. Or not technically late, yet. But I was supposed to be dressed and ready to walk with June to the spa, and I was not. My sister was going to be so pissed.
With my body tucked behind the door, I peeked around it to see her face turn from slightly impatient to hella annoyed in a millisecond. She was dressed in white boat shorts with a brown belt and a light blue button-up tucked in. She looked so put together and irritated.
“Don’t hate me,” I said.
“You’re not ready? What the hell, Sade?” She took a step into the room.
“I know. I overslept.” She begrudgingly handed me a paper coffee cup. I took it, mumbling a sheepish, “Thank you.”
“You have five minutes.”
I took a sip of the coffee with cream and sugar before setting it down on the sofa’s side table. “I only need three.”
“Obviously, you haven’t looked in the mirror yet. You’re gonna need all five.” Her eyes traveled around the room, overlooking my messof clothes and taking in the dark walls with contrasting white linens and sofa.
Snatching up a pair of underwear and a bra, I slipped them on and let the towel fall to the blond-colored wood floor. I pulled the first sun dress I laid my hands on out of my suitcase, pulling it over my head. It ended on the upper side of mid-thigh.
June raised an eyebrow. “We’re getting our toes done too. You sure you wanna wear that? The technician will get a crotch shot.”
“I’ll bring a sweater to drape over my lap.”
She nodded. “This room is incredible.”
“Wait until you see the bathroom,” I called to her back as she walked to the sliding glass door and stepped onto the balcony.
“If you angle right, you can see the ocean.”
In front of the bathroom mirror, I cringed at my own reflection. June was right, I was gonna need the full five minutes. Mascara was smudged under my eyes, and my hair was a mess of snarls and wild curls dried onto my face. Dampening a cotton ball with makeup remover, I went in on the leftover makeup from last night.
“Wow, this bathroom,” she exclaimed joining me. It was a replica of Jamison’s bathroom, and even though we hadn’t had sex inthisroom it kinda felt like June was walking around in my crime scene. If she knew about him and me hooking up, she would have strong opinions.
“Right?” The word came out a little weird with my mouth rounded as I slathered on moisturizing SPF. A reapplication of mascara, and I could move on to my hair situation.
“What happened to your dress?” She jerked her head toward my still damp garment hanging over the shower wall.
For a panicked moment, my brain scratched to a halt. I couldn’t conjure a single reason why my dress would be wet.
Then an explanation hit me with such force, I yelled out, “Stain!”
Her eyebrows shot up, and she jumped a little in surprise. “Okay...it must have been a big stain for the whole dress to get wet.”
“It was, and then I realized how messy the hem was and...just washed the whole thing.”
“Cool.” There was a beat of silence where it seemed like she might not fully believe me, but then she shrugged one shoulder.
In the other room, my phone buzzed on the bedside table.
She strode out of the bathroom, tossing a, “You have one minute to figure out that hair,” over her shoulder.
“Messy bun, baby.” Two elastics later, my hair looked almost purposefully bumpy. I looked more or less like a person ready to be civilized. “Alright, let’s go.”
I stilled just inside my bedroom where June stared down at my phone, still resting on the tabletop. Between her eyebrows there was a pinch so deep that made my heartrate spike. An expression somewhere between outrage and confusion fit into the tight set of her jaw.
“What’s up?” I asked with hyper-apprehension.
She met my eyes and in the depths of hers was pity. It cut me worse than outrage or confusion ever could. “Why is Fuckboy Lawyer texting you?”
