Page 29 of Book Club Confidential

Kate’s fancy filtered images of her wearing unbelievably expensive fashions had made her social media famous. Specifically, she wore designer brands that only her family and other people in their tax bracket could afford. Her most viral posts featured the sorts of highbrow ensembles worn by the Southern elite for luncheons, cotillions, and teas. Big hair, pageant makeup, and heels included.

Aside from fashion, Kate’s feed frequently featured the newest, trendiest shops and cafés, often with her perfectly manicured fingers wrapped around a pretty drink or pastry and backdropped by a gorgeous sky. She represented a lifestyle far outside most people’s reach, and they ate it up, then begged for more.

“Everything I posted today that deviated from the norm fell completely flat,” Kate said.

“The book thing had a few comments,” Hallie said.

“Yes, but I don’t want to be a book account. The BookTok girlies have a whole thing going that I can’t begin to compete with. And I don’t want to. They do it well. I follow dozens of them. I want my account to inspire people to live lives of beauty. Elite Southern charm is my whole schtick.”

“But it’s not who you are anymore,” Hallie said. “It’s not even the biggest component.”

“And living a life of beauty is highly subjective,” Tessa said. “I would argue that your off-camera life is beautiful.”

Kate’s lips curved into a small smile. “My off-camera life is quite nice.”

Tessa forced away her regret. She’d begged her friends to join her on this journey, and they’d agreed, for her sake. Now things were going poorly for Kate, and Tessa couldn’t help worrying it was her fault.

“All right,” Kate said, dejectedly. “Enough about me. How’d your day go, Hallie? Did your changes cause any backlash?”

“I didn’t really do anything differently,” Hallie admitted. “But I spent a lot of time thinking about what I want to do.”

“That’s a good start,” Tessa said. Change was hard for everyone, but Hallie struggled more than most. “You’ll figure it out.”

“What are you thinking about?” Kate asked.

Hallie sucked her teeth and slowly expressed a deep frown. “I think I’m gay.”

“Pardon?” Kate asked. Her delicate features twisted in humor and surprise.

“Did you say gay?” Tessa asked. She straightened on her couch, letting Hallie’s confession settle in, and honestly, it tracked.

Kate widened her eyes. “Do we get any additional information, or is this it?”

“I don’t have more information,” Hallie said. “This is a new concept for me. Personally, I mean. I like men, but you know that. I’m definitely attracted to women too. According to the internet, ChatGPT, and TikTok, I’m technically bi.”

“The holy grail of resources,” Tessa said. “Anything else?”

“I took a quiz on Reddit.”

“Sure,” Kate said. “Obviously.”

Hallie squinted at the camera. “You’re probably thinking that I should’ve known about this sooner, but I didn’t.”

Kate matched Hallie’s expression, equally deep in thought.

“I don’t have any specific thoughts yet,” Tessa said. “How are you doing with this? How do you feel?” Hallie’s sexual orientation didn’t matter one way or another to Tessa, but she wanted to be supportive. She needed more information to know how.

“I’m confused,” Hallie said flatly. “Not particularly happy about it either. It’s not very convenient.”

“What brought about this revelation?” Kate asked.

Hallie’s vanilla fiancé came to Tessa’s mind, but she kept that thought to herself.

“Honestly,” Hallie said, “I think it’s coming to the surface now because I met Eloise.”

“Ah,” Tessa said. She’d seen her and Hallie together this morning. They had fantastic chemistry. Tessa hadn’t given any thought to the depth or dimensions of their relationship, but she’d coveted the connection that they obviously had.

“What about Bryce?” Kate asked.