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ME: Ugh why
MASON: Vivid imagination
ME: Ok I’m turning off my phone now.
I laughed as I tossed my phone into my purse before returning to my artful shimmy into the tightest but most beautiful dress ever made.
“And… we have a winner,” I murmured when I could finally gaze at myself in the mirror. The dress was as simple as it could get – draped and strapless with a sweetheart neckline. But there was something ruthlessly sexy about it too. It had to be the color – nude and barely a shade darker than the natural hue of my skin. Combined with the snug fit that forced me to go without so much as my thong underneath, I easily declared it the winning make-him-kick-himself-in-the-ass St. Lucia showstopper.
All I needed was to zip the back.
After pushing the button several times to no avail, I hugged the front of my dress to my chest and peeked out of the changing room, taking a few barefoot steps onto the plush carpet before a familiar voice gasped behind me.
“No way. Taylor Simms?”
Fuck.
Please don’t let it be her, I begged silently, my stomach dropping before I even turned around to confirm the sight of Whitney Decker.
“Oh my God, it is you!” she squealed, her dark curls bouncing as she pranced over to me in just a black bra and leather skirt. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she kissed my cheek and cooed, “Poor thing, Taylor. I’m surprised you’re even out and about after what Aaron did to you!”
And there it was. The passive aggressiveness she was so very famous for.
“Well. You know.” A strained smile stretched my lips. “It’s been two months. Can’t be sad the rest of my life.”
“Oh, that is such a good attitude, darling. You seriously have the best attitude,” Whitney marveled, pulling away to flash me big Bambi eyes. “God, Tay, I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to tell you but now that you’ve seen me here, you probably know I’m shopping to go to Aaron’s wedding.”
It was my turn for the Bambi eyes.
Fuck.
Seriously, Aaron? He didn’t have the decency to tell me he was getting married but he did invite the woman who’d almost come between us two years ago – who reminded me of the worst night of my life, the worst decision of my life and all the pain that followed after. Blinking hard, I gathered myself, refusing to give Whitney the pleasure of my rattled expression.
“Oh, that’s… fine, Whitney,” I said, my throat tight.
“No. It’s so not. And I can tell you don’t mean that,” she sighed, exaggerating a frown. But I could see the ends of her lips quivering with amusement as she soaked in my thinly veiled fury. “It’s just I’ve always had such a bond with Aaron. We were so close. You know that,” she pouted, using that baby voice I’d heard so many times before – on the phone during those nights when she’d call Aaron at one, two, even three in the morning. “Work stuff,” Aaron always said. But then that shitstorm of a night happened. The one I’d rather not think about again.
Especially now.
Swallowing hard, I found my words and gave Whitney a shrug. “It’s your life, Whitney. Do whatever you want. You always have.”
“Ooh,” she gasped, her dark eyes gleaming. “Are we getting catty yet?”
I made a face. “Is that what you were hoping for?”
“Well, you know. You’ve always been all prim, proper and prudish. It’d be nice to see you get a little nasty for once,” she giggled, biting her lip. “God knows you’ll need to offer the boys something to get back into the dating game.”
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
Whitney feigned a nervous laugh. “Did I hit a nerve? Oh, Tay, don’t be sad. You’ll rebound eventually.” She puckered her glossy lips. “Probably not with anyone as cute as Aaron, but hey – you were kind of dating up with him to begin with.”
Wow. You have got to be kidding me. With a laugh of sheer disbelief, I shook my head at Whitney, refusing to engage any further. Turning around, I looked desperately for the salesgirl. When I caught her passing the hallway, I quickly flagged her down, breathing out in relief as she flurried over to zip my dress. I thanked her quietly, facing decidedly away from Whitney who still stood there with a big, fake smile on her lips. It only spread wider as the salesgirl struggled to zip my dress.
“Excuse her. Tay’s been digging into those post-breakup Oreos, if you know what I mean.” Whitney winked at the poor salesgirl who frowned deeply at her before flashing me a look of shock mixed with apology. It helped. Kind of. But before I could even recover from the first insult, Whitney hit me again. “Don’t sweat the dress, Tay. Bit too sexy for you to pull off, anyway,” she said, tossing another wink my way. And with that, she waltzed back into her dressing room.
After reassuring the salesgirl that I was done trying things on, I skulked back into mine. Shutting the door, I plopped down in the tufted white chair and stared at the wall, willing myself not to indulge in all the dark thoughts that Whitney never failed to trigger. It was dangerous to sink into that place in my mind because it was filled with nothing but what-ifs and regret – all the pain I could have avoided if I could just get that one week, maybe just that one night of my life back. Even before Aaron left, the thoughts plagued me. Now that he was gone, they haunted me, choosing random times of the day to flash behind my eyes and bounce wildly around in my head, reminding me of everything I lost before I lost even Aaron.
Okay, stop, Taylor. Breathe, I scolded myself, squeezing my eyes shut. Think happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy –
