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I nodded, taking this in because I found I did like having a bit of color. Maybe I’d take her advice and start lounging by the pool more in the summer instead of holing up in my room.
Penelope held up a little box and shook it. “Ever wear contacts?”
I never felt like I had a reason to show the rest of my face, and the notion anyone might want to see my eyes better was foreign to me.
But I didn’t say this. Instead, I simply said, “No.”
“Well, I’m going to show you how to put them in and give you a quick lesson on contact care. My sister prefers these for soccer, so I help her out all the time, and before you say anything, I know what you’re thinking. Why’d we buy you new glasses if we were just planning on having you wear these?” She ripped the box open as she spoke. “But it’s good to have both, and I think these are worth trying. You’re lucky because normally it takes weeks for these to come in.”
“Let me guess. Thorne?”
“It’s amazing what money and celebrity status can do.”
I shook my head and smiled.
“Anyway,” she slid off my frames and set them on the sink behind her, “You have amazing eyes. It’s a shame to cover them up.”
The thought made me wonder if Ella liked my eyes, but I pushed it away because I needed to focus. Too much thinking of her, and I’d get nervous.
Chapter 21
BARRY
“IthoughtIwassupposed to pick out my tux now,” I said as I watched Thorne usher everyone out of the room except Scarlett, Penelope, and Topher for a dinner break.
Swiveling back around to face me, his eyes sparkled as they landed on mine. “You’ll pick it out, don’t worry. Let them take a break, and in the meantime, I have one more lesson for you.” He stepped forward and placed his hands on my shoulders.
“What?” I asked, unsure of what else we could possibly have to cover.
“Your walk.”
“My walk?” I balked.
He nodded, his expression grim. “It’s pretty sad.”
“What do you mean it’s sad? I walk normal.” I pushed off of the chair and made my way across the room, arms stretched out as if to prove my point.
“Oh, no.” Thorne covered his face with his hands, then glanced at Scarlett, who stood and made her way over to me.
“When you walk, you kinda . . . stare at the ground with your shoulders slumped, head down and—”
“Like you’re Frodo and you just cracked one ofUnsolved Mysteries’biggest cases in the ground beneath your feet,” Topher chimed in.
Thorne waved a hand toward him. “Exactly! Let’s put it this way, if I got cast to play a nerd with zero self-esteem, I’d walk like you.”
I frowned. “I beg your pardon, but I do not—”
Thorne crossed the room in front of me, walking quickly with a posture more reminiscent of Gollum than Frodo, and I winced.
“Please tell me I don’t look like that,” I said.
Thorne gestured to Penelope, who pulled a face. “You kinda do.”
Cheese and rice, I was doomed.
“It’s just I’ve gotten used to hurrying,” I said, feeling like I had to make an excuse for myself, “and I look at the ground because, well, the less eye contact I make with people, the less they bother me.”
“But when you walk like that, you make yourself a target simply because you look like you have no confidence in yourself. Instead, you need to walk like this.” Thorne strolled in front of me, his gait smooth, confident.
