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“It’s a pretty room,” Raina said tentatively. “It’s big.”
“Sure, if you like the yellow and pastel-y stuff.” Nicole shrugged. “This is Gracie’s dream room, not mine.”
“What would yours be like?”
Nicole gave her a look that was half-smile, half-smirk. “Come on, I’ll show you. My room is upstairs.”
With that, Nicole led Raina out of the room and further down the hall.
“My mom said I could get my room redone before I started high school. Well, she assumed I would contact her usual designer. Turns out, it’s easy to order a can of paint online…” Nicole’s voice trailed off as they approached a pitch-black door, a stark contrast to the light, airy hall.
With a dramatic motion that showed off her resemblance to her mother, Nicole threw open the door. Raina stepped inside cautiously, her eyes taking a moment to adjust to the darkness of the room. Black drapes were drawn across windows, but Jesse was fighting to shove them open.
“Finally!” he huffed as he managed to pull the curtains open and light flooded into the room. “Oh, hey, Raina. You make it to your room okay?”
“Yeah, Nicole’s mom showed me,” Raina answered, her eyes wide as she took in the room.
Everything—from the geometric designs on the ceiling to the shaggy rug that Raina wanted to collapse into—was obsidian. It was perfect for Nicole, who wore black 24/7, but Raina could see why Nicole’s parents wouldn’t like it.
Nicole snickered. “Has she asked you to call herMelindayet?”
“Yeah.”
Raina wandered across the room, sitting down on a black leather couch. Jesse flopped down next to her, grabbing a remote from a small side table and turning on the TV. As he flipped through the channels, Nicole disappeared through another black door.
“Anything good on?” she called, her voice muffled due to the closed door.
“Nope!” Jesse yelled back, settling on a TV show at the same time.
“Are we going to watch TV for the rest of the evening?” Raina asked.
Not that she minded, but if they didn’t have any big plans, then she would probably only stay up for a little while. The action movie Jesse had chosen wasn’t her vibe at all, and she was exhausted after such a long, awful day.
“We can. Or we can just go to sleep.”
“I might just say goodnight to Nicole and head to my room.”
“She’s changing.”
“Damn right I am!” Nicole called out as the door opened. “Ahh, I missed these shirts.”
Raina had to make a considerable effort not to let her mouth drop open as she turned to face Nicole. The other girl had changed into a pair of ripped jeans and a top that could only be described as a slightly-longer bra.
“You look a little freaked out,” Jesse whispered in her ear.
“It’s short,” Raina said carefully, managing to keep her voice from going higher at the end. “Like, very,veryshort.”
“What, never seen a bralette before?” Nicole asked, spinning around.
The lace covered her as much as a bikini top would, not that Raina had ever worn one of those before, either.
Raina flushed, hoping that her entire face hadn’t turned red. “No. They don’t exactly wear them in my...community.”
“Right, you said all long skirts and sleeves to your wrists.”
“Well, not everyone,” Raina answered honestly. “There’s a wide variety, but the people we interact with do tend to wear more modest clothes. What I wear is just my personal preference. Besides, it’s February and cold. I like my cardigans.”
Nicole turned to Raina. “Hey, do you want to try on some of my clothes?”
