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“Don’t forget to add the PayPal and Venmo money,” Nicole cut in. “I linked it to Gracie’s accounts, so you’ll have to ask her for that.”
“I would have totally forgotten.” Raina laughed. “I’m a bit old-fashioned, is it obvious?”
“Yeah, Cohen, it’s obvious.” Nicole looked pointedly at Raina’s outfit, motioning to the tangerine and cream cardigan the blonde was wearing.
Jesse thought it looked good on her, but then again, Raina could wear a garbage bag and he’d still find her pretty.
Raina frowned, looking down at her clothes. “What’s wrong with my outfit?”
“You’re wearing a granny sweater,” Nicole said bluntly. “And no item of clothing should bethatshade of orange. Also, that skirt is so fucking long, it’s like you don’t even have legs.”
“It’s called modesty,” Raina said defensively. “Tzniyut. It’s a Jewish thing.”
“Whatever.” Nicole rolled her eyes, turning back to the table.
“So go shopping,” Jesse said. Raina and Nicole might never see eye to eye on everything, but maybe if he could get them to connect over something they’d be able to discover some common ground. “C’mon, you guys were talking about it back at Nicole’s house.”
“That wasn’t serious,” Nicole said.
For once, Jesse’s friends were in agreement, Raina nodding as Nicole spoke.
“Too bad, because I’ve decided you’re going,” Jesse said firmly, not leaving room for disagreement. “Don’t argue with me because I have quite a collection of blackmail material.”
“Fine,” Nicole grumbled. “We’ll go tomorrow after school and get it over with.”
“Should we go to the mall?” Raina asked quietly.
Nicole’s sigh made it sound like she was being forced to have endless teeth pulled at the dentist or hop into a swimming pool filled with sharks. “If we must.”
Jesse grinned, a stark contrast to the blankness on both girls’ faces. Was it strange that he was more excited for a shopping trip than two girls? Yes, but when two important people in your life agreed to spend time together, it deserved a little excitement.
ChapterSeventeen
“When will this fucking bus come?” Nicole complained the next afternoon.
It wasn’t her first complaint of the day, either. That honor had been given to Raina’s outfit, a cardigan and long skirt—the antithesis of Nicole’s skin-tight black top and jean shorts.
Raina shifted from one foot to the other and gestured to the bus schedule pinned to the wall. “It says it’ll be here in three minutes.”
The local bus had a stop a short walk from Trinity, so they’d elected to take that instead of paying ridiculous prices for an Uber.
“That’s the next one. I meant the one that was supposed to be here five fucking minutes ago.”
The bus in question finally arrived, saving Raina from responding. She paid for her ticket and sat down, pretending not to care when Nicole took a seat in front of her, even though the seats on either side of Raina were empty.
“Look, we both want this to go as smoothly as possible,” Raina tried.
Nicole scoffed, still facing forward. “I’m only here because Jesse said I have to be.”
“Real nice, Nicole.”
“Never claimed to be nice,Cohen.”
Raina bit back a snarky remark and turned to look out the window, folding her arms across her chest.
“Why don’t you like me?” she asked after a few minutes.
“I don’t owe you any explanations.”
