Page 6 of Unwritten Rules

“You’re rushing? Which house?” Garrett butted in.

The look in Kelly’s eyes said nowhere, but I said, “I have no idea. The options are wide open.”

Kelly took a long sip of her drink, eying the stores we walked past. Luxury boutiques. Name brand stores. “Before we chat more about girls’ clubs, I get to pick your outfit for the back-to-school bash.”

I knew she was going to put me in something far too skimpy, but I obliged her anyway. “Only if you come with me to at least one event.”

We entered what felt like seven stores in one; a massive luxury clothing store. The clothes ranged from casual to met gala worthy. How she could pick out anything in here was beyond me. It was a bit unnerving.

But she grew up in wealth, knowing more about the nepo baby life than I did. Sometimes, I trusted her far too much with that side of things.

Lobbing clothes at me instantly, I was shocked at how quickly she was picking things out. “How about this one? Oh! And this one. Here, try these two for good measure. And... this one.”

Garrett had to start helping me catch the clothes she was throwing at me, laughing as we tried to catch them all. He was pretty to look at, and sometimes I wondered what he wanted from me. His brilliant smile directed at me said he was happy to be here–maybe it was my anxiety again.

Taking some of the clothes to the fitting room–a closet with a curtain–I felt like some of these felt the same look-wise. Trying them on, stepping out and spinning for my audience, and repeating, I decided I liked the fifth outfit.

I slipped into the classic little black dress that seemed to subtly glisten under the lights. The material felt like butter on my skin and accentuated my figure. The dress had a plunging neckline with delicate straps and left enough to the imagination that I didn’t feel completely naked.

Stepping out, Kelly and Garrett’s jaws dropped to the floor. “Wow,” they said in unison.

Trying not to blush, I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “I do kind of like this one.”

“Cynthia!” Kelly called. “We’ll take this one and this whole pile, thank you.”

Garrett couldn’t take his eyes off of me even after I changed back into my normal attire–a basic cream cashmere sweater tucked into my navy pleated skirt.

We found a Japanese steakhouse to sit and eat lunch at with our shopping bags safely with the concierge. The one thing I could get behind with being rich was the fact that I could have any service available to me, like someone watching your bags while you eat lunch.

It was still weird that I had that kind offuckyoumoney.

Hopefully, I didn’t screw up and make my mom mad at me from heaven.

“I think my look is complete,” I said in between bites.

“Now you’re ready to look hot at parties with your arm candy over there,” she giggled, kicking me under the table.

Kelly was from a silently wealthy type of family. They stayed out of the news–out of the press. Her dad paid for everything she ever needed but never gave her too much. Her father thought that holding her by a tight leash and restricting funds would tamper her wild side down, but she wasn’t wild–she was a social butterfly. It was mostly about how she dressed; he punished her for being too “alternative” in her fashion choices.

His loss. She was never going to dress like the norm.

Picking up her phone from the table, she squealed. “It’s Shane! I’m going to go meet him. I’ll see you at home? I’ll be there to help bring the bags in–swear!” She saluted me and ran out of the restaurant.

“You two are cute,” Garrett said, poking my arm.

I tried not to blush. “Thanks.”

“So, I wanted to know... would you be my date to the next baseball game?” He scooted into the seat Kelly left empty, moving his food with him.

I wanted to, but I worried that he was going to try to have sex with me. It made me nervous to do it for the first time but maybe getting it over with this semester would help me with coming out of my shell. He was a kind, attractive guy who seemed genuinely interested in me, and I couldn’t imagine it would be all bad.

Shit, did that mean I’d have to tell him I was a virgin?

Putting my head on his shoulder, I tried to calm my nerves about putting myself more out in the open. “That sounds nice. We should go get food after the game, too.”

“I could be down for that,” he said, playing with a couple strands of my hair.

We ate comfortably until I realized I needed to get ready for the party and get my bags thrown into my room. “Looks like I should be getting back to prep for this banger party. Drive me home?”

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