Page 56 of Just the Tipsy
“Morning.” I loosen the dogs’ leashes so they can all sniff each other.
JD is quiet and rarely starts a conversation on the best of days, so I expect him to stand there in silence. But instead, he surprises me.
“Your new girlfriend is nice,” he finally says, completely unprompted.
“You think so?” I raise both eyebrows in shock.
“Mmhm.” He tucks his hand into the pocket of his sweats. “You two complement each other. And she’s doing well with the company’s social media. It’s hard to attribute sales directly to that, but she’s helping us move in the direction I think the company should go in. Dad’s a little stuck in the past.”
I swallow, then nod. “Good. Glad you like her.”
He grunts in response, signaling the end of the conversation. I give Big Bubba a pat on the side as they continue on their walk.
I can’t believe JD actually said something about us. He tied the compliment to her work for the business, which makes sense, but he’s never had much of a personal opinion on anyone that I’ve dated.
Maybe it’s because he and Bianca are similar — quiet and icy on the outside, but nice when you get to know them. That has to be it. Otherwise, I’m worried he got kidnapped and replaced with a clone.
Then again, the consensus among my family members seems to be that she’s great. And she is. But I didn’t anticipate my family members liking her this much.
That was the whole point of the fake relationship, so why am I worrying about when we have to “break up”?
SEVENTEEN
BIANCA
I shouldn’t be sweatingover a nail appointment, but I am. Jada and I are meeting in fifteen minutes at the nail salon, aptly called Jepsen Nails, and I’m so nervous I feel a bit sick.
It’s been so long since I’ve done anything social like this — with someone who I genuinely like and want to get to know. What if she talks to me and realizes she doesn’t actually like me?
I feel like the awkward girl I was for most of high school, with Kaitlyn as my only friend, and I hate it.
I check my outfit for the hundredth time before tucking Sadie into her crate. Since she’s used to going with me everywhere, I assumed she’d hate the crate for the short stretches where I have to leave her home. But she naps in there like it’s no big deal. Then again, she mostly just takes naps and eats treats between being petted all the other hours of the day.
I drive into town, finding the nail salon. It’s small, tucked between a boot shop and a knickknack store, and I see Jada sitting in the waiting area.
“Hey!” she says when I walk in. I wave, holding onto my purse like a lifeline. “You ready? You just want a gel manicure, right?”
“Yeah, that sounds good.” I haven’t had a gel manicure in ages.
“With nail art?” A woman with a pink apron around her hips and a name tag that says Daisy appears in front of us.
“Get nail art!” Jada says, perking up. “I’m getting some.”
“Uh, okay, sure.” I’ve never gotten nail art that I’ve chosen myself, so why not now?
The woman in the apron waves us to the back and introduces me to my nail tech, Annie. They hand me a big sample wheel of colors and I busy myself with it.
“I have some pics too, if you’re on Instagram,” Annie says, tapping a card with her details on it. “If you want inspiration.”
I murmur a thank you and check out her page. It’s a slow day, but I still feel pressure to pick something fast.
“Do you know what you want, Jada?” Daisy examines Jada’s nails. “Or do you want me to surprise you?”
“Surprise me.” Jada scoots up in her seat.
“Yeah, surprise me too,” I say to Annie before I can stop myself. It’s not a bucket list item, but it’s not something I’d normally do — why not?
“Yessss, thank you.” Annie takes my hands and runs her thumbs over my nail beds. “You have such nice nail beds. I can do so many things. But I’ll try to match your vibe.”
