Page 79 of The Disasters of Dating
I grimace. There is little chance I won’t be thinking of Lincoln while I’m eating ice cream with Keaton. That feels a little cringy.
Lincoln
I’LL TAKE IT UNDER ADVISEMENT! HAVE A GREAT DAY AT WORK!
I sigh as I stare at my phone. Sometimes I wonder if I like Lincoln better than Keaton. Although Keaton is real. Not that Lincoln isn’t. But it’s different.
CHAPTER 23
POPPY
You know there’s just one person who can help you figure out what to do next. You might not be quite sure where to find them or even how to broach the subject, but you’ll figure it out. Put that intuition of yours to work and figure out where to look. Give them a call, send a message, or simply show up at their door. You need them, and maybe you can return the favor.
Paisleigh standsat the foot of my bed, looking at her reflection in the mirror. “I don’t get it. You look so cute in this. But I just look…frumpy.”
I smile. “Frumpy? I hardly think that.”
She shakes her head. “No. This is genuine frump.” She heads over to my closet and rummages through the hangers. “What about this? Would this look better on me?” It’s a skirt my Grandma Alice sent to me.
I look at it. “You can take that one. I’ve only worn it once, and I don’t plan to wear it again.”
She frowns at me and then looks back at the skirt. “Why did you buy it if you hate it so much?”
“I didn’t buy it. My grandma bought it for me to get me to conform to what she thinks I should look like.”
She holds it away from her, like it might bite. “Grandma Alice?”
I nod.
She gives it the stare down. “I liked it before I knew she gave it to you.”
“You should try it on. I think it will look cute on you. And someone may as well get some use out of it. I’m sure it was expensive.”
She continues to frown at it. “But I’ll feel disloyal to you if I wear it. Like I’m agreeing with Grandma Alice. And I don’t ever want to agree with her.”
I smile. Paisleigh has only met Grandma Alice once. At my dad’s funeral. And let’s just say my grandma made an impression. Not a good one but an impression nonetheless. “You aren’t being disloyal unless you say you think I would look cute in it.”
She looks at me over the hanger and grimaces. “You would look cute in it. But only because you look cute in everything. You have that kind of body shape.” She says the last part with a slight grumble in her voice. Paisleigh is not fat. But she has always been bigger than she wanted. As a dancer, she is crazy muscular and strong. But she doesn’t always see those muscles as good. And don’t even get me started on her flexibility. I might have the smaller body shape—thanks to genetics—but that doesn’t mean I’m more toned or strong. Because I’m not. Pais could take me in a fight any day of the week and twice on Saturdays.
“Well, it doesn’t matter because I have no intention of wearing it. It just takes up closet space.” I move over and start pulling other clothes out and throwing them on the bed. “Here, you can have all these.”
“Are these all from Grandma Alice?” Paisleigh picks up the hangers and looks through the clothes, checking the tags. “When and why did she buy you all these? They cost a lot of money.”
“Yeah, it’s part of her plan to buy my love and make me indebted to her.” I scowl at the offending bribes. “Whenever we have a family gathering, she sends me something so that I’ll look ‘presentable’.” I hold up a light pink dress. It is a cross-front wrap-around in a soft silk. It is the closest thing to something I’d actually wear that she has ever bought me. But still, it’s not quite me. And I’ll admit, there might be some principle that also holds me back. “She sent this to entice me to come up for family pictures and the reunion.”
Paisleigh holds it up in front of her. “Oh, my heck. This is gorgeous.” She runs the shoulder across her cheek. “And feel how soft it is. I bet it feels fabulous on.”
I shrug. “Take it. I’ll never wear it, and the family pictures have already happened.” I look at my closet with pleasure. There is so muchmore space there now. “Take all of them. Whatever you don’t want, send to charity.”
Paisleigh holds several of the clothes up to her and looks in the mirror, tilting her head to one side. It’s too bad she isn’t Grandma Alice’s granddaughter. All the clothes will look great on her. She has the olive-toned coloring that apparently my grandma thinks I have—which I don’t. Her hair is a lighter color than mine, which pairs well with her pale green eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want to keep some of these? Won’t Grandma Alice expect you to wear them when you see her?”
I snort. “That would mean we actually have to see each other. I’m not going to Alaska. And she sure as heck isn’t coming to Utah.” I shrug and drape a crystal beaded necklace of amethyst and lapis lazuli around her neck. “So, someone may as well get some use out of them before they are completely out of style. This necklace looks good with this shirt.”
Paisleigh looks over her shoulder. “Are you giving me the beads, too?”
I give her a shocked look. “Uhh, no. You can borrow them, or if you like them…” I give her an appraising look. She doesn’t usually want to borrow my crystal jewelry. Granted, she has had me make her a few things, so maybe I’m projecting right now. “I can make you your own.”
Paisleigh squints at her reflection. “Will you let me buy the beads this time?”
