Page 9 of Lilly
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“Lilly, you’ve got avisitor.”
I quickly wrap a towel around my body before pulling the door open to see who it is. I’m presuming it’s either Molly or Emma, so I don’t think twice about covering up more. I realise this is a huge mistake when I turn the corner to the livingroom.
Stood in the middle of the room, with Taylor gawping at him, is Lucas. What the hell is he doinghere?
Taylor doesn’t notice I’ve walked in because he’s too busy drooling. Lucas is just his type, perfectly put together and once again wearing a suit. Taylor will be gutted he bats for the wrong team. Lucas spots me the second I enter, though. His eyes hold mine for a second before they slowly take in my towel-clad body. Damnit.
“Lilly,” he says, after clearing his throat. “We’re going todinner.”
Lucas’ words distract Taylor, who turns to me with a massive grin on his face. Oh, here wego.
“No, we’re not. I’m fairly sure I turned down your offer of dinnerearlier.”
“Lilly,” Taylor starts. He grabs my arm and turns us so we are slightly away from Lucas. “You cannot say no to that. He’s fuckinggorgeous.”
“Meh, he’s alright. But I’m not going out withhim.”
“Yes you are. One, he’s gorgeous,” he starts using his fingers to count his points. I inwardly groan as to how many reason he’s going to find that I should go. “Two, you haven’t been out in…well…forever. Three, he looks like he’s got money. Have you seen that suit? You’re guaranteed to have an amazing meal. Four, you need to enjoy yourself, maybe get laid—you work too hard. Five, did I mention he’s gorgeous?Six—”
“Yeah, alright, I get your point,” I snap, interrupting him. “He’s my boss, Tay. I have no intention of datinghim.”
“He’syour boss?” he asks, turning to look directly at Lucas, who is still stood in the middle of the room with an amused expression on his face. I can only presume he’s heard every word, because Taylor isn’t exactly beingquiet.
“Yes, he’s my boss. I’m not going out withhim.”
“Can you get me a job with you? I could do with seeing thatdaily.”
“Taylor, can you be serious for a minute? It’s a bad idea. Plus, he’s not mytype.”
“Oh, perfect isn’t yourtype?”
Taylor and I stare at each other for a solid minute having a silent conversation. When it becomes clear I’m not going to win, I look away. “Oh, for goodness’sake.”
“She’ll be ready in thirty minutes. Make yourself athome.”
I get dragged none to gently to my room, then shoved down on the bed while Taylor starts raiding mywardrobe.
“There’s no point looking. I haven’t got anything to wear—not that will fit,anyway.”
“Yes, you have. Where is that little blackdress?”
“No no no, I’m not wearingthat.”
“Yes, you are,” he states. “You’ll lookhot.”
After draping the dreaded dress over the edge of my bed, Taylor turns and starts rummaging through my underweardrawer.
“I knew I bought you these for areason.”
When I look up, I see he’s got the tiny bit of fabric he bought me for Christmas hanging off his index finger. He decided I was too young to be spending my days in cotton knickers. Idisagreed.
“I’m not wearing that.” I can’t imagine anythingworse.
He gives me a look that tells me I’m going to do exactly as he says.Great.
Twenty minutes later, I’m stood in front of my full-length mirror. I might be looking at myself, but all I can see is Hannah, my older sister. She died in a car crash two years ago. She was such a huge part of our family, and it left everyone crushed, especially Emma, her twin, who was in the car with her at thetime.
Things haven’t been the same since she died, but what I really struggle with is how much I look like her. Not only does it affect me when I look in the mirror, but I know everyone else sees her when they look at me. Emma is the only one who has admitted she’s found it hard to deal with, and apologised for distancing herself from me after the accident. Dec, my twin, is a typical guy and would never admit his feelings, but I know him almost better than I know myself, and I’ve seen how he looks at me sometimes. Mum and Dad would never admit it, but deep down I know they feel it. I can only imagine what it must be like to lose a child, your first born, let alone having a younger child that looks just likethem.
Although it’s hurt, I’ve tried to give them all some space while they’ve attempted to get their lives back on track. I hate that I’m not as close to them all as I used to be, growing up. I know I’ve always got Dec on my side. He may be hundreds of miles away in Exeter, but we’re so close that most days it feels like he’s right beside me. Plus, I’ve got Taylor, Imogen and Eve here in Cheltenham with me. They are amazing, and I don’t know what I’d do withoutthem.
“You look incredible, Lil,” Taylor says as he comes to stand behindme.
I run my eyes over my body. I’m not sureincredibleis quite the right word, but I look good, better than I have in a long time. My dress, although a little looser than it should be, is hugging my body. It has tiny spaghetti straps, an open back and a short hemline. My very minimal chest is just about covered with two triangles of the black fabric. I never show this much skin. I only bought the damn dress for someone’s twenty-first at uni last year; she demanded a dress code for her Vegas-stylenight.
I tug at the fabric, trying to cover up some side boob, but my hand gets slapped away by Taylor. “Stop fussing. You look perfect. Now get out there and knock his fucking socks off before I attempt to turnhim.”
“Fine,” I mutter as I give myself one last look over in the mirror. I grab my blazer and my bag before heading for the living to find my boss—I mean date—while attempting to ignore the feeling of the scrap of fabric I’m meant to be referring to as underwear as Iwalk.
