Page 65 of Bliss: Part 1
“I can’t,” I said quickly. “Tia, that’s a lot of money. I won’t be able to pay you back the money I don’t have right now. Not anytime soon.”
She raised her eyebrows at me. For a second, I thought she was going to make fun of me. Instead, she said, “I’m not asking for it back. I’m buying them for you. Fully. No strings.”
I blinked. “That’s even worse. Besides, that’s Tyler’s card.”
“Bliss,” she said seriously.
“What?”
“He won’t even notice. I’ve bought so much today, he’s not going to comb through the receipt. If you don’t let me get them for you now, Iwillbuy them anyway and wrap them up for your birthday. Speaking of, when is that?”
“August thirteenth,” I mumbled.
“Perfect! It’s coming up. So, your call. Now or then.”
I took a breath and looked back at the mirror. “Okay. Thank you, Tia. You really didn’t have to.”
“But I wanted to. And let’s be honest, this is the first thing today that actually made your face light up.”
She was right. There were other things I liked, sure, but nothing had hit me like the boots.
So, I let her buy them.
And just like that, for the first time all day, I was carrying a shopping bag too. And inside was the most beautiful pair of red cowboy boots I’d ever seen. And now they were mine.
Later, after a few more stores and a couple more full bags for Tia, we finally admitted we were starving. We grabbed two big slices of pizza and a soda each, and I insisted on paying. It was the least
I could do. I would’ve felt weird if I didn’t contributesomething, and thankfully she didn’t argue.
We found a spot around the fountain in the center of the food court and sat down. The sun was shining through the big skylight above us, and for the first time since we arrived, I was content to just sit still. It had been a long day.
My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out to check the screen. Dash had texted me, asking how things were going.
I typed back quickly, letting him know I was having a great time, but also that I was starting to get tired. I figured we’d be heading home soon anyway.
“We should do this again sometime,” she said. “Or maybe hang out by the pool at Tyler’s.”
“Sure,” I said, smiling. “We could also hang out at our lake sometime. The one on our property.”
I suggested it without thinking too much. I just didn’t want her to feel like I was using her for access to her world. As much as I liked Tyler’s house, I didn’t want Tia to think I was trying to step into a more luxurious life by clinging to her. I wanted our friendship to feel real.
“That sounds fun,” she said with a genuine smile. “I’ve always thought your place was so pretty. All that nature. It’s just real, you know? Tyler’s home is gorgeous, but it’s almosttooperfect. I grew up on a farm, actually. Back in Montana.”
That caught me off guard. “Really?”
“Oh yeah,” she said. “My grandparents had a ranch. We had horses, bulls, the whole deal. But when they passed away, my dad sold everything and we moved here. I miss it sometimes.”
I looked at her more closely as she talked. There was something really open about her in that moment. And the more she shared, the more I liked the idea of her coming over sometime. She wasn’t the snobby rich girl I used to think she was. She was just…Tia. And I was glad she was becoming my friend.
We sat there for another half hour or so, just talking. Then we both agreed it was time to head home.
As much fun as I had with my new friend, I really missed the guys.
Twenty
Tripp
Bliss had found a friend, and she’d been happier than ever lately. Not that she hadn’t been happy around us, but seeing her hang out with Tia made it pretty clear that a real friend, someone outside the family, was something she’d been needing for a while now.
