Page 75 of Secrets (The Sins Trilogy 2)
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Iris
About two hours after Tony and I get home, my friends descend upon us. Julie arrives first, fashionable in a skintight electric-purple dress that she pulls off with a confident strut. Her hair’s teased to the nth degree and looks great. Her eyes stand out, mesmerizingly, thanks to extra eyeliner and mascara. We hug. She’s apparently been busy, but I’m so glad she accepted my invitation.
Yuna comes with Mr. Kim. I swear the man never leaves her side. She’s in a super-adorable sleeveless white top and a merlot-colored skirt with an asymmetrical hem. The heels she has on look lethal—high and sharp. Unlike Julie, she hasn’t teased her hair, opting to let it fall naturally around her shoulders and back. A great choice, since she has such amazingly thick, straight hair. She’s done smoky makeup and fake lashes that flutter like butterfly wings every time she opens and closes her eyes. She takes one look at me and shakes her head. “Come on, Iris. This isn’t a white-collar job interview.”
“Don’t worry. I’m going to change before we go.”
Yuna lights up. “Let me see what you got!” She starts dragging me up the stairs.
I look at Tony over my shoulder, but he merely smiles and waves, mouthing, Have fun.
Julie follows us, and soon, both of my friends are in my closet. Well. Tony’s and my closet.
“Wow. Your man has great taste,” Yuna says, checking out his clothes.
“Don’t touch his stuff,” I say. “He’s peculiar,” I add, just so Julie doesn’t join in.
“He’s not going to know. My hands are extra clean. Mr. Kim gave me hand sanitizer before I came here.”
“Hand sanitizer?”
“Just to be safe. He’s a little OCD about stuff like that,” Yuna says, now finally in my part of the closet and going through my dresses. “I think Dad put him up to it, to make sure I don’t get sick in the States. I told him this is a first-world country, but…” She shrugs, then pulls out a bright red dress. “How about this one? It shows off your neck and shoulders and a bit of cleavage. And it’s short.”
“I love it,” Julie says, watching us with her arms crossed.
“Of course you love it! You made me buy it,” I say.
“Because I’m awesome like that.”
“You have good taste,” Yuna says to Julie with a grin. “This is exactly what Iris needs for clubbing. And those.” She points to a pair of silvery stiletto sandals. “They’re broken in, right?”
“No,” I say. “Impulse buy because they looked pretty.”
“No biggie. If the straps chafe, just put on some Band-Aids. God gave us Band-Aids for a reason.”
“I thought you were a Buddhist,” Julie says.
“I am, but it sounds weird to say Buddha gave us Band-Aids, doesn’t it?” Yuna says, totally unfazed. “Come on. Strip and change.”
I roll my eyes, pretending not to notice the snippy interaction between the two of them. I don’t want to intervene and be forced to take sides. I pause when Yuna and Julie don’t make any move to leave. “Are you going to give me some privacy?”
“No. Why? Do you think I’m going to pounce on you?” Yuna leans forward. “I thought that was Tony’s job.”
My cheeks grow hot. “You’re terrible.”
“Just do it. You don’t have anything I don’t have…or haven’t seen.”
She’s probably right. According to her, we shared the same apartment near Curtis for three years. You tend to see a lot when you live together. I get out of my blouse and slacks and put on the dress. It hugs me tightly, and the cleavage is a bit more eye-popping than I remember. Have I gained weight?
“You look hot. Put these on.” Yuna hands me a pair of long, dangly earrings. “And we’re going to work on your makeup.”
“What’s wrong with it?” I ask, putting on the earrings.
Yuna blinks. “You were going to go like this?”
“I don’t know if I need to redo it.” My makeup’s on the understated side, but that’s what I’m usually comfortable with.
