Chapter 17
17
‘Come on then, spill the beans,’ Faye says, her voice echoing slightly in the fitting room area. She and Molly are lounging on a bench just outside the dressing room, where I’m currently trying on what feels like the millionth dress of the day.
‘Not great,’ I call back from behind the curtain. ‘Honestly, it actually went worse than I was expecting it to.’
‘You got in though, right?’ Faye checks.
‘You didn’t get turned away for not having a gold-plated handbag or something?’ Molly jokes.
‘Oh, yeah, I got in,’ I reply. ‘That wasn’t the issue at all. I wasn’t expecting much, I had managed expectations. I was just hoping to find someone obnoxious enough to take to Seph’s wedding, who would out-rich them and out-posh them and make me feel better about the whole thing.’
‘So, what happened?’ Molly asks, almost excitedly.
‘I was wandering around the club, feeling like a complete ghost because no one was even looking at me. I went to the bar, I ordered a drink – it cost ￡32.’
‘Daylight robbery,’ Molly replies.
‘I nearly spat it back out, in shock, but it was too expensive to waste,’ I joke. ‘Anyway, I’m standing there, trying to figure out how I’m going to talk to anyone, when this guy approaches me.’
‘Finally!’ Molly says. ‘Who was he? Was he hot?’
‘Well, that’s the thing,’ I say, pausing for dramatic effect. ‘It wasn’t just some random guy. It was Fergus… my sister’s ex-boyfriend.’
‘No!’ Faye shrieks.
‘Yep,’ I confirm. ‘He comes over, all smiles, and starts chatting like we’re old friends. Offers to buy me a drink, which I obviously accepted because there was no way I was paying for another one of those overpriced cocktails.’
‘What happened next?’ Molly asks – honestly, she’s enjoying this way too much.
‘We sat down, had a little chat, and then out of nowhere, he tells me he’s always thought I was “interesting” and “beautiful”. And then he offered to be my date to the wedding.’
‘No way!’ Faye exclaims. ‘That is unhinged.’
‘I know, right? I mean, on the one hand, turning up with Seph’s ex would definitely make a statement. But on the other hand, it just felt… wrong, you know? Like, I want to piss them off, but I don’t want to actually hurt anyone. That’s not me,’ I explain.
‘You’re right,’ Molly says. ‘But seriously, what was he thinking? That sounds so awkward.’
‘I know,’ I say, laughing a little. ‘And to make things worse, he tried to kiss me.’
‘The audacity of men,’ Faye says.
‘I had to pull back and tell him that was definitely not happening,’ I continue. ‘He told me I was crazy and that if he were me, he’d burn Seph’s wedding to the ground.’
‘Oh my God,’ Molly says with a gasp. ‘That’s intense.’
‘Yeah, I could have really used that fake phone-call app everyone at work thinks is so stupid,’ I joke. ‘It would’ve been perfect for that moment.’
Faye snorts.
‘Forget the phone call, you needed an ex-orcist,’ she quips.
We all burst out laughing at that.
‘So, it’s back to the drawing board, I guess,’ I tell them with a sigh, smoothing out the dress, almost ready to step out and show them.
‘Maybe you’re not out of options just yet,’ Molly says. ‘What about Redflags?’
‘What do you mean?’ I ask, frowning slightly.
‘Well, some of the guys posted on there are total creeps, sure, but some of them are just really shitty dates,’ she tells me. ‘You could use the app to find those guys and go on dates with them, see if any of them might be right for the wedding.’
Use Redflags for bad instead of good?
‘That’s… actually kind of brilliant. Crazy, sure, but so crazy that it might work,’ I reply.
‘You should definitely give it a go,’ Faye says. ‘Even if it’s a stupid idea, it might be a fun exercise, and good feedback for the app.’
‘Maybe I will,’ I say as I step out of the changing room.
The dress I’m wearing is… well, it’s something else. It’s black and tight, stopping about halfway down my thigh, clinging to my curves in all the right ways. The neckline is high, but the middle of the dress features a panel of see-through black mesh that plunges almost down to my belly button. The hips have mesh panels too, giving the whole thing an edgy, daring look. It’s the kind of dress that meets the dress code with the high neck but definitely pushes the boundaries with the mesh panels. Seph never said anything about mesh, though, so technically, I’m in the clear.
‘Oh my God, perfect,’ Molly says, practically squealing.
‘Are you kidding me? I’d fuck you in that thing,’ Faye adds, giving me a quiet round of applause.
I bite my lip, turning slightly to get a better view of the back in the mirror.
‘Are you sure?’ I ask.
‘You might have to buy me dinner first,’ Faye jokes, making us all laugh again.
‘No, I mean about wearing it to the wedding,’ I clarify, still feeling a little unsure.
‘Absolutely,’ Faye says, nodding emphatically.
‘Honestly, it’s so nice,’ Molly adds. ‘You look so comfortable, and so yourself in it.’
‘I feel it,’ I reply, feeling a smile tug at the sides of my lips. ‘I feel really good in it, really confident.’
‘Then buy it,’ Faye commands me.
I smile to myself, looking at my reflection one more time. The dress is so me, and it does technically fit the dress code. My family might hate it, but that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? They already think I’m beneath them, so why not show up in something that’s completely and unapologetically me?
‘Okay,’ I say finally. ‘I’ll take it.’
And everyone else can deal with it.