36. Dahlia
DAHLIA
LA is a whirlwind! On Friday, Jane and I fly in mid-morning. We have the day to relax and explore. She takes me to some of her favorite spots and then in the evening we go to watch Eddie perform. Tonight’s concert is at a small venue where he had his first gig.
An assistant named Beverly hands us passes and shows us to a table near the front of the stage where we can watch the concert. Jane is subdued while I’m not-so-silently freaking out.
“How are you so chill?” I ask as I try to stop my leg from bouncing up and down. I run my palms up and down my thighs.
“What? I’m not chill,” she says brightly. “I’m so excited for you!”
“Us. Excited for us. You get to meet Eddie Dillon, and I get to dress him. Maybe. Hopefully.”
“You will.” She squeezes my hand. “You are the most talented and deserving person I know.”
“Wow.” I wipe a tear from the corner of my eye and chuckle. “Way to ruin my makeup, bitch.”
“I love you,” she says, and rests her head on my shoulder.
“Love you, Jane.” I tilt my head against hers. “Thank you for being here.”
“You always show up for other people, and I’m really happy that I get to return the favor today.”
My phone pings. I glance down to my lap and Jane sits straight.
Felix
You don’t need it but sending you all the good luck today. Knock ’em dead.
“Felix?” Jane asks.
“How’d you know?”
“You’re smiling like you only smile for him.”
I run my finger along his message. “Is it weird to say I’m a little disappointed that I’m here this weekend and not watching a college football game?”
She laughs. “Yes.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I am so thankful for the opportunity.”
“I know, babe,” she says with a reassuring smile. “Does that mean you’ve decided to officially be hottie QB’s girlfriend?”
Eddie walks onto stage. People around us clap and yell. He lifts one hand, the other is holding a bottle of water.
I tuck my phone away for now. “One life-altering thing at a time.”
The concert is amazing. Beverly returns for us, and Jane and I follow her backstage, down a winding hall before she stops in front of a room and motions for us to go ahead.
My stomach has been in one giant knot since he walked onto the stage earlier, but my mouth goes dry and my face gets hot as I step in and see Eddie sitting on a brown leather couch.
Eddie Dillon is exactly how he seems in videos and pictures. Handsome, suave, larger than life. I’m not attracted to him in the same way I am Felix, but he still makes me incredibly nervous.
Eddie stands and flashes a warm smile. His hair is damp, and he smells like soap.
“Dahlia.” He hugs me, a quick one arm around the neck embrace. “How are you?”
“Hi. Good.” I move to the side and look to Jane. “Eddie, this is my friend, Jane.”
“Jane.” His brows pinch together as he extends a hand for her to shake. “Did you come with Dahlia last trip?”
“No. That was Violet,” she says. “I’m one of the other roommates.”
“Ah,” he says, nodding.
Jane doesn’t miss a beat. “You were incredible out there.”
“Right,” I add. “So good.”
“Thanks.” He turns his attention back to me. “You’re here. I’m so stoked to see what you have for me.”
“I gave Beverly the pants, but I have photos on my phone. I’m really happy with how the pants came out, but if you don’t love them, I will totally understand. And I brought my sketchbook with a few more ideas I’ve been working on.” I pat my purse where I have it stowed.
Jane nudges me lightly with her elbow.
“Sorry, I’m rambling,” I say, feeling the heat in my face. “I’m really excited about this opportunity.”
He takes a seat and leans back and hits me with one of his trademark sexy grins. It doesn’t flip my stomach, like I’m sure it does most girls, but it reminds me of Felix and that settles me a little. If he were here, he’d tell me to take a breath and remind me that I’m amazing.
“I can’t wait to see it all,” he says, motioning to the chairs next to the couch. “Sit. Sit. Let’s catch up and you can wow me with fashion tomorrow.”
I relax, knowing I have another day before he sees my work.
The three of us sit and chat. It doesn’t take long to catch up, since Eddie and I aren’t exactly BFFs, but Jane and I ask about his tour and then soak in every detail he offers up.
His life is so interesting, but I get the feeling it’s lonely at times too.
He tells us the travel is amazing but brutal.
That he often forgets what city he’s in and that he hasn’t seen his family in months.
“What about you?” He takes a long drink of water. “How’s college life? I thought about college, but school was never really my thing.”
“It’s good,” I say. “And classes are only a small part of it.”
“Frat parties and beer bongs then?” He quirks a brow.
“A little of that,” I admit.
He smiles, staring at me a little more closely. “You seem different. New haircut?”
“Umm…no. It’s the same.” I run a hand over the long strands hanging over one shoulder.
“It’s something. Don’t tell me. It’ll come to me.” His gaze slides to Jane and he shakes a finger. “And you. You look familiar. You’re sure you didn’t come to the concert this summer?”
“I get that a lot. I have one of those faces.”
He smiles. Bev steps into the room. “Mark wants to see you before you leave.”
“Tell him I’ll be right there,” Eddie says. “I have a few things I need to do.”
“Of course,” I say. “Thank you so much for inviting us tonight.”
We say our goodbyes, and then Jane and I head back to the hotel. I’m exhausted from a week of crappy sleep, so we order room service and put on an old movie. Jane falls asleep quickly, but I’m restless. More often than I’d like to admit, my mind wanders to Felix.
We’ve exchanged a few texts, but nothing substantial.
It’s Homecoming weekend and he’s been busy with a bunch of media stuff: interviews and photos, and that’s in addition to the events he has to drop by with the rest of the team.
Last night, they had to attend an alumni mixer for past Valley U football players.
Tonight, they have to go to the bonfire where the Homecoming royalty is announced.
And in all of it, Felix is front and center.
He grumbles about it, but he handles the pressure of being the face of the team well.
Plus, his face is a really, really good one.
Saturday morning, a car picks us up and takes us to the stadium where Eddie will be performing tonight. This place is way bigger. Bev is, once again, our tour guide. She takes us through a maze of hallways until we reach our destination.
When we finally step into a room behind her, my heart races. Racks of clothing are pushed to one side, while on the other side, people are busy doing things from mending to steaming clothes. The energy is focused but a little chaotic. I love it.
“Dahlia!” Eddie calls from the back of the room. Two women stand in front of him, circling and eyeing his outfit. When they finish, he steps forward to greet us. “You made it just in time. I was saving your pants for last, hoping you’d be here for the reveal.”
“I’m so excited,” I say honestly. “And I love that. Amiri?”
He glances down and pulls at the shirt. “Good eye. They sent a few items over this morning.”
He turns and heads back to the women who are now eyeing me and Jane carefully. “Come on. Let me introduce you to some people.”
So many people have a hand in Eddie’s wardrobe it’s a little overwhelming.
I meet his stylists, Maria and Emily, the head of wardrobe, Victor, and all the crew who travel with him, plus several more people that I don’t catch the titles or names of, but who are performing tasks ranging from fixing clothing items to labeling and organizing everything in a very specific way.
Seeing Eddie in the pants I created is totally surreal. They fit him perfectly and the smile that lights up his face makes me feel prouder than I ever have.
He’s handed several shirts to try on with them. I bite the corner of my lip as I watch it all come together. He tries on a mesh tank top first that Maria immediately vetoes, then a button down. Emily brings a hand to her mouth as she studies him.
“I imagined it with a basic white T-shirt,” I say. Everyone stops moving and looks at me. I feel the flush on my cheeks but keep going. I step to a rack of shirts and pull one off. “Something like this.”
Eddie shrugs and holds his hand out. “I love a basic tee.”
“Me too. It’s classic,” I say.
I’m relieved when he puts it on, and everyone seems to okay the look.
Both pieces are labeled and organized with the others. Jane and I sit back and observe as they finalize the other outfits.
A couple of times, Eddie asks my opinion. I can’t get a read on his head of wardrobe, Victor. Maybe I’m overstepping, but Eddie invited me and he’s asking, so I give him my thoughts when asked.
When it’s all done, Victor comes over to me. He hands me an envelope. “The construction of the pants was pretty good.”
“Thank you,” I say like I’m not sure it was a compliment. Pretty good?
“If you’re ever looking for a job, let me know.”
I’m stunned, but manage to get out another thanks before he turns and starts barking orders to his team.
“OMG!” Jane screeches. “I think he likes you.”
“I thought he was going to yell at me.”
“Yeah, well, something tells me you’d have to get used to that if you worked for him.” She nods toward the envelope. “What’s that?”
“I’m not sure.” With shaky fingers, I open it and pull out a check. A very large check. Eddie and I didn’t discuss payment, but this is more than I ever would have asked for. “Woah.”
Jane laughs. “I guess you’re buying lunch.”
Lunch ends up being catered. Eddie invites us to his dressing room to hang out while we eat. He barely gets a bite in before he’s pulled to do…something. I don’t know when he has time to relax, let alone eat. Again, it reminds me of Felix.
I pull out my phone to check on the game.
“What’s the score?” Jane asks.
I look up from my phone. “It hasn’t started yet.”
“Sports fan?” Eddie asks, coming back into the room and taking a seat with his food.
“Not exactly.”