Chapter Thirty-Two
Grace
Friday morning, I pulled up in the dorm parking lot of Hadley Hall in my pink truck. The parking lot was full of well-dressed people loading things into fancy cars. My phone beeped.
Riley
Waiting for you in the pickup line.
Riley stood there in fishnets, combat boots, a black skirt, and a band T-shirt.
Her braids had been taken out, and today her hair was in a style that I could only describe as ‘anime girl’ buns with green clip-ins.
The last few things from her room sat beside her–like her bedding and a few personal items.
Rolling down the window, I yelled, “Get in the car, fucker, we’re going shopping.”
Wait. We were at her school. Should I have said that? Probably not.
“You’re speaking my language.” Riley beamed and threw most of the stuff in the truck's bed, then got into the small, two-seater truck with her backpack.
Someone came over to us, and I signed Riley out, glad no one called me out for swearing.
“I love this truck. It just fits us and some dead bodies. Perfect.” Riley grinned. “Um, can we actually go shopping?”
“While I have a couple of things that I need to do today for work, we can if you’d like to. How was the dance? The pictures made it look fun.” I started driving.
“It was great, but…” Riley got quiet. “Be cool, okay?” Her anise scent flared with anxiety.
“Of course.”
“Hiro and I kissed last night. I… I really like him,” she confessed.
“I’m glad. Will you be okay working with him for the internship program?” It was only four weeks, but four weeks could be a very long time with someone you’re awkward with.
“Fuck yeah.” She nodded.
“Okay. What do you want to do right now, then? We’re going to the mall with Spencer tomorrow.” I was looking forward to it.
“We can go to a different mall. Go get manicures, have bubble tea, maybe look for clothes for the party? If you’d like to buy me some work-appropriate clothing, I won’t be sad.” She grinned as she set the navigation on her phone.
“Is there a movie theatre there? That new rom-com you were talking about opens today,” I stated.
“Yes. They have enormous screens there, and nice chairs, but they don’t bring you food,” she replied.
I nodded. “Sounds great.”
We drove to the mall and got our movie tickets and then went to get manicures. Riley had already made us appointments. I texted the group chat and sent them my location.
Me
Riley and I are having a girls' trip to the mall.
Spencer
Be safe. Family dinner tonight still?
Brennan
Yes. Riley and Jett are cooking.
Me
I still have work to do, so we’ll be home in time.
Wes
I have a few things to do, but if you’d like, I can join you?
I looked at Riley. “Wes wants to join us.”
She shook her head and texted.
Riley
It’s girls’ day, fuckers. No boys allowed. I’ll be home in time to cook.
“Someone might just show up,” I said to her as we went to the food court to get bubble tea. I’d been to this mall before with Evan and Riley to buy things for the PIIP conference.
“I know. It’s so fucking annoying,” Riley huffed. “Possessive shitheads.”
“Yeah, but they’re our possessive shitheads.” I added our manicure and movie times to the chat.
We sipped our bubble teas and had our manicures. I got hot pink, Riley got dark green. Riley filled me in on all the gossip from the dance and some end-of-school drama.
After we finished and I paid, she dragged me off to a popular teenage store.
“Can I get clothes for work here?” She batted her eyelashes at me.
“Maybe?” I looked around and started assembling some things that were her style but fit the Compass BioTek scientist professional casual dress code well enough.
Riley tried on some outfits, and I got her a few. After all, I had a paycheck now. I also found a couple of cute swimsuits since I'd thrown out the ones I’d gotten for the PIIP symposium.
“I need stickers for my truck,” I added. Yes, I wanted to put fun stickers all over my brand new truck.
“I know just the place.” Riley took me to a shop with a lot of obscene stickers that I wouldn’t put on my truck, but I picked up a few to stick on the e-reader that Spencer got me. We went to another store, where I found a few good ones.
She then led me to another shop. “Here, this is where Sonja found her dress for her elopement.”
The shop was filled with wedding and formal dresses. While Eunice the fancy wedding planner had sent me ideas of what to wear for my party with Spencer, as had Evan, I still wasn’t sure. A lot of brides wore gold, but that also varied by culture and preference.
Riley found some things, but nothing I tried on was quite what I wanted.
“I like.” Riley came out in a flowy green dressy romper that had long pants but was sleeveless. The party's colors were mauve, green, and lavender to go with our fancy summer picnic theme.
“You look great. I’m not sure about this one.” I looked down. The sleek minimalist dress was lovely, but it wasn’t quite what I was looking for.
“You’re not doing something poofy?” Riley asked.
“For the one with your brother and Wes, yes. For this one, I was thinking of something simple and elegant.”
“Okay, I see that,” she agreed.
We finished up, bought the pantsuit, looked in another store that didn’t have what I wanted, grabbed some lunch, and found some shoes.
She checked the time. “You know we’re being followed, right?”
“By which one?” I checked the location app on my phone. “Never mind. It’s Brennan.”
“We’re going to ignore him.” Riley took me into a really nice department store. “This is where I got my black dress that I wore to the other dance.”
We looked through all the racks of dresses. I tried some on. But nothing was right.
“We have time. Maybe the fancy mall will have something. There’s a store I have in mind, but this was fun,” she told me as we went to the theater to see our movie.
“I’m having a great time.” I bought popcorn, soda, and candy.
“Need help?” Brennan stood there in one of his work suits.
Riley eyed him. “We can go to the movies ourselves, you overprotective fuck.”
“I know. I wasn’t going to see the movie with you, because I have an online meeting with one of my overseas properties. But I was in the area, so I just thought I’d stop by to make sure that everyone was okay.” He gave me a kiss.
“Thanks.” That was sweet.
“Sure.” Riley rolled her eyes.
“Are you going to shop more after this?” he asked me.
“I actually need to get some work done today. So probably not. We’ll be safe. And I can carry the snacks. Thanks.” I got the snacks. Riley and I went into the theatre, which had stadium seats and a gigantic screen.
“Such a sap.” Riley snorted. “You know he's probably going to do his meeting from the work lounge here or something.”
“Probably.” I texted him.
Me
Thank you.
Brennan
That blush dress you tried on was pretty. So was the one with the green flowers.
Me
They were. I sort of want them. But they aren’t what I want for my party with Spencer.
Brennan
That makes sense. Though they’d be perfect for so many other things.
We watched the movie then Riley and I got cupcakes.
“Sadly, we need to head home,” I apologized, as I finished my chocolate cupcake.
“That’s okay. I’m on dinner duty anyway. This was fun. I enjoy having time with just you,” she replied.
“Me, too.”
I frowned when we got to the car. A bag from a department store lay across my seat.
“You have a stalker.” Riley put her purchases in the small space behind our seats.
There was a little note. You deserve something pretty, Bren. Also, stop and get you and Riley a treat on the way home.
“A stalker named Bren.” I laughed. Inside was the blush dress and the green dress. Warmth flowed through me.
“Nice choices,” Riley said. “Such a sap though.”
Maybe. But that sap was mine. They all were.