Briar
“What about this dress?”
Poppy pulls a pretty green cocktail dress from her closet and holds it up.
“I think it would look so good with your eyes. It would really bring out the green in them,” she says to me.
“Oh, that’s beautiful,” I say. “Can I try it on?”
Poppy grins and nods. I head to her bathroom and change into it.
She and Anna invited me over to Poppy’s apartment to try on dresses to wear for the Hollis U hockey dinner this weekend, since we’re all going.
Anna brought a bunch of dresses for all of us to try on, but I’m closer to Poppy’s size.
I’m a little bit shorter than her at five-foot-three, but we wear the same dress size.
When I walk out of the room, both Poppy and Anna gasp.
“Oh wow!” Anna says.
“That dress was made for you,” Poppy says.
She grabs my shoulders and turns me so I’m in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom. When I see my reflection, I smile.
This one-shoulder dress hits a few inches below my knees and is made of the prettiest satin material. Delicate pleating detail fans out from the side of the dress, making it look so elegant.
“Oh, I love this,” I say softly.
“You have to wear this dress,” Anna says.
I turn to Poppy. “You sure it’s okay for me to borrow it?”
She nods. “Absolutely. You look stunning in it.”
I hug her. “Thank you.” I look at both her and Poppy. “And thanks for inviting me over to try on dresses. I thought I’d have to go shopping for a new dress I could barely afford for this dinner, but you guys saved me.”
“We both have tons of dresses. We’re happy to share with you,” Anna says.
I change back into my clothes and help Anna and Poppy pick out what dresses they’re going to wear to the dinner. Poppy chooses an off-the-shoulder red cocktail dress, and Anna chooses a black strapless one with an asymmetrical hem.
Anna offers to drive me to Blake’s house so I don’t have to walk there while carrying the dress. We all decide to grab lunch on the way. We end up at a sandwich place a half-mile from Blake’s house.
As we chat and eat, I catch myself smiling and laughing nonstop.
Poppy and Anna are such wonderful new friends.
They’ve gone out of their way to make me feel welcome and included since I moved here.
Sometimes, especially when I’ve hung out with two best friends, I feel like the awkward third wheel.
But never with Poppy and Anna. They’re so kind and warm.
After we eat, Anna drives me home. She and Poppy head inside with me. When we step through the front door, the first thing I see is a massive bouquet of peonies in every color sitting in a vase on the dining table. My favorite flower.
My breath instantly catches.
“Oh wow,” Poppy says.
I set the dress on the couch and walk over to the flowers. There’s a small card propped up against the vase with my name written in Blake’s handwriting.
I open it and read it.
Hey, B.
Hope these make you smile.
-B
A massive grin splits my face, and my tummy flutters.
“Let me guess. Those are from Blake?” Anna says in a teasing tone.
“Yup,” I say, unable to hide the massive grin splitting my face as I glance down at the card again.
I love it when he writes notes to me and signs them as just “B.” And when he calls me “B.” I know it’s silly, but it makes me feel special knowing that the first letter of our names has become a cute little nickname we share.
“What’s the occasion?” Anna asks.
I shake my head, my cheeks flushing. “Nothing, really. I had an argument with my mom the other night, so I think Blake is trying to cheer me up.”
Anna’s smile fades. “Oh, shoot. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. My parents are mad that I transferred to Hollis after breaking up with my ex, so we’ve been arguing a lot lately.”
Poppy gently grabs my arm. “I’m sorry. It’s so hard when you don’t get along with your parents.”
I let out a heavy breath. “Yeah, it is.”
“I had a brief rift with my parents last year when I told them I didn’t want to go to law school and instead wanted to focus on building my YouTube channel. They were really upset with me,” Poppy says.
“I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
Poppy offers a sad smile. “It’s okay. They were hung up on the expectation that I’d become a lawyer like them, and when I wanted to follow my own path, they cut me off.”
“That’s horrible,” I say.
“Eventually they came around. They apologized for what they did, and things are good between us now,” Poppy says. “Maybe that’ll happen with your parents too.”
I let out a sad sigh. “Maybe. I’m not holding my breath though.”
I lean down and inhale the delicate, sweet scent of the peonies. I run my fingertips over the soft petals and turn back to Poppy. “How did you get through it? Being on the outs with your parents?”
Poppy looks at Anna standing next to her and gives her a warm smile. “I leaned on my best friend a lot.” She turns to me. “And Nick. He was amazing. He was my rock. I wouldn’t have gotten through it without his support.”
I notice the way Poppy’s eyes light up when she talks about Nick. I think about all the amazing things Blake has done for me.
How he stayed up all night while I cried to him about my breakup. How he helped me enroll at Hollis. How he let me move into his house and gave up his bed for me. How he takes me out for tacos whenever I’m hungry. How he surprises me with my favorite flowers to cheer me up.
Warmth and tingles loop through my chest.
“Blake’s been amazing,” I say. “He’s been there for me through everything these past few months. He goes out of his way to cheer me up and make me laugh. He checks up on me constantly. He’s the best friend I could ever ask for.”
I see that knowing expression on Anna’s face once more. She tilts her head, almost like she’s silently saying, “Are you kidding me?”
“It just seems like he likes you more than a friend,” she says. “We don’t see him treat any of his other friends like this. Do you?”
Poppy nods along with her best friend.
I hesitate for a second. They’re right. Blake doesn’t go out of his way to dote on any of his other friends. Just me.
A hopeful feeling sparks in my chest, but I try to ignore it. I know better than to get my hopes up when it comes to Blake.
“He’s just sweet like that because we’ve known each other for so long,” I say. “We’ve been best friends since we were fourteen. Almost eight years. If he were interested in me, he would have made a move by now.”
“Okay, but do you think there’s a possibility that he hasn’t made a move because he’s waiting for you to show interest in him?” Anna asks.
I hesitate. I hadn’t thought of that.
“Um, maybe?” I say.
“If Blake was interested in being more than friends with you, would you be up for that?” Poppy asks.
I bite my lip and nod, my cheeks heating. They both flash giddy grins at me.
“Maybe you just need to make a move,” Anna says.
I let out a soft groan. “I have. I mean, at least, I think I have.”
“What do you mean?” Poppy asks.
“The other night, after I got into an argument with my mom, Blake and I walked home from the diner. He was really sweet and comforted me. I was telling him goodnight and kissed him on the cheek.”
Both Anna’s and Poppy’s eyes go wide.
“What did he do?” Anna asks.
“Nothing. He just stood there and looked at me.”
“Oh.” She sounds disappointed.
I let out a sad laugh. “See? Told you. He’s not interested in being anything other than my friend.”
Poppy shakes her head. “Not necessarily. Maybe you just caught him off guard. Do you guys kiss on the cheek a lot?”
“No, never. And it wasn’t like I was testing him. I just really wanted to kiss his cheek. He was so sweet to me.”
“Maybe he wanted to kiss you too, but he was nervous,” Poppy says. “Maybe he didn’t want to misread the situation and make you uncomfortable.”
“Or maybe he was into it but thought that you were just being friendly,” Anna says. “Cheek kisses don’t always mean romance. I cheek kiss my grandparents sometimes.”
“Yeah, that’s a good point,” Poppy says.
“Maybe Blake is one of those guys where you have to make it really obvious that you’re into him,” Anna says. “Like, ‘grab him and shove your tongue in his throat’ obvious.”
My head spins with the endless speculations about whether or not Blake could be into me.
Anna grabs my hand. “Sorry, we’re not trying to overwhelm you,” she says quickly.
I let out a tired laugh. “It’s okay. I guess I’m just in a confusing spot right now. I love Blake as a friend and would be open to something more…but I don’t want to tell him how I feel and then ruin our friendship if he doesn’t feel the same way.”
They say they understand completely.
“Maybe just ease into it then,” Poppy says. “Be a little flirtier than normal and see how it goes.”
“I guess I could do that.”
I run upstairs to Blake’s bedroom and hang up my dress at the back of his closet. When I come back downstairs, Anna and Poppy are looking at Anna’s phone with wide eyes.
“What are you guys looking?” I ask.
“Just the latest video from our favorite Instagram thirst trap,” Anna says.
I burst out laughing. “What?”
I walk over to them, and they show me a reel from That Shirtless Guy.
“You guys follow him too?” I ask excitedly.
They both grin and nod.
“Yeah, he’s super hot,” Anna says.
I notice Poppy’s cheeks are flushed as she watches the reel of him doing push-ups while shirtless. His head is out of frame like it always is in his videos.
Beads of sweat trickle down his ripped chest and abs. When I hear the loud grunting noises he makes, I bite my lip. So hot.
“You’re a fan too?” Anna asks.
“Yeah. He’s really sexy.”
“There’s just something so appealing about a hot guy who doesn’t say much.”
Poppy and I laugh at Anna’s comment.
“And now we know why you ended up with Travis,” Poppy teases.
We watch the video one more time, then laugh at how ridiculous we all are.
I hug them, and they leave. Then I grab my bag and head out to work my shift at the library and text Blake.
Hey!!! Thank you SO MUCH for the flowers. They’re so beautiful!!
A couple of minutes later, he texts me back.
Blake: I’m so glad you like them :)
Me: They made my whole day :)
Blake: Good. I like seeing you happy.
I bite back a smile. And then I think about what Anna and Poppy said earlier. I’m definitely not brave enough to send Blake a dirty text or grab his face and shove my tongue in his mouth to see if he likes me…but maybe I should try being a little flirty.
Blake: Did you have fun trying on dresses with Anna and Poppy?
Me: Yeah, it was a blast! And I found the perfect dress.
I work up the nerve to send him another message. I quickly type it out and send it before I can talk myself out of it.
Me: It’s a little sexy…I’m excited for you to see me in it ;)
My heart races as I wait for him to reply.
When he doesn’t respond right away, I start to panic. Crap. I misread everything. He’s probably weirded out, and things are going to be so awkward when he sees me and…
A moment later, he replies. When I read his text, my nerves fade away. A giddy feeling swoops through me.
You in a sexy dress? Damn. I can’t wait to see ;)