Chapter 8 #3
He disagreed, one eyebrow quirked. “At least you seem to be talking a lot more today. Leave it to the Lents. If there’s one thing we’re good at, we can get a pretty girl talking.
” He finally stepped toward the door. “I think eventually you’ll learn that you …
are very important to us, too. By the way, if you don’t like what I picked out, wear whatever makes you feel confident. You can’t go wrong.”
I certainly could, but I closed the door to my room behind him. For a couple of seconds, I just breathed through my nose, moved by his presence. Do they have to be so hot?
Whatever, I needed to focus and get dressed.
I glanced at the hangers, finally paying attention to his choices.
The silk, long sleeved shirt with a frilly, flared design at the wrist was called a statement piece by their grandmother, not that I knew what she meant.
Julian must have liked it, too, since he paired the shirt with a very black, very short jumper dress.
I took a second, holding them against each other, trying to decide how he intended me to wear them.
It took me a second to realize what he must have noticed much faster than me—I could put the shirt underneath the black dress.
Both were short, so I spent a few seconds shocked at how much leg it would reveal.
I wasn’t sure I would’ve dared to wear it normally, since the outfit drew attention—the polar opposite of my invisibility goal.
Maybe I would’ve worn the shirt with a pair of jeans?
I lifted my hair, tilting my head back and forth while considering my reflection.
If I saw it as a costume, intended to make me fit into the otherwise alien landscape, maybe I could play the part for a night?
My hair proved more of a problem than I expected.
I dropped my arms then stared at it. My style usually was either all over the place or braided.
I pulled it up again, letting some of the wild, curling strands free while I tucked the rest into as neat of a bun as I could manage.
Turning my head side to side, I decided it was the best I could manage on my own—close enough.
I sighed, glancing at my dresser. I used to keep makeup on top of my dresser, but I threw away what little I had in Chicago.
I missed my lip gloss most, but it wasn’t like I could pop some into existence with a wish.
Several new pairs of shoes—gifts from their grandmother, despite me keeping my old sneakers—sat near the door and I glanced over them.
None specifically matched the outfit, but I picked up the pair with the lowest heels, the black ones, and slid them onto my feet.
I glanced back, only hesitating a second before heading back for my one treat salvaged from my life in San Francisco.
I spotted it in a vendor’s shop one day on a walk, and I couldn’t resist the necklace.
It wasn’t expensive or anything, costing only about ten bucks when I bought it, but I didn’t buy much for myself, so it was special.
I remembered my aunt’s derision when she saw the piece, calling it eh , but I put it on.
Since she got rid of me the next month anyway, it wasn’t as if me pretending to be someone I wasn’t would win me any favors.
I twirled the gold circle on the end of the long gold chain, enjoying the weight of the piece against my fingers.
I didn’t know why I liked it so much, but I did.
I rolled it in my fingers, pleased as usual at its simplicity, almost calmed just by holding it.
If jewelry said something about the wearer, I didn’t mind whatever it said about me.
Maybe it said I was simple, eh , and maybe people would get sick of me.
I couldn’t pretend to be upset about it, since at least I knew who I was— apparently I’m the kind of person who sees a golden circle and finds it beautiful , I mused, twirling the circle again.
Someday, maybe I would even be proud of my choices. Eventually.
I grabbed my green purse, though it didn’t match the outfit, then headed out to join the Lents. Abruptly, I realized I might be overdressed compared to them.
Their conversation came to an abrupt halt as soon as I entered the room. They leaned against the wall by the powder room, but all three just stared at me.
Jeremy licked his lips, an almost predatory gaze coming into his eyes. “You look gorgeous.” His smile grew, the flash of his teeth almost a promise as he added, “Like … I want to look at you all night in that. I’ll even pretend to like jazz.”
I grinned back at him, finding his overt charm amusing. “Thanks.”
“We have to change.” Barrett pushed abruptly away from the wall. “She looks like a million dollars. We gotta up our game. Come on, you two. We take her home, get changed real quick, then head to the club. It’ll cut half an hour off the music, but you’ll have to endure, Jer. Let’s go.”
Julian nodded, his gaze locked on my body. “I knew you would make that outfit look special. He’s right, for once. We have to look as good as you.”
I swallowed, my palms going sweaty with nerves as I pressed them against my thighs. I never got invited into people’s homes, but in such a short period of time, I’d visited both their grandmother and them? If life keeps up at this pace, I might even become normal, I thought with a mental snicker.
They didn’t live very far away, which surprised me but was lucky, considering my shoe choice.
Several blocks down Park Avenue, their doormen greeted them by name.
They laughed and talked the entire way to their apartment.
If any of them noticed I went silent, at least they didn’t mention it.
I reminded myself I wanted friends, wanted normal.
Why were my nerves clanging in alarm, then?
I literally was getting a sample of the life I intended to live one day.
It might not make sense, but I couldn’t squash my nerves regardless.
I blew out my breath, reminding myself I spent a lot of time alone with the three brothers so far. Nothing changed, not really, other than location. Still, as we entered the Lenox Hill neighborhood, my heart rate kicked up.
They lived on the fifth floor, where Barrett turned to me to say, “We live here. Technically, it’s my father’s place, but he lives in the penthouse with my mom and my …
uncles.” I noticed the couple of beats or breaths between the words, and wondered if I imagined it, before he continued.
“Anyway, they let us live here. We could get into trouble, I suppose, being alone underage, but we own several of the apartments in the building. No one ever says anything. Besides, I’m over eighteen now anyway.
It’s probably not even a problem anymore. ”
I found their living circumstances interesting, actually.
On one hand, how cool? They got to live alone like grownups.
I would love to live alone, not having to answer to anyone but my own choices.
I could hardly imagine a world like that …
one with no more aunts . No more people judging, judging, judging.
My musings came to an abrupt halt as I noticed the art.
Tree branches crawled up to the high living room walls, painted until they touched the cathedral style ceiling, creating a startling beautiful and dramatic space.
The ivory background not only seemed well suited to the art, but it also drew attention to the several plants dispersed around the room.
I couldn’t lie, it wasn’t what I expected from them.
In fact, I never saw anything like their home before in my life.
“My mom painted it,” Julian explained with a gesture as he walked past us. “She’s got … interesting tastes. People usually say cheesy or cringe , but it makes her happy—especially big projects like this one. It makes her happy, so all of our apartments have something by her.”
I nodded, my gaze still wandering over the curling branches. “Do all of the rooms carry the plant theme?”
Jeremy sighed, his tone almost apologetic. “They do, except our bedrooms. We got to choose our spaces ourselves. I know, it’s ugly, right?”
“I don’t think it’s ugly,” I blurted quickly, surprised at the defense in my own tone, but then I realized I meant it, so I added, “I think … few people get to be themselves. You know, exactly how they want to be? Still, we can all try to do our best. These are her spaces, and she knew her children would live here, so she gave it her touch. I like it, even if I wouldn’t do this kind of thing myself.
Then again, maybe I’m just not as interesting as her. ”
They all stared at me for long silent seconds, so I swallowed, insecure under so much attention. “Did I … did I just say something wrong?”
“No.” Barrett smiled slowly, stepping closer to me. “You’re plenty interesting.”
Julian pointed out, “She likes Granny’s red walls, too. The women in my family, they know what they want. The men love that about them.”
What is that like? I really had no idea .