35. Incite
Incite
Harper
I really want to try these dresses on. Both of them are stunning just on the hanger.
Butterflies tumble over themselves in my stomach.
I slip the green dress off the hanger to try on first. It’s a brocade floral dress.
The heavy fabric falls off my shoulders and tucks in at my waist before flaring out into a full skirt with some crinoline lining it.
It’s beautiful and unlike anything I’ve ever worn before. I step out of the dressing room and turn my back so Kenz can zip me up. Mom has her hand over her mouth.
“You look gorgeous, Harper,” she says.
I turn to look at the dress in the three-way mirror and press my hand over my heart. The dress fits like it was made for me. It’s perfect.
“Is this a contender?” Kenz steps up behind me and grins over my shoulder.
“Definitely in the running.” I smooth my hand down the front and turn to see if Caden is watching.
“He’s back on door duty.” Mom smiles. “Go try the other one on.”
Kenz unzips me and I slip behind the curtain. I undress and hand her the dress and hanger before looking at this lavender dress. There are cut peach flowers and little pearl beads on the low-cut purple bodice. It’s backless with a high waist but drapes in layers of pale lavender down to the floor.
This can’t be in our budget. The material feels like silk. But if Mom brought it to me, it must be. Maybe it’s on sale or has a flaw. But if it has a flaw, I don’t see it. It falls over my skin like a caress and while the brocade felt heavy and weighed me down, this one feels light and airy.
I step out, holding the front to my breasts, before I can be tempted to look in the mirror and wait for Kenz to zip me up and tie the top behind my neck. With my eyes closed, I turn to the mirrors. I really want this one to be the one.
When I open my eyes, I suck in a breath. It’s perfect and fits me like a glove. It’s beautiful and simple, but elegant.
“Oh, Harper.” Mom covers her mouth again, but her eyes are glassy.
When I turn to look at the back, the skirt floats around me like a cloud. It’s truly backless, but the waist is high enough. A shiver runs through me thinking of the guys touching my bare skin, leading me, holding me, dancing with me.
“If you don’t take that, I would.” Kenz lifts the skirt and rubs it between her fingers. “Your guys are going to have heart attacks when they see you in this. I don’t think they’ll let you out in public.”
I laugh, but she’s right. It’s not overly revealing, but it is. If I get attacked on Homecoming night, the other dress will weigh me down, but this feels like I can move in it. It’s not the best way to judge a dress, but I also really like this dress and will jump on any excuse to have it.
Mom steps up behind me and gathers my hair into a bun with soft tendrils hanging down by my ears. “This is beautiful, Harper. You look amazing in it.”
“This is the one.” I breathe out and stare at the dress in the mirror.
“Get dressed, and I’ll have them wrap this up.” Mom glances over her shoulder. “I want to talk before we go out to the car.”
The butterflies that this dress flooded me with all settle. The reality is the night of the dance or tonight might not be all that I want it to be.
Kenz grins as she unzips my dress. “I can’t believe you finally get to come to a dance. I can’t wait to spend the night hurting our feet in shoes that aren’t broken in.”
Her smile is infectious as I go in and take the dress off, handing it to her to take to my mom. I put on my clothes and step out, touching the green dress hanging there again. Another time I might have chosen this one. It’s equally gorgeous but it’s not reasonable for Homecoming. Prom though...
“Deep thoughts?” Caden’s voice is right behind me. His warmth engulfs me, and I sigh as I lean back into him. His arms wrap around my waist, holding me close.
“Thinking about Prom.”
He chuckles. “Want me to buy it for you?”
I shake my head. “I’ll find something else by then. Or maybe I’ll find this one again.”
“There are some heels in your closet at my place that will look good with that, little nympho.” He kisses behind my ear, and a rush of tingles go through me.
“Thank you, but no.” I turn to him, and he draws me against him. “You can’t just buy me clothes all the time.”
“If it makes you happy, I can and I will.” He leans down and kisses me softly. “We could make use of their dressing rooms.”
He arches an eyebrow, and I laugh. “No, War.”
Though the thought definitely stirs something wicked inside me. The curtains wouldn’t really hide anything. He smirks, and I try to step away.
“My mom wants to talk before the phones are listening again,” I say quietly.
He glances over my shoulder and sighs. “We would have had enough time.”
“One Homecoming dress.” Mom says as she and Kenz walk over to us. She hangs the covered dress on a hook. Her eyes take in how close we’re standing, but Caden doesn’t release me. She clears her throat and gestures to the chairs.
He lets me go and guides me over to the chairs.
“What’s happening that I need to be made aware of?” Mom looks between the three of us.
“So, you know about Zach and what he tried to do?” I sit down and clasp my hands together between my legs.
Mom nods with her lips tight.
I take in a breath. “He has something planned for me on Homecoming night. We don’t know what it is. We know Sidney put me on the court to do some Carrie-shit. But Zach has a plan too.”
“We need to follow through, or he’ll just try for her when we aren’t expecting him.” Caden rubs the back of his neck. “At least now we know to watch our backs.”
“So, Harper’s your bait?” Mom arches an eyebrow like that’s totally unacceptable.
“No, not bait.” I touch Caden’s thigh. “They’re going to be watching me, protecting me. The goal is to never let him have a shot at me, but if they don’t let him try his plan, we’ll be looking over our shoulders for the entire year. It’s exhausting.”
“I work Saturday night.” Mom’s brow furrows.
“The guys have me, Mom. They won’t let anything bad happen to me.” I reach for her hand and take it. “Jack isn’t on the court. Neither is Nico. We’re aware.”
“I don’t like this, Harper.” Mom shakes her head. “We could leave right now. Disappear without a trace. Start a new life.”
“No.” Caden shakes his head. “This doesn’t end with Zach. Both of you are on William Foster’s radar, and you know he’ll do anything to find you. This won’t ever be over, and you’ll have to keep running. Unless we face it now.”
Mom squeezes my hand. “I hate that you’re right. But I need you to keep me in the loop. I need to know my daughter is safe.”
“Of course.” Caden runs his hand down my back. “We won’t rest until we bring him down.”
“What else?” Mom looks at me like she can tell other shit happened. Mom sixth sense maybe.
“Kenz, would you mind giving us a moment?” I hate asking her to leave, but this is about my dad.
“I’m pretty sure that jewelry case is calling my name.” Kenz winks at me before heading that way.
“We went to the quarry,” I say softly, making sure no one is around.
Mom’s lips pinch in disapproval.
“There was a tree with your and Dad’s initials.” I swallow. “There was an old trail cam there. We were able to get the photos it took, and we’re going through them, but it’s slow. It may be nothing.”
She blinks a few times as she processes what we found. “Is this what you wanted our friend to look into?”
I shake my head, but I’m not willing to tell her more right now. Plausible deniability.
My mom takes a deep breath in and glances around us. The clerk must be in the back and no one else is in the store with us. Does she understand we might have the key to unlocking my dad’s disappearance? Or is it really just a trail camera that someone set up?
She nods. “Let’s get you back to school.”
There’s a pep rally at the end of school today. So with the shortened periods, it feels like there’s no time left before we’re heading to the gymnasium. Luke has my hand, and Jack walks behind me as we enter the gym.
When I try to turn to climb the bleachers, they drag me onto the floor with them. The football players all have a place to sit and so does the Homecoming Court. Fuck. I’m really sick of being considered popular.
Jack kisses my cheek before going over to sit with the football players.
Part of me wants to drag my feet, but I know it won’t stop the inevitable. I have to sit next to Zach two more times and then never again. Hopefully.
Luke leads me out to the grouping of eight chairs. It’s tempting to just take the seat next to him, but that’s reserved for Sidney. Luke stops at the empty chair that Zach will sit in.
“Remember what he says, princess. I want to know every word. He may let something slip.” Luke presses his lips to my temple, and I lean into him for a second.
I doubt anything Zach tells me will have any purpose but to make me upset.
It’s kind of like Tanner in art class running his mouth because he can.
It doesn’t matter though. Tonight the king and queen will be announced, and we’ll be done with this.
Sidney and Luke will win like they do every year, and I’ll have my guys to protect me at the dance.
And hopefully dance with me. In my new dress. That I can’t wait to wear.
“Thinking of me, darling?” Zach drops into the seat next to me and manspreads into my space.
“No.”
The principal walks over to where we all sit. Well, everyone except the Cheermonsters. “Stay after this for ten minutes so we can discuss tonight please.”
He walks over to the podium. The gymnasium is loud as everyone chats with their friends, while the principal gets ready.
“What do you think, Harper?” Zach leans back in his chair like he doesn’t have a care in the world. “Did we win? Are we going to be king and queen together? We’ll get to share a dance.”
“Unless it’s rigged, I doubt I’ll win.” And I don’t know if Sidney rigged it or if being nominated was enough humiliation.