Chapter Eight
Later that night, Tessa curled onto her couch with a glass of iced water and her phone.
Kate’s expression on-screen suggested she hadn’t initiated the group chat to deliver good news.
“You okay?” Tessa asked.
Hallie’s phone lay on its side in her kitchen while she chopped a pile of vegetables.
“No. Not at all,” Kate growled. “I knew this would happen, and I hate-hate-hate when I’m right about this stuff.”
“About what?” Hallie asked, her knife pausing briefly as she spoke.
“I’m already losing followers,” Kate said.
“It’s only been one day. Only one post that deviated from my norm, and boom!
” She mimed an explosion with her hands.
“This is going to get really bad, really fast. I can feel it. No one even engaged with the new post. They didn’t like what they saw, so they left. ”
Hallie set the knife down and picked up her phone. “Your posts were good today. They looked like the you that we know. I love that woman.”
“Thank you,” Kate said. “Do you know which post is getting tons of response?” she asked. “The photo of me and that hot bartender from the rooftop the other night. The one with terrible lighting, where I have a double chin and look like a blond ghoul.”
Tessa laughed. “You could never look like a ghoul.”
“Have you seen it?” Kate challenged.
“Yes,” Hallie answered. “I took that photo.”
“I thought you two looked cute,” Tessa said. She didn’t need to see the photo to know Hallie never did Kate dirty, and Kate always looked like someone from a Renaissance painting.
Hallie curled her narrow body onto a high-backed barstool in her kitchen and unwrapped a ruby-red sucker. “I’m looking at it now, and you look like a goddess. The guy was okay.”
“The guy was hot,” Tessa said, swinging her feet onto the cushion at her side.
Kate tipped her head back and silently screamed at the sky.
When she finished, she rubbed her forehead with perfectly manicured fingers.
“Well, the result of our meet-cute was tragic. I’d ask him to take the photo down, but that seems incredibly vain and would likely start people talking.
” She dropped her hand away from her face and puffed her cheeks.
“Maybe that photo is why people are unfollowing me,” she said.
Hallie pulled the sucker from her mouth. “I’m sure it’s a coincidence, and you’re probably only noticing any of this today because you made some changes and you’re convinced it’s going to be your downfall. Vicious cycles and all that.”
“That’s not the right term,” Kate said. “Regardless, this is why I should run when strangers ask for a picture with me. They will put anything online.”
“I took that photo,” Hallie repeated. “It’s not bad.”
Kate rolled her eyes. “He was so unfairly good looking too. Now whenever he sees this picture, he’ll remember me as the monster who broke his camera.”
Tessa smiled. “I like when you’re dramatic like this. It makes me feel better.”
Kate’s frame sagged into a pout. “What’s going on? Did something else happen at the office?”
“Oh, you know,” Tessa said. “Xavier assigned the Lilacs and Lace account to Peyton, his new right-hand man, protégé, and VP of accounts. No big deal. Then he told Peyton to assemble a team for the big pitch, because he’s basically our second boss now.”
Hallie faked a gag. “He came straight to you, didn’t he? Now you have to work with him on an account that should be yours.”
“No!” Kate gasped, then frowned. “Wait. Yes? Why are you shaking your head?”
“I declined Peyton’s request to join his dream team,” Tessa said.
“And it felt incredible, but in hindsight, it will probably make things worse for me. Everyone heard Xavier tell him to pick a team. Also, I’m not sure wearing dresses and heels to the office is getting me the respect I wanted.
It felt like rebellion at first, but now I’m spending too much time thanking people for the compliments. ”
“The agony,” Hallie said. And she returned the sucker to her mouth.
“I’m not complaining about the nice things they say,” Tessa clarified. “It just wasn’t how I expected to feel. Maybe I’ll give it another few days, then find a middle ground between femme fatale and pantsuits.”
Kate shook her head. “Keep wearing whatever speaks to you each morning. Personal fashion is freeing.”
“Yeah,” Hallie agreed. “Everyone will get used to the new look soon.”
Kate’s sad expression returned. “Some people just aren’t fans of change. They get antsy anytime anything different happens. Then they go running for the hills.”
“Humans like predictability,” Hallie added. “It’s like a survival instinct from the Neanderthal days hidden in our DNA.”
“Makes sense,” Tessa said. “Kind of.” She smiled. “We became unpredictable today, and people were caught off guard. I’m sure that’s all it was.”
Hallie pointed her sucker at the screen in agreement.
“I loved your post about our book club and personal challenge,” Tessa told Kate.
“You’re the only one,” Kate said.
“Untrue.” Hallie tapped her screen. “I just liked it too.”
“Great.” Kate rolled her eyes. “I want to support you in this thirty-day challenge, Tessa, but if the mass exodus of my followers continues, I have to go back to strictly posting my usual aesthetic.”
Kate’s fancy filtered images of her wearing unbelievably expensive fashions had made her social media famous.
Specifically, she wore designer brands that only her family and other people in their tax bracket could afford.
Her most viral posts featured the sorts of highbrow ensembles worn by the Southern elite for luncheons, cotillions, and teas.
Big hair, pageant makeup, and heels included.
Aside from fashion, Kate’s feed frequently featured the newest, trendiest shops and cafés, often with her perfectly manicured fingers wrapped around a pretty drink or pastry and backdropped by a gorgeous sky.
She represented a lifestyle far outside most people’s reach, and they ate it up, then begged for more.
“Everything I posted today that deviated from the norm fell completely flat,” Kate said.
“The book thing had a few comments,” Hallie said.
“Yes, but I don’t want to be a book account. The BookTok girlies have a whole thing going that I can’t begin to compete with. And I don’t want to. They do it well. I follow dozens of them. I want my account to inspire people to live lives of beauty. Elite Southern charm is my whole schtick.”
“But it’s not who you are anymore,” Hallie said. “It’s not even the biggest component.”
“And living a life of beauty is highly subjective,” Tessa said. “I would argue that your off-camera life is beautiful.”
Kate’s lips curved into a small smile. “My off-camera life is quite nice.”
Tessa forced away her regret. She’d begged her friends to join her on this journey, and they’d agreed, for her sake. Now things were going poorly for Kate, and Tessa couldn’t help worrying it was her fault.
“All right,” Kate said, dejectedly. “Enough about me. How’d your day go, Hallie? Did your changes cause any backlash?”
“I didn’t really do anything differently,” Hallie admitted. “But I spent a lot of time thinking about what I want to do.”
“That’s a good start,” Tessa said. Change was hard for everyone, but Hallie struggled more than most. “You’ll figure it out.”
“What are you thinking about?” Kate asked.
Hallie sucked her teeth and slowly expressed a deep frown. “I think I’m gay.”
“Pardon?” Kate asked. Her delicate features twisted in humor and surprise.
“Did you say gay?” Tessa asked. She straightened on her couch, letting Hallie’s confession settle in, and honestly, it tracked.
Kate widened her eyes. “Do we get any additional information, or is this it?”
“I don’t have more information,” Hallie said. “This is a new concept for me. Personally, I mean. I like men, but you know that. I’m definitely attracted to women too. According to the internet, ChatGPT, and TikTok, I’m technically bi.”
“The holy grail of resources,” Tessa said. “Anything else?”
“I took a quiz on Reddit.”
“Sure,” Kate said. “Obviously.”
Hallie squinted at the camera. “You’re probably thinking that I should’ve known about this sooner, but I didn’t.”
Kate matched Hallie’s expression, equally deep in thought.
“I don’t have any specific thoughts yet,” Tessa said. “How are you doing with this? How do you feel?” Hallie’s sexual orientation didn’t matter one way or another to Tessa, but she wanted to be supportive. She needed more information to know how.
“I’m confused,” Hallie said flatly. “Not particularly happy about it either. It’s not very convenient.”
“What brought about this revelation?” Kate asked.
Hallie’s vanilla fiancé came to Tessa’s mind, but she kept that thought to herself.
“Honestly,” Hallie said, “I think it’s coming to the surface now because I met Eloise.”
“Ah,” Tessa said. She’d seen her and Hallie together this morning. They had fantastic chemistry. Tessa hadn’t given any thought to the depth or dimensions of their relationship, but she’d coveted the connection that they obviously had.
“What about Bryce?” Kate asked.
“He’s fine,” Hallie said. “I like him too.”
Tessa cringed. “She used the f-word.”
“Fine is not good enough,” Kate said. Her face nearly filled the screen as she pulled her phone close.
“You’re going to marry him. He’s supposed to feel like the missing part of your soul.
Your best friend in the world. Your person.
The one you would run to if you just won a gold medal or a Super Bowl. ”
Tessa considered the situation while Kate panicked. “Do you feel the same way about Eloise as you did about Bryce when you first met him? All the same butterflies and physical attraction?”