Chapter 21
twenty-one
Getting Dolled Up
My reflection leaves me wanting. I mean, it’s fine. The plain black dress hugs in at my waist, but I’m not very curvy. The neckline isn’t doing my smaller breasts any favors, either. At least it comes above my knees and I can show off some thigh. The Doc Martens look pretty cool with it.
“I think it’s cute,” Lacey says.
“First-date-with-my-boyfriend cute or fifteen-year-old goth-girl-wannabe cute?” I ask her reflection in the mirror.
“You don’t look fifteen,” she says with a grimace. “Look at Ace.”
I turn and see my brother waving a broken plastic sword around near the kid’s toy aisle. Yeah, no, I don’t look fifteen. Okay…
The consignment store is small, and this was the only thing on the rack that both fit and looked like date-wear. The boots are just an added bonus for everyday wear. Standing on my feet all afternoon in the coffee shop was an ordeal. I ended up doing sets just to keep my feet from aching.
“Stay here, I have an idea,” Lacey says as she jumps up.
I do as she commands, twisting back and forth in the mirror to see if any of the angles look better than the others. I’ll have to stand sideways with one leg pushed back all evening just to make it look like I’ve got a body going on.
My mind wanders back to yesterday in her absence. I know I should’ve called Armhurts with the information about Lei, but what if he hurts my parents for just that act? I don’t know how he found us, but my mind immediately jumps to the conclusion that there’s a leak in the investigator’s office.
Maybe it was something as simple as cross-referencing business registrations with Grandma’s name, but I need more time to think about what to do before involving them. The Boston police can’t do anything about my parents’ situation, and the Zhaos can…
Lacey comes back and snaps me from my dark thoughts with a presentation of belts. They’re of all various levels of wear, but in good condition. She holds up one that’s just a long gold chain.
“I think this,” she says, pushing it toward me.
I check the price tag first as a habit; three bucks, not bad. I can’t be dropping my entire savings, especially if I’m only going to wear it once. I wrap it around my hips and clip it together. The other end dangles halfway down to the hem.
Lacey smiles. “It’s coming together. I think you need a bracelet.”
She runs off again and I move the chain around on my hips.
I twist the end of the belt around my wrist and measure its strength.
I give it a tug, and none of the links buckle.
Good quality, too. Heat slides over the skin at my neck as I remember the fiery binds Rhaz had used to silence me, and consider how he might use this belt.
“There were so many options,” Lacey says behind me, and I jump.
“Lost in thought?” she asks as she shows me her finds.
Three bangles of various thicknesses and a short necklace with a small red gem, all gold, of course.
“Yeah, nervous, I guess,” I say, holding out my arm to accept them.
“Why?” she asks as she adorns me, positioning the bangles how she likes.
“Never been on a date before.”
“Never?” she asks, aghast.
I shrug.
She grins. “Well, stop worrying because it’s easy. You just talk and feel each other out.”
Heat returns to my face and I turn all my focus on the bangles, adjusting them.
“Is he nice?” she asks.
I recall how brutish he’d been when we first met, but the intent behind his bullish action wasn’t malice. He wanted to protect me. And when we were fighting, he’d stopped because he thought he’d seriously injured me, and it scared him. Something about my pain being more intense fuel for him…
“Jade?”
I clear my throat. “Yeah, I think so.”
She moves around my back to put the necklace in place.
“How long have you two been seeing one another?”
Do I count it from when he first groped my pussy, or when I called him my boyfriend?
“A couple of days, I guess.”
“You guess,” she deadpans, locking the necklace in place.
I look at myself in the mirror again and a smile creeps onto my cheeks.
“That’s nice,” I say.
She nods. “You look very pretty.”
The ding of the consignment door opening turns our heads toward the front where a woman of impeccable style stands. Close to six feet tall, a pressed navy suit jacket over a cream blouse, and matching blue pants. She definitely does not shop here.
Lacey gasps and charges at her with a giddy sound. The woman smiles, meeting her halfway and wrapping her up in a loving embrace. I grin as I realize this must be her wife.
After a kiss that has me averting my gaze to give them some privacy, they come toward me at the changing room—which is really just three panels of drywall nailed together with a curtain rod and a sheet. Whatever, I’m not judging.
I extend my hand to meet Jamie’s offer.
“You must be Jade,” she says in a silky-smooth voice.
This woman must be a nymph or something. Long legs, milky-white skin, blue eyes, and shiny dark hair…I’m not gay, but I’m not blind, either. Lacey scored.
“And you’re the infamous Jamie,” I say with a smile.
Her expression turns to shock. “Infamous. Oh, no. What has my lovely wife said about me?”
“Only good things, I promise,” I say.
Lacey gazes up at Jamie, practically oozing adoration. Jamie looks down and tucks a strand of her blond hair behind her ear.
“That’s my good girl, always singing my praises,” she murmurs.
Warmth creeps across my chest and up my neck.
Lacey giggles. “I just told them about how you bought me the craft shop, and treat me like a princess, and always take care of me.”
Jamie hums. “Well, you’re always taking care of everyone else. Someone has to take care you.”
Freakin’ hell. The way she says it has my toes curling. I have to look away again because this woman’s aura is so intense. I swear there’s something magical about her. Is this town just a hotbed of activity?
“Thanks, Lacey. I look really good,” I say, keeping my eyes trained in the mirror and not on the two of them looking absolutely in love.
“That’s my little creative, always dolling everything up,” Jamie says.
Lacey clings to her side with a bright smile as she looks at me in the mirror. “Do you like makeup?”
I shrug again. “It’s expensive.”
I’d filched a few things from the shop down the street from our apartment ages ago and used them maybe twice. It’s probably all dried up by now, hidden somewhere in the back of the medicine cabinet at our place in Boston.
She nods. “Some is, for sure, but I bet if we hit up the CTS on the corner, I can find some nice, reasonable mascara. Make those lashes pop!”
“Best of all, no skill required,” Jamie says. “That’s how she got me wearing it. She started small.”
I look up and notice the subtle gloss on her lips, and the contouring on her cheeks. Okay, maybe she’s not a nymph, just really good at makeup and naturally tall…with a great hair-care routine and fashion sense. No, that’s probably Lacey, too.
“You ready or what?” Ace asks as he wanders over.
I smooth out the dress and look at myself one more time in the mirror.
Yes, I am ready.
“How do you think she looks?” Lacey asks him.
He seesaws his head. “Eh, okay.”
“My honor!” I yell, punching at him.
I stop just shy of hitting his arm. He moves to deflect and I change positions, coming in for another fake hit as I make old kung fu movie noises. He pulls out his broken sword and starts chopping at my arms. I feign one getting cut off and wail in pain.
“The blood, so much bloooood,” I groan, crumpling to the floor as Ace laughs.
“Excuse me!” the shop owner yells over our dramatic showdown. “Are you going to buy those?”
Embarrassment floods my face and I stand up. “Yeah, sorry!”
I run back to the changing room and get into my clothes, putting everything to buy in a neat pile. The gold necklace on top is just screaming to disappear into my pocket, but I squash the desire down. I left that life back in Boston where it served me. There’s no need for it here.
Lacey is already at the checkout counter when I come out of the dressing room. My chest tightens as I see her pull out a credit card.
“No, I’ve got it,” I say, fumbling with my wallet.
“Too late,” Jamie says. “You’re officially my wife’s project.”
A grouchy groan is on the tip of my tongue, but I hold it back in favor of gratitude. “Thank you.”
I’ll just have to give her free coffee for life. Hopefully she doesn’t want more than that, because I don’t have a lot to give.
Lacey gets the receipt and hands it to me, then covers my items in a plastic bag. She maneuvers everything with skill and suddenly I’ve got the bag handles in my hand, everything inside.
“What’s with the face?” Lacey asks as she ushers me outside.
I smile to mask whatever emotion I was showing. “Nothing, just, I don’t know how to repay you. All I have is coffee.”
Lacey smiles sweetly. “You don’t owe me anything.”
I scowl. “Of course I owe you something. You’re buying me clothes, and my Docs, and helping me paint, and coming over to try my coffees—”
“Jade,” she stops me as she puts her hand on my shoulder. “It’s just called being friends.”
I bite down hard as a lump swells in my throat.
“Thanks,” I whisper.
“Aww, don’t cry!” she says, wrapping me up in her arms. “I didn’t mean to make you sad!”
“I’m not sad,” I murmur, swallowing down the tightness in my throat as I hug her back. Her embrace feels so genuine and kind. So full of affection. So welcoming but scary at the same time. Do I deserve a friend like Lacey? Have I earned this?
I spy Ace over her shoulder standing on the curb, a soft smile on his lips as he looks out across the quaint shops. A bus sputters by full of ancient tourists and stops at the corner, unloading all the old people into the historic district.
“We better hurry,” Ace says as he points to the growing crowd. “One more stop, right?”
Lacey releases me and I pull away. “Yeah, bud, where you wanna go?”
He wrinkles his nose. “You need masked era, or whatever, right?”
“Mascara,” Lacey corrects. “And yes, just over there.”
She points to the CTS and we all amble that way. Jamie wraps her arm over Lacey’s shoulders and takes the lead. Ace and I fall in line behind them as they chat about Jamie’s day.
“You did look pretty nice,” Ace says, sniffling across the back of his hoodie sleeve.
I smile. “Thanks, bro.”
“You better lock this demon down,” he adds, and this time I do punch him. Not too hard, though.
He chuckles and rubs the spot. “Seriously, once in a thousand lifetimes’ chance.”
“One in a thousand? You really think it’s that common to meet an otherworldly being that has a romantic interest in you?” I ask.
He gestures to Jamie and gives me a perplexed shrug.
I laugh. “Yeah, same thought.”
Lacey helps me find a perfect mascara that’s black in shadows and a radiant blue in the light.
She then convinces me to get a foundation face cream that smells like coconut and glitters just a little bit.
She tries to pay again, but this time I lay down the law, and Jamie backs me up.
Lacey then pouts the rest of the way back to our cars.
Jamie and Ace shake hands as Lacey hugs me again.
“Thanks for the girls’ afternoon!” she says.
“Thank you,” I say, hugging her over-tight.
She coughs. “My ribs.”
I let her go with a chuckle. “Seriously though, thanks a lot.”
Her eyes sparkle and she smiles. “Go get him.”