34. Lyla
Chapter thirty-four
Lyla
I thought Charlie was joking when she told me she still didn’t have a costume. It was the Friday of Halloween weekend, and this bitch was looking around her room as if the walls were going to hand her a solution.
“If you don’t just get in your car and drive us to the store,” I muttered angrily. She had dragged me away from a fantasy novel I was four chapters away from finishing for this nonsense.
She laughed at my dramatized response, and fifteen minutes later, we were scouring a pop-up costume store.
“You’re lucky this place is still standing,” I murmured, dragging my fingers along the rows of costumes. “I think someone just comes and folds the entire store up on November 1st.” I smiled at the Tarzan costume hanging on the end of the rack. I was excited to see Deacon tonight, which was another red flag in my “Keep it Casual” series because I spent the entire week with him.
Best friends put in overtime when it came to their fake relationship, right? I came with a lot. As if my daddy drama wasn’t enough, I spilled my darkest secret to the man, and he still asked me to stay. I was doing my best not to question it. My next purchase from Grounds for Thought had to be some sort of violent thriller novel. No exceptions .
“I just need something flirty and fun,” Charlie said, grabbing a skimpy princess costume from the wall. “Thoughts?”
“Well, since I’m staring at a princess and a banana costume, I’m thinking princess is your best bet.”
“Fine,” Charlie huffed. She bent down to grab the matching crown, and when she stood up, she wore a devilish grin. It was creepy.
“Eww. What is that look for?”
“We’re officially alone now, so we can talk about your secret boyfriend. Especially since you haven’t been around all week for me to ask you about him.”
I heard an eye roll in there and chose to ignore it. “Ask away, I guess.”
“I’ll start with observations,” Charlie declared. “First observation, his presence doesn’t bother you. He comes over, you let him stay, and I can tell you like having him around. The second observation is you spend the entire night at his place. Don’t even get me started on that one. And my final observation that I’ll leave you with today is that he surpassed your thirty-day rule.”
“Boyfriends are supposed to be all of those things.” I placed a Dr. Pepper on the checkout counter. The least Charlie could do was buy me a drink for dragging me back to this stupid store. “Everything is going fine. Why are you probing?”
“Because I think you like him,” Charlie insisted, handing her debit card to the cashier. He threw our stuff in a bag, and we started toward the car.
I waited until Charlie unlocked the doors to answer. “He’s insanely caught up on his ex-girlfriend, Charlie. Don’t be insane.”
She pursed her lips and slid into the driver’s seat. “Interesting. ”
“ What is interesting?”
Charlie grinned and started the car. “That your first response wasn’t a no . Honey, I know the backstory of why Deacon is dating you. I was there when I discovered it, remember?”
I stifled a laugh, and when I turned to look out the window, Charlie’s cackling filled the car.
“This entire thing puts me one step closer to my goals,” I said. “I told you, once I get this money, I can officially work on opening my bookstore.”
“And listen, I think that idea is fucking phenomenal. I’ll need to know how much the rent is when I stay in the loft above your bookstore. But”—Charlie sighed—“never mind.”
I glared at her. “What?”
“Have you ever thought about pursuing this dream without the money from your dad?”
It was a fair question, and the answer was only obvious to me because I rarely shared the whole story.
“If I did this on my own, and I’m not saying I couldn’t because I could, I would never leave Cleveland,” I admitted. “I can’t leave my mom. And if I can help her work toward a dream she couldn’t have because she got stuck with me, well, Aaron Brooks owes her that.”
Charlie gave me a sympathetic smile. “Jane didn’t get stuck with you. I just want you to know that I believe in what you want to do, regardless of how you start it.”
I smiled. “Thanks, Charlie.”
When we arrived at our apartment, Charlie’s costume in hand, we were greeted by two people I never thought would be standing in our living room. Michelle and Keira stood side by side in Thing 1 and Thing 2 costumes. They were trying to take a selfie and kept laughing when one of them would mess up a facial expression.
I shared a look with Charlie that asked, “Should we be concerned?”
She cocked her head and answered, “Not at all.”
“Hey guys! You look so cute!” I swooned. I lowered my voice so only Charlie could hear me. “Set your slutty princess costume on the counter and help me make the drinks.”
We laughed as we threw together a cocktail, not knowing what to call it since we were going off of what we had in the fridge. It was a combination of pink lemonade, Sprite, vodka, Malibu, and half a bottle of white wine.
“Bottoms up.” Charlie cringed and clinked her glass with mine. We took a sip, and her eyebrows shot to the top of her forehead. “This isn’t bad!”
“No.” I laughed, pouring Michelle and Keira a drink. “It’s really not.”
Charlie surveyed the Dr. Seuss characters and tried her best not to laugh. “So, where are you two headed tonight?”
“Tubby’s is having a costume contest,” Keira explained. “We didn’t want to get too crazy since we’re going to a party tomorrow night.”
“You’re coming tomorrow, right?” Michelle added.
It took me a moment to realize Thing 2 was speaking to me. “Coming where?”
“To Eric and Weston’s Halloween party. Cassie mentioned she invited you and Deacon.”
I almost spit out my drink onto the counter. I forgot that Michelle knew Cassie.
How long had she known her? Did she meet Cassie at the beginning of the school year? Last year? Did they meet after I met Deacon? After I started dating Deacon? Red fish? Blue fish? My questions were beginning to sound like a fucking Dr. Seuss story.
“Deacon did mention a party tomorrow,” I lied. “That’s why we’re getting a late start tonight. Tomorrow is probably going to get a little crazy.”
Charlie looked at me like I had just threatened to steal her new tiara.
“Drink up, Char. We have places to be tonight and a party tomorrow.” I threw back my drink and made a beeline for my room.
I could play the part of Olive Oyl following Popeye to the bars. But a house party? Two critical components of a Bowling Green house party were tight spaces and lots of people. Cassie would be around every corner tomorrow night, and I just hoped my best friend, Deacon, and I could handle it.