“You do,” Meghan agreed.
“Where am I going to find a wedding dress?” Laura asked. “I can’t go try stuff on anywhere.”
“Maybe you could!” Reyna said, jumping up and looking around the small office space they’d commandeered for planning purposes.
“What do you mean?” Laura asked.
“Just think about it. We have connections. We could get her somewhere discreet to try on a dress!”
Meghan’s withering look was enough to say that it was a bad idea. “I don’t think so.”
“Don’t be a party pooper, Meghan,” Jodie teased.
“I don’t want to cause anyone trouble,” Laura said. She scooted back in her chair. “We can make do with what we already have.”
“If I could get you out and to a wedding dress shop without anyone the wiser, I would do it. But it’s a risk. Visage saw Laura when we got her out with Brian and Drew. Do you really want to risk her being on their radar?” Meghan asked.
“Seriously, don’t even worry about it.” Laura stood and pushed the notebook she had been writing in away. “I have a dress with me. It’s not like I would have been able to afford a fancy dress in the warehouses anyway. No one needs to go out of their way for this.”
Laura scurried out of the room and to the bathroom. They could hear her heaving into the toilet. She had the worst morning sickness already. Well, more like all day sickness. She was throwing up constantly, but Meghan said everything seemed normal.
“It’s late,” Meghan said. “I’m going to check on Laura again and then head out. We can brainstorm the dress again tomorrow.”
As soon as she left, Jodie tilted the front two legs of her chair off the ground and leaned backward. “I hate being so confined.”
“Run it off in the gym.”
“I hate running.”
“Well, you need to find something to let off steam.”
Jodie kicked her feet up on the table. “Maybe I just need to get laid.”
Reyna laughed. “Maybe you do.”
“Maybe I’ll see if Tye is interested.”
She jumped up from her chair and Reyna reached out and touched her arm. “Hey, you don’t have to do that just because you missed those ten years. It could be with someone you…you care about.”
“There’s only one person I care about and I was taken from her. Sex is a release, Reyna. Doesn’t have to mean anything. If Meghan didn’t have such a stick up her ass about this whole Elle thing, I’d see if she’d be down. I don’t discriminate.”
Reyna grinned. “I kind of love you.”
“You though,” Jodie said, tapping Reyna’s nose once, “are not my type.”
“Well, thank God.”
“No hard feelings.”
Jodie winked and then sauntered from the room. Reyna could do nothing but laugh. At least the wedding planning seemed to have lifted her spirits.
Reyna stretched her arms over her head, releasing the tension in her back and shoulders. Meghan reappeared from the bathroom looking pale.
“Reyna, have you thought any more about working in the lab with myself and Washington?” Meghan asked warily. “I know you got upset when he asked, but your blood could save lives. And we can always use an extra pair of hands.”
Reyna sighed and chewed on her lips. “I want to be useful, Meghan, but does it have to be in that way?”
“No. I suppose you could work in the cafeteria or clean or something. But it seems like a waste.”
“You understand why I have an issue with donating my blood and seeing it used in any way?”
“Yes, but this could be for the greater good. You know what…don’t make a decision today, just think about it.”
Reyna glanced away and then back. She had an idea. “Look, I can’t guarantee that I’ll help. The thought makes me sick. And I’m not sure I’m ready yet. But I’ll think about it if you help Jodie.”
Meghan groaned. “I’ve been trying to help Jodie. She’s even less receptive than you are.”
“Well, she was gone a lot longer than I was and she was experimented on. Have you looked into if she has any family left?”
“We did when she first got here, but we couldn’t find anyone,” Meghan admitted. “I would love to bring more people into Elle if it helps Jodie. Loved ones always help.”
“She’s a cynic after what she went through. If you could help her find her family, I think it would go a long way.”
Meghan considered and then nodded. “All right. I’ll look into it, and you think about the medical wing.”
As if she had a choice about where she could be useful.
“I’ll think about it.”
Meghan tugged her into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here. You and Jodie both.”
“Me too,” Reyna whispered, finally feeling as if she was starting to have a place here. Maybe not the one she had wanted…but finally something.
Chapter 20
Reyna grabbed her planning materials and returned to her room. She hadn’t had dinner, just the snacks that the girls had smuggled into their planning session. But the thought of trekking back to the cafeteria made her head hurt.