Yeah, I didn’t ask, Cheryl.But I kept that comment to myself as I looked past the pink and the yellow. There was a pale, almost silvery blue that made me think of Jake.
I tugged it out and held it up to me. It would hit right at my ankles. There was a slit at the side, and the bodice had an illusion gap. It would look open almost to my navel but the sheer mesh would disguise it some.
“That’s not bad,” Cheryl commented as she breezed past me with three other dresses. “I’ll add it.” She snagged it out of my hands and then was on the move.
“It’s like watching a hurricane in action,” Coop said as he drifted over to where I searched.
“Kind of feels like one.” A force of nature. That description fit Cheryl to a T. “She had a picture of Ian?” I hadn’t meant to ask, I wasn’t going to ask. I was going to keep the inquiry to myself and yet…
“Yeah,” Coop said as he ran his hand over his hair then rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s just from one of the parties over the summer.”
One of the parties. Cheryl had been at one of the parties.
Of course, she had. They’d all been at the parties. The guys invited everyone. I’d been invited. I just hadn’t gone. “Cool.”
“Frankie…”
Shifting away from the sympathy in his voice and his expression, I started wading through the rack again. A midnight purple mermaid dress caught my eye, and it was stunning.
Coop sighed. “That’s beautiful,” he said. “You’d look great in it. ‘Course, you’d pretty much look great in anything here.” He pretended to look around before he leaned close and whispered, “Even the cold and pale colors.”
The corner of my mouth tugged up. “Thanks, Coop.” I bumped his shoulder, and he hip checked me gently.
“Anytime. Want me to go add that to the rack?”
I blanched at the price tag. No way I could afford it. I mean, I could, but no way in hell was I spending that much.
“Come on,” Coop said, bumping her shoulder again. “Try it on. I bet it looks amazing.”
He’d been doing his best to be upbeat and cheerful, and all I’d done since I got home was sulk. Sucking it up, I held up the dress to myself again and glanced down. It really was gorgeous. “You know what…why not?” I didn’t have to buy it.
“That’s the spirit.” He snagged the dress and went to add it to our collection. Surely we had enough. But Cheryl made a shooing motion toward the rest of the area.
“We have to make sure we look at everything available. Go on.”
Turning away from her, I rolled my eyes. I didn’t want to look at everything available. There were dresses out the wazzoo in here. Animal print. Chiffon. Lace. Tulle. So. Much. Tulle.
Ballerinas didn’t use this much tulle.
I bypassed the animal print because I did not have the wherewithal to pull it off, for one. And for two—every single one seemed designed to be slinky and sexy. So not me.
Then again, I didn’t really know whatwasme. I owned very few dresses and spent less time than most of them worrying about it. At this point, I’d also worn both of my nice dresses—on dates with Archie—so that meant Ihadto get something different for Homecoming.
Okay.
I needed a dress. We had dresses everywhere. Surely something would work. I wandered away from where Cheryl currently plundered and made my way to a different set of racks—oh, clearance! Perfect. Even twenty-five percent off some of these prices would be better than nothing.
The colors varied from a plum wine spaghetti strapped dress that included two long slits to a deep fuchsia wrap dress. I skipped right past those and then hesitated on a midnight blue sequin midi dress. It had a slit, but most of the skirt hit about mid-calf and it had a halter top with a triangle in the center. It would show some boob but not a lot of it.
And it had no back whatsoever.
Huh.
A hand snagged it out of my grip, and Cheryl grinned. “Normally, I’d fuss at you for sneaking over here, but this is a steal and it’s gorgeous. I might have to fight you for it.” She tossed it over her arm with three others and headed for the rack.
Relentless.
And stealthy.