She drags me around three different stores before just taking me to the Apple store and making me get the latest iPhone, MacBook, and iPad, because apparently the fact that I can sync them all up is the best thing ever and something I need in my life regardless of the cost. She even threw AirPods into the cart, because for some ungodly reason, you can’t use normal headphones with an iPhone.
For someone who is a self-proclaimed poor bad bitch, she spends moneywaytoo easily.
I feel sick at how much I’ve spent already, despite knowing that I’ve barely put a dent in the allowance on my card. Tobias told me the limit, but I think I blacked that part out. Still, I’m fairly certain I could shop for six months and still not hit it.
“Okay, food break and then clothes?” Penn grins at me, like she’s enjoying my torture way too much.
My stomach gurgles in response and I nod. “Yes, food. That I can deal with.”
She leads me to a Mexican place where I order the best chicken and mushroom burrito I’ve ever devoured in my life—with extra sour cream and cheese, obviously. I might be lactose intolerant, but I’ll accept my ticket to the bad place before I give up the good stuff—and a virgin margarita. I’d like to say we had an epic conversation over lunch, but we both just inhaled our food, her with a little happy dance with each delightful bite.
When we’re done, I lean back in my chair, very much bloated from the sheer speed at which I just ate. “Okay, yeah. We can come here again.”
She grins at me and nods. “I used to spend way too much money in here each week. I’m surprised I’m not a burrito at this point. You ready to continue your torture?”
I groan and drop my head to the table. “If I knew exactly who did that to my stuff, I’d shank them on principle. Not even for destroying my stuff, but purely for making me shop.”
She laughs at my dramatics, but I push back from the table and stand anyway. “Let's do this. The sooner we start, the quicker it’s over, right?”
“I’ve never met a girl who dislikes shopping as much as you do, Briar.”
I shrug as she stands. “I’ve never had money for anything but bills. Shopping was always painful, and now that I can shop, the money isn’t even mine. It just feels kinda gross, ya know?”
She tilts her head to the side, watching me closely before nodding. “Yeah, I can understand that. I’ve never been rich, but I’ve also never gone without. I’ve had a job since I was legally able to, and have been able to keep that money for myself. So while I don’t entirely understand, I do get it. I always hated asking my parents for money for stuff. Now, let's swallow that icky feeling and go spend some of Travis’s money. Seems only fair, since he’s the reason you have to spend it.”
I consider her words for a minute and smile. “You’re not wrong there; this is entirely his fault.”
Somehow that thought makes me feel better.
“Come on, show me where to get some new clothes.” My words are more of a groan, but they’re playful, because I might as well at leasttryto enjoy this. Unlikely, but stranger things have happened.
She grins and claps her hands, almost vibrating on the spot. “Okay, so let's just start on this side and hit every store until we find things you like. You need shoes too, right?”
I nod, still thankful that my precious thrift store boots were on my feet yesterday. I’d have legitimately cried if they’d have been trashed, too.
“Awesome, let's do this!” she says, pointing a finger in the air and making me laugh.
I trail behind her as she drags me from store to store, throwing clothes at me and forcing me into changing rooms. I end up dismissing at least ninety percent of it, only keeping the stuff that's more me than her. I remember halfway through that I actually have a ton of clothes back at the McMansion and reel in the spending, limiting myself to a few pairs of jeans, band t-shirts, a few t-shirts with hilarious prints on the front, underwear, and a few sweaters for the cooler weather that's coming, along with a leather jacket that had a price tag that made my eyes water, but it was just perfection on me. Even if it is kind of a crop jacket. With the tee and jeans I’ve changed into, it looked amazing and I couldn’t resist.
“Thank you for today, Penn. You’re a lifesaver,” I say as we head back to the car.
“Honestly, I haven’t had this much fun in ages. Torturing you with dresses was possibly my favorite part of the day. I can’t wait until Halloween comes around. We’re going to need to come back for costumes and… well, it’s going to be too much fun.”
I laugh as she shrugs when she climbs in the car. “Ugh, I hadn’t even thought as far ahead as Halloween. It’s going to be a big deal, isn’t it?”
I’ve always wanted to do Halloween properly. Spooky season is my favorite after all, but we’ve never had the house for it or the money. I get the feeling that Serenity Falls takes this stuff to the extreme from the look on her face, and I can’t find it in me to be anything but excited about that.
“Oh yeah.” She grins as she pulls on her belt, winking at me. “And that's after all the other costume parties that will undoubtedly happen before then. Welcome to college, Briar. It’s a whole new world.”
CHAPTERNINE
“Istill can’t believe you got that wasted…” Charli giggles as Serena groans, putting her head to the tabletop. The cafeteria is absolutely jam-packed, but since I’ve already endured my Government and Politics class today, I need food to refuel before I do my reading for tomorrow's classes with Crawford.
“My hangxiety is still so real,” Serena mumbles, and I try not to laugh around my mouthful of pizza. “I cannot believe I did that. No more tequila for me.”
“Pretty sure that tequila would’ve been fine had you not mixed it with whiskey, vodka, and rum,” Penn snorts beside me, and I press my lips together to stop myself from laughing any harder. Poor Serena has spent the last three days agonizing over the party we went to on Saturday night.
Never have I ever been more glad that I stayed sober.