Chapter 65 Dresses
726words
Ella bought an expensive baby-pink trumpet dress, while Poppy rented a crimson kimono, and I jumped on the renting wagon alongside her with my teal A-line dress.
Ella complained that she couldn't find a matching pair of pink shoes, resorting to a couple of silver kitten heels.
"I don't know why you're complaining," Poppy scoffed as we walked out of the boutique. The rain had stopped, and there were shafts of sunlight peeking through the clouds."You get to buy your stuff and pay full price. You get to keep it. Do you realize what those shoes cost? That could buy my family's entire month of groceries."
Ella shot Poppy a dark look.
"I'm just saying," Poppy continued. "You need to understand how lucky you are."
"But I wanted pink heels," Ella protested.
"Ella, there are people who are starving, and you're whining about the color of your shoes," Poppy retorted.
"The silver heels are perfect for your dress," I supplied. "Too much pink might be overkill, and you said you're wearing silver jewelry?"
"You know, you're right," Ella marvelled. "Maybe it's too much pink."
Poppy snorted. "It's a good thing you came along, Carly. She never listens to me."
Ella nudged Poppy against the arm. "I sometimes listen to you."
Poppy rolled her eyes, smiling. "Of course you do."
"Hey, so we are going to—" I got interrupted by Ella's squeal. She bolted past us, her shopping bags swinging by her sides.
"Great. Another sale," Poppy sighed. "We should ditch her and go eat something? I'm famished."
At first, it looked like Ella was running toward a stand selling makeup and jewelry. She made a sudden sharp turn and rushed up toward a tall, blonde guy standing near the stall.
Ella dropped her bags and fell into an embrace with the guy.
Poppy glanced at me. "You think that's him?"
I shrugged. "Well, he's definitely not a relative."
"Or a friend," Poppy giggled behind her palm.
My smile dropped, and my steps faltered the moment he turned to peer in our direction.
"These must be your friends?" Rake purred, tilting his head to the side. He had a mischievous smile glued to his face, and Kayn's warning went off inside my head.
When his eyes found me, his brows shot up. "Carly?"
Ella appeared unsettled. "You two know each other?"
"We've met before," I answered, glancing at her. "Through Kayn."
"Well, I wouldn't say through Kayn," Rake teased. "If anything, given a chance, he'd have picked you up there and then and ran for the hills. Say, do tell me how is he doing?"
"I haven't talked to him, so I wouldn't know," I cut short.
He gave me a sideways look. "Is that so? You seem to have done a lot of talking. The last time I saw you, you were much less...tense."
"Did I miss something?" Ella asked, stepping in between us. If I didn't know any better, she misread the situation and thought there was something between Rake and me.
Oh yeah. There was something, alright, but not what she believed.
I trusted him as far as I could throw him—and I couldn't.
"Her boyfriend doesn't like me much," Rake shrugged, and took a step back.
"He's not my boyfriend," I gritted.
"Could have fooled me," he replied. His eyes skimmed over us before turning to Ella. "Isn't there supposed to be another one of you? I thought you said you had three friends?"
The warning bells inside my head became louder. Why did he care how many friends Ella had?
"Yeah, Ember ditched at the last minute," Ella said. "She didn't feel well."
"Kayn's sister?" he feigned surprise. It was clear he knew pretty damn well who the missing friend was. "That water allergy must be a real b—"
"She's not feeling well," I snapped.
"If you say so," he replied in a condescending tone, turning to Ella. "And what do we have here?"
Ella hid the bags behind her, grinning. "It's a surprise."
"A surprise?" He tugged her toward him, his nose inches from hers. "I like surprises."
Poppy couldn't snort any louder. "Ew."
"I second that," I murmured under my breath. "Can we go?"
Not that Ella heard us, as they were practically eating each other's faces.
