“No, no, no!”
“Wait!” Tish shrieks. “There’s one left. Front row!”
“GRAB IT!”
She types like a demon possessed, smacking her keyboard with the ferocity of someone auditioning for a fast-paced courtroom drama.
“Got it!” she shrieks, and we both explode into screams, jumping up and down in my apartment like we’ve just won the damn lottery.
“Oh my god!” she cries. “You’re really doing this!”
“I am.” My voice shakes with adrenaline, hope, and something that feels dangerously close to love.
Then it hits me. I grab her hand, eyes wide.
“Oh my god, we have to go shopping.”
“Oh babe,” she grins. “We’re going to dress for destiny.”
We’re still breathless with laughter as we lock up the apartment and head for Tish’s car. The sunshine feels brighter, the air lighter like the world knows something big is coming.
“What does one even wear to a country music concert these days?” she asks, already scrolling through her phone. “Oh my god, that’s progressive.”
She tilts the screen toward me, and I blink at a photo of a woman wearing denim short-shorts, a fringe bra, and cowboy boots that look like they cost more than my rent.
I snort. “Yeah, no. I’m sticking with the holy trinity. Jeans, t-shirt, and boots.”
“Classic. Timeless. Safe.” She raises a brow. “I, however, am going for bold. We need you noticed, babe. You’re not just there to attend this tour. You’re there to rewrite fate.”
We spend the rest of the day on a shopping blitz worthy of its own reality show. Western boutiques. Trendy pop-ups. Even a vintage resale shop where Tish nearly cries over a rhinestone-studded leather jacket.
By the time we finally get back to the apartment, the backseat and trunk of her car are bursting with shopping bags. Boots. Hats. Dresses. Accessories I didn’t even know existed.
We unload like two giddy outlaws returning from a heist.
Tish eyes me as we carry bags inside. “How are you going to explain this cross-country love mission to your new job?”
I shrug, a grin tugging at my lips. “I’m going to be honest. If they won’t let me take the time off…”
She gasps. “You wouldn’t.”
“I will. I’ll resign if I have to.”
Tish stops in her tracks, eyes wide with admiration. “Legend.”
The next morning I stand outside my boss’s office, hands sweating as I smooth the front of my blouse for the fifth time. It’s now or never.
I knock.
“Come in.”
The door swings open and I step inside. Erin looks up from her laptop, eyes crinkling behind her glasses.
“Charlotte. Everything okay?”
I nod, then immediately shake my head. “Kind of. I was hoping to talk to you about something important.”
She gestures to the chair across from her. “You’ve got my full attention.”
