“I’m adding some color around your eyes. They are gorgeous.” Vee bent down, and her brows came together as she grabbed a different brush. “I love that this summer playbook brought you and Dean together. You’ve been happier, lightersomehow. You weren’t unhappy before, but you have more…joy to you. I hate the shit that says your partner should make you happy, we gotta make our own selves happy, but he’s brought more light to your life. I love this for you.”
“Why do you all feel like my moms, and you’re preparing me for my first date?”
“Because we are.”
We both laughed, and she finished the makeup with Lo, them talking about Callum and the latest gossip with the guys and our team. Mally had flirted with someone who happened to be the cousin of her ex, so that was fun.
Callum had been acting weirder the last week, and no one knew why.
More drama and silly rumors that made us laugh as we finished up my look. They hadn’t let me see my outfit until now, where they brought out the floor-length mirror from Lo’s room.
“Okay, are you ready?” Lo said, excitement pouring out of her voice. “You lookso good.”
“Yes, I’m ready!”
They counted down, and on three, I opened my eyes and gasped. Holy shit balls. I looked insane. My makeup only enhanced my features: my large blue eyes, my high cheekbones, my lips. It was still me, but the makeup was on point. Then the hair. It was soft and curled and reminded me of the influencers I saw all the time. Then the dress. Damn! It was black with a deep vee in the front and a slit on the side. It covered everything tastefully but flirted with my skin. “Whoa.”
“You are always beautiful, Mack. You know this. But it was fun playing dress-up with you.” Mally looped her arm through mine as Ale snapped a few pictures. She also grabbed the Polaroid and took a photo, the sound of printing filling theroom. “Dean is gonna fall over. What time is he coming anyway?”
“In five minutes.” Lo clapped her hands. “Six, right?”
I nodded.
Everyone slipped out, except Lo, saying goodbye and giving me all sorts of hugs and good lucks.
Five minutes. Oof. Nerves overtook me, my insides an absolute mess. I wanted to tease him, just to hear from him before everything changed.
Mack: wait until you see this dress
Nothing. He was the quickest texter I knew, but if he was driving, then that made sense. One, two, three, four minutes went by. Then it was more than five minutes. Still nothing.
I walked to the front door, anxiously glancing through the hole to see if he was here. He was always on time too. I blamed it as an athlete thing, but for it to be 6:01 and nothing was weird.
Mack: there is a huge slit in the front that you’ll like.
Mack: hey we’re still on for six, right? You’ve never been late before
Nothing, again.
6:10.
“This is weird.” Lo ran a hand over her forehead, smoothing down her worry lines. “He’s never late. Has he texted you at all?”
I shook my head, my heart sinking. He changed his mind. He backed out. He chickened out. He realized he didn’t want this and didn’t want a messy goodbye. “He hasn’t responded to my texts too.”
“That’s unlike him. He doesn’t bail, and he’s never late.” She frowned, hard. “Shit, what if something happened to him?”
“Or what if he backed out?” I asked, my heart in my throat. “That could be it.”
“Eh, if that was the case, he would tell you. He doesn’t play games; you know this about him. Try not… okay, I understand this is hard, but I don’t think this is intentional, Mack. Does standing you up seem like something he would do?”
I thought about it. Ignoring the hurt and shame of being dressed up and waiting for him when he wasn’t there, I focused on the Dean I spent all summer with. He wouldn’t do this. He would know this would hurt me. He would call. Or text. “This doesn’t seem like him, no.”
“Can I call Luca? I don’t want to get in the way, and I won’t if you say no, but I feel like something happened. Maybe it’s my twin thing or the fact he didn’t show up. I saw how he spoke about you earlier. He was so excited to do this for real. He wouldn’t change within eight hours.”
“Sure, yeah. I want him to be okay.” I wrung my fingers together, my eyes prickling with unshed tears. It would ruin the mascara, that was for sure, but worry wedged its way into my gut.WasDean okay?
“Okay cool, yeah.” She had the phone to her ear, biting down on her lip with worry. “Hey, babe, is Dean with you?”
