“And what makes you so different that you don’t deserve the same?”
David raised a brow as I tried to come up with something substantial, something that made sense. And when I tried for too long, he gave me the sweetest ‘I told you so’ look. And I wanted to cry, laugh, and burrow my face into his neck and never let go.
“The answer was ‘nothing,’” he provided.
“Such a know-it-all,” I complained in a whisper.
“Nothing,” David repeated, the time it sounded like a promise.
26
The warehouse hadn’t transformedin the magical, fairy-godmother sense of the word. The walls were still plated with rust, the windows were decorated with a patchwork of tape, and the concrete floors were stained with oil and years of neglect.
But the magic came in the colossal floral carpets Haven found at an open market right outside of town. I convinced my mom to donate the set of black, circular dining tables for the night. Indie scored us buffet tables with vintage serving bowls and cups. Emmy brought in old Halloween decor from her parents’ closed-down holiday store. And Covee designed the banners and posters that would put most marketing companies to shame.
“Well?” Indie asked when she noticed I’d stepped back to the front door to marvel at what all our guests would take in next week.
“Stuff of dreams?” Haven teased as she joined my side. Her smile faded into something more serious when she took a proper look at how the space had transformed.
I folded my arms over my chest, trying not to sound tooprideful because my parents had drilled it into my skull that pride comes before the fall. And I couldn’t afford a fall this deep into the semester. “I think they’re going to love it.”
Indie scoffed, shaking her head. “You think?”
“She’s being modest,” Haven murmured, eyes still sparkling in awe. “You know who’s going to kick themselves till the cows come home?”
“Olivia Noel Johnson,” I said with a smile. This time, I couldn’t avoid tipping my chin up in pride. Hopefully, the fall came as a slight stumble. I could bear the embarrassment of tripping over my feet.
“Do you think she’ll show?” Indie asked.
“For sure,” Haven and I said at the same time without hesitation.
“She’ll want a first-row seat, and a chance to tell me I should have listened to her.” I took a deep breath, relieved that her dream wouldn’t happen. We still had a boatload of things to complete: finalizing the stage, doing a sound check for the band, and ensuring every member knew what they had to cook and how soon they’d have to cook it. But mostly, this back-aching, headache-inducing, beautiful, exciting masquerade party was going to happen with more than enough time to spare. And even some extra cash to donate to the local women’s shelter.
“So!” I clapped, reinvigorated by the hint of success within reach. “Which one of you is going to stick around and help me figure out the stage?”
Indie whipped out her phone like it had been ringing. “Oh, no. I have to make a tutoring session.”
“You’re a straight-A student,” I said.
“And why do you think that is?” She squeezed my shoulder before going to grab her bag. “Nice work, Prez. Thanks to you, we’ll live to party another day.”
I sighed but turned to Haven with hope. She was already shaking her head.
“I have to drive you both back to campus,” she reminded me. “My show’s streaming at five.”
“Won’t it still be streaming at six?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Who knows? No one knows these things, so it's best to enjoy them as soon as possible.”
I laughed. “You two are unbelievable.”
“Come on, let the woman enjoy her show.” Indie tossed her arm around my shoulder. “Me enjoy studying. And you enjoy that cute tight end of yours. Don’t you two have a date?”
The tips of my ears burned, but my expression remained stoic. I hadn’t seen David outside of lectures since our driving lessons last weekend. He’d been swamped with practice and training and trying to keep his head above water in classes. And I’d delved into org work… not far enough to avoid checking my messages every hour. But enough so that I could push his smile, the memory of his touch, and how his lips felt on mine to the back of my mind for an impressive five minutes at a time. Indie’s mention of him just ruined my current streak.
“A meeting,” I said.
“Ooh, a meeting?” Indie asked with a laugh. “Sexy.”
