LILI ALMOST TRIPPED ON HER cork wedges getting out of the convertible in her haste to follow Daphne Shepard. The star had been walking on a charming, tree-lined street filled with small, vibrant, one-of-a-kind boutiques, and it was hard to keep an eye on her, since it looked to Lili as if every girl on the street was a Daphne clone. They were all wearing fluttery camisoles and denim shorts as tiny as their sunglasses and handbags were enormous.
“This is Robertson Boulevard,” Lauren was saying. “My sister goes to UCLA, and she told me this is where everyone in L.A. really shops.”
Lili nodded approvingly. There was a mellow, laid-back vibe to the place, with nary a Nikon-wielding tourist anywhere. “Where’d she go?” she asked, not seeing Daphne anywhere.
“I think she went over there,” A. A. said, leading the way to a candy-colored boutique across the street. They tried to get inside but were stymied by a mob of shoppers waiting behind a velvet rope in front of the store. The line was so long it snaked all the way down the block and around the next corner.
Lili recognized the store as one of those celebrity emporiums, having read all about it in her favorite tabloids. The trendy boutique and its wares—T-shirts proclaiming allegiances in the current celebrity feud, the jeans of the moment (which right now were neon-colored skinny), and Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku Lovers line of plastic tote bags—were as famous as the celebrities who shopped there.
“WTF?” asked Ashley, determined to push her way through.
Lili had to agree. She’d never heard of a line to get inside a store. Maybe this was why they called L.A. la-la land. Everything in the city seemed larger than life. The sky was bluer. The cars were bigger. Everyone on the street looked like a movie star. Even the stores were run like nightclubs, Lili thought, which reminded her of the mixer and all the items she had yet to tick off her to-do list. It was a week away. Not a problem. She took out her cell and dialed a well-known caterer her mother always worked with. She could at least be productive if they were forced to stand in line.
“I need hot and cold hors d’oeuvres, a sushi bar, and a buffet station for about a hundred people,” she said. “Fax the menu to my cell phone for my approval. Thanks.”
Food? Check.
“This is ridonculous!” Ashley announced, jostling for the best spot like she always did. Lili secretly enjoyed seeing the pained look on Ashley’s face. It was so rare for her to experience any adversity. No one ever said no to Ashley. She didn’t know what “no” meant; to Ashley “no” only meant “not now” or “maybe later.”
“Excuse you!” screeched an annoyed shopper who was wearing all the season’s trends—patent platform wedges, metallic bag, and argyle vest—in one outfit.
“Get to the back of the line!” another complained, angrily pushing up the sleeves on her balloon tunic blouse.
“Watch it,” threatened A. A., standing up straight and staring down a fashion victim who’d poked an elbow in her direction. It was good to have A. A. around at a time like this. She didn’t take any crap from anyone.
It looked like they would never get inside until Lauren caught up to them. Their new friend had lagged behind to talk to Dex, and of course, none of the Ashleys had bothered to wait for her. Lili couldn’t help but think she looked a tad amused as she approached. “What are you guys doing back here?” Lauren asked.
“Um, because there’s a line?” Ashley snapped.
Lauren sighed. “C’mon, follow me. They know me here,” she told them, walking all the way to the front as if she did it all the time.
Lili exchanged we’ve-got-to-see-this looks with the other Ashleys, but they trotted dutifully after Lauren, not wanting to get left behind just in case she was telling the truth.
“Hi, Cherry,” Lauren called, trading air kisses with the skinny girl in a faux-vintage Led Zeppelin T-shirt and cropped red jeans manning the door. “These are my friends. Can we go in?”
“Of course. Hi, girls!” The salesgirl smiled. “Omigod, it’s like madness today. I think there was a feature on E! this weekend or something,” she said, unlocking the velvet rope and waving them inside.
Lili reached out and grabbed Ashley’s hand and saw A. A. do the same to Ashley’s other hand, and the three of them ran inside the store without bothering to thank Lauren.
“Where is she?” Lili despaired, not finding Daphne’s sleek blond head anywhere in the store. But she lost interest in star-spotting once she laid eyes on a rack of multicolored dresses. She saw Ashley eyeing the impressive shoe selection and A. A. piling on the jeans.
For a solid twenty minutes, Lili concentrated on finding the perfect dress for the dance. She knew exactly what she wanted: something on-trend but not trendy, something girly but not cutesy, something chic but also easy to wear that would allow her to move. She didn’t want to spend the entire evening tugging on a too-short hemline or pushing up straps that kept falling. She chose several promising-looking options and disappeared into one of the dressing rooms in the back of the store.
A few minutes later she pried open the curtain so she could check herself out in the large mirror hanging in front of all the dressing rooms. The store seemed to encourage shoppers to model the items they’d selected, and she had to fight a bunch of gorgeous girls trying on an array of sexy backless tops to catch her reflection. She assessed herself in a lacy white eyelet number with a handkerchief hem.
Too Bo-Peep, Lili thought, shaking her head.
The next one was a black mod shift with a row of oversize buttons on the side.
Too costumey.
She put on the last one, a simple black jersey dress with spaghetti straps. It looked like nothing on the hanger, but Lili had a feeling it was one of those dresses that were deceptively simple but effortlessly chic. Once she saw herself in the mirror she knew.
This was the one.
The dress skimmed her slim hips, and the soft cowl neckline showed off her delicate collarbone. It was perfect. It was hers. She did a little jiggle of happiness from a shopping high.
Then she heard the sound of curtains being pushed aside with a flourish and watched with a sickening sense of foreboding as Ashley pranced out of her dressing room. Her shopping high disappeared and she crashed back down to earth. Ashley was wearing the exact same dress.
“Omigod!” they chorused. Lili felt better when both of them began to laugh after they realized what they’d done. But she stopped laughing when she heard what Ashley said next.
“You are such a biter,” Ashley teased.
“Me? You’re the one who always bites off me,” Lili replied, trying to keep her voice light. She was the one who’d suggested they all get Proenza messenger bags for back-to-school, and look what happened.
Lili noticed A. A. walking over to referee, like she always did. “You look great in that, Lil,” A. A. said. “You too, Ash,” she added, almost as an afterthought.
Lili had no idea why Ashley would want the dress, since the stark black color made her look totally washed out. Not that she would ever tell Ashley that.
“Yeah, you guys both look awesome,” Lauren agreed, coming over and adding her two cents, although no one paid attention.
“I was thinking of wearing it to the dance,” Ashley declared, her hands on her hips.
“Me too,” countered Lili, her voice tight. “I found it first.” She felt the tension in the room rise as they surreptitiously checked each other out in the mirror. No one said anything for a long time, until Ashley’s cool voice broke the silence.
“You know, Lil, I think it looks great on you, as long as you’re comfortable showing so much skin,” Ashley cooed. “It’s a little hoochie.”
“Are you serious?” asked Lili. She grimaced. Was Ashley right? Was it skank city? Now that she thought about it, it was a little daring. Or was Ashley just playing her?
“I think she looks great in it,” Lauren burst in. “You really do, Lil.” Not that Lili cared what Lauren thought at all. This was between her and Ashley.
“Oh, definitely,” Ashley agreed, as if Lauren was being completely reasonable. “I don’t think she looks like a baby prostitute at all.”
“You did not just call Lili a baby ho.” A. A. laughed. A. A. wasn’t going to be any help, Lili despaired. She was Switzerland whenever it came to style skirmishes and never got involved in her friends’ jousting for top position.
“I don’t know,” Lili said, as she returned to the sanctuary of her own dressing room, a troubled look on her face. She suddenly wished she had gone shopping alone.
“Yeah, I’m not getting it either,” said Ashley triumphantly, in a voice that implied case closed.
We’ll see about that, Lili thought.