| |
Harley started up the steps to her apartment with Isaac but turned just in time to watch Spencer drive away. She really enjoyed herself in the snow, she hadn’t played in the snow like a kid since, well, since she was one. And the pizza hit the spot and helped lighten her mood. Not hearing from Isaac since he dropped her off yesterday, she didn’t expect him to show up to take her to dinner.
They had some talking to do, because she was still stewing over how things went down at the wine tasting. She shook the lingering snow off her pants and kicked off her shoes at the door. “My pants are soaked from the snow. I have to change, but I’ll be right back. Make yourself comfortable.”
She ran up to her room without another word. Grabbing a dress from her cupboard, she held it up in the mirror. Tilting her head, she pondered. It was her favorite dress, comfortable, and she loved how she looked in it. Plus, it was always more fun to wear a dress than any pair of jeans.
As she stared at herself in the mirror, Spencer’s words of confirmation that she was beautiful in anything rang through her head.
And after the unfortunate exchange on Saturday, she figured that this long sleeve, maroon, knit dress would be perfect. It was tasteful and bad ass all wrapped up in one colorful fabric. And after all, it was just dinner.
She pulled on the soft and crazy comfortable knit dress, adding her leather jacket, and a pair of her best heels. Hurriedly, she curled her hair and touched up her make-up.
After a quick check in the mirror—her legs looked so long and sleek in the mini-dress—she felt so confident in this dress, which was one reason it was her favorite outfit.
Descending the stairs, she called, with a cool smile, to Isaac. “I’m ready!”
Standing up from the couch to face her, his expression quickly went from anticipation to surprise. “You...you’re wearing that?”
She stopped in her tracks at his comment. “I am. Why?”
“You know what, it’s fine. We should go.”
Harley could tell his smile was forced, and he was just trying to appease her. “Is there a problem?” she said through her gritted teeth.
This was getting annoying. He knew her sense of style when he began dating her. And she wasn’t the type of girl to change for a guy. Sexy can still be tasteful, and fun.
“No. Not at all. I just wondered if you would be comfortable in that. After all, it’s kind of short. And it is kind of cold out there. But... but it’s fine.”
“I’m sure it is.” She looked at him with annoyance. “It’s just dinner, right? Where are we going? Buckingham Palace?”
“No.” Isaac said, his face scrunched up in confusion. “We’re just going to–”
She tugged at the sleeves of her leather jacket, trying to ignore the feeling of self-consciousness that formed in her stomach, but then, running the hand over the softness of her favorite dress, she was reminded how this same dress made her feel especially bad-ass.
Quickly changing her tone, she confidently cocked her head to the side and commented, deadpan, “You know what? It doesn’t even matter. I don’t feel much like going out anymore.”
Isaac’s mouth dropped open. “What? Why?”
“Isaac, I just don’t feel like it.” She handed him his jacket and ushered him to the door. “We need to talk about this past weekend, but not today. I’ll call you later this week.”
“Um? Okay,” he stuttered. “I guess. So, no dinner then?”
“Isaac, I’ll call you, okay?” She kissed him on his cheek and closed the door behind him.
She leaned against the closed door for a moment, getting her bearings about her. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes for a moment. There was no plan to throw Isaac out, it all just happened so fast. It was like she was talking before her brain had a moment to process what she was saying.
Completely over this mess of an evening, she went to her bedroom, kicked off her heels, pulled off her dress and jacket, and hung it up neatly. Lily was due home any minute. The last thing she wanted to do was play twenty questions as to why she was spending her evening at home, alone.
Harley changed into comfortable lounge pants and a big t-shirt. She laid back on her bed and popped in her earphones.
Closing her eyes, she slowed her breathing and focused on the music. But her mind wandered to earlier today. The snowman, the snow angels, and the snowball fight. And the pizza was just what she needed. How did Spencer know that?
Surely, he didn’t know pizza would hit the spot, it was just a staple in his diet. Spencer lived on pizza, he was a college student. But not many college students were out playing in the snow. That was something she really liked about Spencer—he didn’t care about expectations or how people saw him, he just had fun and enjoyed life.
Then Isaac showed up. How would she have any idea they were still going to dinner tonight after the mess of a weekend they had? They were lacking in the communication department.
Back to reality. Over her music she heard the front door open and shut. Lily called through the house for her.
“I’m up here.”
Harley sat up and set her earbuds aside. She hadn’t seen Lily since she left on Friday. They were due for a gab session about the weekend. Lily had no idea what actually went down.
“Girl?” Lily entered Harley’s room like a whirlwind. “You going to bed early tonight?”
“Well, not really.”
“I thought you were going to dinner with Isaac tonight? I didn’t expect to see the lights on in the living room when I got home.”
“Well, our plans fell through.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” Lily questioned.
“Nope,” Harley said. “I didn’t feel like going out. That’s all.”
“Well, I should say that’s too bad but... I can’t complain since I want the low down on your romantic weekend!” Lily hopped on to Harley’s bed and made herself comfortable, visibly unaffected by Harley’s sullen mood. “I’m sorry I’ve been so busy with classes and my internship that we haven’t had a chance to talk yet. So, how was your weekend? Where’d he take you? Tell me everything!” Lily bounced up and down on Harley’s bed with excitement.
“Manor Inn off the Interstate,” Harley said flatly.
“Oh! I think that’s the place where my sorority sophomore year had a thing—it wasn’t what I’d call romantic—maybe it wasn’t the same one?” Lily said with confusion.
“Yep, same one. Let’s just say it was less romantic and more a place for company retreats,” Harley replied, using Isaac’s exact description.
“That’s an odd comparison.” Lily grimaced.
“Yeah, I really don’t want to talk about it—how was the concert?” After she’d changed her plans, Lily had texted to tell her that she and Zane were going to the concert as a gift from Spencer. Her own words hit her in the pit of her stomach. She should’ve been at that show, but she uncharacteristically backed out of her plans with Spencer to instead go away with Isaac. And because of that, she missed the concert she’d been hoping to see for months.
“It was so good!” Lily eyed Harley, and without missing a beat, asked, “I thought this was a romantic weekend? You said the place was less than romantic.”
“Yep.”
“I’m confused.” Lily’s face twisted.
“Maybe with Isaac and myself not communicating so well lately, it is possible that I missed the details about this weekend.”
“That’s a pretty big detail. Did he like the new blouse you bought?” Lily asked, hopeful.
Ugh. Another hit to her gut.
“I thought I said that I didn’t want to talk about this?” Harley pleaded.
“You did. But I kind of do,” Lily pressed.
“Lil, we can revisit this another time. Right now, I just want to be alone with my music and my thoughts.”
“You sure? I can order a pizza for dinner?”
“Nah, I had pizza for lunch. But thanks.”
Harley put in her earbuds and laid back on her bed with Evanescence blasting. Lily showed herself out, closing the door behind her.
She closed her eyes and focused on the words of the song. Her heart rate slowed, and her body relaxed. Her thoughts wandered to the snowball fight she’d had with Spencer. It was so easy to be herself with him, and she always had so much fun when they were together.
She wondered what he was doing right now. He was probably out on a date, and the thought made her stomach flop. She had no right to care what Spencer was doing, they were just friends.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Lily poked her head in the doorway.
“Good news!” Lily exclaimed with a wide smile. “I just talked to my mom. She has an associate that owns a cabin that’s only about an hour away. They only use it in the summer for fishing...long story short, she offered it to my parents to use, and my mom thought we could use a fun getaway before graduation. What do you think? This weekend, are you in?”
“I guess. Sounds like a nice distraction. Just tell me what I need to bring and when I need to be ready,” Harley said.
“Invite Isaac and we’ll make it a couple’s weekend,” Lily pressed.
“Um, yeah. I’ll see if he can make it.” There was rarely a weekend that he wasn’t working these days. But maybe a quiet non-working weekend away is what they needed. A cabin in the middle of the woods could be a romantic couple’s getaway.
If he couldn’t go, which was more likely, then maybe Lily wouldn’t invite Zane either and they could have a girl’s weekend.
And a girl’s weekend might be just what she needed.
THE WEEK DRAGGED ON, and so did her classes. It was only Thursday and Isaac had been busy all week. No lunch dates, no dinners. Oddly enough, she wasn’t as annoyed as she thought she’d be by his distance. Or maybe he was avoiding her after she changed her mind about dinner the other night. She still couldn’t believe that she dismissed him the way she had. But, good on her. If Isaac really cared about her it wouldn’t matter what she was wearing.
The cold air felt good against her face as she stood outside, trying to wake up from her boring morning classes. She had a meeting with her counselor in an hour, then she was done for the weekend.
Her body relaxed at the thought of the weekend. A nice long weekend in the woods with her boyfriend and best friend. She wasn’t sure she had ever seen Isaac let his hair down, and the thought made her shake her head in amusement. It was going to be great.
Her phone buzzed with a text message. It was from Isaac.
Isaac: Sorry, can’t make it this weekend. I have to work.
Of course he does. So much for their romantic weekend.
She grabbed a coffee and hurried to her meeting.
She didn’t want to doubt their relationship, but were they really going in the right direction? She barely saw him. And when she did it was for his work events. She wasn’t meant to be a trophy wife. Yes, she wanted a husband, a family, a stable and wonderful home life, but she wanted a life too. She liked to dress up and go out and have fun, and she wanted all that for her future-children too.
As she entered the school administrative office, the heavy doubt that rumbled through her gut was unlike anything she had ever felt.
Her counselor greeted Harley with a smile. “Miss Brady, I’m happy to see you’re early. I’m ready if you are.” The woman showed Harley into her office. “I’ve submitted all your paperwork for next semester. You’re in if that’s what you decide to do. And as a side note, let me add that I think you are making a very smart decision. Furthering your education isn’t something everyone can do. You, Harley, have the means to do it. Just say the word.”
Harley took a deep breath. She knew what kind of future she wanted.
“I’m in.”
