Saturday morning, I wake up to banging. At least it sounds like banging in my half-asleep state. When I open my eyes, the bedroom is empty, but I hear voices coming from the common area. Why is everyone up so early on a weekend? I wonder groggily.
I roll over to look at my alarm clock and see that early isn’t quite accurate. It’s already eleven o’clock! Whoa. I can’t remember the last time I slept so late! As I stretch my legs over the side of the bed and debate whether I should join the waking world, someone knocks on the bedroom door.
“You awake, Chloe?” my suitemate Bailey calls.
“Barely,” I say, “but you can come in.”
Bailey opens the door a crack and squeezes in, closing it behind her. “There’s a cuuuute boy asking for you,” she says, grinning and wiggling her eyebrows. “Says his name is Jake.”
My heart skips a beat. I met Jake McKay, Liesel’s son, back when I was auditioning for Teen Design Diva. And Bailey is right — he is cuuuute. I thought I’d be seeing him a lot more once I started my internship and we were both in New York, but it’s been almost two weeks since we hung out at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museum.
“Great!” I say, my cheeks reddening. “Can you please tell him I’ll be out in ten minutes?”
“You got it,” Bailey agrees. “But I want to know more about him!”
After Bailey leaves, I slip into a sundress and sandals and check my face in the mirror. Ugh. All those early mornings have made my eyes tired and my skin pale. Thankfully, a layer of moisturizer, a few dabs of concealer, and some bronzer do the trick. Totally ready, and it doesn’t look like I just rolled out of bed at all!
“Hey!” says Jake as soon as I step into the common room. Before I can say anything back, he lifts me up and gives me a hug.
Bailey and Avery giggle, and Madison’s jaw falls so low it looks like it’s going to scrape the floor.
“Hey, yourself,” I say, blushing. I love Jake’s hugs, but it’s a little embarrassing in front of my roommates. “This is a nice surprise.”
“Glad you think so,” Jake says with a smile. “I figured you’ve been so busy, I might have a better chance with the element of surprise. Are you free today?”
“Definitely,” I agree.
Jake takes my hand and starts to head out. “Nice meeting you all!” he calls back behind him.
“Have fun!” Bailey hollers, giving me a wink.
When we’re safely outside the room, Jake says, “Sorry about that. I’m just excited to see you!”
“It’s okay. I’m happy to see you too. It’s been kind of a rough week,” I say.
Jake squeezes my hand as we head into the sunshine. “Yeah, my mom said something like that, but she didn’t give me deets.”
I fill him in, and when I’m done, Jake looks sympathetic. “Yeah, that’s rough,” he agrees. “But it sounds like you totally stepped up to the plate and hit it out of the park with yesterday’s designs.”
I laugh. “Nice baseball metaphors.”
We stop at a kiosk and Jake buys us coffee and egg sandwiches. “So, what do you want to do today now that I’ve managed to steal you away?” he asks.
“Want to go to the Met?” I suggest. “I’ve been dying to see their dress exhibit. I think it will inspire me.”
“Sure,” Jake agrees. “But after the dresses, you have to promise we’ll hit their sword and armor collections.”
I wrinkle my nose, picturing case after case of daggers and knightly gear, but a deal’s a deal. “I promise,” I say. But privately I think, But no one said the time spent looking at dresses and armor had to be equal …
* * *
Jake is a good sport as we move from one dress design to another. I’ve always been into fashion, but the stuff at the Met is totally blowing my mind. We pause at Rudi Gernreich’s Kabuki dress. I love the way he combined styles here, blending the kimono with geometric patterns. The belt rests below the bust instead of at the waist, resembling an empire-line dress.
“He’s fantastic,” I say. “I love that he didn’t play it safe. At the time, his ideas were thought to be scandalous. He broke so many barriers.”
Jake eyes the dress. “I remember reading about him too. I really respect designers who don’t play by the rules.” He gives my hand a squeeze. “I bet your designs will be rebellious.”
I smile. “I can see it now. Chloe Montgomery — Renegade of Style.”
Jake grins. “Exactly.”
I laugh but secretly I hope that’s true. I don’t want to be the one who follows the trends. One day, I want to design the trends others copy.
We view more of Gernreich’s work, including the black wool minidress with half-moons all over it. My eyes tire looking at the dizzying pattern, but they’re refocused by the red ribbons on the sleeves.
“A style like this might work for Laura’s knit line,” I say. Stefan seems like a progressive designer who’d go for something unique.
We move on to the evening dresses, and I stop beside a display of art deco-inspired creations. A soft pink dress with a scalloped, beaded skirt and delicate embroidery catches my eye. The pattern is a little busier than what Taylor had in mind, but the scalloped pattern gets my brain working. It could be gorgeous on a dress she’s designing. Or maybe even a scalloped pattern on a jacket! It’s a little out there, but it could work.
Jake drags behind me, and his eyes glaze over. I could look at these dresses for hours, but I know he’s probably had his fill.
I link my arm through his. “Swords?” I ask.
His eyes light up. “You’re sure you’re done?” he asks politely.
“Not really,” I tease. I feel bad when his face immediately falls. “Just kidding,” I add quickly.
Jake’s smile takes over his entire face, and he practically skips to the sword exhibit. I take one last look at the designs around me. After this outing, I’ll have even more ideas for Taylor come Monday morning.
