way, I needed to be out of my work clothes and into something with a little more oomph. Standing in front of my closet, I hemmed and hawed over what to wear. Sexy? Slutty? Did I even own something that qualified as either of those?
I’m bad at the dressing, have I mentioned? I wished suddenly and fiercely that I’d had Lil come home with me. She’d be sprawled on the bed right now, chomping the grape-flavoured gum she loved so much, but that I wouldn’t allow in the store because it made all the pages smell like grape for ever. She’d be directing me on exactly what to wear, and not to wear. ‘That one makes your ass look scrumptious,’ she’d say. Or ‘No, no, no, no. Not those. Hell no.’
I missed those days of our friendship, those days when we did everything together, with a sudden fierceness that ripped through me more strongly than it should have. When had we lost that? I couldn’t remember. In fact, I wasn’t even sure I’d felt like I’d lost her until the question had popped into my head just now. It had been recently, surely. Sometime after we’d opened the store. Was it when Kyle and I had got more serious? Whatever that meant. Or something else? And now I needed her, needed to hear her tell me everything was OK, that I’d make all the right choices, and she wasn’t here. Which was my own damn fault.
What would Lil do? I thought stupidly, staring at my closet.
A little red dress caught my eye as I scanned the fabrics. Red dress, black stockings, black boots, my hair up in a bun with some long earrings. I could do that. And it wouldn’t look out of place no matter what the event was like. I hoped.
I dressed quickly, throwing a scarf around my neck for good measure. Despite my hemming and hawing, I would almost be on time to meet Kyle. That meant Kyle first, then talk to Stefan, then Cat House. Or WC. Whatever it was.
On the way out the door, I grabbed the tickets. OK, things were looking better. Stop being a coward and face Kyle. Get through tonight. Learn some things about my new client. Good. I could do this.
I opened the door and practically fell over Kyle, who was on his knees on my welcome mat.
CHAPTER 6
OK, ‘practically fell over’ isn’t quite the truth. I actually did fall over him. Because I am a klutz. A cute klutz, if the rumours are to be believed, but still a total and complete klutz. I tried to stop myself, and if he’d been standing up, it would have been easy. He was tall enough that he would have taken my weight, even at my breakneck speed, and we would have wobbled, but not fallen.
But he was kneeling to pull his phone out of his bag and I didn’t see him until way too late. My legs went bent-knee right into him. The tickets flew out of my hand to flutter down the hall, and I did the most awkward and unsexy air-flying routine ever invented. I’m pretty sure everyone within a mile got a flash of my underwear.
At least I’d worn something sexy. Which also meant something that covered far too little.
I tried to sigh and all I could do was utter a little half-squeak.
‘Janine. Holy – are you –? What the hell? I’m so sorry.’
Kyle was clearly as confused as I was, and maybe as out of breath. He’d scrambled up from his kneeling position to loom over me. From my floor-sprawled position, he was like a really tall, skinny giant holding down one big paw.
I gently waved his hand away for the time being. I looked like a fool, but I wasn’t going anywhere just yet. My ankle throbbed like I’d just fallen off of a pair of high heels, some part of my head had thunked against something with a sound loud enough that I could still hear it somewhere inside my teeth, and I was pretty sure an elephant was sitting on my chest.
I’m not that tall; why does a fall from my own height end up with me so banged up?
‘What?’ I was trying to get my words out through my gasps of breath. ‘Are you. Doing here?’
‘Um.’ Kyle looked as confused as I felt.
‘We were
I’m bad at the dressing, have I mentioned? I wished suddenly and fiercely that I’d had Lil come home with me. She’d be sprawled on the bed right now, chomping the grape-flavoured gum she loved so much, but that I wouldn’t allow in the store because it made all the pages smell like grape for ever. She’d be directing me on exactly what to wear, and not to wear. ‘That one makes your ass look scrumptious,’ she’d say. Or ‘No, no, no, no. Not those. Hell no.’
I missed those days of our friendship, those days when we did everything together, with a sudden fierceness that ripped through me more strongly than it should have. When had we lost that? I couldn’t remember. In fact, I wasn’t even sure I’d felt like I’d lost her until the question had popped into my head just now. It had been recently, surely. Sometime after we’d opened the store. Was it when Kyle and I had got more serious? Whatever that meant. Or something else? And now I needed her, needed to hear her tell me everything was OK, that I’d make all the right choices, and she wasn’t here. Which was my own damn fault.
What would Lil do? I thought stupidly, staring at my closet.
A little red dress caught my eye as I scanned the fabrics. Red dress, black stockings, black boots, my hair up in a bun with some long earrings. I could do that. And it wouldn’t look out of place no matter what the event was like. I hoped.
I dressed quickly, throwing a scarf around my neck for good measure. Despite my hemming and hawing, I would almost be on time to meet Kyle. That meant Kyle first, then talk to Stefan, then Cat House. Or WC. Whatever it was.
On the way out the door, I grabbed the tickets. OK, things were looking better. Stop being a coward and face Kyle. Get through tonight. Learn some things about my new client. Good. I could do this.
I opened the door and practically fell over Kyle, who was on his knees on my welcome mat.
CHAPTER 6
OK, ‘practically fell over’ isn’t quite the truth. I actually did fall over him. Because I am a klutz. A cute klutz, if the rumours are to be believed, but still a total and complete klutz. I tried to stop myself, and if he’d been standing up, it would have been easy. He was tall enough that he would have taken my weight, even at my breakneck speed, and we would have wobbled, but not fallen.
But he was kneeling to pull his phone out of his bag and I didn’t see him until way too late. My legs went bent-knee right into him. The tickets flew out of my hand to flutter down the hall, and I did the most awkward and unsexy air-flying routine ever invented. I’m pretty sure everyone within a mile got a flash of my underwear.
At least I’d worn something sexy. Which also meant something that covered far too little.
I tried to sigh and all I could do was utter a little half-squeak.
‘Janine. Holy – are you –? What the hell? I’m so sorry.’
Kyle was clearly as confused as I was, and maybe as out of breath. He’d scrambled up from his kneeling position to loom over me. From my floor-sprawled position, he was like a really tall, skinny giant holding down one big paw.
I gently waved his hand away for the time being. I looked like a fool, but I wasn’t going anywhere just yet. My ankle throbbed like I’d just fallen off of a pair of high heels, some part of my head had thunked against something with a sound loud enough that I could still hear it somewhere inside my teeth, and I was pretty sure an elephant was sitting on my chest.
I’m not that tall; why does a fall from my own height end up with me so banged up?
‘What?’ I was trying to get my words out through my gasps of breath. ‘Are you. Doing here?’
‘Um.’ Kyle looked as confused as I felt.
‘We were
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