The Arrangement Anthology 1(35)

Marty looks at Amanda and flicks his hand while he talks, “Go get us sparkling waters, honey.” Amanda smiles and walks off. No doubt she’s going to spit in his. Marty and Mel flank me. We look in the mirror as we talk in hushed voices. “What happened? How do you know?”

“I got a call while I was in the dressing room. Sean declined.”

Mel’s eyes go wide and she looks at Marty who is uncharacteristically silent. Mel takes over. She slips her hand around my waist and says, “To hell with him, then. You don’t need him, Avery. He was eye candy. A crush. Nothing more. I’ll help you pick out a new guy, someone better.”

Marty eyes her. “You too? Is the whole school whoring, now?”

Mel goes on the defense. She folds her arms over her chest and narrows her eyes. “You got a problem with that?”

“No,” Marty says, almost whining, “I feel left out.”

That makes me laugh. It caught Mel off guard too and she snorts so loud that she sounds like a pig. We both stare at her. “Like you expected him to say that?” I shake my head. “Where’d you find this basket of gay, anyway?”

“He’s my lab partner,” I respond, waiting to see what Marty does about the gay accusation, but he just glosses over it. I wonder what’s going through his head. The last time I assumed I knew something about someone from the way they looked, well, it didn’t go well. It turns out that the woman wasn’t pregnant. Since then, I don’t blurt things out like that.

“That was witty,” Marty says, pressing his hand to his chin and examining Mel like he’s never seen her before. “I like what you did there.” The two of them chatter and I look at the dark blue dress and know that some other guy will be taking it off of me. I swallow hard and walk back to the dressing room to take it off. This is the dress that will be on me when I solve my financial problems. This is the dress that some guy will remove from me the night I lose my virginity.

Several hundred dollars later, I’m leaving the swank little shop with a new dress and silk shoes. It cost a good chunk of the money I earned with Sean, but it’s necessary to do whoever’s next. After we walk outside, I put the things in my car.

“Let’s go grab a bite to eat,” Marty says.

“Sounds good to me,” Mel replies.

Marty claps like he’s five and yells, “Shotgun!” This is a major turn of events, since he rode to the store with me. Mel met up with us and brought her car. Glancing at me he says, “No offense hun, but your car scares the glitter out of me.”

“None taken,” I say. “Listen, I’m going to run an errand and head back. I’m not really hungry, yet. Late lunch.” I’m lying, but neither one calls me on it. I wave and duck into my car.

I have to pick up my last paycheck from my previous employer. By the time I get there, it’s dark outside. The sun sets so early at this time of year. My sweater doesn’t do much to keep the chill away. I need to buy a coat. My mother would have yelled at me for wearing something so thin. God, I miss her. On chilly nights like this, she’d be cooking chicken noodle soup. Bread would have been baking in the oven all day, filling the house with that wonderful aroma. Memories like that sneak up on me at the worst times. I sit in my car for a moment, trying to push the past away.

Moving fast, I jog across the parking lot and walk into the front of the restaurant. There’s a line of people waiting to be seated. A man is talking to the hostess. There’s a beautiful woman on his arm. She has deep brown hair with a hint of red. A black dress clings to her curvy body. I envy her for a moment, wishing that I had curves like that.

“Hey, Stacy,” I say as I approach the hostess. “I just need to pick up my check.”

“Sure, but they weren’t ready when I came in. You might have to wait for it.”

I nod, intending to walk past her. I’m dressed like a bum, with tight jeans and my holey sweater. I stand out like a stripper in a preschool. A chill washes over me as I’m about to pass her. The guy at the podium turns. His blue eyes lock with mine and I freeze in place.

Sean.

We stare at each other for half a beat. Sean’s wearing a black suit that fits him so well. It shows off his shoulders and his trim frame. The shirt he’s wearing is the color of the night sky, perfectly blue—dark like my new dress. A chill encases my heart, as it tries to climb up my throat. I can’t do anything but stare.

The girl on his arm, leans in close, possessively. “Is there a problem?” she snaps.

I blink and shake my head. I hate her. I hate everything about her. I want to rip her face off. My fingers flex at my sides as I think about it, but I’d rather Sean didn’t know how hung up I am on him. “No ma’am,” I say, knowing ma’am pisses off anyone under thirty years old. “Your table will be ready in a moment.”