The Only Exception

CHAPTER 9

I had to work early again on Saturday morning, but most of the students were gone for Labor Day weekend, so it was pretty much just me and Melanie “sampling” the different drinks on the menu.

“So, what are your plans for this weekend?” Melanie asked after downing her newest creation, a vanilla and peppermint latte.

I squirted a few pumps of caramel into a foam cup and glanced up at her. “I need to head to the mall after work and then I have dinner plans tonight, but that is about it.”

“Dinner plans?” She walked over and leaned on the counter beside the pumps of syrup. “With who?”

“Trey,” I said it quickly, pouring some milk in a steam pot, hoping she wouldn’t make a big deal of it. No such luck.

“WHAT?” she squealed. Luckily we were the only two in the place, but I’m sure everyone heard her across campus.

“Shhh!” I put my finger to my lips. “It’s not that big of a deal. It’s just dinner.” I put my finger down and steamed my milk.

“Not that big of a deal? You’re going on a date with a guy that you have said you hate, but always flirt with, and he’s the freaking governor’s son!”

Once my milk heated to 140 degrees, I pulled it out and poured it into my cup of syrups. “How do we really know he’s the governor’s son? Maybe he is just a cyborg that is an illusion of the real Trey Chapman.”

Melanie scoffed. “Seriously? I would think you would have figured that out by now if he was real or not. We have the Internet for a reason.”

She was right. Even though I recognized him from his dad’s campaign trail I still did a few background checks and stalked his Facebook page more than once. Unless his father had someone erased all of Trey’s past and replaced it with a new one, there were no arrest records, and the guy really was an open book. He didn’t seem to hold back what he was feeling, and as far as I knew he didn’t leave his apartment at night to live some double life. Nothing that I could find, anyway.

“Yeah, he doesn’t seem to be hiding anything shady.”

“And now you have a date with the non-shady guy that always looks like he just walked out of a JCrew catalog.”

“I know. That’s why I need to go to the mall after work. I have to find something to wear.”

I looked over my cup at Melanie’s smiling face. “Well, if this isn’t a big deal then I should definitely go with you, so I could help pick out something to wear for this date or non-date.”

“Fine.” I rolled my eyes, but was secretly a little relieved. I had no idea what to wear for dinner with the governor’s son and could use all the help I could get for shopping. I would have asked Sam, but her wardrobe contained more vinyl than denim, and she probably wouldn’t have been happy to hear about the non-date anyway.

***

Taylor wasn’t far from Chicago, so there was a ton of different places to go shopping. Not that I could really afford any of them. There was a mall a few miles from Central’s campus, a Target, two Wal-Marts, a few thrift stores, but not too much else. We decided to try the mall first and see what we could find at the department stores. My budget was fifty bucks, so I would have to stretch it.

Melanie picked up a short, sparkly number that looked like a big disco ball. “How about this? I think it screams that you aren’t interested but still shiny!”

I giggled. “Seriously? Is this what normal girls wear?”

Melanie shrugged, putting the dress back on the rack. “I guess homecoming dresses have gone a little over the top. Maybe we should get out of the junior section?”

I looked over the mounds of tulle and sequins. “Are you trying to say that I’m too old for the junior’s section?”

Melanie picked up another red number that was even shorter and had a corset top. “I’m just saying that none of these seem like an appropriate outfit to wear on a date with the governor’s son.”

“Fine.” I sighed. “Adult clothing it is.”

We took the escalator to the petite section. I’d never actually shopped in the women’s section before, and it felt like going into a completely different realm. Instead of bright colors and stacks of jeans, it was full of business suits and sweaters neatly stacked on shelves. I guess it was probably a better section to be in if teen pop stars weren’t on the posters behind each rack.

“Okay, now the object will be to find a dress that doesn’t make you look like a mom,” Melanie said, heading toward the back.

I picked one dress off a rack that was gold with a bolero jacket. “I think my mom wore this to my cousin’s wedding last summer.”

“If the message you want to send to Trey is aunt-of-the-bride then maybe that’s the one.” Melanie laughed.

I shook my head. “I don’t think so.” I then looked at the tag, $120. “And this is also out of my price range. Maybe I should browse the clearance rack.”

“Clearance clothes, away!” Melanie pumped her fist in the air.

The clearance rack was everything it should be: full of last season’s clothes, a lot of ugly sweaters, and not too much else. But then I found it. The perfect dress among the orange capri pants and yellow shorts.

“How about this?” I held the dress up for Melanie to see. It was a black, three-quarter-length sleeve wrap dress with a lace overlay.

Melanie’s eyes lit up when she saw it. “I think that’s totally the one.”

I looked at the price and instantly my smile faded. “How is this clearance? It’s still seventy-five bucks!”

Melanie looked at the tag. “But it’s marked down from one hundred and fifty!”

I stared at the dress, feeling the lace between my fingers. It really was perfect. It looked like something an English princess would wear to an afternoon tea or in my case, out to dinner with a politician’s son, wherever he would take me. He didn’t exactly say where we were going, but I didn’t think Trey ever went half-ass on anything.

“But it’s still more than I have to spend. Remember I have the expensive apartment to pay for as well.” I sighed, setting the dress back on the rack.

Melanie quickly picked it up. “Okay, I think there was a twenty-five percent off coupon in a flyer I’m sure we could get at the checkout, which after tax would take it down to like sixty and then I could loan you another ten.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Seriously?”

Melanie smiled. “I’m not going to let you go on your first date with this guy in just a t-shirt and jeans. After all the shit you’ve been through, you deserve to have one night to feel like you deserve to be with a politician’s son.”

Melanie didn’t know all of the details from my days at Taylor, but she knew the general gist of it. One day over the summer, after her high school boyfriend cheated on her with some chick he met at a concert, we spent the night eating ice cream and watching chick flicks. It was then she admitted that she only dated him to escape from her alcoholic father, and I admitted that I transferred to Taylor to escape a guy as well.

“Thanks, Mel, you’re the best.” I stared at the dress as she handed it to me. Maybe it wasn’t a million dollar dress that would be worn by his mother or some senator’s mistress, but to me it was perfect. And hopefully the night wouldn’t disappoint either.

My mind drifted to the last time I went out. The last time a guy smiled at me before pushing me to the ground and leaving me with bruises both inside and out. I told myself that Trey wasn’t like him. That not every guy would do that to a girl; just like my counselor and my mother kept telling me over and over. But I knew that just in case I would always have my mace handy, and always be ready for the unexpected.