I flipped on the light overhead and the two of them hissed and covered their eyes like zombies seeing the first light of day. “Jesus! Rookies these days,” Kinsley said, reaching past me to try to turn the light back off.
I held my hand up with a firm, “NO!”
They sat there, wearing their matching onesies as I tried to rifle through my clothes above their heads. I pulled out a light blue dress and held it up to the light.
“Not cute,” Becca said.
“Nuh-uh,” Kinsley agreed.
I shoved it back on the rack and reached for another one.
“Worse.”
Becca nodded. “So much worse.”
“Wow, film and fashion critics. You guys are very talented.”
They sat quietly until I pulled out the next dress. It was black and short with spaghetti straps that crisscrossed in the back. I’d worn it so many times that the cotton-blend material had grown just soft enough to feel like pajamas. It was the perfect casual black dress for a party I still wasn’t sure I’d be attending.
“Winner winner, chicken dinner,” Kinsley said as I held it up to my body. It was even shorter than I remembered.
“Where are you going?” Becca asked, fidgeting with the unicorn horn on her hood.
“Out,” I answered, turning to walk out of the closet in pursuit of my black strapless bra.
“Out out?” Kinsley asked. “We have a game in the morning!”
“No. Not out out. I’m staying in the building.”
Actually, odds were I’d be staying in my room. All day I had gone back and forth on whether or not I wanted to attend Freddie’s party. I wanted to see him and I wanted to make the most of my time in Rio, but I knew it wasn’t a good idea to go. Even if there was a room full of people to buffer the tension between us, that also meant a room full of people to blab to Sophie Boyle.
“Did you shave? Because that dress is really short…”
I turned to to find Becca and Kinsley lying on their stomachs at the door of the closet. They were watching me get ready with their heads propped up on their hands and their legs up in the air. They looked like the two kids at the slumber party that you only invited because your mom made you.
“Yes,” I said, reaching down to confirm. “My legs are smooth.”
“But your hair…are you going to leave it like that?”
I’d blown it dry after showering and put it in a loose braid down my back.
“Kins, you’re literally dressed like a frumpy unicorn. I don’t need any more input on my appearance.”
“What about your makeup?” Becca asked, kicking her feet back and forth.
I was five seconds away from murdering the both of them.
I turned to Becca and smirked. “Guess what? At the end of that movie every—”
“No!” Becca yelled. “Don’t ruin it.” She shot up off the floor, cradling her laptop.
Kinsley trailed after her, but she paused at the door and glanced back at me. “Should I even ask where you’re going?”
I shook my head. “I wouldn’t tell you if you did.”
“Will you be having a…jolly good time?”
I smiled and turned away. “Maybe.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing, Andie.”
I glanced down to the dress in my hand.
Yeah, me too.
I EXPECTED THERE to be music blaring on the eleventh floor, but when I stepped off the elevator, the hallway was quiet. I gripped my phone—the only thing I’d brought with me—and counted each room number I passed. 1101. 1102. Freddie was staying in 1120, and by the time I’d made it to his door, my hands were sweaty and my nerves were shot. I leaned forward and pressed my ear to the door, heard nothing, and cringed when I glanced down at the time. 7:01 PM. Who shows up at a party right when it’s just getting started?? For all I knew, I’d be the first one to arrive.
I walked past the door a few paces, trying to think of a plan. I could go linger around the gift shop for a few minutes and then head back up, or I could—
The door to his condo opened.
“Don’t worry, mate. She’ll show up,” Thom called over his shoulder right before his body collided with mine. He’d been stepping back, not watching where he was going and I’d just turned around, also not paying attention.
“Blimey! I’m sorry,” he said, reaching out to steady me before I tumbled to the floor. “Told ya, mate!”
I glanced down the hallway. Could I still make a run for it? Thom’s hand was on my arm, but I could yank it free with a few well-placed judo chops.
“What’s going—” Freddie’s sentence cut off when he stepped into the doorway and saw me standing there with wide eyes and cold feet. I really wanted to bolt, especially when his brown eyes assessed me from the doorway. He was wearing a cheeky smile across his freshly shaven face, and there were a few strands of brown hair that had fallen down across his forehead. More than anything else in the world, I wanted to step forward and brush them back.
Instead, I clenched my hands by my side and nodded. “Well, this has been fun. I’m going now.”
He laughed then, a beautiful sound that made my toes curl inside my Converse.