Our first stop had been to the eye doctor, who luckily had an opening this afternoon. He gave Drake a temporary pair of contacts until his prescription ones came in. Already they’d made a huge difference. He went from wizard look-alike to surfer guy in 2.1 seconds.
The timer went off and Sandra came over to peek at his hair. She smiled. “Looks good. Let’s get these off and get your hair washed and styled.”
I watched her do her magic. Cutting and fashioning. When she finished she stepped back for me to see first.
“Oh. My. Gosh. If you weren’t my brother, I’d think you’re totally hot.”
He glanced in the mirror and touched his newly blond hair. “Wow. I hardly recognize myself.”
With a grin, I snapped a pic with my phone and sent it to my BFF Kenadi, with a quick message.
What do u think?
Drake groaned. “No. Don’t send it to everyone.”
“It’s only Kenadi—geesh.”
A second later my phone buzzed with a new message.
Holy hotness. Tell him if I didn’t have a boyfriend I’d be all over that.
“See, even she thinks you look good.” I showed him the message.
His cheeks turned red as he pretended to stare at the fake plants lining the window-front of the salon.
Once we paid for the hair, we grabbed our shopping bags, and headed back out into the mall. Light beamed from the giant skylights above. I glanced over the side railing to see crowds of people walking below, an array of purchases in hand. Across the way, music from the carousel twinkled, reminding me of the amusement park Drake and I loved so much.
The scent of cookies and hot pretzels wafted in the air. My stomach growled. But before I could sniff out the nearest food court restaurant, my gaze settled on the prom dress hanging in the Fashionista Forest window. Not just any prom dress. The prom dress. The one I’d been dreaming about since seeing it in a catalog about three months ago. Light blue satin, with a lace overlay.
The same fab dress that it’d take me like three years to save up for. Okay, maybe not quite that long, but it was way more than my measly allowance would allow for. Sure my parents made good money, but they were also the President and First Lady of the Cheap Parents Club. They told us they’d provide for things we needed. School clothes. A vehicle. Money for sports. But apparently “expensive” prom attire didn’t make their list. Obviously they had no idea about my needs. My brother on the other hand worked part time at the video game store, which is why he always had cash.
“You’re not gonna stand there staring at it all day, are you?” Drake tugged my arm, jerking me away from my destiny.
“Hey. I wasn’t done admiring it.” If Kenadi had come with me, I would’ve gone in to try it on. Again.
“Yeah, well, with that price tag, I’m sure it’ll be here next time we come in.” His gaze darted around the different storefronts. We took a few more steps, and he came up short forcing me to bump into his back. I glanced at him. He wiped his hands on his jeans, his brow furrowed.
“Um—what’s gotten into you?”
“Chloe works at the Notes Music Store.” He nodded to the shop across from us. “And she’s there today.”
I grinned. “This is perfect.”
“Say what?”
“We’ve found your in. Let’s go.” My red lacquered fingernails dug into his arm as I dragged him toward Notes.
He attempted to pull free from me. His face turned crimson. “No, wait. I’m not ready for this. I thought you said we’d take things slow.”
“Relax—I’ll help you through this.” Geez, he acted like he’d never talked to a girl before. It was kind of cute the way his ears got pink. “Make sure you keep your cell on.”
“Why?”
“That way I can help you if you panic.” As we approached the entrance, I whispered, “You’re here to buy sheet music.”
“Right. Sheet music.” He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slow. “Do you have a piece of gum?”
I dug through my purse and pulled out a piece of Spearmint Bubble Burst. He took it from me and popped it in his mouth.
When we got inside, Chloe glanced up from behind the counter, looked down, and then back up again. “Drake?”
He smiled. “Hey—I didn’t know you worked here.”
For having no experience at this kind of thing, he definitely seemed like a natural. Way to play up the “coincidence meeting up with you here” card.
She blushed. “Yeah. My parents told me I have to pay for my car insurance and gas.”
He chuckled. “Join the club. It must be a parental thing—teach us all that responsibility and stuff.”
“You can say that again.” Chloe giggled and brushed strands of red hair from her face. She then turned to me, as if just noticing me. “Hi, Delyla.”
“Hey.” I nodded.
They grew quiet. I nudged Drake in the side. C’mon old boy. Don’t freak out now. You’ve got her where you want her. I wandered to the electric guitar section to give them some privacy, but stayed close enough to eavesdrop.
“So, I’m actually looking for some sheet music for my drums,” Drake said at last.
“We’ve got a great selection in the percussion section. Actually, I think we had some new pieces come in.” She moved from behind the counter to show it to him.
While they examined the finer points of band stuff, I grabbed a baby blue electric guitar from the display. I turned it on and strummed a few chords. Drake shot me a quick glance, but I continued to play.
I would love to get an electric guitar, but my parents didn’t want to give rise to the next great chick band. Which sucked because I already had a cool name picked out. The Smoking Spanx. I know. Totally epic.
With a sigh, I set the instrument down and pulled out my phone. Ask her about her orchestra stuff, I texted.
I wandered around the store for twenty-five minutes while they chatted it up. At last, my brother made it to the checkout counter with several new sheets of music.
“You should stop by the band room tomorrow during lunch and hear part of the orchestral piece I’m writing,” Chloe said.
“Sure, that’d be awesome. So, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She smiled and waved. “See you.”
When we joined the throngs of people in the mall, I squealed. “Am I fabulous or what?”
“It’s not a date or anything. She just wants me to hear her play in the band room.”
“Yeah, but a lot can happen in a band room.” I waggled my eyebrows at him. “I bet you have her playing a high C before you two leave.”
He gave me a playful shove. “Nice—anyone ever tell you, you’re not right in the head?”
“You’re welcome.”
“Let’s get going. We’ve got a long car ride home.”
Phase one of De-nerdify my brother. Check. And done.
Chapter 3
The scent of cafeteria pizza and fries clung to the air around me as I took a bite of my turkey sandwich. Rex sat next to me at our usual table. Beams of sunlight seemed to spotlight him as it poured in from the nearby window. I glanced at him. His blue eyes gleamed when he smiled, while his blond hair stood up in messy, stylish tufts. God he was hot. And mine. I shifted my gaze to see several girls staring at him.
I knew how lucky I was to snag him, seeing as how he was a senior and I was only a junior. It was kind of a freak accident that we hooked up. Well not “hooked up, hooked up”, but dated. We’d been running the Flat River Trail, when he’d accidentally ran into me. We both got scraped up when we tumbled down a nearby drainage ditch. Ever since then we’d been inseparable.