Page 80 of All the Ugly Things
It was salmon.
It was F-Ugly. Curl your hair, put on more makeup than you wear at school, pale pink lips he’ll wonder if it’s your real color and anything tight fitting so he spends more time looking at your ass and tits. Jeans. Short sleeves. Grab a cardigan. It’ll be chilly.
Doubt arose.Are you saying I’m ugly so wear something so he doesn’t look at my face?!
Bitch, please. You’re fine. You’re sexy as hell. All the guys stare at your ass before wondering if you’re going to shank them. Wear the tight shit so you can figure out if he’s really only your friend. No male friend will stare at your tits or ass.
Boys on campus stare at my ASS? They’re like, seven years younger than me!
It’s a fine ass. Go. Dinner. Non-friend or friend when the date is done, I need DEETS, girl.
Which reminded me why I didn’t want to text her in the first place.
Aren’t you on a date?
A movie. And he hasn’t made a move. Lame-O. Better get you some so we both don’t go home empty tonight. KWIM?
Oh. I knew what she meant.
I glanced up and froze.
I was in my bathroom, my makeup and hair already done to Angie’s suggestion but that wasn’t what caught my attention.
It was my smile. Wide.
Almost happy.
Because of her.
“Damn,” I whispered and spun so I couldn’t see myself. Tears beckoned but I pushed them back as I headed to my closet.
Hudson would be here in fifteen minutes or fewer and he didn’t need to see me falling apart.
All because someone had been genuinely nice to me.
Me.
The ex-con.
Was it really possible that not only did I have a friend in Hudson… but I had one in Angie, too? A real-life, honest to goodness, girlfriend?
“Don’t let me screw this up,” I muttered as I pulled down a skin-tight, simple gray V-neck T-shirt.
Only I didn’t know if I was talking about my friendship with Angie, or my non-date with my friend, Hudson.
Either way, I was gaining friends. And it terrified the crap out of me.
20
Lilly
Exactly fifteen minutes later, I’d paced a worn path in my new apartment, a rap echoed through my door.
Right on time. I shouldn’t have been surprised he would be. Plus, it’s not like he had far to travel.
I snorted at the thought and on shaking ankles due to nerves and the height of heels I rarely wore but couldn’t pass up when I saw them at Target last week, made my way to the door.
I opened the door with a deep breath and realized my error.
