“Things are great,” I say with a big smile.
“You’ve already had sex, haven’t you?”
My mouth drops open. “Well…”
“I love the two of you together. Did he ever say why Mia was with him?” She looks over at me, hoping I’ll give her all the dirty gossip, but there’s nothing to say.
“He said nothing happened, so I’m choosing to believe him.”
Courtney pulls into the mall parking lot. “Where is Viola Fisher, and what have you done with her?”
“If Drew trusts him and believes nothing happened, and Travis says nothing happened, all I can do is follow my heart and trust him, too.”
She gives me a big smile. “Good. Because I saw the way he looked at you last week. He’s got it bad. Almost love-sick puppy love shit. Plus, he’d be an idiot to mess that up. You’re a ten, Lola.”
I roll my eyes at her and shake my head, and she gives me a quick wink.
“Now let’s go buy tons of sexy lingerie. It always makes me feel better.”
I laugh. “I can’t afford it. It’s too expensive.”
She smiles and flashes her credit card. “My treat. Well, my parents’ treat, but the same thing. You’re the Selena to my Taylor.”
We walk through the mall and stop inside Victoria’s Secret. The lace is so pretty and soft, and it’s been way too long since I’ve splurged on myself. Between tutoring, paying for what groceries I can afford, and my ridiculous Starbucks habit, I’m just a broke college student, scraping by. Courtney doesn’t act entitled like some of the other rich girls at school, but her parents do support her shopping habits. I pray to the retail gods that she finds a job that pays her well or she marries a man with deep pockets. I laugh at the thought.
Courtney starts picking up pretty bras and panties in all sorts of colors and shoves them into my arms. She’s lost her damn mind, and I’m not complaining, but I feel guilty. It’s too much to accept.
“Court, you don’t have to do this.”
“Shut it, sister.” She finds some scandalous thongs and adds them to my things. “You can’t look like a frump for Travis.”
If I didn’t know better, I’d say she and Travis were on the same team.
“Whose side are you on, anyway?” I ask her as she snatches up more panties.
“What do you mean?” She’s not even really listening to me. She has this wild look in her eyes like she’s unstoppable.
“I’m team Traviola. Ha! All the Hollywood power couples have nicknames, so we’ll have to work on that. Bennifer, Brangelina, Kimye, Jelena...” She drops the panties in a wire basket, not even paying attention to my reaction.
I can’t stop laughing. Courtney’s crazy. But it makes me feel good to know she’s on our side. Before dragging me to the counter, she grabs a few bottles of perfume. The woman at the checkout gives us a smile.
“I’m a sucker for a panties sale,” Courtney says, leaning against the counter like she just bought the place, which she practically did by the amount of clothes that’s piled up high.
The woman smiles. “Your total is five hundred forty-two dollars and thirty-six cents.”
“Courtney, seriously,” I whisper, but she brushes me off.
She hands over her credit card without batting an eye and signs the screen. “Oh, can we have two separate bags?”
The woman hands us their signature pink bags with Victoria’s Secret written across the front in shiny, silver letters, and I’m so excited about my new things.
Completely giddy, I take a quick picture of the pink bag and send it to Travis.
Travis: Damn!
I read his text message and shove my phone back in my pocket.
“I think I love you. Thanks, Court.”
