“Wait. This one’s better.” She shoves another black dress into my hands. It has off-the-shoulder sleeves and flares out at the bottom.
I head to the change room with the two black dresses. The first one is too tight.
This is what I hate about clothes shopping. It makes me feel self-conscious about my appearance and my weight, though I’m not as bothered by that today as I often am when I’m shopping. I just remind myself of how Julian responds to my body, and it’s easy to restore my confidence.
The next dress is significantly better. I leave the change room to show Naomi.
“I love it,” she says.
When I spin around, the skirt flies up more than expected. I quickly shove it down. “So do I. I’m going to get it.”
After leaving the dress boutique, we head to a shoe store and get me some strappy black shoes. Then we meet Lydia at a nail salon on Yonge Street.
I show her the dress, and she tells me it’s lovely. Then she pulls out her phone. “I wonder how Jeremy is doing with Heather.”
This is her first time away from Heather for more than an hour. She’s getting her nails done, and then she’s heading right back home. Naomi invited her to come dress shopping, too, but she said no.
“I’m sure he’s fine,” Naomi says.
“What if she’s been crying the whole time?”
We can’t stop Lydia from texting Jeremy, who replies with a picture of Heather sitting in his lap, no tears in sight. Then we pick our nail polish colors and are led to comfy chairs at the back, where we submerge our feet in warm water.
“Oh my God,” Lydia groans. “This is so nice.”
We’re quiet for a minute before Naomi turns to me and says, “So you’re sleeping with Julian. What’s he like in bed?”
“I’m not answering that question,” I say, but I can’t help a smile from crossing my lips.
It’s Tuesday now, so we’ve been sleeping together for almost a week. I’ve had more sex in the past week than I had in the ten years before it, and it’s pretty phenomenal sex.
But I’m not saying that out loud in a nail salon.
“Fine.” Naomi sticks up her nose. “Keep secrets from your favorite sister. See if I care.”
“You’re my only sister.”
“So tell your only sister what he looks like without a shirt, since he refuses to pose naked for a charity calendar.”
“He, um, works out every day and hardly has any body fat. So, uh. He looks very good. Like he could be a model.”
And I’m sleeping with him. It’s still hard to wrap my head around.
“Lydia...” I trail off as I glance over at my sister-in-law and see that she’s asleep. I bet she’s seriously sleep-deprived, thanks to Heather.
I’m a touch sleep-deprived too, since Julian and I were fooling around until midnight, and there was some sex in the middle of the night, too.
“You really like him, don’t you?” Naomi says.
I’m not sure how to reply. “He’s nice, and he’s essentially paying me to have fun.”
I wonder what the other women in the nail salon think of me now.
“Forget the money,” she says. “You’re falling for him, aren’t you?”
Julian’s definitely gotten to me a little. I like him, and I’m getting a bit attached...but I’m not falling in love. Although it won’t be easy to go back to my regular life after this, I know I can do it. I have to do it.
I shake my head.
