Chapter 196.

4.2M 90.7K 83K
                                    

"This?" The look on Steph's face as she looks down to look at her dress tells me how she feels about the brown dress.

"Yes, don't you like it?" I ask her.

"It's okay..It just looks so..."

"Nice. It looks lovely."

"It's just so..."

"If you don't like it we can try something else." I offer.

"It's not that I don't like it, it looks really good on me, I just feel weird as hell in it. Like I should cut the sleeves or tear the extra five inches off the hem."

"You can do that, but not until after the dinner. You only have twenty minutes until you have to be on your way."

She continues to stare at herself and I watch as her lips turn into a smile. She really does looks so pretty. Different, but very pretty.

"I should wear a wig." She flips her crimson hair over her shoulder.

"That's exactly what Hardin said!" I laugh and she rolls her eyes.

"He's such a dick!" She laughs along and heads back into the dressing room.

"How are you and Hardin doing? You're still living together?" She says from inside.

"We're good." I look down at my feet, thankful she can't see me.

I don't feel like getting into the mechanics of my back and forth relationship with Hardin right now.

"I thought maybe you were seeing that Landon guy because you're literally always with him and I saw you riding home with him."

"Landon is my best friend, nothing more."

"How does Hardin feel about that?" She opens the door and hands me the dress, still on the hanger, while she adjusts her messenger bag on her shoulder.

"Well he's starting to like Landon a little more, I mean they are finally sort of behaving like step-brothers which makes everything much easier on their parents." I smile at the thought.

I can tell Hardin is really warming up to Landon and that makes me so happy. My bliss is short lived because I remember Landon is leaving soon and even worse, the look on Steph's face reminds me that she had no idea Landon and Hardin's parents are married to one another.

"What? Wait..Hardin and Landon? Parents? Married? But Hardin's parents are in England? His dad's dead right?"

"Uhm.. not exactly." I don't see why it matters if people know Hardin and Landon are related by the marriage of their parents now.

Why would Hardin tell his friends his father died?

"They aren't step-brothers then? You're confusing me." She laughs.

"Okay, they are but Hardin's dad is here. He's the chancellor."

"Chancellor? Of WSU?" Her eyes are wide.

If I disclosed this information months ago Hardin would have cursed me to Canada and back but so much has changed, he has changed, since then. He doesn't seem as concerned to keep his bad boy who doesn't give a shit about anyone persona up anymore. What difference does it make?

"Yeah." I pull my bottom lip between my teeth.

"Holy shit!" She is full on cackling.

"Yeah.." I don't know what to say, I feel like I should text Hardin and tell him.

"That's too funny, I bet his dad is pissed how he turned out!" Steph is laughing but the instinct to defend Hardin is too prominent to ignore.

"Hardin hasn't turned out in a way that his father should be pissed about."

After 2Where stories live. Discover now