The Arrangement

Chapter 21: Tess POV

The raindrops slowly trickled down the outside of the window, forming a crystalline matrix when coming into contact with each other. Declan had left early this morning for his New York City trip. My mother was busy with her gardening club. Angela was ignoring me. I never saw my waitress coworkers anymore since quitting my job. I was all alone on this no good, rainy afternoon.

My knees were tucked up to my chest as I sat on our bed. My eyes followed the contours of the sheets that our bodies had made, then settled on one of his balled up T-shirts. I picked it up and pressed it to my face. I closed my eyes and inhaled his scent. It was a mixture of pine and citrus. I already missed him, even though it had only been a couple hours.

Out of nowhere, my phone buzzed and I hoped it was Declan texting me, even though I knew he was already on his private plane by now. I glanced down at the screen. It was Angela. It read: We need to talk. Meet me at our usual place in 10 minutes.

The coffee shop was our usual place. I bolted downstairs and swung open the hallway closet. My eyes scanned the endless coats for something suitable to wear in this rainy weather. I settled on my Liz Claiborne raincoat, and pulled my arms through the sleeves as I was walking out the door. I started my Ford Taurus and drove down the wet, slippery streets to the coffee shop. The rain smattered my windshield, making it hard to see. I turned my windshield wipers on faster.

Eventually, I pulled into the parking lot of the Roasting Beans Café. I looked around for Angela's car but I didn't see it yet. I texted her and she texted back: Almost there.

Five more minutes went by before I saw her silver Impala pull into the parking lot, parking two spots down from me. I narrowed my eyes and tried to make out the figure in her passenger side seat. There was somebody else with her.

I got out of my car and hustled inside to avoid the rain. I walked up to the barista and ordered our favorite drinks. "Two vanilla lattes, please."

"Coming right up!" said the barista. I handed him the money.

The café door open and the bell chimed. I looked over my shoulder to see Angela walking in. Just Angela. She gave me an expecting look, and promptly took her seat at a table by the window. I grabbed one latte in each hand and made my way back to her.

"Hey," I said.

"Hi," she answered back, as she pulled her sunglasses off her face and folded them, placing them in the corner of the table.

"So, does this mean you're not mad at me anymore?" I asked. I knew I didn't deserve forgiveness so soon.

"Maybe," she said back, as she lifted the corner of her mouth in a little smile.

"Don't let me off the hook so easy," I told her.

"Trust me, you're not," she stated. "But you're also my best friend, and while I intend you to make it up to me somehow, I'm not going to spend what little time us humans have on this Earth being mad at you."

"Thanks, Angela. I really don't want to fight either."

She took a sip of her latte. "Ah. Delicious." She looked at me with a grin that spread across her face. "The free coffee is a start."

"Declan went to New York City." I changed the subject.

"Ooh, I love New York City! I haven't been there since the tenth grade," she told me. "I say one day you, Stephanie, Olivia, and I take an all girls trip there. It would be fun!"

Stephanie and Olivia were our other friends who we often hung out with, but I hadn't seen them in awhile with everything going on. They were our other halves, attached at the hip just like Angela and I were.

"Tess, I didn't tell you why I really wanted to meet today."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Angela grinned. "Because we're going to a party tonight and we need to go dress shopping!"

Ugh. I hated dress shopping. Angela knew this.

"Oh, come on! You trapped me!"

Her grin widened. "Ha! You owe me remember?"

I groaned and relented. She was right. I did owe her.

*****
Angela had given me the name of the dress shop and told me to go on ahead, as she had an errand to run first. I waited a full thirty minutes for her so-called errand to be completed. The dress shop itself was small, a little run down. One positive, though, were the big, bright bay windows. It gave a good view of the people bustling by on the streets, the rain drops running down the sides of buildings, and the cute little strip mall across the street with colorful signs in each of the store windows.

At last, Angela came through the door of the shop. "Sorry I'm late!" she announced.

"Geez. Better late than never I guess," I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"So, have you started browsing yet?"

"No! I was waiting for you, but based on how long it took, I could've already bought us both dresses, went to the party, and been back home asleep by now."

"Hey, I said I was sorry." She cleared her throat and walked over to a pretty red dress. It was sleeveless and had red lace on the back. The back of the dress dipped down half the span of the entire back. It was beautiful.

"I think I know which one I want," Angela said cheerfully. Disappointment washed over me as I wanted that one, too. I could just picture now Declan seeing me in it, the breath caught in the back of his throat as he overlooked my body in awe. She must have caught my disappointment because she hurriedly said, "but it would look better on you."

I began to object but she waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry. I can find another dress."

For the next hour, Angela tried on a bunch of different dresses and she, of course, looked gorgeous in all of them, but only one would satisfy her. It was a black dress with the shape of a mesh corset. It was very short and hung well above the knees. It had no straps.

I smiled. "You're going to look sexy in that, Angie."

Her eyes widened with mock shock. "Aren't I always?"

We laughed and I paid for our dresses. She linked her arm through mine as we left the dress shop. "We're going to have so much fun tonight! You just wait and see." I shuddered, as I got the sense she knew something I didn't.