“I won’t be back tonight. I’m meeting your parents for dinner tomorrow. Send me the address,” he said nonchalantly, as if forgetting that tomorrow was supposed to be my day to try on wedding dresses.
The next day, I decided to go to the bridal shop alone. As I stepped outside, a sleek BMW pulled up in front of me.
Derick rolled down the window, his gaze landing on my makeup, his brow furrowing slightly. “What’s with the make-up? You look weird.” After a chuckle of discontentment, he flick his head, “Get in, we’re going together.”
I kept my eyes on the ground, trying to avoid any confrontation. My fingers clenched tightly around my bus ticket, but as I started to open the passenger door, the window rolled down, and there was Becky. She beamed, reaching her hand out enthusiastically. “Hey! You must be Penny! I’m Becky, Derick’s girl friend,” she said with an overly warm smile. “Hope you don’t mind me tagging along! He’s about to make the biggest decision of his life, and, well, knowing him since we were kids, he’s got a knack for messing things up. I just don’t want him to pick some ugly wedding dress and ruin it for you.” She laughed, leaning into Derick and throwing her arm around his neck. “If it weren’t for this idiot sending me a last-minute invite with gifts, I wouldn’t even be here. My dad almost wouldn’t let me come.”
Instead of taking offense, Derick grinned. “Oh, I could just send your dad a gift too. I know what he likes. But you actually love going out with me, don’t you, Miss Owen?”
Their playful, almost flirty exchange twisted my stomach, leaving me queasy.
Noticing my discomfort, Becky quickly explained, “Oh, I’m sorry! Don’t get the wrong idea. Derick and I have been friends forever. This is just how we are.”
“If anything were going to happen between us, we’d have been married years ago,” she added with an exaggerated grin.
I turned to Derick, hoping he’d have the same playful expression as Becky, but instead, his face showed a hint of something like regret. Just as quickly, his expression turned stern as he scolded,
“Can’t figure out the back seat way?” he snapped. “Get in. We don’t have all day.”