“Then mauve is pink because the tie is definitely pink.”

“It’s mauve, you dumbass. It’s not pink.”

“Paul, tell him the tie is pink. I’m not wearing this.”

Paul laughs. “I’m staying out of this one.”

“Derrick.” I walk over to him. “Seriously. Talk to her. You can’t want pink ties.”

The bell over the door rings. I look over to see Ziah walking toward us. I sort of suck in a breath and then realize that’s stupid.

“You guys aren’t wearing pink ties are you?” She laughs.

“Ha! I told you, man. My brother says they’re mauve.” I roll my eyes.

“Isn’t mauve pink?”

I seriously consider asking her to marry me. Okay, not really. I’m not crazy, but I am pretty damn thankful.

“You guys are both being ridiculous. There’s nothing wrong with mauve ties,” Derrick tries to defend himself.

Obviously he’s not going to do anything about this, so I plead my case to Ziah instead. “Can you talk to your sister about this?”

“No!” Derrick looks at Ziah. “Just let it go. She’s having a hard time. You know how she gets. She worries about everything. I don’t want to stress her out anymore.”

I take a step back. I don’t know what it is about what he just said, but things really start to sink in. How much he cares about this girl is finally getting slammed into my brain. He loves her so much he just wants to make things easy on her—even if it means wearing a pink tie or being freaked out over a little argument. When it comes down to it, he just wants to do what he can to take care of his girl.

I remember how cool it felt when I helped Ziah. Not that she’s my girl or ever will be, but it still made me feel like something more because I somehow helped her. I suddenly don’t want to make things harder on him. Not at this moment, at least.

“Nah, it’s cool. I’m man enough to wear a pink tie. I’ll rock it.”

Derrick catches my eye over Ziah’s, and I see him relax. He nods at me like he’s saying thanks, and I nod back.

When the bell over the door rings a second time, I somehow know it’s Lora.

She walks over to Derrick all slowly like she’s unsure, but then he gives her a half-smile. Hers is triple the size of his, and she gives him a huge hug. They’re whispering to each other. The suit guy huffs away, obviously pissed we’re screwing up his schedule, and Paul, Hanes, and I just kind of stand and watch.

For the first time, I think I might actually be happy for him. Well, even though he’s making a huge mistake.

Fourteen

~ Ziah ~

Lora picked me up from school, but I’ve been sort of zoned out on our drive into downtown. Apparently her body has gone too long without Voodoo Donuts, so we’re in the colossally long line, halfway down the block waiting for some. I’ve seen it worse.

The picture of Derrick being able to make her feel better in about two seconds at the tailor shop still hits me. He’s not a bad guy, it’s just still weird.

“You okay?” she asks. “Anything different with Alyssa or James?”

“I finally told them both I wasn’t ready to talk, and I’d tell them when I was.”

“Been silent since then?” she asks.

“Yeah.” But it didn’t give me the relief I’d been hoping for. The whole blow-up happened a month ago, and maybe I should be ready to talk to them. But I’m just not.

“You’re not keeping anything from me? No new developments or anything?”

I think about how part of me wishes they were still trying to talk to me and how another part of me wishes Dylan would want to do some non-talking with me, but I keep it to myself.

“You’re so much like I used to be.” Lora takes a long drink from her coffee.

“Why do I feel like you don’t mean it as a compliment?”

“Sometimes it’s okay to break rules, Ziah. Relax a little.” She bumps her shoulder to mine.

I stare at my shoes on the sidewalk. “Lora. I was with the safest guy in the universe, and—”

“No, you weren’t.”

“What?”

“You weren’t, or what happened wouldn’t have happened. He seemed like the safest guy, but he wasn’t. Not really. First impressions and outward appearances can be deceiving.” She raises a brow, and I’m jealous again of my sister’s ability to wear hats. The off-white knitted cap sits just right, making her look… well, like she could be marrying a Gibson boy.

I have no idea how to look this way.

“I guess.”

“It’s just sometimes good to be impulsive.”

I roll my eyes. “Just because you found your true love in a game of truth or dare gone horribly awry doesn’t mean it’ll work for the rest of us. On top of which, being single is probably best, since I’m about to go to college and then to med school.”

“Maybe.” She shrugs. “I just don’t want you to miss out on something really great because you’re afraid to take chances, that’s all.”

“Noted.” I suck down another swallow of coffee.

“Yeah. I have to get this location figured out, Ziah. If we don’t get out invites soon, we might have to push the wedding back.” She sighs and looks down at her boots.

I want to tell her she could have a smaller wedding, and that would solve the problem. But my guess is she doesn’t want to hear that, and I’m not going to ruin our afternoon because I can’t keep my mouth shut. We shuffle a few steps closer to the door.

“Has Dylan mentioned their mom?” Lora asks.

“No, why?” I figured that’s one of those things you don’t ask about, it just comes up. Dylan’s pretty tight-lipped about the reality of his family.

“Just curious, that’s all.” Only now Lora looks distracted, and I wonder if there’s something she’s keeping from me.

***

“So, I gotta ask. What’s your problem with their wedding?” I sit next to Dylan as Derrick and Lora wander through what feels like location one million. We’re against the wall in a ballroom in some random hotel near the river.

The moment I mentioned how cool Lora looked in her hat, she took it as my little sister wants me to dress her. I’m in a hat, a dress coat, and a pair of Lora’s boots. I’m not sure if it’s me, but at least I fit in with the other three a little better. Well, and her boots are broken in and soft, so it’s manageable.

Dylan sighs. “It would take a long time to explain, but part of it has to do with stuff he always told me when I was growing up.”

“Ditto with Lora. School first. Career second. Boys third. Always.” Seeing her with Derrick still feels…off.

“And how’s that one working out for ya?” Dylan smirks.

“I thought good. You know, James and I were friends for a long time, so it felt safe.” I know Dylan was trying to tease, but I’m feeling too low for that. A couple weeks in school without my two best friends has dragged me down.

“Are you hurt? I mean, is it more that you’re angry, or more that you’re hurt?” He shifts his weight. “With James, I mean.”

“Are you trying to use your awesome powers to make me feel better again and need to know what approach to take?”

“Um…not exactly. Just. Curious.” He’s being so serious. Looking so…honestly concerned. Not like the cocky guy who helped me in part because of me and also probably in part to serve his ego.

Am I hurt? Is it awful to be without James? I think what’s more awful is realizing how wholly humiliating the whole thing was.

“I’ve known James for a long time. We were friends before we kissed, and I wanted more of that. I deserved better than being lied to. So, more pissed than hurt.”

Wow. More angry than hurt. Knowing how I feel actually makes me feel a bit better.

“Okay. That’s good, right?” he asks.

“I guess.”

“Have you talked to them much?”

“Only to get the basics.” To satisfy my morbid curiosity.

“So, you and James… Everything seemed perfect, huh?” His voice sounds almost strained. Like’s suddenly nervous or something.