Love Songs (Secret Songbook #1) (26 page)

Chapter 29

“What do you think about this one?” Harper held up a green dress printed with gold bows. It was more appropriate for a burlesque show than a high school dance.

“Let’s keep looking,” Kaley replied, desperately looking through the clothes racks to find something more suitable.

Strom had given her his credit card and told her to find something she always dreamed of wearing to the dance. She had been so happy about the gesture she forgot to ask about the budget. His silence meant there wasn’t one, at least it did in her book, anyway.

“I can’t believe we are both going to the dance with the men of our dreams,” Harper gushed as she searched. “Cooper Sutton and Eli Stone. It’s crazy.”

“Yeah, who would have thought?”

Despite the ending to the previous night, Kaley wasn’t going to let herself dwell on it. So she refused to go any further with Eli, that was her decision. It wasn’t the end of the world.

She had every right to say no to him, and if he really liked her, he would respect her decision. It should be that easy, so she was determined to make it that way.

If he wanted a girl who went along with his advances, he should have kept Abigail. She wasn’t going to put herself into a situation she wasn’t comfortable with just to be a good girlfriend. Her mother had raised her better – surprisingly.

It all sounded good in theory and every time she reminded herself. However, Kaley still couldn’t help but feel a little off by the whole situation.

Eli had texted her earlier with a sweet little good morning message. Perhaps he was over it already too, but it didn’t erase the memory. For now, she was trying to concentrate on the dance.

“What did Cooper say when he asked you?” Kaley hadn’t heard the story yet and was dying to. The illustrious Cooper Sutton would surely have said something cool and charming. He
was
a rock god in the making, after all.

“He was kneeling down on the ground putting his drum away. I was doing the same with my violin. He looked over and was like ‘wanna go to the dance?’ and I was like ‘on my god, yes’.”

“And then?”

“Then we got up and he went home and I went to find you.”

“That’s it?” Surely there had to be more to the story, she had heard better love stories in horror films.

“Maybe you had to be there.”

Kaley laughed. “I’m sure it was very romantic.”

“It was. How about this?” Harper held up a navy blue dress with a zipper down the front. It cascaded down in layers with crystals dotted around in a starburst pattern. It was beautiful… and perfect.

“I love it. It’s frilly without being too girly.” Kaley took the dress and held it up against herself in the mirror. It matched her eyes and contrasted really well with her dark hair. “I’m going to try it on.”

They hurried to the fitting rooms, Harper in tow with several dresses she found. They quickly changed and admired their reflections in the mirrors, turning every way to check all angles.

Kaley didn’t have to keep looking, she knew she had found the one of her dreams. The dress hugged her figure, a belt cinching at the waist to emphasize her curves. The neckline showed just enough cleavage to let people know she had some, but not enough to be showy.

She loved it and knew Eli would too.

Harper tried three dresses before she found one she liked. She settled on a dark purple number that was strapless with an empire waistline. From under the bust it fell like a waterfall to the ground. When she walked, it shimmered with a thousand different colors.

They stood in front of the mirror in their dresses, beaming with the satisfaction of finding something so beautiful and perfect.

As Kaley admired both their choices, she couldn’t help but think of one thing – the dresses didn’t belong on invisible girls. They were supposed to be seen, they were meant to show people how truly visible they really were.

“You won’t need those. But it’s cute you’re trying.” A voice came from behind.

Kaley looked across the mirror, not needing to see who it was. She turned around to face her. Abigail was standing in the doorway of the fitting rooms, Macy and Madison on either side of her. It was the evil trio, there to cause nothing but bitterness, anger, and hurt.

“And why wouldn’t we need dresses?” Harper stood with her hands on her hips, ready for a fight.

“Oh
you
might,” Abigail addressed Harper before turning to Kaley. “But
you
won’t. Eli is going to the dance with me.”

Kaley was so over the whole thing. If she could, she would have made a dramatic exit, however they were trapped. They weren’t going anywhere without the girls having to move first.

She had no choice but to talk her way out of there. “So you’re saying Eli was mistaken when he invited me to go with him? Funny, he didn’t seem confused, he appeared to be very much intent on taking me.”

“That was then, he’s come to his senses now. Whatever was making his brain explode has gone. He’s taking me now.”

“Liar!” Harper suddenly yelled, taking them all by surprise.

Kaley patted her on the arm. “Harper, it’s okay. So Abigail, does Eli even know he’s going to the dance with you?”

For just a second, doubt crossed Abigail’s face. She covered it quickly, but not fast enough for the others not to see. “Not yet, but he will. It’s practically a given. Guys like Eli don’t date girls like you. The sooner you realize that, the better off the world will be. The natural order of things will be restored.”

“Maybe he’s tired of girls like
you
.”

Abigail laughed. “Guys are never tired of girls like me, sweetie.”

Macy and Madison joined in the laughter at her side, the trio cackling like witches from fairytales. It sent a chill down Kaley’s spine, she felt like she was only two inches tall standing in front of them.

To make it worse, Abigail was right.

Guys like Eli didn’t date girls like her. He was popular, gorgeous, and rich. She was invisible, ordinary, and working class. They didn’t belong together. They were mismatched like a pair of odd socks. One day they would lose each other in the wash.

Kaley didn’t say another word, she pushed Harper into the change room and closed the door firmly behind them. If they couldn’t escape, they would hide.

At least they would be able to do it in their own clothes. The dresses that had sparkled so much moments before now seemed like nothing but cloth.

They changed in silence, returning to their ordinary clothes and placing the dresses on their hangers. After a few moments they heard Abigail’s laughter grow more distant as she grew bored with them.

Her confrontation had its desired effect, she didn’t need to wait around to rub it in even further.

“Just ignore her,” Harper whispered as they waited to be sure it was safe to come out. “She’s only trying to make you feel bad.”

“It’s working.”

“Don’t let it. Only you can let her have that effect on you.”

Harper gave her a hug, it was exactly what she needed. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Well, you wouldn’t have to bask in my awesomeness.”

Kaley smiled, rolling her eyes. “It’s worth it.”

She turned and opened the door a sliver, the coast seemed to be clear. Abigail and her minions didn’t appear to be anywhere in sight.

Although, they could be hiding for the sheer fun of it. Kaley wouldn’t put anything past them, not with the few weeks she had lately. They stepped out and looked into the store, they were definitely gone.

“Are you getting the dress?” Harper asked, holding her own with a firm grip.

Kaley looked at the navy blue fabric hanging on the rack. It was exactly what she wanted, she wasn’t going to let Abigail ruin it for her. “Yeah, I am.”

“Good, I’m getting mine too.”

They paid for the dresses and continued shopping for accessories. Strom wouldn’t want his little girl going to the dance without the appropriate shoes and a handbag, would he?

Thoughts of Abigail marred the rest of their shopping trip, despite how hard Kaley was trying to put her out of her mind. She wanted to take Harper’s advice and not let her hurt her. However it was difficult to shut her out when her words kept repeating in her head.

The way Abigail had said
girls like her
, like she was some kind of trash that didn’t have a right to exist in her world, did hurt.

What was so bad about her? She got good grades, she tried not to hassle other people, she never made a fuss, and she tried to do the best she could. What detail about her was so terrible that Abigail was personally offended at her very existence?

The whole idea of Abigail and her hatred was enough to send Kaley crazy. By the time they arrived back at her house, she was feeling absolutely depressed about it all.

She would never be able to enjoy having Eli as her boyfriend while Abigail still had her claws in him. It didn’t seem fair.
Girls like her
should be able to win sometimes, even just once.

They entered Kaley’s bedroom, purposely avoiding Georgie in the kitchen. She would want to see the dresses and then spend half an hour coming up with ways to make them more sparkly or sexy. It was well intentioned, but so not what they needed right now.

Kaley plunked onto the bed after hanging up her dress, Harper took the desk seat. They were both still feeling the aftershocks of the encounter, even though neither of them was talking about it.

“What do you want to do?” Kaley asked, not having the energy for much. Between all the thinking and all the shopping, she may as well have a low battery sign stamped across her forehead.

Harper picked up the guitar leaning against the desk. “Play something for me. I’ve never heard you play the guitar.”

“That’s because I’m not good at it.”

“Yeah, right. So eight years of lessons taught you nothing? Don’t tell me I spent every Thursday afternoon of my childhood with my mom making potpourri balls while you just learned how to look pretty.”

Kaley didn’t even have the energy to laugh, perhaps Harper had a point. She
had
spent eight years taking lessons with Mr. Eton. Maybe she was as good as she was ever going to get.

It still didn’t seem good enough.

“Come on, play me something. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated.”

“I don’t play in front of people, you know that.”

“I’m not people. I’m Harper, remember? Your best friend?”

They had a stare off, waiting for the other to relent first. Unfortunately, Kaley nearly always lost that particular competition. She blinked first, showing her resolve was fading.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if she played one song. Just something simple, like Harper said. Something that would shut her up and convince her not to ask again in the future.

She took the guitar.

“Fine, but just this once and you can’t tell anyone I played for you. Are we clear?”

“Perfectly clear.”

She took the pick out of the strings and wondered what she should play. She didn’t want to perform any of her own songs, that would be a whole different level of embarrassing.

Instead, she played the song that had practically been on repeat on the radio. Even without singing the words, it should be enough for her to recognize the tune.

Harper never said a word for the entire three minutes it took to get through the song. It only made her feel even more nervous about having an audience.

She wanted Harper to say something, even if it was only to show disgust at her terrible efforts. The silence was more painful than anything else.

When Kaley finished, she couldn’t take the suspense any longer. “Well? It was terrible, right?”

“Are you kidding? That was amazing, I can’t believe you keep telling me how bad you play.”

“It’s not good.”

“Are your ears not working?” Harper pulled on her own ears to make the point. “You’re awesome. You are never allowed to say you can’t play ever again. Now I know you can play the guitar and the piano, what else can you do? Can you sing too?”

“No, I definitely can’t sing.”

“I bet you can.”

Kaley could feel her face reddening with the embarrassment. She didn’t want anyone to know about her music, it was her secret. Now Harper had seen a glimpse, she hoped it would be the end of it. However that would be highly unlikely knowing her friend like she did.

“Sing something for me,” Harper demanded, on a roll now like she was her new toy.

“I’m not singing for you. I’ve already played the guitar, that’s your limit.”

“I’m going to work out a way for you to sing for me, I promise you.”

“Sure,” Kaley laughed before changing the subject. “Do you want a drink or something to eat?”