Leyla stared at the dresses laid out across her bed, her stomach twisting.
“I dunno.” Wringing her hands, she plopped onto the floor with a sigh. “Nothing seems right. What do you think?”
Sharkie cocked his head, listening hard for a familiar word. Walk? Dinner?
Leyla scratched the pug behind his ear. “It’s been so long since I’ve been on a date, buddy. I don’t even remember how you’re supposed to dress.”
“Luckily,” London said as she breezed into Leyla’s bedroom from out of nowhere, “I’m here.”
“How’d you get in?”
“You left the door unlocked.” London inspected the black dress with tiny white flowers. “It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who talks to my dog, by the way.”
“He gives good advice,” Leyla answered.
Sharkie whined and took a seat in Leyla’s lap. He’d been with her the whole afternoon, since London had needed to drive to a beauty shop in San Antonio to pick up some sort of specialty hair color for work.
The way things had worked out lately, it was more like they co-parented the dog, instead of him belonging solely to London. Not that Leyla minded. She’d never had a pet of her own, and it was nice to have the dog around.
“This is the one,” London decided.
“But we don’t know where Kane is taking me.”
“Exactly. This dress does it all. Just make sure you pair it with heels. Those simple black ones should do it.”
The ones in mention had pointed toes and super thin stilettos, making them the least-walkable shoes Leyla owned. But London was right: they would complete the down-for-anything look.
“You’re so good at this.” Gently urging Sharkie off her lap, Leyla stood and slipped into the dress.
“How long till he gets here?” London asked.
“Like, forty minutes, I think.”
London chewed her lip in concern. “That doesn’t give me much time, but okay. I can work with it.”
“Do you think this is weird?” Leyla’s fingers lingered on the dress’s top button.
“No. I told you. It’s the perfect outfit.”
“Not that. This whole thing with Kane. Me getting the job so fast… him asking me out.”
Sighing, London came to stand right in front of Leyla. Her hands came to Leyla’s shoulders, and she looked her straight in the eye.
“It feels weird because you’ve gotten used to things being hard,” London said.
The words were a sucker punch to the gut, but they also rang true.
“Yeah,” Leyla murmured. “I guess that makes sense.”
“You just came out of a rough period.” London’s eyes softened. “Actually, you’re still in it. What really makes sense is that all of the world will seem a little off. Now, here. Have a seat and let me get to it.”
London guided her over to the plush seat in front of the powder table. It was vintage, Leyla’s mom having picked it up for her several birthdays back. Photos, both recent and from childhood, lined the mirror.
A picture of Leyla and her mom at high school graduation caught her eye. That bittersweet pang that Leyla was coming to learn to live with increased.
“What do you think my mom would think of Kane?”
“Hm.” London fluffed Leyla’s hair from behind. “I haven’t met him yet, so I can’t say.”
“Yeah, but I mean with the whole situation. His hiring me and then asking me out. Him being this oil mogul.”
“You’re thinking an awful lot. Are you nervous?” London reached around to plug in the hair curler.
“How could I not be?”
“Relax. He’s just a regular guy.”
Leyla inhaled till her chest hurt. “He’s not. Even if he wasn’t a CEO, there would be nothing regular about Kane Clayton.”
“Ooh.” London’s eyes sparkled. “Now, I can’t say what your mom would think of him, but I can tell you that I like him already. What’s special about him? His abs? His glutes? Or, no. His pecs. That’s it, right?”
Leyla knew her friend was kidding. Mostly.
“He’s unbelievably hot, yeah, but it’s more than that. It’s the whole air about him. He’s a man who knows what he wants and goes after it. That’s admirable.”
“Then you two should be a good match.” London wrapped the first string of hair around the hot iron. “Because you also know exactly what you like, and you’re the most confident person I know.”
“Most of that confidence is forced. You know that.”
London shrugged and moved on to the next piece of hair. “It doesn’t matter. If people buy it, then it’s real.”
Over the next half hour, London worked her magic like she always did and turned Leyla into the best version of herself. By the time she was done, Leyla had glowing skin, smoky eyes, and wavy, beachy hair that a mermaid would be jealous of.
That confidence meter was about to break.
“You like it?” London asked, a big smile on her face.
“I love it.” Leyla gave her a tight squeeze. “Thank you so much.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Oh my gosh. He’ll be here any minute.”
“Maybe I should wait and meet him. You know, make sure he’s a respectable guy, give him the talk about getting you home at a reasonable hour…” London twirled her wrist like there was more.
“No way. I really appreciate you helping me get ready, but it would be weird if my friend is lurking around here.”
London sighed dramatically. “Oh, okay.” She looked down at Sharkie. “Guess it’s you, me, and Chinese takeout tonight, buddy. You ready to eat?”
Sharkie whined and raised a paw, showing he was a good boy who was ready for his dinner.
London scooped him up. “Seriously, though. Text me when you get home. If you don’t, I’m calling the cops.”
“Before you walk across the hall to see if I’m here?”
London walked with her to the front of the apartment.
“Yes. I can be that lazy.” At the door, she gave Leyla a side hug. “Have fun tonight.”
“Thanks for everything!”
As soon as the door closed behind London, the nerves kicked in. Rubbing her palms back and forth, Leyla paced the living room.
What if she’d planned all wrong and it turned out she was inappropriately dressed? Say Kane wanted to take her somewhere adventurous, like rock climbing? She couldn’t do that in a dress and heels.
“Rock climbing?” Leyla shook her head. She was doing that thing where she worried to the point of insanity.
A buzz from below made her gasp. Kane!
Heart thudding, she hit the button to allow him access to the building. While waiting for him to ride the elevator up, she checked her makeup in the mirror above her mom’s photo.
Everything still looked great.
“Well, Mom.” She took a deep breath. “Look at me. Living life just like you wanted me to. I only wish you were here to see it.”
A knock came on the door. Her heart somehow beating even faster, Leyla opened it up and found Kane standing there in a navy-blue suit. He didn’t have a tie on, but the outfit was perfectly cut to his tall, toned body, and he gave off the impression of being dressed for a sophisticated night.