“I can’t walk in heels. I’ll look like a baby elephant on rollerblades.”
Tina smiles. “Then you’re going to have to practice when we get home.”
Can this get any worse? “Are we done playing dress-up?” I drag myself to the counter, where Tina takes her charge card out and hands it to the girl so she can pay for this stupid dress.
“Now I have to find something for me. But, I saw this cute dress on-line. So we’re going to one of the stores down the other end.” Tina keeps walking as she talks. I kind of tune out, not because I don’t care, but because when Tina starts talking about clothes, she can go on for hours. We walk to the other end of the mall, and Tina disappears inside a boutique dress store.
Dragging my feet, I follow her into the store. “That’s cute,” I say as I hold up the first thing I see.
Tina turns to see what I’m holding, and her nose scrunches as she grimaces. “That’s horrific. How are we related?”
“No need to say anything, your face gives away how you’re feeling. Maybe I should grab something, make you try it on, then feel your breasts. See how you like it.”
“One.” She holds up her finger. “I don’t care. And two.” She holds up another finger. “I don’t care.” She smiles cheekily, swings on her heels and keeps perusing the racks of clothing. “I have no idea why you don’t like fashion. We are sisters and all.”
“Wow, are you two sisters?” the sales assistant asks.
No one ever picks us as sisters. We’ve been asked if we’re a gay couple, or cousins, but not sisters. Not that we look like each other. Tina has short blonde hair, with pale skin and the biggest blue eyes. My hair is long and brown, and my complexion is more olive. My eyes are a dark brown so dark, you could be forgiven for thinking they’re black.
“We are,” I say to the assistant.
“Adopted,” Tina echoes in.
“Oh,” the girl replies as her brows fly up. I bet she’s wondering which one of the two of us is adopted. Everyone always asks. But she doesn’t. “Can I help you?”
“There’s a dress I saw online, and I want to try it on. It’s red, it has a really low-cut front, comes to here,” she points to between her breasts, “thick straps, and a low-cut back.”
“Oh, yeah. This way.” The assistant heads toward the side of shop.
“I’m going to go buy a coffee, want one?” I ask Tina.
“Nope. Don’t go too far, you need to give me your opinion on how hot I look in the dress.”
I shake my head, but smile. Tina is full-on. It’s the only way to describe her. She’s like a battery that recharges when she’s asleep, and she wakes with so much energy. She’s also always intense about everything. She loves with her whole heart, and hates with it too if you wrong her.
I head over to a small coffee shop, and order my latte. As I stand and wait for it, I get knocked forward by someone. “Hey,” I say as I turn to see who the culprit is.
“I’m so sorry,” says this tall, young guy in a fitted shirt, and dress slacks.
I want to snap at him, but he looks genuinely apologetic for knocking into me. “It’s okay.” I turn forward again, waiting for them to call my name for my latte.
There’s a tap on my shoulder, and I turn to see the same guy. “I really am sorry,” he says.
“It’s okay. Don’t sweat it.”
“Let me buy you a coffee. Just to say I’m sorry. I feel so bad.”
“Molly,” the barista calls and slides my coffee along the counter top.
“I’ve already got one. But thank you.” I pick my coffee up, and start heading back to where Tina is.
“Dylan,” the barista calls as I walk away, and the guy steps forward to get his coffee. He grabs it and catches up to me quickly. “Hey, Molly?”
“You were eavesdropping. Or stalking. Which one?’ I ask.
“Oh my God. I’m not a stalker. I promise. Oh crap, only a stalker would say they’re not a stalker.” His face reddens. “I should go. I’m so sorry.” He steps back, and just by the pitch of his voice, I can tell he’s worried about what I think of him.
I turn to see him walking away from me, while he’s shaking his head. He must be upset with himself. “Hey, Dylan,” I call before he gets too far away. He turns, and waits for me to say something. I flick my head at him, indicating he can come back.
He jogs a few steps, which looks awkward considering he’s wearing office clothes. “Hang on. Are you stalking me?” he asks.
“Well, obviously. I know your name’s Dylan. And you work in the office over there.” I tip my head to the side, not really having an idea where he works.
He turns to face the direction I gestured. “You think I work in the female bathrooms?”
I look over, and sure enough, there are the female rest rooms. “I was reaching. I have no idea where you work.”
He smiles, and I’m drawn by his enigmatic charm. There’s something about him. He’s old-school, but in a young guy’s body. “Well, I can tell you, I don’t work in the female rest rooms.”
“Does that mean you work in the male bathrooms? Are you a janitor? Hey, if you are, no judgment from me.”
“What? No.” He lets out a soft chuckle, and even the deep pitch of his voice invites me in. “I’m a security analyst over at Collins and Partners,” he clarifies.
“Collins and Partners? As in the lawyers?”
“Yeah, that’s them. But I’m not a lawyer, so please don’t hate me.”
I let out a laugh. Dylan’s goofy, but fun. “Why would I…”
“You were supposed to help me, oh, hello,” Tina says as she approaches me. She stops in mid-sentence when she sees me talking to Dylan. Men love Tina. She’s outgoing, and funny, and drop-dead gorgeous with her long legs, perfect figure, and big blue eyes. “Who are you?” she asks as she eyes him up and down.
“Hi, I’m Dylan.” He holds his hand out to shake hers.
She takes his hand in hers, and turns her head to look at me. Her arched eyebrow tells me she’s silently pushing me to ask him out. I look at her, and give her a small head shake, pursing my lips together. “Fine. I’ll do it then.”
“Stop it!” I say, trying to stop Tina before her speedy mouth gets me into trouble.
“Um, I’m sorry. Are you two a couple or something?” Dylan steps back, ready to flee.
“No, we’re not. We’re sisters,” I reply.
“Oh, right. Okay.” He looks confused.
“Are you going to ask her out?” Tina blurts.
“Now it’s my turn to apologize.” I grab Tina’s hand, and pull her away from Dylan. “Can you, for once, not do what you usually do?”
“What?”
“You steamroll over everyone. It’s embarrassing. Please,” I beg. I let out a sigh, and avert my gaze. “Don’t worry about it,” I say, losing all hope of a possible date with Dylan. He probably isn’t even attracted to me now that he’s seen Tina.
“Hey, I’ve gotta go to the shoe store upstairs. I’ll be back in about ten minutes, okay?” Tina asks. This is her apology. Her way of saying, she’s sorry for being so forceful. She leans in to give me a hug. “He’s cute, go for it,” she whispers. And just like that, my frustration is quickly replaced with a smile.