Page 55 of Book Club Confidential

“I miss your extremist college vibe,” Tessa said. “I loved how brave you were, wearing exactly what you wanted everywhere we went.”

“I wasn’t brave, I just didn’t give a f—”

“Y’all,” Kate interrupted, primly. “Remember all the cute headbands you wore? I loved those.”

“The cat ears or devil horns?” Tessa asked.

Hallie gave her most exhausted deadpan stare. “Those weren’t cute. They were badass. And I still dress in goth attire. It’s who I am.”

Tessa shrugged. “Kind of.”

Hallie narrowed her eyes. “Don’t play with me.”

Tessa grinned, letting her know she was teasing.

“Whatever happened to your friend the leather worker with the ear gauges?” Kate asked.

Hallie smiled. “Bram moved to New Orleans, met a design student from Tulane, and married her. Now they have three kids and run a BDSM lingerie boutique called Spanked. Remember? I went to the wedding.” Hallie carried the dress into a curtained room and pulled the material closed behind her.

Kate turned to Tessa and mouthed the word Spanked.

Tessa smiled. She’d completely forgotten about the train wreck of a trip to New Orleans Hallie had taken with Bryce for the wedding. He’d been a stick-in-the-mud from the minute they arrived at their French Quarter rental and grew increasingly worse when surrounded by a hundred or so goths. Especially frustrating, because hadn’t Hallie’s general aesthetic been what attracted him to her to start with? So why did he spend so much time trying to change it?

“Your turn,” Kate said, pulling Tessa back to the moment. “This is my dress.” She turned her phone to face Tessa. “I bought it months ago when the newest trends were predicted. It cost a month’s salary, but I counted on this invite, and I took the leap.”

Tessa stared at the beautiful gown on-screen. “That is gorgeous.”

Kate grinned. “If I get invited next year, I’m having something custom made that accentuates my curves instead of flattens them.” She set her free hand on her chest. “I want to breathe.”

“Reasonable,” Tessa said.

“I’ll wear something flowy and precious, and I won’t care if that’s not on trend. If I’m still a size sixteen, I’ll be content with it, instead of wearing enough shapewear to make me seem a size smaller.”

“Are you doing that this year?” Tessa asked. “You don’t need to do that.” She waited for Kate to meet her eye.

Kate’s expression morphed into a mask of resolve. “This year, I have to make the absolute most of this event. I need to reclaim some followers. That’s the whole point. And the dress requires extreme assistance, so that’s what it will get.”

Tessa fought the urge to say more, then moved on to more neutral ground. “I loved the painting you posted this morning. Is it for sale?”

Kate rolled her eyes, then smiled. “Maybe.”

“Where did you list it?”

“Ratties. It’s a Twilight obsession group on Facebook for sewerposting.”

“I’m so glad you’re still painting. Your work is incredible. The creative gene runs strong in you.”

“And in you,” Kate said. “And in Hallie. We just chose different mediums.”

“Truth,” Hallie called through the curtain.

Tessa joined Kate as she thumbed through the dress selections and draped a few contenders over her arm as she moved.

Kate periodically pulled items out for inspection, only to return them in silence. “Oh,” she said. “Did I tell you about my date?”

“No. How’d it go?” Tessa asked. Kate dated regularly in the hopes of meeting her soulmate, but she only seemed to meet mediocre matches online. No cosmic zap, lightning strikes, or fireworks.

“Poorly,” she said. “I’m getting close to letting my parents set me up with someone’s son from their country club.”