Across the Pond

Chapter 33

Remi comes out of the fitting room in an elegant long metallic dress that's strapless, cinches at the waist, and has a slit on the left half of the skirt. The dress was gorgeous in the picture that Remi showed me, but is even more gorgeous in person. 

"Thoughts?" Remi asks, looking in the mirror and twirling her red locks into a messy bun to get a better sense of how her hair will look.

"Rem, you look stunning," I exclaim.

"I think the back needs to be zipped more," she says as she clutches the top front together to keep the dress from falling down.

I get up from the cushioned chair that I'm sitting on and make my way over to her, zipping up the other half that she's left undone.

"There you go," I tell her, taking in the dress once more. "Wow, I love it, Rem."

"Yeah? You sure?"

"Positive."

She bunches up the bottom of her dress so that she doesn't trip on it as she makes her way over to the tailor. "Okay, you heard the girl. Let's wrap this baby up, Suzanne." Remi turns around to face me and I can tell that she feels beautiful in her gown just by the glow on her face. "And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"You don't have a dress yet, missy. Why don't we take a look around the shops in town after this? I'm sure that they have tons of styles to choose from."

"Yeah, tons of styles that are way over my budget."

I can see that Remi feels bad for pressing me since she knows that money is a sore subject, but she shouldn't. I don't. It doesn't bother me. Plus, I still haven't decided if I want to go this dance, anyhow.

"Shit, I'm sorry, B."

"It's all good, Rem. Don't be sorry. I'm so happy you have a dress."

"We'll find you something, I promise."

"I know, I'm not worried. I don't even know what my plan is."

"What do you mean? I thought you were thinking of taking Danny."

"Yeah...about that. That's no longer looking like an option."

"What! Why?"

"I kinda sorta ended things with him."

"Oh no. What did he do? Do I have to slash his car?"

Only Remi can make me laugh in this type of situation. "No. He didn't do anything. It was me. Nico and Brooks told me that he's not a good guy. And even though he's treated me nothing but nice, I know that I have to take their word for it."

"Seriously, B? You're listening to Nico and Brooks? The same two boys who told Dylan Connors that you were allergic to flowers and chocolate so that he couldn't gift you with either?"

"In their defense, Dylan Connors was just trying to hook up with me. They were looking out for me."

"Dylan Connors is hot and everyone knows that he was crushing on you for years."

I cross my arms and sigh, but Remi keeps going. "Oh, and let's not forget the time they told the entire football team that you slept with a raggedy stuffed teddy bear because you were afraid of the dark."

"Technically, that wasn't a lie..."

"B, you were 14. What kind of guy is trying to cuddle with a girl who rather cuddle with her stuffed animal? Sometimes less information is more."

"Do you have a point?"

"Yes." She bats her eyelashes at me. "My point is...Nico and Brooks will say anything if it means getting you or some guy that you're into to look the other way. God forbid they have to compete with another guy, they'd lose their marbles. You're their prized possession, B. Their girl. Especially Nico's."

"I'm no one's possession," I tell her.

"I didn't mean it like that," she claims when she notices that she's upset me. "You know what I'm trying to say. Listen, back in the day, I'd watch you with the boys and wish to have two guys like Nico and Brooks in my life that wanted to look after me like that. Care for me like that. Love me like that. But now you're older, B. You don't need someone fending for you. You don't need someone telling you how to live your life."

I know Remi's right, but that doesn't make hearing her words any easier. For most of my life, Nico was everything to me. I was so mesmerized by him that I couldn't see past him. It was like I was under his spell, believing every word that he said as if they were facts. I was so convinced by his opinions that I had forgotten my own. But Remi has a point. Nico's life continues to move forward because he decides how he wants to live it. How can I move forward with mine when I don't?

"You're right," I tell Remi, who looks at me shocked.

"I am? I mean...you're right, I am! Sorry, you caught me by surprise. You usually don't agree with anything that I say when it comes to Nico."

"How can I go back to Danny, though? What if he doesn't want to revisit what we had? I mean, I did reject him."

"You made a mistake. Heck, I wouldn't even call it that. Plus, you'll never know if you don't try."

"You're right again, Rem," I tell her, and she dusts the invisible dirt off her shoulders.