Blameless ✔

Chapter 22: ❝It's way over my budget❞

Chapter 22: ❝It's way over my budget❞ 

♡Evelyn's POV♡

"No."

"Absolutely not."

"Mark would kill me."

I glared at the back of Luke's head that moved abruptly from side to side as his hands pushed aside clothing on the wooden hangers connected to the narrow, silver rack.

"Luke, why do I need to buy a new outfit?" I asked, sliding my phone back into the pocket of my grey cardigan before adjusting my glasses that had decided to slip down the bridge of my nose.

"You said you were curious to know about Rachel, right?" He questioned rhetorically and distractedly as he eyed the dresses he had held by the hanger in each hand. He then raised an eyebrow at me before tossing the items of clothing over his shoulder uncaringly before adding, "Mark's first love?"

When Luke had told me the story of Mark and Rachel - the redhead I had seen walking in and out of the nurse's office every so often - I felt very surprised and vacuous because the one I would hypothetically consider as a rival turned out to be right under my nose the whole time. I had yet to tell Luke the reason in why I had developed a sudden interest in her but thinking about it now, I wasn't convinced that talking about it with him would deem a very good idea.

Also, the reason we were impliedly shopping for a new outfit - or more rather, why he was 'helping' me shop for a new outfit was due to the fact that Rachel was throwing a party tomorrow night. The reason was unknown to me but I guessed it had something to with the fact she had returned to her hometown after spending three years in England and wanted to celebrate. I would've questioned why she didn't throw a party weeks ago but thinking about it logically, it would make sense for her to want to catch up with a few of her old friends while making new ones in the process. With looks like hers, it made sense how she managed to socialize with so many in the span of three weeks.

Sighing, I pushed myself off the gold poof I was sat in formerly with the proof being the undeniable dent made in the foam - which made me come to the brief conclusion that I needed to diet - before approaching Luke with my eyes fixated on the pastel blue dress he had held in his outstretched hand.

"I like this one."

He grinned and held the dress against me to imagine what it would look like on. Twisting his lips into a scowl, he slightly tilted his head to the right as his gaze practically burned a hole in the dress.

Releasing a grunt due to a reason unimaginable, he thrust the dress into my arms and commanded that I go try it on. I shrugged and made my way towards the changing rooms, walking past the poof I had left my mark in, making me groan quietly.

I definitely need to lay off on the cookies.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

I stared at myself in one of the full-length mirrors attached to the pale, pink walls of the changing room stall and was absolutely awestruck at what I saw.

The dress I had on was strapless and short in the front but appreciatively longer at the back. It was sinched at the centre, making me eye the curves I didn't even know I had due to the simple reason I usually settled for oversized clothing that made my shape similar to that of a cardboard box. The only time I had really dressed to impress was when I went on little dates with Mark but the most recent time I had worn a dress was two days ago on our dinner date.

I swallowed my saliva and watched as my smile faltered in the mirror, revealing to me the very substance of my act.

Why hasn't he contacted me?