Chapter 88: Bills Keep Getting Higher And Higher

The hallway outside the practice room was quiet enough that Adrian could hear the air conditioner again.

After back-to-back hours of Jenna singing, the silence honestly felt like the strangest part of his day. He didn’t mind it, though. His ears probably needed the break.

He took out his phone as they headed toward the stairs, his eyes catching the time almost immediately.

6:11 PM.

And below that, a missed call from Mom sat at the bottom of the screen.

Fuck.

Dinner.

He stopped.

How the hell had he forgotten?

He’d agreed to it. His mother had even reminded him. Somehow, an hour of watching Jenna discover just how little control she apparently had over her own limbs had been enough to push the entire thing out of his head.

Not exactly his best work.

He locked his phone and looked up.

Rose was already a few stairs below him.

Behind them, Jenna was quieter than usual. She kept adjusting the strap of her bag, even though there wasn’t anything wrong with it.

She’d probably taken some of Rose’s criticism to heart.

Jenna could deal with that later. Right now, Adrian had a much more immediate problem: his mother was expecting him for dinner.

"Rose," Jenna said, snapping Adrian and Rose’s attention back to her.

She hesitated as she adjusted the strap of her bag, glancing at Rose for a beat before opening her mouth. She paused again, like she was reconsidering it, before finally speaking.

"I need to pick something up for my mom. It’s on the way back."

Rose glanced at Adrian, waiting for him to explain that somehow.

Adrian had nothing.

After a second, she apparently got the message and turned back to Jenna.

"Oh. Um. That’s cool. Do you..." Her eyes flicked toward Adrian again. "Do you wanna drop her off?"

Jenna smiled.

"Don’t worry about it. It’d be too much of a pain."

She said it quickly enough that Adrian barely had time to answer.

Then she squeezed past him and headed toward the entrance.

That was suspicious, right?

He shook the thought off.

"Ohh. Mmm. Then I guess we’ll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah. We’ll see."

Jenna lifted a hand in farewell and headed off in the opposite direction.

Adrian watched her disappear down the street before turning back.

Rose was still standing there, staring after Jenna.

She’d clearly noticed it too.

"Was it just me, or did that part sound weird to you too..."

She turned to him, and their gazes met. Her eyes ran over him for a moment.

"What? Why’re you staring?"

Adrian stared for another second.

Well, there wasn’t much point keeping it from her now.

"I kinda forgot to mention something."

Rose turned toward him, clearly attentive at this point.

"My mother called earlier."

She waited.

"Um. Why’re you saying that like it’s a bad thing?"

"She wants to have dinner, with the two of us."

Rose’s eyes widened, her jaw almost dropping in an instant.

"I didn’t exactly get much warning either."

"And you couldn’t mention it?"

"I was supposed to tell you earlier."

Rose stared at him.

Adrian started walking toward his Corolla.

"I’ve actually been through a lot already. I kinda forgot."

Rose’s footsteps followed close behind him.

"I get that, but this is dinner with your mum."

She pulled open the passenger door.

"Anything would’ve been better than a last-minute heads-up."

"C’mon. It’s not that bad."

Adrian sat into the car and started the engine.

"Not that bad? When’s the dinner?"

"Less than an hour."

He paused. Yeah. That sounded worse when said it out loud.

"I could cancel."

"Don’t."

Adrian glanced at her.

"So what do you want me to do?"

Rose stared at him.

He turned back to the road and pulled out of the parking area.

At least driving gave him something to do while he figured out how to explain himself.

The drive gave him a few minutes to figure out what exactly he was supposed to tell his mother.

Forty minutes wasn’t much.

Especially when the only explanation he had was that he’d forgotten.

Traffic wasn’t helping either. Every red light was another minute he couldn’t get back.

Rose muttered beside him for most of the drive. Adrian caught maybe half of it, but whenever her tone sounded like she was expecting a response, he gave her a nod.

By the next intersection, Rose had gone quiet.

Adrian didn’t complain. A few minutes later, she finally spoke again.

"I can’t meet your mother dressed like this."

Adrian glanced over briefly.

Rose was looking down at herself now, already reconsidering the jeans and shirt she’d worn to class.

"You look fine."

"Of course I do. I picked these clothes myself."

She adjusted the hem of her shirt.

"But that’s not the problem."

Adrian returned his attention to the road.

He got it.

Going downstairs for dinner was one thing. Meeting his mother was apparently another.

Driving home, changing, then driving back would be a pain.

He’d probably earned that one, though.

Kinda.

"We need to change into something...." Rose paused for a moment. "Something nice."

Adrian turned to her. She’d basically read his mind.

"You wanna go home?"

Rose looked at him.

"Depends on you. Do you have enough gas to spare for the drive?"

Gas wasn’t the issue.

The problem was time.

Going home, getting changed, then coming back would turn an already tight schedule into something even tighter.

"I’d rather not, though. Is there anywhere else you have in mind?"

Rose looked out the window for a few seconds.

Then she straightened and glanced through some of the street poles before pointing ahead.

"There’s a boutique two streets from here."

"How expensive is it?"

She laughed.

"You haven’t even seen it."

"That’s why I’m asking."

"It’s not that bad."

Adrian narrowed his eyes.

That sentence had never saved anyone money.

He sighed and followed her directions.

The boutique appeared exactly two streets later.

Maison Élan.

He looked at the sign as he parked.

He’d never heard of it. Definitely couldn’t pronounce it either.

That was usually a bad sign for his wallet.

Rose was already reaching for the door.

"How long till dinner?"

Adrian checked his phone.

6:34 PM.

He looked back at her.

Rose took one look at his face and apparently understood exactly what he was thinking.

"Not long."

"Then we should probably get going."

She stepped out of the car.

"C’mon."

Adrian glanced at the sign for another second. Yeah, it definitely wasn’t a cheap shop. He sighed and followed her inside.

As they got in, Adrian immediately understood why Rose had called it a boutique instead of a store.

Everything was too clean.

Not hospital clean. Worse.

The kind of clean where even the things nobody was supposed to touch looked like they had been arranged specifically so nobody would touch them.

The lights were bright without being harsh, the racks were spaced far enough apart that nobody had to squeeze past another customer, and somewhere in the background, something soft was playing that Adrian didn’t recognize.

Rose slowed beside him, her attention caught by the displays. Her eyes moved across the racks, lingering on certain pieces long enough for Adrian to realize she wasn’t merely looking anymore.

He followed her gaze and caught the price tag hanging from the first dress.

$137.99.

He read it again just to be sure he was seeing it right.

Damn. Should’ve just gone to Sin’s Peace. Atleast then the damage would have been predictable.

Rose headed toward the display. Adrian followed, because letting her wander through a store where a single dress cost that much didn’t strike him as intelligent.

She took the first dress from the rack and held it against herself before turning toward the mirror.

"What do you think? Is it too much?"

"I think it’s a bit too much. Or does your mum hate purple?"

"She isn’t really the color type."

"Okay. Alright..." Rose pressed the dress against herself again. "So... how does it look?"

Adrian looked at her properly. The purple should have looked wrong with the red she was wearing. He would’ve normally called the combination questionable, but on Rose, it worked.

"It actually looks..."

Movement caught his attention in the mirror behind her.

"That blouse looks so good on you."

Adrian stopped. He’d been about to say exactly that.

Goddamn it.

He turned to see who had stolen his line.

The guy looked about their age, with rough blond hair and an easy smile.

Rose’s fingers tightened around the hanger.

"Um. Thanks..." She looked at Adrian and then at him. "I’m sorry, do I know you?"

"I’m Stan. I work here." He tapped his badge. "If you’re looking for something for tonight, I can probably save you some time."

Adrian glanced at Rose. She didn’t look offended, just caught off guard but curious.

Stan’s eyes dropped to the dress, then to the size tag.

"You’re probably a small, right?"

Rose looked down at the tag, then back at him.

"How did you know?"

"The shoulder width. And the way you’re holding it." Stan pointed toward another rack.

Adrian studied him. He’d identified the size without asking and hadn’t pushed the most expensive thing in sight.

Maybe he knew what he was doing.

"If you like that one, I’ve got something similar that’ll probably suit you better."

"Something better?" Rose said as she glanced at Adrian, her eyebrows lifting.

Adrian looked toward the rack, then back at Stan. They had less than an hour before dinner. If this guy could find Rose something she liked, he was worth trusting.

"Lead the way."