Chapter 51: Dress Code: Nicole’s Choice

Friday came early. It was as if the day knew I had plans I wasn’t entirely sure I was ready for and had decided to get them over with as quickly as possible.

I wasn’t nervous, exactly. Just a little curious about the kind of people Nicole called friends. For all I knew, they were all walking around with black cards in their wallets and casually discussing which vacation homes they were planning to renovate next.

The first few classes went smoothly enough, though Professor Thompson seemed to be having a better morning than the rest of us. Test week was coming up next week, and the man looked positively delighted about it. He had that particular kind of smile lecturers got when they knew they were about to make an entire room full of students question their life choices. Every time he mentioned the upcoming tests, his smile widened a little more, as if he were already imagining the stack of disappointing scores waiting for him.

I was beginning to suspect he enjoyed watching students suffer more than he enjoyed teaching them.

By the time lunch rolled around, I’d had enough of watching him look forward to our collective suffering, so I made my way to our usual spot.

Sasha sat beside me as usual, while Evelyn sat next to her boyfriend. We ate as Jackson scrolled through his phone between bites, apparently more interested in whatever was on his screen than anything happening around him.

He finally glanced up from his screen. “You gonna be at Katie’s party tonight?”

I took my time chewing, swallowed, and looked at him. “Nope.”

Jackson nodded as though he’d expected that answer, then returned his attention to his phone.

Sasha looked between us. “You know he doesn’t go to those kinds of parties, so why even ask?” A pause. Then, “Actually, you didn’t used to go either.”

“He’s changed,” I said, reaching for my drink. “Ever since he started going out with Evelyn.”

“You’re rightttt,” Sasha said, drawing out the word as she turned toward Jackson. “The moment he started dating Evelyn, suddenly he had a social life.”

Evelyn cleared her throat. “Ahem. You guys. I’m right here.”

“She’s a bad influence on Jackson,” I told Sasha, completely ignoring Evelyn.

“A huge one,” Sasha agreed.

Jackson finally put his phone down and looked at Evelyn. “Don’t listen to them. They’re just jealous of our love.”

“Ew,” Sasha said, making a face.

Evelyn burst out laughing, Jackson huffed a laugh beside her, and I couldn’t help smirking as Sasha joined in. Some things about our group never changed. Jackson’s dignity, for instance, had been missing for years, and Evelyn seemed perfectly happy to keep it that way.

—

The rest of the school day passed without much worth mentioning. By 3:16 PM, our department had officially called it a day. The Mechanical Engineering Department had a habit of closing early on Fridays, which meant I had plenty of time to get ready for tonight.

A little over an hour later, I found myself standing in front of my wardrobe, staring at my clothes like one of them was supposed to tell me what to wear. Nicole had invited me to her friend’s party, and somehow, despite having agreed to go without making a big deal out of it, I hadn’t given much thought to what I’d actually wear.

I wasn’t wearing a suit. I’d made that clear when she invited me, and she’d agreed without putting up a fight. Still, standing there with half my wardrobe in front of me, I was beginning to wonder if I’d been too quick to rule it out.

After another minute of staring at my clothes, I gave up. I didn’t even know what kind of party I was going to, so trying to dress for it without asking someone who actually knew what to expect seemed like a waste of time. She could at least tell me what I was getting myself into.

I pulled out my phone and opened our chat. Her last message was a picture she’d sent earlier this afternoon of what she’d had for lunch. I smiled at the sight of it before tapping the call button.

She picked up on the second ring, greeting me with a bright, “Moshi moshi!”

I blinked. “Did you just say hello in Japanese?”

Nicole laughed. “Hi. What’s up?”

I shook my head with a smile. “There’s a slight problem.” I paused, glancing back at my wardrobe. “I have no idea what to wear for tonight.”

She went quiet for a moment, as if considering something. Then she asked, “What’s your clothing size?”

I blinked again. “What do you want to do with that information?”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” she replied, sounding entirely reasonable all of a sudden. There was a brief pause before she added, “I’ll just ask Chloe.”

I paused.

She never gives up, does she?

“I’ll text it to you,” I said, letting just enough sarcasm slip into my voice to make it clear I wasn’t taking my next question entirely seriously. “Anything else?”

“Your shoe size too.”

I stared at my wardrobe for a moment, wondering why I’d even bothered asking.

“Sure. Do you need my birth certificate while we’re at it, or will my shoe size and clothing measurements be enough?”

Nicole laughed. “Those two will do.”

I smiled despite myself.

“I’ll bring your outfit over around seven,” she added.

“Seven it is, then.”

“See you soon.”

“See you.”

I ended the call and lowered my phone, looking at my wardrobe again. I’d called her because I didn’t know what to wear, and somehow, I’d ended up agreeing to let her bring me an outfit.

At least I’d solved the problem of choosing something.

—

True to her word, she showed up at seven on the dot, which was either the result of excellent time management or some kind of universal joke at my expense. Given how things had been going lately, I wasn’t ruling out the second possibility.

I was at the dining table with my phone propped against a glass of water, watching a YouTube video about expensive drinks that restaurants apparently preferred not to put prices beside on their menus, when I heard the doorbell, followed by Chloe’s footsteps, and then her voice calling from the entrance.

“Nathan, Nicole’s here!”

I closed the video and looked up as Nicole stepped into view, carrying two clothing bags.

She was wearing a light brown knit mini dress that hugged her figure, with black pantyhose and black platform heeled boots. The sleeves of the dress had been pushed up just enough to leave her wristwatch visible, and around her neck was the necklace I’d given her in her office.

That last detail caught my attention longer than it should have.

I looked at her again and realized I’d gotten the whole party vibe wrong. I’d spent the afternoon expecting to dress like I was attending a mini royal wedding. Apparently, I’d been overthinking it.

Nicole caught me staring and smiled as she approached the table.

I stood up this time, deciding there was no point pretending I hadn’t been staring. She knew perfectly well what she looked like.

She stopped in front of me, looking rather pleased with herself. “How do I look? Hot? Or extremely hot?”

I huffed a smile. “Extremely hot.”

Her smile widened immediately, as though she’d been expecting that exact answer. “Good.”

She handed me the two clothing bags, pointing at one before passing me the other. “Your outfit is in that one, while your shoes and accessories are in this one.”

I glanced at the bags, then back at her. I had several questions about what she considered accessories, but I decided against asking any of them.

My attention drifted back to the necklace resting against her dress.

“You wore the necklace today.”

Nicole blinked at me, her expression briefly suggesting she wasn’t sure what I was getting at. “I’ve never taken it off.”

“But I don’t see you wearing it when you’re… you know.”

Nicole glanced at the necklace before taking hold of the pendant between her fingers. She lifted it from where it rested against her dress and tucked it beneath the neckline, guiding the chain after it until not a trace of the pendant remained visible. She did all of this while standing right in front of me, then raised her eyes to mine with a look of such practiced innocence that I immediately regretted asking.

“Oh,” I said.

Her mouth curved into a smirk. She let me sit with that for a moment before pulling the necklace back out and allowing the pendant to settle against her dress again.

“Go change,” she said.

I nodded and walked past her, carrying both bags toward my room. I made a point of looking straight ahead, mostly because Chloe had been watching the entire exchange with a look I knew all too well, and I wasn’t about to give her the satisfaction of seeing my reaction.

Once I was inside, I set the bags on my bed and opened the first one to see what Nicole had picked out for me.

A light brown turtleneck top sat neatly folded inside, along with a pair of black trousers. I took them out and laid them across the bed, then looked back at the bags. Light brown and black. The same colors Nicole was wearing.

Of course she picked our outfits to match.

I opened the second bag and found a pair of black socks, a pair of black shoes, a wristwatch, black sunglasses, and a set of cufflinks.

I picked up the cufflinks and turned them over in my hand, then glanced at the turtleneck and trousers lying on the bed. I wasn’t sure what she expected me to do with cufflinks, unless she’d decided my outfit needed a little extra mystery.

I put the cufflinks back in the bag and changed.

I stopped in front of the mirror and looked myself over. I wasn’t going to lie; I looked good. The light brown and black worked together, and the whole outfit looked a lot more put together than anything I’d have picked out myself. Nicole clearly knew what she was doing, which was both impressive and a little annoying.

I picked up the cufflinks from the bag and left the sunglasses in my other hand before walking out of my room.

Nicole and Chloe were in the living room, talking about something I hadn’t caught. The sound of my door opening made Nicole glance in my direction, and whatever she had been saying seemed to leave her mind for a moment. Her eyes moved over me, brightening with an excitement she didn’t even try to hide.

Chloe noticed, of course. She looked from Nicole to me and smirked.

I ignored both of them and walked over, stopping in front of Nicole. I held out the cufflinks in one hand, the sunglasses still in the other. “Saw these in there.”

Nicole glanced at the cufflinks, then back at me. “The set came with a suit, but I took it out since you said you didn’t want to wear one.”

I nodded, accepting that explanation.

Then Nicole’s smile turned a little too innocent. “The suit’s in the car, though, in case you change your mind.”

I shook my head, amused by her antics. She smiled back, looking entirely too pleased with herself, then held out her car keys.

“It’s the Mercedes,” she added, as if she knew I was about to object.

I looked at her, then at the keys. She was wearing that same innocent expression, though her eyes gave away how much she was enjoying herself.

“Don’t learn these things from her,” I told Chloe.

They both giggled, which wasn’t the reaction I’d been hoping for, but I took the keys anyway.

As I headed for the door, Chloe called after me. “Get me something on your way back.”

Nicole answered before I could. “We will.”

I glanced back at her. She smiled, took my arm, and walked out with me.