Well Played, стр. 50

I don’t think I’d say we’re *back* to this. How about “in addition.” Because I love your words on my screen, and I don’t know that I’d want to give them up.

Fair enough, I texted back. I love your words on my screen too. The words looked intimate when I typed them out, like a confession. I reminded myself not to read too much into it. He wasn’t saying he loved me, he was saying he loved our exchanges. Our communication. There was a difference, and it was far too soon for anything deeper.

Or was it? Another text from him popped up on my phone while I was thinking. But here’s the great thing. Not only are we texting good morning, but I also get to see you. In person. It’s like a dream come true.

Whew. So much for not reading too much into it. I like your dreams, I typed. My eyes flicked up to the top of my screen, and I yelped. Speaking of seeing me, I need to get going if I’m going to be on time. Who was I kidding? Being on time was already out of the question. Time to shoot for not being embarrassingly late. I let my phone clatter to the table as I abandoned the last few bites of my bagel, much to Benedick’s delight, to finish getting ready for the day. I grabbed the outer layers of my costume and dashed out the door in little more than my chemise and my boots. I could finish getting dressed at the Hollow.

The good thing about having worked at this Faire since almost the beginning was that putting on the outer layers of my costume was second nature to me. I was ready in a flash, and right when I’d started looking for Emily to cinch me into my corset, she was looking for me for the same reason.

“You know, I was thinking,” Emily said.

“Thinking what? Ooof!” A sharp tug on the corset strings from Emily had me almost losing my balance, and I groped in front of me for one of the posts that held up the stage’s canopy, much like Scarlett O’Hara holding on to the bedpost. “Warn a girl, will you?”

“Sorry.” She didn’t sound sorry. “How long have you had this outfit, anyway?”

I shrugged, bracing myself as Emily tugged again. “A few years. Why?”

“Well, I was thinking we should go shopping this morning.”

“This morning?” I looked over my shoulder at her. “We kind of have a Ren Faire to work, remember? Besides, I’m not going to the mall dressed like this.”

“Funny.” She gave my strings a sharp tug, more in rebuke than anything else. “I meant here, before the gates open. I just . . .” There were a few more small tugs as she evened everything up and tied the strings off. Then she sighed. “You were right. We were going to plan new costumes together. And I went and did it without you. I’m so sorry.” She sounded on the verge of tears, as if she thought she’d betrayed our friendship, and that broke my heart.

“Oh, Em. That’s okay.” And it was. Sure, I’d felt a little stab of hurt yesterday, but in the grand scheme of things it was no big deal. We both had a lot going on. Weddings and long-distance maybe-relationships. And since I’d spent the better part of last night snuggled against Daniel watching bad television, it would have taken a lot to upset me today.

But it still meant something that she wanted to make it up to me. I looked down at my ensemble, really studying it as I adjusted the way my chemise lay under the corset. The movements were automatic after spending so many summers adjusting the same outfit. Maybe Emily had a point. And far be it from me to discourage someone who wanted to go shopping. I looked back up at her, her eyebrows raised in a question, and I grinned at her. “Let’s go shopping.”

“Yay!” She grabbed my arm and we slipped away from the rest of the cast, still getting dressed and ready for the day, and hurried up the hill to the vendors. They were already set up, after all, and wouldn’t mind making an early sale.

“What do you think?” Emily took a blue flowing underdress off the rack and held it up to me.

I shook my head. “With my hair? I’d look like Alice on her way to Wonderland.”

“Good point.” She replaced the dress and started hunting through the rack. “Who do you want to be?”

I had to laugh. “That’s the question, isn’t it?” But my hand went to my belt pouch, and I drew out the dragonfly necklace I’d bought the summer before. There was my answer. I wanted to wear something that was deserving of the sparkle in that dragonfly’s eyes. Something that matched the thrill I’d felt yesterday when Daniel had kissed me. “Something to match this.”

Emily’s smile widened. Maybe she remembered the moment I’d bought it too. “Good call.” She stuck the blue dress back on the rack and rummaged around, while I moved to look at corsets. There were ones in all different sizes and shapes, underbust and overbust styles, as well as simple waist cinchers. I dismissed the cinchers and underbust corsets out of hand: not enough support. I had far too much bosom to go braless, and if I was going to cinch myself into a corset, I shouldn’t have to deal with underwires too. That was just cruel.

“Here you go.” Emily was back with another dress, and as soon as I saw it, I knew it was a winner. Flowing, gauzy fabric in a color that could only be described as marigold: bright orangey-yellow that would make me look like a blazing sunset come to life. I looked from the dress back to the display of corsets, and reached immediately for a green and brown brocade bodice that