Robin Alexander - Pitifully Ugly

“I have no idea.”

Mom and Kalen exchanged glances again. “You don’t know?”

Kalen asked before she shoveled another spoonful of fruit into

her mouth.

Mom grabbed my arm. “Honey, it’s got to be somewhere

special.”

“Well, I wasn’t thinking about McDonald’s,” I said nervously

as they looked at me like I was crazy.

“What about Antoine’s, Court of Two Sisters, or Arnaud’s?”

Kalen ticked off on her fingers. “Those are all romantic places.”

“Yes, excellent choices,” Mom agreed.

“Now what are you going to wear?” Kalen waved her fork at

me. “Well, I was planning on jeans.”

“No,” Mom and Kalen said in unison.

I dropped my napkin onto the table. “I’m not showing up at

her place in a prom dress.”

“Do you have something sexy?” Mom asked.

“Mom!”

“What?”

“I feel funny about discussing this with you.”

“Well, honey, I know lesbians do more than just talk.”

“Are we done here?” I looked around to see if anyone else

was listening to the conversation.

“I think we need to go shopping,” Kalen said, ignoring me.

“Maybe visit Victoria’s Secret.”

Mom gave me a teasing grin. “I think you’d look really nice

in a pair of black slacks, you know the ones that ride low on your

waist with a snug-fitting top. Something to show off that new

figure of yours.”

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Robin Alexander

“The malls are full of sales,” Kalen offered seriously. “And

Mom says I need to walk a lot to combat fluid buildup.” She

batted her eyes at me.

“What’s up with you?” I narrowed my eyes at Kalen. “You

haven’t been hip on me seeing Hailey at all, and now you want to

dress me up for her.”

Kalen popped an orange slice into her mouth and looked at

Mom.

Mom gave a warning glance at Kalen and smiled at me. “We’ve

had a talk. Now about dinner. You need to make a reservation,

instead of winging it.”

Kalen pulled out her phone and had the number to Arnaud’s

in about half a minute. “Want me to call for you?”

“Yes,” my mother replied before I could and turned to me.

“We are going shopping.”

“Seven was the best they could do,” Kalen said as she set her

phone down.

“I need to call Hailey. That’s what time I’m supposed to pick

her up.”

The noon sun felt good on my face as I stepped outside

and dialed Hailey’s number. “Hey,” she said brightly when she

answered.

“Hi, have you recovered from last night’s hike?” I asked.

“I have, but Fuzzy is on nap number two. Are we still on for

tonight?”

“Yes, but I’m going to have to pick you up at six thirty instead

of seven. We have reservations at Arnaud’s.”

“Oh, wow, I’ve heard about that place. Very pricey.” Hailey

lowered her tone, sounding sultry. “Are you trying to impress

me?”“Yes?”

Hailey laughed. “I’m already impressed. Dinner at McDonald’s

wouldn’t diminish that.”

“I look forward to spending time with you tonight.”

“Me too,” Hailey said, sounding suddenly shy. “See you

soon.”

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Pitifully Ugly

Chapter 30

Steak, crab and ahhh…

In hindsight, it was good to spend time with Mom and Kalen.

Their playful banter and being dragged from store to store made

the day pass quickly. Otherwise, I would’ve sat home and waited

impatiently for the hours to tick by. I returned home to relax for a

while and launder my new outfit.

Now as I stood in the mirror, I was actually happy that Mom

and Kalen were so insistent on dressing me for the occasion.

The black slacks and the lightweight burgundy sweater showed

off the figure that I’d worked for. It wasn’t so dressy that I felt

uncomfortable, yet the ensemble looked a lot dressier than jeans.

I slipped into the matching blazer and wished for a second that

Marvin had been around to do my hair and makeup.

I rode the elevator down to Hailey’s floor with a grin. My

arms were full with flowers for Hailey and a gift bag for Fuzzy

since her chicken-hunting stunt provided the perfect segue for me

to ask Hailey out.

“Wow, you look amazing,” Hailey said when she opened

her door. I wanted to return the compliment, but it froze on my

tongue when I took in the black cocktail dress she’d chosen for the

evening. It hugged every delicious curve and left me breathless.

“Is it too much?” Hailey asked when I stood there gawking.

“No…I…Oh, my God, you’re beautiful.” I felt as awkward

as a schoolboy as I presented the flowers. “These are for you. A

small show of gratitude for taking care of me when I was sick and

a thank you for agreeing to accompany me tonight.”

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Robin Alexander

Hailey sniffed at the one red rose in the center of the bouquet.

“And this dinner, is this some sort of show of gratitude?

“No,” I said, looking deep into her eyes. “This is just about

wanting to spend time with you.”

Hailey sighed as she looked at me, a small smile pulled at the

corner of her mouth. “I’ll put these in water.”

“This is for you.” I looked down at Fuzzy. I opened the gift

bag covered in tiny dog prints and pulled out High School Musical

2 , a chew bone with a chicken-flavored center, and a stuffed lamb.

“I figured that this might make you happy while I steal your mom

away for a while.”

Fuzzy did a dance as I handed her the lamb.

“I’m going to get my coat,” Hailey said. “If you’ll unwrap the

bone and put in the movie, I think Fuzzy will be grateful.”

I watched Hailey walk from the room and looked down at

Fuzzy, who seemed to say, Open the bone, fool . She took it and

lay down next to her lamb in front of the TV and waited as I put

in the movie.

“Thank you for that,” Hailey said as she came back into the

room and nodded toward her pooch that was happily gnawing the

bone and eyeing the TV. “Are we ready?”

“Yes.” I walked over to the door and prepared to open it for

her. Hailey put her hand atop mine and stopped me. She tugged

on the lapel of my blazer until we were scarcely an inch apart. “I

want to willingly give you this,” she said before her lips met mine.

The kiss was gentle and sweet at first. I heard her purse drop

to the floor as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and

pulled me tight against her. All thoughts of dinner fled my mind

as her tongue slipped into my mouth. Her teeth grazed my bottom

lip as she broke the kiss that left me shaken and breathless. “Yes,

I think we’re ready now,” Hailey said with a coy smile.

“I’ll get your purse,” I said dumbly as I knelt in front of her.

I felt Hailey’s hand weave into my hair and tug me back up to

her. “I was wrong, we’re not quite ready.” She pushed me against

the door and kissed me again. My hands roamed over the backless

dress, and I moaned at the feel of her warm skin. She pressed

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Pitifully Ugly

harder into me, straddling my thigh. The sound of our breathing

drowned out the intro music to the movie. When she pulled away

from me this time, she looked as unhinged as I felt. “Okay, we’re

ready now.” Hailey took an unsteady step back.

I bit my lip to keep from asking, ready for what? I wasn’t