What had we done?
Hunter’s eyes narrowed at me, as if he were still trying to decide whether to stay or leave. I kept my face as neutral as possible, despite my own jumbled thoughts and feelings currently battling inside my head. I wanted him to stay. I needed him to stay. But instead, with a sigh, he pushed off his knees and stood to follow Sarah out the door.
As the door swung shut behind them, I clutched tight to my legs and allowed a stream of emotions to wash over me. It wasn’t until I’d sat in that musty closet for about ten minutes was I finally able to make sense of what had just happened.
Ten minutes ago, kissing Hunter had felt so right.
But why did I feel like I’d seriously messed everything up?
Chapter Thirteen
I was going to put everything back together today.
Starting with this broken zipper.
Tugging on the homemade dress I wore as people rushed by me, I looked around desperately for help. Where was Lexi when I really needed her? She’d done my hair and my makeup and ran away. Now, I couldn’t get my clothes on right for the 4H fashion show. How was I supposed to sweep past Sarah in the competition if I strutted down the runway with my bare back hanging out?
“Here, I’ll get that for you.” Geminia came to the rescue, bending over to tug expertly on the zipper and free it from its cloth imprisonment. She stood back with a satisfied grin, eyeing my gown with the halter top and flowy skirt. “Girl, you’re rocking this crimson look. I’m totally jelly. I mean, I love denim. What girl doesn’t? But this is a bit much.”
She swept a hand over her outfit and I had to muffle a giggle with my hand. The denim shirt, acid-stained denim vest, and jean pants with wide legs were more than a bit much. They were hideous. Still, if anyone could pull them off, Geminia could. Ms. Gentry had chosen the right girl to wear them.
“So, any movement on our vengeance plan for Miss Stuck-Up?” she whispered as Sarah strutted by in an elegant sheer blouse and pencil skirt.
I wrinkled up my nose and shook my head. “Nah. Not yet. I’ll let you know if I come up with something good.”
“Sounds good. But just in case...” She stared hard at Sarah’s backside for a long moment and then turned back to me with a satisfied grin. “I just wished for a hundred years of bad luck on her head. If real life is anything like the movies, she’ll get what she deserves.”
I had to laugh at Geminia. She was fast becoming one of my favorite human beings.
With everything that went on last night, I hadn’t had time to consider how to take my revenge on Sarah for burning my pie. At this point, all I wanted to do was return to normal. Finish this competition without coming in last place. Make my parents happy so I wouldn’t be stuck in the diner for the rest of the summer.
And just be best friends again with Hunter.
He and I hadn’t spoken since the incident. It’d taken me exactly three minutes after leaving the bar and grill to convince myself that what had happened between us was just an accident. A weird, emotional, and heart-throbbing accident.
Hunter had been extra vulnerable, opening up about Steven. I was still recovering from the trauma of this past year. We’d kissed during a moment of weakness and that was the end of that. I was putting the whole thing out of my head today, no doubt just like Hunter had.
Like I said—I was going to fix everything.
“Move it, ladies, move it.” Ms. Gentry stood near the black curtains that separated us from the catwalk and audience. She sharply clapped her hands together twice and scanned the room with her no-nonsense stare. “Remember—this event is another ten percent of your total score. You only have moments to impress on that runway. They’d better be your best.”
Geminia shot me a wide-eyed look, although her lips twitched with a suppressed smile. We hurried behind the other girls in line. Music with a heavy bass beat started on the other side of the curtain and the chatter of the crowd died down.
“I’d like Miss Hale to go first,” Ms. Gentry said, her gaze falling on me.
I gaped up at her, a million excuses fluttering around in my head as to why that was the worst idea since rationing lifeboats on the Titanic. But the slight narrowing of her eyes and lift of her chin as my mouth flapped uselessly put that to an end. This was a challenge. She was testing my commitment to this competition. I had to do it, or I’d be out.
“Good luck,” Geminia whispered.
The music grew a little louder as I waited next to the catwalk entrance for my cue. My heart thundered a little too loudly. I’d never modeled anything in my life, let alone in front of a crowd. But I needed to nail this if I was going to make up some ground on Sarah. All those years of binging on America’s Next Top Model were about to pay off. It was time to channel my best Tyra Banks impression.
“Now,” Ms. Gentry ordered, nodding sharply at me.
With a deep inhale, I took a step out onto the catwalk. It wasn’t anything fancy. We didn’t even have flashing lights or local celebrities crowding the front rows. It was a simple raised platform that stretched between a few rows of metal folding chairs. Most of those chairs were full of 4H kids and their family. Lexi and Beth sat near the end.
And Hunter was nowhere to be seen.
The unexpected thought about him made my heel slip a little on that first step. But I rebounded, throwing my shoulders back and strutting down that platform as if I owned the place. It honestly wasn’t hard to feel like a million bucks in my
