“So each piece is one of a kind.”
I hadn’t thought of it that way. “Yeah, I guess they are.”
She glances at my clothes. “What about what you’re wearing?”
“The skirt is a thrift store find.” I smooth the wrinkles from my lap. “I added a ruffled edge to the hem, but this”—I wave to my front—“is a Target t-shirt and a thrift store cardigan.”
“Do you make many of these outfits?”
“Most of my clothes are my hybrid creations.”
“Hybrid creations … I like it.” Her eyes narrow. “So why haven’t you used your hybrid creations in your classes?”
“Because they aren’t real designs, Lexi. They’re repurposed clothes.”
“There’s nothing new under the sun, Caroline. Everything has been done before. It’s just your own take on it. Your hybrid clothes aren’t any different.”
I narrow my eyes. “Why the interest in my designs?”
She gives me a mischievous grin. “I’ve read my share of Vogue magazines.”
I don’t believe her, but I won’t be the one to call her on it. Otherwise, what’s to stop her from asking why I scavenge thrift stores?
A cell phone rings and guilt washes over her face as she pulls her phone out of her purse. She looks at the screen and grimaces. “I have to go. Thanks for talking to me.”
“We should do this again.”
She silences her phone and looks at me in surprise. “Really?”
“Yeah.” And after my initial doubt about her, I realize I like her. “Maybe we can figure out something after our next committee meeting.”
“Okay.” She looks up at me and grins, but it’s tight like she’s nervous. “I’d like that a lot.”
“Sounds great.”
She waves and heads for the door as she lifts the phone to her ear. Her voice lowers and a serious expression replaces her smile.
I’m going to help Lexi break free from her brother’s hold.
While I watch her walk away, someone else sits down in her seat. I look up, surprised to see it’s Brandon, a guy from my history class last semester.
“You’re Caroline, right?” he asks.
“Uh, yeah.” I tilt my head.
He points to his chest. “Brandon McKenzie. We had history together last spring. How’s your semester going?”
I study him before I answer. “Good.”
He grins. “You look surprised about something.”
“It’s just that you never spoke to me the entire semester. I didn’t think you even knew I existed, let alone knew my name.”
He leans back in his chair. “Oh, I knew your name all right.” Brandon gives me a playful grin.
“But my girlfriend who also took that class was the jealous type.”
“And what would she say if she knew you were talking to me now.”
“I doubt she cares since she’s now going out with someone else.”
We stare at each other for several seconds and he laughs. “This is kind of awkward, huh?”
“Yeah,” I smirk. “Kind of.”
“I think I know how to remedy this situation.”
“Do you now?”
“It’s only awkward because we don’t know each other very well. Go out with me on Friday night, and we can fix that.”
I shake my head and glance at my phone to stall. I’m supposed to be taking a break from guys to concentrate on my project. Going out with Brandon, no matter how cute he is, is not working on my designs. I cringe. “I’d really like to, Brandon—”
He holds up his hands. “Don’t say but! Don’t say it.”
“B—”
He clamps his hand over my mouth with a playful look in his eyes. “Don’t. Say. But.” He slowly lowers his hand as if he’s ready to raise it again if I attempt to say the word.
“All right I won’t say … that word, however—”
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
I lean back. “What?”
“Yes or no. Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No.”
He laughs. “See? That wasn’t so hard. Do you have plans on Friday night?”
I should lie. Something about this guy screams trouble, but he’s incredibly good-looking and he definitely has charm. What if Brandon is the one, and I never knew because I didn’t give him a chance? I grin. “No.”
“Let’s see, you don’t have a boyfriend and you don’t have plans Friday night. It sounds like you are destined to go out with me, Caroline.”
“Just like that? I don’t see you for months, you never even acknowledged my presence before, and now you drop in a chair in front of me and ask me out?”
“I want to get to know you. Asking you out seems the best way to achieve that goal.”
I lift my chin in challenge. “I have a project I need to work on.”
“What is it? Maybe I can help you with it.”
I shake my head and laugh. He is persistent. “I don’t think so, unless you’re a fashion design major, and I missed you in all my classes. Or you secretly watch Project Runway.”
He twists his lips into an over-exaggerated grimace. “Busted. I watch it every Monday.”
“Thursday.”
“I record it and watch it on Monday.” Brandon leans forward, his face dangerously close to mine. “See? We can go out to dinner, and I can help you with your project.”