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another piece of makeup at me and I dutifully brushed the dark green
color over my eyelids.
    “Thanks, MA,” I said
before leaving. “I’m not trying to sound like an ungrateful bitch, I swear.”
    “I know.
Truthfully, it’s kind of cute watching you get all hot and bothered over a
guy.”
    I rolled my eyes.
“I just want to look nice for school,” I said innocently.
    “Okay, Lana, you
keep telling yourself that,” I heard Maryanne call as I walked out and shut the
door.
    ###
    I kept trying to
find excuses to go to the sixth floor, but every time I went up there Michael
wasn’t in sight. My shift was ending in an hour. And he had never called me
back after I left him a voicemail. Well, this is what you get, Lana. You’ve
got no business trying to have a relationship.
    It was different
with Maryanne. After college we’d go our separate ways, slowly lose touch and
eventually our friendship would just be a fond memory. But if I settled down
with a man, had a family, a normal life, I’d never be able to hide the ugly
truth from him, not long-term.
    I had all but
given up hope when I finally saw Michael. He was talking to a nurse on the
sixth floor, a serious expression on his face. He must have sensed me watching
him, because he turned and looked in my direction. A smile played at his lips.
He said something else to the nurse and walked over to where I was standing.
    “You look
fantastic,” he said in a low voice. “I’ve been trying to find you all
afternoon. I went to floor two so many times that I think I gave poor Evie the
impression that I have a crush on her.”
    I snickered. “I’m
sure I’ll hear all about it when I leave.”
    “I wish I could
take you out tonight,” Michael said, “but Rose is in town to visit Becky and I
have to go to a family dinner.”
    “No worries. I’m
looking forward to tomorrow,” I replied.
    “Me, too.” Michael
lightly, discreetly ran his fingers along my arm. “See you soon.”
    I practically
floated through the rest of my shift. Is this what it’s like to be in love? I
had thought it was real with Damon, but I don’t remember ever feeling quite
like this .
    Whatever it was,
the feeling was intoxicating. I had to keep my head on straight, though. This
was just a date. I was letting myself have fun. Nothing more.

Chapter 7
    Maryanne and I
went shopping on Saturday. I didn’t know where Michael was taking me, but as
Maryanne had said, “Even if it’s not super fancy, it won’t be McDonald’s. Better
to dress up than down.”
    I had my parents’
credit card. They didn’t mind me using it, but since I avoided talking to them
as much as possible, I always felt bad when I charged stuff to them. My parents
aren’t loaded by any means, but they were willing and able to foot the bill for
the part of my college tuition that wasn’t covered by my scholarship.
    They also sent me
a check every month for food and gas, but I had been eating out a lot recently
and was almost out of money for the month. My parents might have written
another check, but that would mean I had to talk to them. Not happening.
    Still, I didn’t
want to spend too much. We headed to the mall first, to check out the
sale items.
    “Mom’s going to
kill me if I put any more charges on her card,” Maryanne said, eyeing a pair of
burgundy velvet skinny pants.
    “Those would look
good on you,” I replied. Maryanne had the perfect legs for skinny jeans and
pants. In fact, I’d told her many times that with her tall, slim body, big
boobs and long blond hair, that she could be a Victoria’s Secret model.
    “It wouldn’t hurt
to try them on.” Maryanne let out a low whistle when she looked at the price
tag. “Maybe it would. Ah, what the hell.” She draped the pants over her arm.
    I laughed. “So do
you think I should go for a skirt or pants?” I asked her.
    “Skirt,” she said
immediately. “Or a dress.”
    “I don’t want to
look like I’m trying too hard, though.”
    “You