Love Is Hell

“How about this?” Garrett asked as he held up a ridiculously ugly sweater.

I laughed and shook my head, “Absolutely not!”

He laughed and put it back on the rack.

“But seriously Lorraine, come on. There’s nothing good in here.”

I shook my head, “No that’s not true. I happen to like a lot of the clothes in here.” I said as I looked through a rack of shirts.

“Really? Because I’ve never seen you wear anything similar to this,” he said as he motioned towards a gold sequin tank top.

I shrugged, “I actually have something like that at home. The only reason you’ve never seen it is because I didn’t have time or space to pack my whole wardrobe. Besides, I wanted to pack more practical clothes and unfortunately that did not include my stilettos or sequin top.” I explained.

He made a face, “Stilettos? When would those ever be practical? They look like death!” he exclaimed.

I giggled at him and made my way to the other side of the store, towards the shoes. I quietly looked through the different pairs of shoes while Garrett silently trailed behind me. I finally ended up realizing that there was really nothing to buy seeing as the majority of the shoes were either heels or nice flats.

“At this rate, I’m not going to find any clothes.” I muttered.

Garrett took a deep breath as he walked up beside me. We stared at the shoes in silent for a moment.

“Can I help you find anything?”

We both turned around to find a saleslady staring questioningly at us. I was about to answer her when Garrett grabbed my hand.

“Oh no we’re fine, we were just leaving. Thanks though.” He said as he smiled at the lady and then quickly weaved us through the store and outside onto the busy sidewalk.

He continued to hold onto my hand as he led me through the crowd of people. There were so many people and it seemed like we were moving against the current as everyone else was walking in the opposite direction. I squeezed his hand as I pushed my way forward so we were walking side by side.

“Where are we going?” I asked as I looked up at him.

He had a determined look on his face and seemed to know where we were going. Or at least I hoped he did. He skillfully weaved us through the throngs of people. We finally reached an intersection and had to wait for the red light to cross. He looked down at me and smiled, “You’ll see.”

I gave him a skeptical look and was about to demand him to elaborate, but the light turned red and he began walking across the street, forcing me to follow him. I looked behind us and could still see our hotel building in the distance. At least if we got lost or separated I’d be able to follow the building in the right direction. However, I didn’t think I’d be getting separated seeing as our hands were still entwined.

I briefly looked down at our hands clasped together. Garrett’s hand was lightly calloused and a bit rough, but it felt nice against my own. As cheesy as it sounded, it almost felt like our hands fit together perfectly. I couldn’t help but feel and welcome the warmness that emanated from his hand.

As we continued walking down the street and taking random turns here and there, the amount of people began to lessen. I noticed that we were beginning to leave the busy work area and make our way into the quieter part of the city.

The high-end stores and restaurants were replaced with small cafés, bookstores and thrift shops. It definitely was the more peaceful side of the city. We slowed our pace down and quietly made our way down the street.

I was admiring a pair of shoes in the window of a thrift shop when Garrett gently tugged on my hand.

“Come on this way.” He said as he pulled me across the street.

The store was on the corner of the street and was painted a soft green. The overhang over the store entrance was painted a darker green and the store name was printed across it in a swirly maroon color. There were floral dresses and some plaid shirts displayed on the mannequins in the store windows.

Garrett opened the door and a small bell above our heads dinged, signaling our entrance. The store had an old feeling to it and soft music that sounded like 50’s French music played in the background.

We walked further through the dimly lit store and pass the checkout counter. There was a woman sitting there who looked up when we passed by. Garrett gave a slight wave and I smiled at the woman, but she simply went back to reading.

We finally reached the back of the store where there was a curtain that separated the store from a small dressing room. In front of that was an old looking tri-fold dressing mirror.

“This place is cool.” I finally said. I reluctantly let go of Garrett’s hand and walked over to a rack of clothes. As I sifted through the clothing I realized that it seemed to be poorly organized. There were dresses mixed in with random shirts and sweaters.

“Yeah, the guys and I came here last time we were in Seattle. It’s almost like a thrift store, but not really. The clothes are a bit more expensive than a thrift store, but definitely less expensive than the clothes in the other store. Also, I think these clothes would be more reasonable than that sequin top.” He said as he looked through the rack next to me.

I nodded in agreement and began picking out different items of clothing that I liked. I ended up picking out a few different outfits that I decided to try on. When I finally had enough choices I decided to go into the dressing room. I brought the clothes in and quickly changed into the first outfit. Unfortunately there wasn’t a mirror inside the dressing room, the only mirror being outside, so I had to go out and look at the outfit.

I peeked outside the curtain, looking for Garrett. He was on the other side of the store looking through clothes. I quickly walked out and in front of the mirror. I intently examined myself in the mirror. I couldn’t help but notice how unflattering the shirt looked on my body. I quickly walked back inside the dressing room and decided to narrow down my choices. I finally ended up eliminating most of the outfits that I thought I wouldn’t look good in and then put on the last outfit. It was a loose fitted tank top and a skirt.

I walked outside and in front of the mirror. I didn’t look too bad I decided as I turned around in the mirror, looking at all the angles.

“That looks nice.”

I looked up and noticed Garrett through the mirror. He was standing behind me with a few shirts in his hand. I gave him a small smile as I looked back at myself. I sucked my stomach in and checked if it made a difference.

“Really Lorraine, you look good.” Garrett said.

Trying to force myself to believe him I stared at myself in the mirror. I then shook my head, “I don’t think I’m going to get it.” I could feel Garrett watching me as I tried to straighten out the shirt and smooth the skirt down. I turned around and faced him.

He looked at me for a moment and then shrugged, “It’s up to you.” He then turned to his left. He searched through some clothes and smirked. He reached for something and pulled it off the rack.

“I think you should try this on.” He said as he held out a dress for me. He dangled it tauntingly in front of me to take.

I stared at the dress in disbelief. It was a weirdly tie-dyed dress that had ruffled layers. I raised my eyebrow at him, “You can’t be serious.”

He let out a laugh, “Come on, amuse me.” he replied as he walked over and handed it to me. I took it from him and stared at it in disgust. There was no way. I shook my head.

“Please?” he begged, “I could use a good laugh.”

I scowled at him, but then nodded. “Alright, I’ll try it on, but then I get to pick something for you to try on.” I said.

He contemplated this for a moment and then nodded, “Deal.”

I smiled in satisfaction and then walked back into the dressing room. I quickly changed out of the outfit I was wearing and slipped the hideous dress on. I cringed as I zipped it up and looked down at myself. I sighed and walked out of the dressing room.

Garrett was sitting on a stool that was placed in front of the mirrors. When I walked out he started laughing. I tried my best to glare at him, but when I looked at myself in the mirror I couldn't help but laugh myself. I looked absurd.

“Do I look good?” I asked as I turned around and struck a silly pose, “or do I look good?”

We both laughed, “Very attractive.” Garrett said between laughter.

Even though he was joking I still felt the butterflies in my stomach when he said that.

I rolled my eyes, “Ok, now I get to pick something out for you.”

I walked over to a random rack and started going through clothes. I went through about three different racks when I finally found something good. I let out a laugh when I took it off the rack. It was an orange plaid tuxedo with matching pants. Why on earth anyone would buy this I had no idea.

Satisfied with my choice I brought it over to Garrett who was waiting in front of the dressing room.

“Here you go.” I said as I threw him the outfit.

He caught it and looked at it. He grimaced and looked up at me, “Really?”

I nodded and pushed him into the dressing room and pulled the curtain shut. I went and sat down on the stool that he previously occupied and waited for him to finish changing. About two minutes later he pulled the curtain back. He walked out and I instantly started laughing.

He walked in front of the mirror and looked at himself.

“Wow.” He managed to say before bursting into laughter. I walked up behind him and stood next to him in front of the mirror. We both looked absolutely ridiculous.

“I need to get a picture of this.” Garrett said before he walked back into the changing room, probably to get his phone. He came back out a second later and fiddled around on his phone. When he finally got the camera up he wrapped his arm around me, “Smile.”

I smiled widely as he pointed the camera at the mirror and captured a picture of us. We both laughed as we looked at the picture.

“Now go change, you look ridiculous.” I said jokingly. He laughed and pushed me lightly, but went back into the dressing room.

As he was changing I looked through some more racks of clothes. I eventually found a dress that I actually really liked. It was a blue and white stripped dress with a bustier-like top. I then found a grey cardigan sweater that would go with it. I held both of them up and examined them.

“I like that, you should try it on.”

I turned around to find Garrett walking out of the dressing room. He had a different shirt on, probably one he was trying on. I nodded and decided to try it on. I went back into the dressing room and changed into the outfit. I walked out and looked at myself in the mirror.

“You should definitely get that, I like it.” Garrett commented. I nodded in agreement, “Yeah I like it.”

I smiled; happy I actually found a new outfit. I went back into the dressing room to retrieve my wallet from my shorts. That’s when I realized I didn’t have my money with me. Of course.

“Shit,” I groaned as I searched my short pockets for some sort of spare change. I looked at the price tag of the dress and cardigan. Together they would be about $25. Garrett was right, it was pretty cheap. I grabbed my regular clothes and walked out of the dressing room.

“What’s wrong?” Garrett asked when I walked out.

I sighed, “I completely forgot I didn’t bring my money with me. My wallet’s back at the hotel.” I explained.

Garrett nodded slowly in understanding. We stood there for a minute when I finally sighed. “Ok, hold on, I’m just going to change out of this.” I began walking back towards the dressing room when Garrett grabbed my arm.

“Ok, listen carefully,” he whispered in my ear. “We’re going to walk slowly and casually to the door, ok? As long as we don’t make eye contact and act natural we can make it out.”

I stared at him in disbelief, “Are you seriously suggesting we steal it?” I exclaimed. He shushed me and moved closer.

“I’m sure it’s really inexpensive and the lady’s a bitch anyways. Come on Lorraine, live a little.” He whispered lowly. His breath hit my neck and made me shiver involuntarily. What was this boy doing to me?

I looked up at him. He nodded at me and smiled. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling back.

“Alright.” I finally said, giving in.

He grinned and grabbed my hand again. I could get used to holding his hand. I tucked my regular clothes under my arm and we began to walk slowly towards the door. Unfortunately, in order to get to the door we had to pass right by the checkout counter.

As we got closer to the counter and the door my heart started racing. I was nervous and excited all at the same time. I couldn’t believe I was doing this, but the only thing that was running through my head was what Garrett said to me.

Live a little.

We slowly passed the lady at the counter. We were almost to the door when I decided to steal a glance at the lady. I probably shouldn’t have done that because the second our eyes met she jumped up from her seat, “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” she shouted as she rushed around the counter.

“GO!” Garrett shouted as we both started running towards the exit. He flung the door opened and we sprinted out, hand in hand. I could hear the shouts of the lady from behind us. I looked behind us and saw that the lady was actually chasing after us.

“Garrett, she’s following us!” I shouted. He stole a glance behind us and started running faster, “Quick!”

We continued running all the way back to the busier part of the city. Thankfully there were more people so we were able to get lost in the crowd and if the lady even followed us this far she would have a hard time finding us.

We were both panting when we finally reached the hotel. We stopped outside the entrance and I looked into the crowd trying to find the lady. There was no way she would be able to find us so I finally let out a huge sigh of relief. We both leaned up against the building and tried to catch our breath in silence.

Finally, when my breathing calmed down I glanced over at Garrett. He was looking at me. He gave me a lopsided grin and then we both started laughing.

“I can’t believe we just did that!” I exclaimed.

Garrett nodded in agreement as he laughed, “That was great!”

I shook my head smiling, “I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much in my life.” I admitted.

Garrett smiled as he looked down at me. I smiled up at him.

I don’t know what possessed me to do what I did next. It could have been the rush of adrenaline from what we just did or whatever, but the next thing I knew, I was pushing myself up off the wall and quickly connecting our lips.

I definitely caught him off guard because he stumbled back in surprise. Completely embarrassed about what I just did, I quickly pulled back. We both stared at each other, stunned. I could feel my face burning and my heart started racing again.

“I’m sorry I—” I began to speak, but my words got cut off when he pulled me back against his own lips. This time I was surprised, but welcomed the feeling of his soft lips against mine. I felt his hands wrap around my waist and I wrapped my own arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

He slowly pushed me up against the wall as I opened my mouth against his. We stayed like that for a few minutes before I finally had to pull away, afraid my head was going to explode from lack of oxygen.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked at him. Like me, he was panting and his lips were a bit swollen. When we locked eyes, he gave me his signature crooked smile.

“I guess you’re not going to be going back to that store next time you guys come here.” I breathed out.

Garrett chuckled as he brushed a piece of hair behind my ear, “I guess not.”

We both smiled at each other as we separated ourselves from each other. I bent down and picked up my clothes that I dropped and tucked them back under my arm. Garrett grabbed my hand and smiled at me before we walked into the hotel. We silently rode in the elevator together and exited onto our floor. We reached our rooms and finally let go of each other’s hand. I dug my key out of my shorts pocket as Garrett took his key out. We both unlocked our doors and I stepped inside my room.

I turned around and we both smiled at each other before I quietly shut the door. I sighed contently as I walked further into the hotel room. Kennedy was sitting on his bed, watching TV.

“Hey,” he said when he noticed me, “You were gone for a while. What did you guys do?” he asked.

I walked over to my bed and flopped down on it. I smiled knowingly as I stared up at the ceiling. “Oh, you know,” I grinned. “Not much. We just hung out. Nothing too exciting.” I silently laughed to myself. Kennedy probably thought I was insane, but I didn't care because for the first time in a long time, I was genuinely happy.