The Dream Before the Dark ✓

25 | To Be Double-Crossed

"DID SHE SEEM LIKE SHE WAS EXCITED TO MEET YOUR GIRLFRIEND?" Jen asked, smoothing out a nearly invisible wrinkle in her dress.

She hadn't put this much thought into her appearance in a long, long time – perhaps as far back as when she was interning in college. But she didn't know how one was supposed to look when meeting their boyfriend's sister. She wanted to look nice, of course, especially since they were going out to eat at a relatively expensive restaurant, but she was wary of looking like she was trying too hard. She didn't want to give away that she felt like she had something to prove.

Robert paused. "Well, she, um..."

"You did tell her that you're bringing me, right?"

He nervously rubbed the back of his neck when he saw her expression. Jen's heart plummeted to her stomach like she'd just dropped off the top of a rollercoaster.

"Robert!"

"I thought it would be a good surprise..."

She threw her hands up in exasperation, her heart pounding with sudden stress. "But does she even like surprises?! I'd be pretty annoyed if I just wanted to spend time with my brother and then got stuck with his girlfriend–"

"It's not going to be like that," he stopped her. Seeing that she was irritated, he took one of her hands and reassuringly held it in his own, drawing little circles on the back of her palm with his thumb. But Jen could see from his wide eyes and stiff shoulders that the intensity of her outburst startled him—she hadn't snapped at him at all since they started dating.

She took in and released a deep breath, trying to dispel her frustration along with it. "I'm sorry—surprises just stress me out. But this is your dinner and she's your sister, so we'll do it how you want."

The edge of his lips lifted into a relieved smile. "You're beautiful," he complimented her, obviously to get back on her good side, but she embraced it nonetheless. 

"Thank you." Jen, who had lifted her free hand to fiddle with her jewel stud earring, let it drop back to her side. "You're not terrible looking yourself."

The restaurant was further across town than she usually ventured, but she was actually grateful for that. The last thing she needed tonight was any worries that one of their colleagues would see them. More unfortunate was the fact that it wasn't located particularly close to any public transportation stops, so she was starting to shiver by the time they arrived. The sleeves of her dark blue dress were sheer and thin and the temperature outside was rapidly dropping as the sun lowered in the sky. Robert offered her his jacket, and although she refused for the time being – she thought it might be a bit much to show up to her very first meeting with his sister wearing his jacket – she suspected she might cave in and accept the offer on the way home. He held the door open for her and they hurried inside, shutting the door behind them as quickly as possible. When he gave the hostess his name, she told him that Teresa had already been seated and offered to take them to their table.

Decadent scents of food wafted throughout the restaurant, but now that they were actually here, Jen had no appetite at all—her stomach felt like it had knotted itself into a pretzel. She wasn't ready to meet his sister. She wasn't ready at all. But it was too late to back out now, so she squeezed his hand a little tighter for reassurance.

When she spotted a dark-haired girl sitting at a table in the corner, it was immediately obvious that she was looking at Robert's sister. She had the same curls as him, the same complexion, the same confident yet not too imposing way of holding herself. But Jen's comprehension abruptly ended there.

It seemed that Teresa had brought a surprise, too. There was another girl sitting at the table with her.

She was one of the most delicately enchanting people Jen had ever laid eyes on, with full lips and rose-tinted cheeks and a button nose. Long, tawny-colored hair tumbled down over a pink dress that had little flowers embroidered onto it. But her eyebrows shot up when she saw Jen, while Teresa's mouth formed a surprised O shape.