Conveniently Inspired

Chapter Eleven

Kaden Brooks was in her bedroom again. He didn't shy himself away from snooping through her room the first time, and there was nothing to stop him from doing it again. Skylar sat like a stranger in her own house as she watched him rifle through her closet. It was fairly large, a five by five walk in, but she shared it with her two siblings. Skylar's array of clothing hung on one pole, and there wasn't enough to fill the space. Huge gaps sat between each hanger. She recycled her clothing, typically wearing the same pieces but with alternative combinations. Nonetheless, her signature look consisted of bootleg jeans, a t-shirt, and a fuzzy cardigan. Those were the few options that Kaden surveyed. He yanked out each piece one by one, sending her an incredulous look over his shoulder before placing it back on the rack. "You don't have anything more... you know-" He motioned towards his non-existent breasts.

Skylar blushed on auto-pilot. "Excuse me?!"

"No tank tops? Nothing?"

"No."

"Tube tops?"

"Kaden, I have an Asian mother."

"Dresses? Every girl has at least one dress, come on."

Skylar paused. "Hold on." She dove to her knees on the bottom dresser drawer, finding one of the dresses she'd worn in church (back when they actually attended regular ceremonies). It was a modest white dress with elbow-length sleeves and a neckline that could've doubled as a turtleneck. She already knew what his reaction would be, and when she held it up to her chest, his face only confirmed it. "Woah. Okay. Definitely not the kind of dress I was thinking of."

Her arms sagged. The dress ruffled in her hands as she scrunched it up in tight fists. "So you'd prefer me to wear something more revealing, is that it? You believe the most proficient way for me to snag a male's attention is to dress half naked?"

He shrugged. "Doesn't hurt."

Fire coursed through her veins. She appreciated his graciousness to come here, pick her up, and offer to help, but she didn't want to change her appearance simply for male attention. "Forget it. I'm not going then." The last thing she saw before turning back around was the widening of Kaden's eyes.

"Hey, hey-"

Ignoring him, she knelt back down to shove the ruffle of white fabric and potent lace into

the mahogany wood. She forcefully jerked her arm back when he touched it. "Ok. I'm sorry. Look at me. I'm sorry."

Skylar glared at him, which was something she never did. But as he held her chin, forcing eye contact while simultaneously encouraging her to dress more revealing and go to some stupid party that she didn't want to in the first place was all beginning to spiral. This was definitely breaking rule #4 of their contract. "I don't accept your apology." Skylar huffed and shoved, shoved him away. While it was gentle and he barely budged, the action seemed to surprise Skylar- she didn't think she had it in her to be physical. Apparently, Kaden was taken aback too. "Did you just push me?" he asked, amusement in his tone more apparent than anything else.

"I meant what I said. I'm not going to this idiotic party if you're just going to have me on display like some breast-filled bozo. And if your entire wingman plot revolves around my fixing my appearance like some bad rom-com, then you can forget our whole arrangement." By the time she finished her rant, her chest was rising up and down. There was a thud down the hall. In the dead silence, with neither of them talking, she hadn't noticed that the whole house had heard. She forgot how thin the walls were.

Kaden was leaning against her bookshelf, lips quirked up. "This isn't funny!" Skylar cried.

"You're right. It's not. And if you want to go to the party dressed exactly how you are now, then go for it. Let's do it. I was trying to bring out some flare in you, show the guys what they're missing. Turns out your fire is coming through after all. No polyester or nylon will prove it better than just being yourself."