Pocket Full of Posies

Chapter Forty

Alice swore she didn't have an itinerary this time. However, on only the second day Landon was back, she whipped it out.

"It's just a mini one!" she exclaimed.

We'd all rolled our eyes, knowing better than to fight it. Today was really the only day she wanted somewhat of a plan, and it was just going to Spring Hill to watch a movie, get some dinner, and shop on the strip.

Evan was included in this trip, although he and Alice still hadn't talked.

When I asked why she'd even invited him, she'd just blinked at me in total confusion. "He's Landon's best friend. He's only here for a week. I'm not gonna make it weird."

And it wasn't, really. To the untrained eye, we were all perfectly alright—just four friends cutting up at the movie theater. But Evan stayed far away from Alice and she averted her eyes almost demurely. I'd never seen Alice anything but obnoxious. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to not take sides.

It got even weirder when they sandwiched Landon and I between them so that I sat by her and he sat by him. But we got to sit together, at least.

Speaking of weird...

Landon and I hadn't said a word about what had almost happened at his house. We didn't even really talk about him punching his brother, either. It wasn't like we were pretending it didn't happen, though. But there was tension. I mean...I'd almost kissed him. He had to be freaking out on the inside, wondering what happened next.

If he was, though, he neither said anything or showed it. He was just his normal, happy self.

Okay, so maybe he was a little happier than usual. Despite the obvious rift between his two best friends, he'd had a little extra pep to his step he couldn't hide; a little extra glint in his eyes and grinnier grin.

Beside me, Alice chattered incessantly. "Okay, so we definitely hafta go to Ulta. I have no makeup, honestly."

I gave her a flat look. Did she forget that she'd made me come to her house to get ready that morning? The girl had slathered my face in products I hadn't even known existed—and it wasn't like I knew nothing about makeup. Her bathroom was covered in makeup drawers and Ipsy bags stacked everywhere. That was just her bathroom...

She snickered under the pressure of my stare. "Seriously, though, my eyeliner is complete shit."

"The gel you literally just used on me?" I questioned rhetorically. Typically, I stuck to neutral colors. My skin already had a warm enough tone, so neutral and bronze shadows were really all I needed.

Today, though, Alice used at least five shadows on me, blending to perfection. She hadn't used any warm tones. Instead, she opted for plums and black with a little bit of pink. Honestly, it looked amazing—way better than anything I could ever do. On the other hand, I felt like my face had an added two layers to it.

She waved me off dismissively. "It's drying out. I need a new liquid liner pen."

"Don't you have one coming in this month for your Ipsy bag?" A subscription she had forced me to sign up for, no less.

With a huff and eye roll, she said, "That doesn't help me now, does it? Plus, Tarte has this eyeliner pen where the cap has kitty cat ears. What? I gotta get it."

I nodded slowly. "Sure...sure you do."

"I need Pops at Target," Evan announced. "They should have a new shipment in."

"Any new Marvel ones?" Landon pipped in.

I just rolled my eyes, smiling. Boys and their toys. These guys were obsessed with Pop Vinyls. It was ridiculous, they'd spend way too much money on those glorified bobbleheads. I had to admit, though, some of them were pretty cute. I was particularly fond of the Mojo Jojo Landon had sent to me a couple weeks ago.