Golden Boys (Golden Boys, #1)(50)

“Are you still close with her?” I ask, sensing a hint of sadness in his voice.

“In a way,” he says. “I think of her every day.”

I hear what he doesn’t say and reflexively put my palm on his back. He looks up at me and smiles.

“She’s my inspiration for this design,” he finally says. “She was not a fashionista by any means, at least not when I knew her. But when we cleaned out her house, we found all these old dresses from the sixties, back when she was a teen, and it was a side of her I’d never seen. I wanted to draw something that she would have worn, I guess.”

“That’s sweet,” I say. “I get why you’d want to see it walk the runway too. I think the design is good, though. You might want to add some accessories, maybe a white glove and a brooch on the collar? That feels very 1950s couture.”

“I thought that might be too much,” he says. “But it does feel right.”

“Then go for it! If you think it’s too retro, you can play with the fabric or the colors and say it’s a nod to the era.”

“I could swap the colors—a dark glove with a light dress.”

“Winter Queen realness.”

“Exactly. Well, let me think on this. Thanks, Reese.” He slides his drawing into his folder and sits back as I finish the other leg of my shorts.

“So what’s your inspiration?” he finally says.

I think of Heath immediately, and I feel a bit of shame for how much I’ve left him in the dark this trip. I miss talking with him, I miss riding in his truck, I miss spending so much time next to him that it sometimes felt like we were two sides of the same coin.

“It’s nothing as sentimental as what you’re doing for your grandma,” I say. “My inspiration is my best friend back home. He’s actually, well, he’s more than that. Kind of. Or at least, I want him to be.” I sigh. “Like, I want to be able to show him this design and have him miraculously know I’m in love with him. But … I don’t know how to capture his essence and put it into a design.”

He sighs. “Yeah, I get that.”

I look at the charm on my bracelet, and his comes to mind. Bright yellow, alive with flames. It’s the only thing that works, the only thing that blends his warmth with my fiery passion for him.

I’ve decided: my inspiration for this final project is fire.





? iMessage ?

REESE + SAL





CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

GABRIEL

What do you think about this? I text a picture of my outfit to Heath, who replies quickly with a Cute!

He’s also said this to my last three options. I appreciate the positivity here, but I need help. Of course, this isn’t his fault—I’d normally go to Sal or Reese way before him, but right now only one of my besties is responding to any texts I send, and well, I have to make peace with that.

Heath’s wardrobe ranges from T-shirts to long-sleeved T-shirts, and he’ll still somehow be voted Most Fashionable for our senior superlatives just because he has big arms. Meanwhile, I’m trying on my fifth patterned button-down because I really want to look good tonight.

I pick up the phone and call him. “Heath, I love you, but I’m spiraling, and I need you to have a preference here.”

“They’re all good!”

“They can’t all be equally good! Which one is better?”

He sighs. “Gabriel, my love, chill. Why are you spiraling about a shirt?”

“It’s not the shirt; it’s who will be seeing the shirt.” I clench my teeth as I finish buttoning up my latest look, which isn’t anything special. “I want to look casual, but a little better than normal. I’m having dinner with my new friends, but two of them can’t make it. So this one is kind of …”

“ … a date? Oh my god you should have led with that!”

I blush. “It’s not really a date. But I would be okay if it felt like one, for a little bit. Matt’s really cute. He’s the one who bought me and Tiffany those shirts.”

“Those shirts were cute too,” he says. “But anyway, if you’re trying to look chill but interesting, go with the pattern with the little trees on it. You said he liked your tree-hugger shirt? This is, like, an elevated version of that.”

“Elevated?”

“Excuse me, I know fashion words,” he says with a laugh. “And if you must know, it brings out your eyes.”

I blush, then pause to consider this. “You don’t even know what color my eyes are, do you?”

“Greenish brown-blue. Something like that.” He pauses. “Well, look at that, my shift’s about to start. Good luck, wear the trees, let me know if he’s a good kisser byeeeeeeee!”

Heath hangs up. I want to be annoyed at him, but he did help me out. I worried the trees would be, like, too much, considering we’re all a little sick of our tree-vangelism right now. But Heath is right.

If there’s one good thing to come from all this, it’s really nice to get closer to Heath. He’s always been a calming force, and someone I love hanging out with, but between Sal taking my attention and Reese claiming his, we never used to talk one-on-one.

Not talking to Reese is shit, though. Not talking to Sal is torture.