A WAVERLY OWL SHOULD ALWAYS CONSULT HER GIRLFRIEND IN MATTERS OF THE HEART
Brett sat in the corner at The Elephant, a chaotic little East Village joint with a fun vibe, it had the aura of exotic travel and French colonialism—an old trunk, a shelf of cigar boxes and a cocktail menu stamped like a passport helped illustrate the theme. In the past year, both Chelsea Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden had been spotted at festive dinners here—yet there was nothing upscale about it. The small Formica tables were unstable and the light, aromatic Thai food didn't strive for authenticity. Open since 1997, The Elephant started out as a Thai-French restaurant, but the French part is pretty minimal these days (except for the occasional ballad on the sound system). Pork dumplings, green papaya salad and grilled salmon were all Brett's favourites. She was really glad Tinsley had suggested it for her date with Sebastian; it was just the right kind of classy.
She scanned the minimalistic menu with the mouth-watering images of Thai cuisine, her plan was to pre-order their entire dinner in preparation for next Friday, being Valentine's Day. It was imperative that nothing would go wrong, Brett was painfully aware that Sebastian would leave for college after this year was up and the exigency of time was making her panic. The pink lighting was wonderfully kitsch and she had booked a table by the window, reserving their best vintage wine and paying for all his favourite foods.
Sebastian was a very low key guy, happy with a pizza and a beer, but this wasn't going to be an ordinary night, instead it was the night. After this, Tinsley had been persuaded to accompany her to Bergdorf's lingerie department. There was so much to do, a nervous flutter of anticipation rose in her stomach. Amazingly, Tinsley had been a pillar of strength for her over these last few weeks, with Callie and Jenny preoccupied with their numerous other halves, Brett had been reconnecting with her old best friend while Sebastian was visiting colleges.
Things were going along swimmingly for her now, her hair had grown out of its bob, now just brushing her shoulders and still a gloriously vibrant red that Sebastian loved because it meant that he would never not be able to find her. Closing the menu, she exited the New York restaurant swinging her Milly 'Gold Rush' bag and nodding a goodbye to the slumped waiter. Tinsley had texted three times, indicating that she had better get a move on.
The luxury goods department store had a stunning window display consisting of three static white mannequins, their oval heads positioned differently, clad in terracotta pencil skirts, dark blue cotton blouses and glamorous one armed mink coats, a pale blue scarf was stretched between them, crystal studded multicoloured Jimmy Choos and Stella McCartney knee high, lace-up boots were placed on raised glass platforms. She was tempted as she strolled in, immediately approaching the counter brimming with pastel coloured test perfumes and spritzing Juicy Couture's new fragrance on her wrists. In her skinny, grey J Brand jeans and slouchy off the shoulder apricot sweater she felt comparatively bookish and uninteresting compared to the other glitzy patrons.
Tinsley, being one of them the girl who under no circumstances failed to put her best fashion foot forward stood by the shiny metal rail at the edge of the top floor looking positively angelic in a gorgeous white dress with intricate lace detail by Dolce and Gabbana paired with a complimentary on-trend white blazer and nude stiletto booties showing off her long tanned and lean legs. Her dark hair, the glossiest in the prestigious store stood out against her outfit, violet eyes instantly latching onto her red hair, she waved her forward impatiently.
"Patience, patience," she said teasingly as she stepped off the elevator and primly kissed her friend on her smooth golden cheek, "How long have you been waiting for?" she enquired perkily, swivelling to garner the correct direction to the underwear department.
"Centuries; it has to be centuries. You are looking annoyingly in love," she remarked, "The bras are that way," Tinsley deliberately raised her voice so the nearby middle aged women stared disapprovingly in Brett's direction. Tinsley led the way, until Brett found herself in the midst of a million different types of underwear. Push up bras, water bras, T-shirt bras, negligee, panties, thongs, tangas. Tinsley waved something under her nose, a deep burgundy colour, the label read edible panties, she looked up at her grinning friend in horror.
"No fucking way." She fingered a fancy set, turquoise silk and edged in white lace, they were very pretty but she had no idea if Sebastian would like it. "This is one area where I am most definitely going to stay in my comfort zone."
"You'll be fine," Tinsley remarked, sensing her distress, "As long as you're ready it's all good right, honestly it seems like everybody's getting some action apart from me."
"You can't be put out, not all of us have a naturally post-orgasmic glow, some of us need some help," Brett handed her the turquoise set with a smile, "It's an option," she declared before moving on to the racier styles, a basque might be quite sexy or a corset, there was a lot of red but she felt it looked trashy.
Tinsley rolled her eyes at her friend's strange compliment. Tell that to Julian, she thought. "Orgasmic glow, aside. I could still do with a pick me up, Callie has two suitors and Sebastian and Isaac are hot enough to count for two."
"If you ask me, Easy has been looking inhumanly hot lately and the same for Brandon. I feel Cal's pain, it's a tough one." Brett empathised, a part of her was a little broken-hearted for Brandon, when was he going to learn?
"Tough? I think not. Everyone knows that she's going to pick Easy, it's not Callie's fault that Brandon was born stupid when it comes to girls. He should just be done with the dating scene and get an internet profile, he can meet some nice Amish girl," she said generously. Admittedly, Easy was looking very fine as of late, that military boot camp had treated him very well.
"Sage is still interested I think. And Seb said that Brandon was going to see his ex, Mr Dunderdorf's daughter Hellie or something. Heath booked him the flight to Switzerland himself," Brett raised a tinted eyebrow. "It seems your falling behind, Brandon is hot stuff."
"Evidently," Tinsley pulled out a demi-bra for Brett's benefit, "Does Seb know what you're planning?"
"No, but it is for Valentine's Day so he should keep his schedule free and I want to surprise him. He deserves it, things have been really great between us lately and I think it's time."
"Have any of us actually seen Brandon's Swiss girlfriend?" Tinsley asked, this was the first she had heard about her, had she really been so preoccupied with Julian and Isla that she had fallen off the gossip scene: that was not acceptable.
"Callie saw a picture of her, apparently she looks like a Dior model, oh and she's convinced that Brandon lost his virginity to her and, you know what, I think she might be right." Brett collected her chosen items and headed for the fitting rooms, closing the heavy curtain behind her after the attendant handing her a token. Tinsley on the other side leant against the curved magnolia wall. "But they broke up, didn't they? She caught him and Callie getting down and dirty on her webcam. Pretty stupid, huh?"
Tinsley was gobsmacked, "Callie and Brandon had sex?" she gaped, disbelieving. "God, even Brandon has had sex before me, it is official my life sucks."
"Hey, me too," Brett chimed, "But hopefully that's all about to change."
"Right," Tinsley looked at the floor, trying very hard to rid her mind of Julian, lanky, floppy haired Julian with the most honest eyes she had ever seen. She still couldn't believe it was over, moreover that she had been dumped for the second time by a freshman. The way he picked Jenny over her still stung, she wasn't like Callie – a forgive and forget person – it was the first time she had ever been hurt by a boy and she confessed that she was partly responsibly but an apology wouldn't have gone amiss. "Don't you think that you should talk about this, though, I mean he does know it's your first time, right?"
Brett popped her messy head through the curtain, "Not exactly," she hissed, "But now the whole of Bergdorf's does," she chastised.
"Oh, sorry, as you were," she waved off a couple of private school girls obviously skipping geometry, both of them were wearing far too much lip gloss. "How far have you gone, exactly?" Tinsley asked quietly, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she added not wanting to appear nosy or make her uncomfortable.
Brett regarded her image in the full length slanted mirror critically; her pale skin looked vaporous in the unflattering lighting, "No further than second base," Brett revealed, for once uncaring of what eavesdroppers thought of her personal life, "You?" Brett opened the partition, partly so Tinsley could give her verdict and partly because curiosity was getting the better of her. It had been a shock for everyone when a game of I Never had exposed that Tinsley was shockingly still a virgin.
"Third," Tinsley answered, silently critiquing the French lingerie that accentuated Brett's modest chest and narrow size two waist, she felt no such embarrassment revealing her sexual exploits. She had never been serious about anyone before Julian, so she tended to have a blasé attitude about such matters. "I was drunk," she explicated generously as Brett's wide, inquisitive eyes looked in need of some girl talk. "And on holiday, my parents and I went skiing last year and this instructor guy whom I am sure was completely high did the honours."
"Romantic," Brett commented, twirling, "What do you think?"
"Perfect, you look very hot. Megan Fox eat your heart out." Tinsley flipped her long hair behind her shoulder, smiling hugely.
"Thank you, and just to clarify what is our stance on animal prints?" Brett dangled a silk leopard print bra from her pretty pink manicured hands. She did look very glossy thanks to numerous hours spent pampering herself at her mother's famous spa; she wanted everything to be perfect for her and Sebastian's big night, principally herself. Seaweed wraps, facials, manicures, pedicures, massages and lots of free beauty products had put her in good stead, her skin still pale and striking was smooth and even all over.
"Animal prints?" Tinsley looked aghast at the mere mention of the existing fad, just yesterday she had tore out a page from New York Style magazine showing an ill advised Katy Perry in harem zebra trousers, "What is this Jersey Shore?" Tinsley shot back, "Absolutely not, only skanks where such weird underwear," she took the bra and hung it on the nearby rail for unwanted items that usually didn't fit or just looked ugly on the wearer, "I mean, what's sexy about animal prints?"
"Totally agree with you," Brandon appeared, looking very amused and startlingly attractive, "Sorry," he looked down when he saw Brett's barely covered body.
"What are you doing here?" Tinsley rounded on Callie's ex like she owned Bergdorf Goodman's, "Are you here to win back Callie with a desperate attempt at buying her fickle love or are you finally coming out of the closet as a cross-dresser. Don't worry," she patted Brandon's shoulder meanly, "There are forums on the internet that can offer you support."
"How's Julian?" Brandon smirked not even giving her perpetual nastiness the time of day. That was the problem with aesthetically pleasing girls they felt it was their duty to treat everyone like shit. Even Callie had generally spent most of their relationship treating him like a bus boy; he was always getting her drinks and buying her presents frantic to receive her approval and for her to be as hopelessly in love with him as he was with her. Needless to say it didn't work, not one little bit. "It's not every day you get dumped by a freshman, you can say what you like but that's never happened to me." Brandon smiled covertly knowing he had hit a nerve, judging from the way she was scouring for the ultimate rejoinder.
"No, just dumped twice by the same girl and Sage and the girl with the unpleasant name. Got a lot of experience, haven't you? Normally, I would recommend that you write a book or apply to the Guinness World Book of Records, but firstly no one would ever read anything you write and Guinness have taste." She inwardly did a victory dance; there was no way that she was going to let Brandon get the better of her. Brett silently hummed to herself as she redressed.
Brandon bridled, he was used to Tinsley's catty remarks but it felt cruel to bring Helga into this, "You say unpleasant name, I say unpleasant person," he cast a significant look to Tinsley, no trace of warmth in his brown eyes, "Besides, Julian did you a favour, the first time is always the hardest, by the third or fourth time you will be completely desensitised." He knew that was a sore point for her, Tinsley had obviously never been dumped (most likely because she had never been in actual relationship) and the fact that she could no longer claim that had dented her pride.
Tinsley blinked, and then childishly stuck out her tongue, hating the tears that pricked her eyes; she had really thought Julian was the one. Breathing heavily, she asked again, "What are you doing here?" she pressed her lips together, coldly crossing her arms. She and Brandon were on eye level, so he could detect the change in her attitude.
"I am getting a present for Hellie," he admitted, sheepishly running a hand through his light, shiny hair that was for the first time in his life overdue for a cut. The only reason he had come over when he knew he would get such a glacial reception was that he was struggling to find something adequate, he thought Brett at least would help, but it seemed she was preoccupied and Sebastian would soon be getting lucky.
"So you're really just going to turn up at her school?" Brett emerged from the changing room, a heap of lacy, flimsy underwear in her hands.
"It was Heath's master plan, I'm just going to go, say sorry and then book into the nearest hotel and watch TV until it's time to return. And order room service, Swiss desserts rock."
"You're such a girl," Tinsley snorted.
"I think it's a good idea, guys never actually remember to say they are sorry. Although sometimes it doesn't matter, Jeremiah said sorry a million times and to me it made no difference." Brett slipped into a reverie, remembering her and St Lucius's star quarterback's tumultuous relationship. "Anyway how are you?" she squeezed his arm in solidarity, in a way Easy and Callie were like her and Jeremiah, so many people had got caught in the middle of their own mess. Eric Dalton, Elizabeth, Kara, and that was just those she knew about. Brandon was just as kind-hearted as Kara and Brett was sure Callie felt just as guilty as she did.
"Fine," he answered truthfully, he had spent the past two days lying very low and gratefully getting drunk on cheap vodka with Heath. They downed a shot every time they saw something pink in My Super Sweet Sixteen. He had been blissfully trashed ten minutes into 'Marcia's' episode. Another awful name.
"So what are you thinking of getting her?" Brett changed the subject, glancing at a tetchily silent Tinsley who half-heartedly went to look at dresses.
"I have no idea, and I'm leaving in, like, two hours. Please, help me," he looked at Brett beseechingly, making her feel very sympathetic and responsible for his happiness.
"Okay, but you're a guy, right?" Brett dug her nails into her palms unspeakably self-conscious.
"Last time I checked," he nodded, straightening up and looking very businesslike, he sensed she was about to ask his advice and he like Brett, he wanted to help her.
"I heard you were . . . experienced," her cheeks flushed beetroot, "What do you think?" she spread out her choices, thankful that Brandon looked unmoved by her requests. He looked very professional as he examined the different sets.
"I'd say that one, but feel free to change your mind," he indicated a lacy set that didn't look too complicated or fancy, "Now help me." Brandon pleaded, completely bricking his upcoming vacation, he had a horrible feeling about this and not for the first time he wished he didn't let Heath permanently lead him astray.