~HELENA~
"Blue makes you look like a nun," Jason said from the doorway of my bedroom, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed.
At fourteen, he sometimes thinks he’s an expert on everything, especially things he knew nothing about.
"It’s navy," I corrected, holding the dress up against me in the mirror. "And it’s professional. This is a professional dinner."
"With the guy who came to pick us from the safe house?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "The guy who looks like he eats rocks for breakfast but bought us pizza? That’s a date, Lena."
"It is not a date," I insisted, though my cheeks were already heating up. I tossed the navy dress onto the bed and looked helplessly at my closet. "It’s a... thank you dinner. Because he saved us. And because he felt bad about... everything else."
"Sure," Jason said, rolling his eyes. "Keep telling yourself that. You’ve been staring at your closet for an hour."
"I have not," I protested weakly.
"Whatever," Jason said, walking into my room and pushing past me to the closet. "Just wear the red one."
"I don’t have a red one."
"Yes, you do. The one you bought for your work’s Christmas party last year but chickened out of wearing. It’s in the back."
I dug through the hangers, pushing aside safe choices: black, grey, beige... he was right. The deep burgundy wrap dress was still there with its tags attached.
I pulled it out. It was softer than I remembered... beautiful too, and completely un-nun-like.
"That one," Jason said with an approving nod. "Wear that, and maybe he’ll actually realize you’re a girl and not just a walking filing cabinet."
"Hey!" I threw a pillow at him, but he ducked, laughing and backing out of the room.
"Is Tye your boyfriend?" Ryan’s small voice piped up from behind Jason. My twelve-year-old brother was holding his Nintendo Switch, looking up with genuine curiosity and innocent interest.
"No, Ry," I sighed, smoothing the red dress against my body. "He’s just a friend. A colleague from work."
"But you like him, right?" Ryan pressed.
"I don’t like..." I started.
"Yes, you do," Jason interrupted. "And you mention him a lot recently. Tye this, Tye that. Tye has really nice eyes.’"
"I never said that last part!" I protested, my face burning.
"You were thinking it though," Jason said with a knowing smirk.
"Does he have a gun?" Ryan asked looking up from his game.
"Probably," Jason answered for me, ruffling Ryan’s hair. "He’s security, dummy. He probably has like ten guns."
"Cool," Ryan whispered reverently. "Can I see them?"
"No!" I said firmly. "Absolutely not. And both of you, out of my room. I need to get dressed."
"Fine," Jason said, dragging Ryan toward the door. "But seriously, Lena. The red one. Trust me."
They left, and I stared at the dress for a long moment. Was this too much? Was I sending the wrong message? What message did I even want to send?
I shook my head. It was just dinner, I said to myself as I slipped into the dress.
I was applying light touches to my face when the doorbell rang.
My stomach did a synchronized dive with my heart. I looked at the clock. 7:00 PM on the dot. Of course he was punctual.
"I’ll get it!" Ryan yelled, sprinting for the front door before I could stop him.
"Ryan, wait!" I hissed, trying to adjust the wrap of the dress I had left before. I struggled with the tie, trying to make it sit right. "Jason, make sure the apartment isn’t a disaster!"
"It’s fine!" Jason called back. "Relax!"
I managed to fix the dress and check my reflection one more time. A little bit of mascara, lip gloss, and blush. My hair was down, falling in waves around my shoulders instead of the usual tight bun I wore for work.
I took a deep breath and walked into the living room.
Tye was standing in the doorway.
He wasn’t wearing his usual black suit. He was wearing dark jeans that fit him perfectly and a charcoal button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing the tattoos on his forearms, designs I’d never seen before.
He looked relaxed. Dangerous, but relaxed, and devastatingly handsome.
He was holding two large, flat boxes.
"I’m Tye," he said to Ryan, crouching down to be eye-level with my brother. His voice was gentle and patient. "And I brought a peace offering for keeping your sister out late. Newest PlayStation games. FIFA and Spider-Man."
Ryan’s eyes went wide as saucers. "No way! Lena said we couldn’t afford them until Christmas!"
"Consider it an early Christmas," Tye said, handing them over with a small smile. "You like sports games?"
"Love them!" Ryan said, clutching the boxes to his chest like they were made of gold.
Tye stood up slowly, and his eyes landed on me.
He stopped breathing. Just for a second. I saw it in the way his chest stilled, the way his lips parted slightly, and the way his eyes widened.
His gaze traveled from my heels to the hem of the burgundy dress, up to my waist where the fabric wrapped and tied, and finally resting on my face.
The look in his eyes made my skin prickle in the best way possible. Like I was the only thing in the world.
"Hi," I breathed, suddenly feeling shy.
"Hi," Tye said, his voice sounding a little rougher and deeper than usual. "You look... wow."
Jason whistled from the kitchen. "Told you. The red one."
I glared at my brother, but I couldn’t stop the smile spreading across my face. "Tye, you didn’t have to buy them games. That’s too much. You’ve already done so much for us."
"It’s nothing," Tye said, dismissing it with a wave. "Just wanted to make sure they were occupied so they wouldn’t mind me stealing their sister for a few hours. Fair trade, right guys?"
"Deal!" Ryan said immediately.
Tye turned to Jason. "You got this, man? Keeping an eye on things? Pizza money is on the counter if you guys get hungry."
"I got it," Jason said, walking over to check the cash Tye had left. His eyes widened slightly at the amount. He gave Tye a nod of approval, looking almost impressed. "Have her back by eleven. Or, you know... whenever. She doesn’t have a curfew anymore."
"Jason!" I gasped, mortified.
Tye chuckled and the sound made my stomach flip. "Let’s go, Helena. Before your brothers decide to grill me on my intentions."
"Too late," Ryan mumbled, already tearing the plastic off the video game. "We already know you like her. You brought good games. That means you’re serious."
"Ryan!" I wanted to disappear into the floor.
Tye just grinned. "Smart kid."
He held the door open for me. As I walked past him, I caught the scent of his sandalwood cologne and something else, like cedar or pine. It made my knees weak.
"Bye, boys!" I called out, grabbing my purse. "Lock the door! No staying up past midnight! Jason, you’re in charge!"
"We know!" they chorused.
"And no junk food!"
"You literally told Tye to leave pizza money!" Jason called back.
"That’s different!"
Tye placed a gentle hand on the small of my back, guiding me into the hallway. "They’ll be fine. Come on."
We walked down to his car... a sleek, black sports car that looked like the Batmobile. It was the kind of car that screamed money and danger and everything I’d never experienced before.
He opened the passenger door for me, and I slid into the leather seat.
"So," Tye said as he got into the driver’s seat and started the engine, the car purring to life like a contented predator. "Burgundy. Good choice."
I looked at him, feeling bold. "Jason picked it out. He said blue made me look like a nun."
Tye glanced at me as he pulled into traffic with a smirk on his lips. "Trust me, Helena. No one is looking at you tonight and thinking ’nun.’"
I blushed, looking out the window to hide my smile. "So where are we going?"