Free Forget You by Jennifer Snyder

Paige took the
white camisole from me, and handed me a pair of light-colored
skinny jeans with a few holes near the front pockets. “Here, go try
these on. They’ll look great with that top.”
    I didn’t argue. I’d learned early on in our
friendship that when it came to clothes, it was easier to go with
whatever Paige said. She was persistent, and generally always
right. Draping the jeans over my arm, I walked to the desk and set
down the two tops I would be buying.
    “I hope I brought enough for all this,” I
said on my way toward the fitting room.
    “You know you get a heavy discount,” Paige
called after me.
    Tugging at the curtain, I sealed myself off
from the main store again and kicked off my shoes. Peeling off my
jeans, I thought about Lauren’s questions. My mind somehow shifted
to wondering what Sawyer’s date tomorrow night would be. I prayed
it wasn’t a movie. There was no way I would be able to get answers
to my questions if we were going to be sitting silently in front of
an oversized screen for the majority of our date. Movie dates
sucked that way. They were fine if you truly didn’t want to get to
know the person, or if you already knew them well enough not to
need to ask random questions, like whether they still lived with
their parents.
    “What are you guys getting into tonight?” I
pulled on the pair of jeans Paige had handed me.
    “Nothing much,” Lauren answered first. “I
think I’m just hanging out at my place tonight.”
    Turning to look at myself from every angle in
the full-length mirror hung on the wall, I checked my butt out. The
jeans fit nicely. Not too tight. Not too loose. Paige had nailed it
again.
    “Cameron had some guy place an order for four
original pieces, so he’s probably going to be at the studio until
late finishing up,” Paige said. “I’ll be home alone most of the
night.”
    I smiled, thinking of Cameron’s art. It was
insane to me that not only had he opted to stay in Coldcreek and
remodel his parents’ old house, but he’d also settled down with
Paige, and finally opened up his own art shop, selling the
beautiful pieces he painted when inspiration struck. Inspiration
always seemed to be striking now that he had Paige in his life. She
was like his muse. It was sickeningly sweet.
    “How about we do a girls’ night?” I
suggested. “We need to invite Blaire too. I’m sure she would love a
break from all of the last-minute wedding details before her
bachelorette party.”
    “Oh my God, we really need to start planning
that!” Paige fretted. “Can you believe her wedding is only a few
weeks away?”
    Tugging off the jeans, which would now be my
favorite pair, I folded them and set them on the seat. Blaire Hayes
was the girl that topped off our group. She was an RN at a local
nursing home, and was set to marry Jason Bryant, her fiancé for
just a little over a year, in a few short weeks. To me their
engagement seemed like the longest one ever. My thoughts on
engagements were if you truly meant the words when you asked, then
you shouldn’t have to wait around for six months to year before you
actually said the “I do’s”. While I knew Jason had truly meant it
when he’d gotten down on one knee and asked her to marry him, I
just felt as though they should have completed the ritual months
ago.
    Anyone could look at them and tell they were
head over heels smitten with one another. There was a story to
their love. Granted, I didn’t know all the gory details, but I did
know enough to be able to say that they had been through some
serious crap and came out of it together in the end.
    “I still can’t believe they want to have it
in the middle of freaking winter.” Pulling my shoes back on, I
moved the curtain to the side and stepped out. “It’s too cold.”
    “At least the reception is inside,” Lauren
said. She was still behind the desk. Her cell phone was in her
hand, and I was sure with the way her thumb kept flicking at the
screen, she