Free Inheritance by Malinda Lo Page B

allowed to make gay jokes anymore? Shouldn’t she have more of a right now that she had dated a girl? Or was Julian pissed at her for dating David? She felt uneasy—as if she had done something wrong, but she wasn’t sure what it was.
    As Reese put her own clothes back on, Madison tried on a flowery summer dress. “Reese, can you help me zip up the back?” Madison called. Reese pulled on her baseball cap and went into Madison’s dressing room. Madison was waiting with the dress hanging open, and Reese’s memory flashed back to that afternoon with Amber in her bedroom, trying on her red dress. Taking the dress off. Reese swallowed and zipped Madison up.
    “So you and David have this mental connection now,” Madison said, looking at Reese in the mirror. “Like telepathy? Is that true?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Can you tell what he’s thinking when he kisses you?”
    “Um, yes.”
    “Really? What is that like?”
    The memory of kissing David swept through her body in a dizzying wave. “It’s intense.”
    Madison’s eyes widened excitedly. “I knew it. It’s got to be insane. I’m so jealous!”
    Reese shook her head. “Don’t be jealous. It’s also kind of weird.”
    “I’ll take the weird,” Madison said, then examined herself in the mirror. “What do you think of the dress?”
    “It looks good on you. You should get it.”
    Madison tugged at the price tag on the sleeve and shook her head. “It’s forty-eight dollars. I can’t afford it. Come on, unzip me and we’ll find you some shoes.”
    By the time they settled on footwear, Reese was thoroughly tired of shopping. She couldn’t understand how Madison could go on for hours, pawing through clothing racks like there was no tomorrow. Even Julian became bored and fidgety. “I’m not wearing those,” Reese said over and over, as Madison presented her with heels of all kinds, followed by glossy black boots that looked like they belonged to a dominatrix.
    “You’re so hard to shop for!” Madison cried in frustration. They were at their fifth store, and it was almost four o’clock.
    “What about these?” Reese said, pulling out a pair of chunky-heeled brown boots. They were scuffed on the toes and had metal buckles over the ankles.
    “Motorcycle boots?” Madison said skeptically.
    “Very dykey,” Julian observed. Reese avoided his gaze as she sat down to try them on.
    “They are dykey,” Madison agreed. “Speaking of which, didyou know that Bri had a crush on you sophomore year? She’s totally disappointed you’re with David.”
    “What?” Reese gave Madison an incredulous look. “Briana?”
    “Yes,
Briana
. Why do you think she kept trying to get you to do all those gay things with her?”
    “I thought it was because she’s my friend?”
    “You can be so clueless sometimes, really,” Madison said severely. “You knew, didn’t you, Julian?”
    “Yep.” His face was inscrutable as Reese glanced at him.
    “But she never said anything about it,” Reese said, bewildered.
    Madison gave her a pointed look. “You never had any interest in dating. You made that perfectly clear. Besides, you’re straight. Why would Bri bring it up if she knew you’d only reject her?” Madison caught the furtive glance between Reese and Julian and said, “Wait. What is
up
with you two?”
    Reese stood. “Nothing.” She didn’t look at Julian as she clomped over to the mirror hanging on the wall near the shoe section. “I like them,” she announced.
    “If you wear them with the jean skirt and that gray shirt you’re going to look all country hoedown,” Madison warned her.
    “They’re motorcycle boots, not cowboy boots.” Reese pulled one off and looked at the price written on the sticker on the sole. “And they’re only twenty bucks.”
    Madison regarded them dubiously. “I guess they’re all right. Kind of badass. Is that what you’re going for?”
    “I don’t know. Is that good?” She stared at herself in the mirror. She thought