CHAPTER 62 

Elias

Lacey hasn't come out of the dressing room in fifteen minutes. 

Tanner's buddy, Kyle, set her up with his stylist-in-residence/girlfriend the second she walked in the front door, and I haven't seen her since. I'm trying to be cool about it.

I've been sitting on this recycled beach-wood bench facing the dressing room, trying to act like it's not twisting my back out of shape the longer I stay in it. Kyle's super proud of this sea monster. Apparently, he spent a month and a half combing the shoreline to find the "perfect" pieces of driftwood to make his dream chair a reality. 

Does it look cool? Absolutely. Is it comfortable? Hell no. Which is why I need Lacey to come out in her new threads before this lounging situation ruins the mood.

"Here she is! I hope you're ready to have your socks-knocked off, King Junior. Your girlfriend's a masterpiece."

Kyle's girlfriend, Ava, says as she parts the shell curtains and makes just enough space for Lacey to walk through. I hold my breath for a couple seconds—anxiously waiting for the moment when Lace will step out of the shadows and finally show herself to me—but she doesn't. 

Ava clears her throat and motions for Lacey to come outside, but the dressing room stays silent. I stand up out of Kyle's torture chair and dart over to Ava who does her best to shoo me away before I can check on Lacey.

"Not so fast. Girls only, señor."

Ava plants all five feet and seven inches of herself in front of me which I'd be less intimidated by if she wasn't a competitive surfer. The girl's built like a SoCal athlete. Every inch of her is tan and taut thanks to her and Kyle's psycho weekly workout routines. Not gonna lie, this chick could lay me out if she wanted to, so I raise my hands to assure her that I have no plans to cross her on her own turf.

"I totally respect that, Ava. Your shop, your rules. But I gotta check on Lacey to see if she's—"

"It's okay, Eli. I'm here."

If a picture's worth a thousand words, this moment's worth a million. Lacey timidly makes her way out of the dressing room wearing an all-white one piece with the kind of v-cut that Ava must have worked some magic to talk her into. 

Sometime between her going into the dressing room and walking out Ava convinced her to let her hair down. I'm thankful for it. So thankful. And even more thankful for Ava's incredible eye because Lacey looks—well, there aren't really words, just reactions.

My heart's thundering out of my chest when she steps in front of me and slowly lifts her eyes up to mine. Her whole face is flushed. Mine probably is too but for totally different reasons. I take my time taking all of her in and let my eyes wander a little further south than they usually do.

Ava managed to get Lace into a pair of those beachy heel things she normally wouldn't touch—and I'm beyond grateful she did. I knew the girl had curves for days, but this—is a different story. I could absolutely get used to this story. The one where Lacey wears swimsuits for the rest of her life and gives up on dressing like a normal girl indefinitely.

Will it get her in trouble at school? Totally. Will it get her into trouble with me? 100%. But I'd say the former is worth the risk considering the latter. Quote me.

"What do you think? I wasn't sure about the heels but—"

"I'm sure about everything. Beyond sure. Honestly, Lace, I'm fine with this outfit every day for the rest of forever. Swimsuits for president."

Lacey's whole face lights up like this is the first time anyone's ever complimented her this way. I still don't know how she doesn't see it—how beautiful she is and how beautifully she walks through the world despite what it's thrown her way.

Today's her mom's anniversary and somehow she still finds it in herself to smile, to laugh, to be here with me in this moment without letting her sadness get the best of her. She's so much stronger than she knows. Tougher than she'll ever give herself credit for. So I'll keep doing what I can to keep getting her to see herself clearly in that mirror. I'm waiting for the day when she can stand in front of the glass, look at herself head on, and see what I see. Then maybe she'll fall in love with herself the way I fell for her.

"Do you really like it?" Lacey asks, and the genuine concern that lingers in her eyes after she asks the question is heartbreaking. I close the remaining space between us and scoop her into my arms until she softens at my touch.

"Like isn't the right word for how I feel about this right now, Lace. But the more important question is, do you like how you look?"

"Honestly?"

"Honestly."

I walk Lacey over to the wall mirror and give her a few seconds to look at herself. Lacey takes way longer than she should to finally stare out at her reflection.

"I feel like it's—not me. It's beautifully made, I just—I don't know. Maybe white's just not my color? My mom always liked me in—"

"Blue. Your dad told me, so don't worry. I got you covered. Well, kinda."

Lacey tilts her head back against my shoulder and stares up at me surprised. I wink at her and then motion for Ava to come over with the next part of the day I have planned for Lacey. I'd like to say that I have 100% confidence that this portion of the day was gonna go off without a hitch—but honestly, I'm nervous. 

It's not that I didn't tell Pete about it on purpose, I just sort of forgot to mention the part where I picked out a bikini for his daughter to try on. We had loads of back and forth phone calls about this day and no matter how badly I wanted to bring this up—I couldn't. 

How do you tell your girlfriend's dad that you want to take her shopping for skimpy swimsuits? 

Yeah, you don't.

I'll ask for forgiveness later.

"How do we feel about bikinis, Ms. Lacey?" Ava asks as she takes Lacey by the arm and starts rushing her off to the dressing room in a flurry.

"Bikinis?"

Lacey turns over her shoulder and shoots me a look that's more bashful than pissed. I'll take that as a good sign.

"Yep. I think you've got rocking curves for this bad boy, but since it was your boyfriends choice, feel free to opt out if you're not comfortable."

If it's possible for a girl to kick you in the balls without even having to cross the room, Ava just did. I've been holding my breath hoping Lacey wouldn't take this the wrong way—but thanks to Ava I look like a creepy, controlling douchebag. Fantastic.

Lacey stops in her tracks and fully turns around to face me.

"If he picked it, then I'll give it a try. I trust his judgement."

Lacey's eyes don't leave mine as she speaks, and for the first time in months, I see a spark of the girl she was when we first met. The one who trusted me without question. The one who I hadn't hurt yet. The one who let me catch her even though she was in free fall. 

Ever since our last break-up, I keep having this nightmare where I'm chasing after Lacey, but I can't reach her. She's always at a distance. Always out of reach. I'm scared of the day when she will be. When she won't look at me the way she is right now—like I'm holding up her whole universe, and she trusts me to keep it steady.

"Alright then, Ms. Lacey. Follow me."

Ava waves Lacey into the back, but she doesn't move. Instead she curls her fingers around mine and tugs me in her direction.

"Come with me. I want you to see it first this time."

It takes me a second to pick my jaw up off the floor, but once I reattach it to my face, I follow her faster than I've ever followed anyone into her tiny dressing room. Ava gives me a hard thwack between my shoulder blades as I pass her. The pain rips my attention of Lacey for longer than I want it to.

"What was that for?" I ask like I don't already know, but Ava sees straight through it.

She folds her arms across her chest and stares at me with the same suspicion Tanner does when he knows I'm up to no good.

"Bad behavior."

"What bad behavior? I didn't do anything."

"Yet. Keep it clean or else I'll report back to—"

"You don't have to. It's not like that with her, okay? It never was."

Honesty has a weird way of leaving people speechless. Ava's typically the first person to throw a spitfire comment right back in my face, but the look she's wearing right now is about as shocking as her silence. She's lost somewhere between confusion and surprise, and I don't blame her. 

When her and Kyle went to Mission Bay, we were invited to all the same parties once I made my bones freshman year. They knew who I was. What I did. How I handled girls like none of it mattered. Back then, the idea of a Lacey ever being in the cards was a pipe dream. But now, here she is. And here I am. Growing up all because of her.

Ava cocks her head to the side like she's listening to the echo of what I said bounce around the back walls of Kyle's shop. It takes her a couple seconds, but then she finally smiles at me. For real this time.

And I'm silently grateful to her for it.

Cause she's sees that I'm different now. And if she can see it, I hope to God Lacey can too. 

***

Thank you guys so much for reading this week! So excited to continue the updates of BOY KING and I'm super appreciative of every one of you who are still reading this story!

#REALTALKQUESTIONOFTHEWEEK

1. Do you think Elias has matured since he first met Lacey? 

2. Has someone done something to help make you feel accepted or comfortable with an aspect about yourself you were insecure about?