"Bro, chill out." Jack snatched my phone away. He was holding up his hands, dangling two competing outfit choices. On his left, a slinky, hot-pink bodycon dress; on his right, a voluminous pink jumpsuit.
"You know I'm not a pink person," I muttered, reaching instinctively for my phone.
"Oh, girl, I saw you glued to that screen, so I brought out the big guns to distract you," he said, pointing dramatically at the clothes. "You were too busy to choose."
I quickly covered my mouth with my hands, scrambling for a believable lie. "Don't worry, I was planning something good for Victoria's birthday."
Jack squinted at me. "Victoria has a twin, remember? Victor is never left out of any planning. Stop trying to divert me and pick an outfit." He motioned between the two pink horrors.
I sighed, relieved the distraction worked, even if it meant looking at pink. "Shouldn't we celebrate both their birthdays together? What if he don't like that theme? Plus, it's supposed to be a surprise party," I continued, folding the dress and shoving it back toward him.
Jack swallowed his laughter. "Stop panicking, Juliet. We'll handle the logistics. Right now, your logistics involve choosing between two shades of Fuchsia."
"Neither! Let's go, Jack, I'm starving." I grabbed the jumpsuit anyway—it was the lesser of two evils—and made my way to where the girls were looking at tags.
"You took a long time with Jack," Emily noted, barely glancing up from inspecting the price of a designer top.
"Never mind," I mumbled, trying to find anything that wasn't pink.
"Well, aren't you guys hungry? I'm starving," Bella announced, dramatically clutching her belly.
"Okay then, let's pay for this stuff and eat," I agreed, relieved to escape the wardrobe dilemma. Bella immediately headed for the checkout.
We managed to escape the overcrowded mall food court chaos and slipped into a small, mercifully quiet café nearby. The momentary relief was replaced by the need for actual food.
"Honestly, that pink jumpsuit was a statement piece," Emily mumbled around a mouthful of fries.
"It was cute, Em, but I agree with Juliet. Not her style," Bella said, scrolling on her phone. "We should have made Jack wear it. That would have been a statement."
I laughed, finally feeling the tension ease. "Right? He thinks he's so helpful, but he just blinds you with glitter and neon. At least we know Victoria's birthday is still happening, even if the planning is chaos."
"Chaos is Jack's middle name," Emily quipped. "And yours, if we're being honest. You're the only one who can keep up with his wild ideas."
"Hey! I provide the grounding reality check," I protested, taking a large bite of my sandwich. "Someone has to make sure he doesn't rent a petting zoo for a college party."
Bella chuckled. "Speaking of wild ideas, what are we doing for the rest of the day? I saw an exhibit downtown that looks totally artsy and expensive, which means it's perfect for people-watching."
"You just want to judge the outfits," I teased, wiping my mouth with a napkin.
"And you don't?" Bella arched an eyebrow. "Please, you spent an hour avoiding pink, you deserve to critique some poor soul wearing unfortunate tie-dye."
Emily added, "We could also go back to Jack's and force him to try on the jumpsuit. That's quality entertainment."
I grinned. "Now that is an idea worth sacrificing a few hours for. But first, coffee, because I need caffeine to handle Jack's inevitable fashion commentary."
Bella raised her cup in a toast. "To surviving shopping and the joy of future teasing."