I kept my eyes on the ground, trying to avoid any confrontation. My fingers clenched tightly around my bus ticket, but as I started to open the passenger door, the window rolled down, and there was Becky. She beamed, reaching her hand out enthusiastically. “Hey! You must be Penny! I’m Becky, Derick’s girl friend,” she said with an overly warm smile. “Hope you don’t mind me tagging along! He’s about to make the biggest decision of his life, and, well, knowing him since we were kids, he’s got a knack for messing things up. I just don’t want him to pick some ugly wedding dress and ruin it for you.” She laughed, leaning into Derick and throwing her arm around his neck. “If it weren’t for this idiot sending me a last-minute invite with gifts, I wouldn’t even be here. My dad almost wouldn’t let me come.”
Instead of taking offense, Derick grinned. “Oh, I could just send your dad a gift too. I know what he likes. But you actually love going out with me, don’t you, Miss Owen?”
Their playful, almost flirty exchange twisted my stomach, leaving me queasy.