guys need to work this long and this hard on my face and hair?” I asked as Chloe curled my eyelashes while Penny braided my hair.
“Be quiet!” they snapped at the same time.
I would have rolled my eyes, but Chloe probably would have stabbed me with the curler and I really didn’t want to go to the dance looking like a pirate.
Finally, they deemed me perfect, and I carefully stepped into my beautiful navy-colored dress. The empire waist was beaded with crystals that sparkled like prisms when they caught the light, but the rest of the dress was plain, flowing to just above my knees in loose waves. Black high-heels (yes, the dreaded heels were back), a couple of bracelets, and a small heart-shaped locket (borrowed from Chloe for the night) completed the look. Penny had braided and twisted my hair into an elaborate bun, and Chloe had done my makeup tastefully. “I look hot,” I said, grinning at my reflection.
“So hot,” Penny agreed, squeezing my shoulders. “Wait until Rafe sees you. This is even better than the flapper dress.”
“Try not to have him spill punch on you this time,” Chloe added with a roll of her eyes. “I don’t know why you’re always getting dirty around him.”
I punched Penny before she could say anything. “Shut up, pervert.”
She laughed anyway.
6 pm arrived, and the four of us sat in the front room, waiting for Rafe. I hated that a crowd had gathered, but there was no way Chloe and Penny were leaving without seeing the two of us dressed up together. And forget Dad. He was sitting with his camera in his lap, his finger over the button, as he waited to take a billion and one pictures of us. Because the ones he had taken of us on Halloween weren’t enough, right?
I tapped my high heels impatiently against the floor. Where was he? Didn’t he know how much I suffered before our dates, having Chloe and Dad (and now Penny!) stare at me like I was some animal at the zoo? Okay, maybe me going on a date was something unusual, but I’d been with Rafe for almost three months and it should have lost some of its strangeness by now. “Isn’t there a show you guys would rather be watching?”
They all laughed at me. Laughed at me! Grr, I was two seconds from getting up and waiting for Rafe outside on the porch. I really would do that, too, if it wasn’t, you know, fifty-two billion degrees below zero.
“He’s only a couple of minutes late, Gabs. It’s not the end of the world,” Penny said, correctly interpreting my mood as usual. She glanced at the clock. “Just call him, if you’re so worried.”
“Fine.” I reached into my bag and pulled out my phone, only to discover the thing was dead. “NO!” I wailed, smashing my fingers against the screen (because that’ll make it work).
“What’s wrong?” Dad asked, rising from his seat.
“I forgot to charge my phone!”
“Oh my god, just call him on mine,” Chloe said, throwing her phone at me. I barely managed to catch it before it smashed me in the face.
I opened her contacts list and scrolled through the names, frowning. “He’s not in here.”
“Duh, of course he’s not, I’ve never had to call him from my phone before.” She rolled her eyes. “I mean, why would I even want to?” Her tone was blasé, but she wasn’t fooling me. Chloe didn’t want to call Rafe because she didn’t want to speak to him in case Evan was around. “Just punch it in, Gabi. God, do I have to tell you how to do everything?”
“Chloe,” my dad warned her.
“Um.” I stared at the phone, as if it could reach into my brain and suck out the information I had suddenly forgotten. “Um, guys, I don’t know his number.”
“WHAT?” Penny screeched so loudly that Dad dropped his camera. “What kind of girlfriend are you?”
My stomach clenched. “Gee, thanks for making me feel so good, Pen.”
“I’m sure the boy knows everything, including, like, all of your passwords—”
“Of course he
“Be quiet!” they snapped at the same time.
I would have rolled my eyes, but Chloe probably would have stabbed me with the curler and I really didn’t want to go to the dance looking like a pirate.
Finally, they deemed me perfect, and I carefully stepped into my beautiful navy-colored dress. The empire waist was beaded with crystals that sparkled like prisms when they caught the light, but the rest of the dress was plain, flowing to just above my knees in loose waves. Black high-heels (yes, the dreaded heels were back), a couple of bracelets, and a small heart-shaped locket (borrowed from Chloe for the night) completed the look. Penny had braided and twisted my hair into an elaborate bun, and Chloe had done my makeup tastefully. “I look hot,” I said, grinning at my reflection.
“So hot,” Penny agreed, squeezing my shoulders. “Wait until Rafe sees you. This is even better than the flapper dress.”
“Try not to have him spill punch on you this time,” Chloe added with a roll of her eyes. “I don’t know why you’re always getting dirty around him.”
I punched Penny before she could say anything. “Shut up, pervert.”
She laughed anyway.
6 pm arrived, and the four of us sat in the front room, waiting for Rafe. I hated that a crowd had gathered, but there was no way Chloe and Penny were leaving without seeing the two of us dressed up together. And forget Dad. He was sitting with his camera in his lap, his finger over the button, as he waited to take a billion and one pictures of us. Because the ones he had taken of us on Halloween weren’t enough, right?
I tapped my high heels impatiently against the floor. Where was he? Didn’t he know how much I suffered before our dates, having Chloe and Dad (and now Penny!) stare at me like I was some animal at the zoo? Okay, maybe me going on a date was something unusual, but I’d been with Rafe for almost three months and it should have lost some of its strangeness by now. “Isn’t there a show you guys would rather be watching?”
They all laughed at me. Laughed at me! Grr, I was two seconds from getting up and waiting for Rafe outside on the porch. I really would do that, too, if it wasn’t, you know, fifty-two billion degrees below zero.
“He’s only a couple of minutes late, Gabs. It’s not the end of the world,” Penny said, correctly interpreting my mood as usual. She glanced at the clock. “Just call him, if you’re so worried.”
“Fine.” I reached into my bag and pulled out my phone, only to discover the thing was dead. “NO!” I wailed, smashing my fingers against the screen (because that’ll make it work).
“What’s wrong?” Dad asked, rising from his seat.
“I forgot to charge my phone!”
“Oh my god, just call him on mine,” Chloe said, throwing her phone at me. I barely managed to catch it before it smashed me in the face.
I opened her contacts list and scrolled through the names, frowning. “He’s not in here.”
“Duh, of course he’s not, I’ve never had to call him from my phone before.” She rolled her eyes. “I mean, why would I even want to?” Her tone was blasé, but she wasn’t fooling me. Chloe didn’t want to call Rafe because she didn’t want to speak to him in case Evan was around. “Just punch it in, Gabi. God, do I have to tell you how to do everything?”
“Chloe,” my dad warned her.
“Um.” I stared at the phone, as if it could reach into my brain and suck out the information I had suddenly forgotten. “Um, guys, I don’t know his number.”
“WHAT?” Penny screeched so loudly that Dad dropped his camera. “What kind of girlfriend are you?”
My stomach clenched. “Gee, thanks for making me feel so good, Pen.”
“I’m sure the boy knows everything, including, like, all of your passwords—”
“Of course he
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