“You’re going to spray that in my hair? It’s temporary, right?” I picked up the can and examined the label. “Black? Who am I supposed to be?”
“Try them on first,” Corinne said.
I stripped down, then squeezed into the pants.
“Wow. Those are magical or something.” Nadia put out her hand for a high five from Corinne. As if they alone were responsible for the shape of my body.
“Uhm… Okay. So who am I supposed to be?”
“We’ll tell you when we’re done.” Corinne grinned at Nadia.
For the next forty-five minutes, I allowed them to order me around. They sprayed my hair black and fussed with it until it looked messy, but in a good way.
“You’re going to be perfect,” Corinne said as she helped me with the boots.
When they’d finished tweaking and abusing me, I stood in front of the mirror. “What, no gun? So what am I supposed to be?”
“A fallen angel.” Nadia snickered. “You were sent to help, but got exiled for falling in love with the wrong guy.”
“That’s sending Hayden the wrong message, don’t you think?” My mouth gaped.
“Depends on how you look at it. One thing’s for sure, Hayden won’t be able to take his eyes off you.” Corinne gave a sly smile.
Though I wanted to look into Hayden’s supernatural abilities, if any, this costume went way beyond what I needed to accomplish that. It could get me in a lot of trouble. Butterflies wrought havoc in my stomach, rioting as if at war. My only hope was that Hayden would be too preoccupied with another girl to come over and make me more nervous. If luck was truly on my side, he wouldn’t show up at all.
* * * *
Nadia, as the devil’s helper with horns and red boots, and Corinne, as the slutty nurse in her flimsy low cut white dress, walked with me up the narrow path to Christina’s house.
“Remember, Hayden invited you. He wants you here. So there’s no reason for you to be nervous,” Corinne said, just before we got to the door.
“Plus, you will be the hottest girl here. And he’ll know it.” Nadia turned the doorknob and paused. “Act cool. If you’re not feelin’ it, don’t say anything and everyone will assume you’re stuck up. Which will look like confidence to them. It’s a good thing.”
“If it’s so easy to blend in with those people, why haven’t you done it already?” I asked.
“I did.” Nadia laughed and threw open the door. “I’ll tell you about it another time.”
We plunged into the dark, smoky room reeking of over-privileged indulgence, expensive hair products and designer labels. People covered every possible surface, even tabletops. It amazed me how many could fit in the room. Visions assaulted my mind of kids making out in even darker rooms. Which meant there probably weren’t any adults around.
I didn’t belong there. I shouldn’t have come.
“Relax, Tessa. Let’s get you something to drink.” Nadia tugged on my hand.
“I can’t. I’m the designated driver, remember?” I said, stumbling behind her.
She paused, unable to pass through a throng of partiers. “Corinne and I decided that this is your night. I’m driving. All you need to worry about is having fun and luring Mr. Muscles to the dark side.”
I gave a pained laugh and glanced around the room. “Oh, I didn’t realize that was my only purpose for coming.”
I knew when Hayden spotted me because his view of me flashed in my head. Somehow, I knew the picture was seen through his eyes. And I instinctively knew where he stood. When my eyes found him, he was already moving toward us, his gaze locked on mine.
He stopped in front of me and grinned. “Wow. Nice. What are you supposed to be?”
“Fallen angel.” I dropped my gaze, tucking some hair behind my ear.
“We’ll be right back.” Nadia dragged Corinne away. Hopefully, Hayden didn’t notice how they purposely left me alone with him.
My eyes were drawn to his bare chest. The dude worked out and had the abs to prove it. Add his well-defined arms and he seemed a little older. Yum.
“You look hot.” He sent me a devilish grin. “I’m going to have to steal the keys so you can’t leave.”
“Haha.” Not wanting to appear as though I liked him, I focused on the dangling chains attached to thick metal bands around each of his wrists. A thicker, wider metal band adorned his neck. “Stripper?”
“Hell no.” He laughed. “Slave.”
I stared at him blankly. “Don’t slaves wear shirts?”
“Love slaves don’t. If I were your love slave, would I be fully clothed?” His mouth twitched.
Yep. That was the perfect costume for him alright. The idea of being his master and ordering him to do anything I wanted made me all tingly. But I couldn’t get sucked into possibilities, because Hayden’s costume was just that — a costume. He’d never belong to any one girl.
He’d asked me a question and his wording made any answer dangerous. Always better to get out of awkward situations like that by firing back another question. “You seriously think that would ever happen?” I lifted one brow.
“I can hope. Seeing you in this…” He waved a hand as if encompassing all of me. “I’m glad I skipped the shirt because it’s heating up in here.”
From any other guy, that line would have sounded cheesy. But someone else’s eyes wouldn’t look at me the way his did and any other guy’s voice wouldn’t growl softly like Hayden’s. Coming from him, the words sounded flattering and sexy.
My mouth went dry and I worked to steady my breathing.
“Drink?” he asked.
I wasn’t sure if drinking would be a good idea in my already uneasy condition. It might make me even more jumpy. I wasn’t much of a drinker to begin with. On the rare occasion I had access to liquor, it hit me like a sledgehammer. But maybe a little would numb me to Hayden and his affect on my pulse. And I wouldn’t be driving home so… “Yeah, what do they have?”
“Let’s find out.” Hayden took my hand and led me to the kitchen. My skin tingled at his touch.
We passed several large metallic barrels. “She’s allowed to buy keggers?”
“No way. Her parents are gone. But her brother’s over twenty-one.”
Zero adult supervision. Crap. I needed to get away from him. Once in the kitchen, he scanned the counters littered with empty beer bottles and partially full plastic cups. He focused in on a bottle of vodka. “Screwdriver?”
“Sure.”
He found orange juice in the fridge and set it on the counter then stood with his back to me, blinding me from the mixing process — or so he thought. I could still pick images from his mind any time I wanted. I didn’t care though. Screwdriver ingredients were pretty basic. I cast a glance over my shoulder to see who else was around.
No one more interesting than Hayden.
“Thanks.” I took the plastic cup he held out. Parched from my nerves, I gulped down a third of it instantly then almost gagged on its potency. Was he trying to get me drunk? It didn’t matter because I didn’t plan to be around him much. As a matter of fact, right then, I needed a breather. “I have to go to the bathroom.” I spun around and didn’t look back, uncertain if he followed.
The alcohol warmed my throat and soothed my stomach, making it more difficult to tell where Hayden was or what anyone was thinking. It was nice not seeing everyone’s pictures so clearly. As I made my way to the bathroom, the tension gradually dissipated.
“Tessa.” Brad blocked my way through the door to the hallway. “You look edible.”
Ugh. The way he said it made me feel cheap. I strained my brain for the quickest way to get rid of him. “If you don’t move this second, I’m going to vomit on your shoes.”
He jumped out of my path. I snickered and continued to the bathroom. Directly in front of the door I thought might be it, I changed my mind. I’d only planned on going there to get some alone time. Now that the alcohol relaxed me, I didn’t need the escape.
Rather than double back, I made my way to the other end of the hallway and came out the other side, which led me to a big room. I searched the faces for someone I knew.
Blane.
I’d lost my virginity to him last year. He’d broken my heart, stomped on my confidence and shattered all hope that the male gender had any redeeming qualities. Before the epic dumping, he’d worked me over for weeks. At first, I assumed he was playing me, but eventually, impressed with his patience, I decided that any guy who stuck around that long must be crazy about me. We dated a few weeks and the entire time, he remained the ideal boyfriend. When he told me he loved me, I gave him what he wanted. What I wanted.