Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63124 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 316(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
“Perfect!” Lily quipped. “Anne will do your hair. I’ll do your makeup.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to take up all your time,” I asked.
They both gave me a pointed look like I said the dumbest thing possible before herding me back into the bathroom. I stayed perfectly still while Anne curled my hair section by section, and Lily touched up my eyes with brown eyeshadow, black eyeliner, and mascara. I felt a bit like a doll, but I was grateful for everything they were doing.
“Done,” Anne said after touching up my hair with hairspray.
“Me too,” Lily replied as she put the tube of light pink lipstick down on the bathroom counter. “Take a look!”
I turned to the bathroom mirror and nearly flinched at the sight of myself. I looked… really nice. All of my feminine features were defined from my curves to my lips. I hadn’t felt so positive about my appearance in forever, and I couldn’t help but feel excited to see Hugo’s face when he first saw me.
“Thank you. Really,” I said as I turned to face them, reaching out to take their hands since I knew they wouldn’t allow any hugging because it would mess up all of their hard work. “Whatever I can do to pay you back, just let me know.”
Anne shook her head.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s what friends do,” she told me as she squeezed my hand.
“You’re going to catch eyes tonight,” Lily said as she gave me a teasing wink. “You look totally hot!”
After helping me clumsily slip on my heels, Lily and Anne headed out since Hugo would arrive any minute now. I carefully stepped around in my heels, feeling like I was going to break my ankle at any point. However, if I could walk around on skates, I could work these for the night.
I hardly had time to do a few turns in the mirror before Hugo texted me to let me know that he was ready to go. My heart pounded heavily as I did one last turn, feeling somewhat satisfied with how the dress hugged me and how my loose curls fell against my shoulders.
I hardly recognized myself, but maybe that was a good thing for tonight. I was playing a part, and admittedly, I wanted to look good on Hugo’s arm. After our kiss the other night, it was hard to push him out of my mind, especially as I anticipated tonight.
I headed out of my dorm and got into the passenger’s seat of Stephen’s car, smiling at Stephen and Hugo, who was in the passenger’s seat buttoning up his white dress shirt.
“You’re not even ready?” I asked him.
“I just came from class,” Hugo replied. “You look beautiful.”
“Smoking,” Stephen agreed as he lightly caressed one of my loose curls between his fingertips before driving out of the parking lot.
My face warmed as I looked down at myself, hoping I looked as good as the guys claimed. I would be meeting Hugo’s parents tonight and all of their wealthy friends, so I really needed to make a good impression. Hugo was going out of his way to help me repair my reputation, which needed to work because the tournament was coming up soon.
“I’ve never been invited to something like this before,” I admitted as I glanced between them, my chest tightening slightly in nervousness before I spoke again. “The nicest thing I’ve been invited to is a friend’s birthday party at the local rec center in my tiny hometown. I hardly had enough money to buy them a present.”
Hugo gave me a gentle smile as his eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise. He then leaned forward closer to me.
“I’ll be right by your side the entire time,” he told me. “I know you’ve got this, even if this is different. At the end of the day, there’s someone to prove everywhere. Small town or big city.”
I could’ve sighed in relief when I didn’t hear an ounce of judgment in his voice. We came from two different kinds of lives, but he didn’t seem to care about the money or my lack of it. He didn’t choose to be born into the life he had, so maybe he didn’t care to judge me based off the life I was born into as well.
But what about the other people at the party? Would they be so hesitant to judge me? That video was spreading like wildfire, and I could only hope that none of them had seen it. If they had, their minds were already made up about me.
“And I can swoop in and steal you away at any time,” Stephen said as he patted my thigh. “We’ll have way more fun.”
“I’m starting to regret having you drive us,” Hugo told his friend with a smirk.
“Afraid I’ll actually steal her away?” Stephen chuckled.