“Lex! You’re back just in time to get ready,” Aubrey screamed, rushing towards me with her hair rolled up in curlers and makeup halfway done. It was a Friday night, so she was busy getting ready to head out for the night. Dance music was blaring to help her get into the right frame of mind. It looked like Faith and Natalie had already headed out for the night. Ugh… I wasn’t really in the mood to head to a party tonight, but I knew Aubrey would have my ass if I said no. I had been able to duck out the last two weekends, but it looked like my time was up.
The downside to having one bathroom—Friday and Saturday nights featured a mad rush as everyone fought for mirror space in the bathroom. Flat and curling irons hung from the outlets, hair products littered every surface, and makeup was scattered around. Four girls to one bathroom could cause some serious catfights around here.
“Here, put this on.” Aubrey tossed a dress at me. A very small dress. A dress that should be a couple sizes smaller than mine, yet the tag matched my size. “I don’t want to hear it. You are going out with us tonight, and you are going to look hot while doing it,” Aubrey continued before I could even get a word in.
I held the dress up to my body as I glanced at the mirror. It couldn’t be that bad, right? Shit, there was no way this was going to cover my ass all night long. “Really? This is what you want me to wear tonight? Are we going to a strip club?” I asked sarcastically.
“Nope. I am not taking any attitude from you tonight, Lex. I love you like my sister, so hear me when I say that you had better get your ass in gear so we can go party. We can sit here and argue about what you are going to wear tonight, but you know you’ll just be wasting your breath because I’m going to win anyway. I would never let you go out looking like a total skank, so don’t act like you think that I would.” Aubrey glared at me from her startling blue eyes.
I recognized that look—the one that said, You will do what I say, when I say it, if you know what’s good for you. She was right. It wasn’t worth arguing over since she would win. She always did when she put her mind to it.
“Geesh, okay. I’ll go get dressed. As long as you’re styling me tonight, pick out shoes for me too. And you are also doing my hair and makeup,” I answered.
“Duh,” she snapped back at me. “Like I would trust you to do it yourself. Left to your own devices, you’d probably waste that gorgeous dress with a pair of flip flops, a ponytail, a swipe of mascara, and some chapstick. I think not!”
“Okay, okay. I surrender. It’s not like I can argue with you when you’re right. Snap to it, fairy godmother.”
By the time we headed out the door, I didn’t look like my usual self at all. The dress Aubrey had picked did cover my ass, hitting my legs mid-thigh. The rich purple color was one of my favorites, and the dress had a deep cowl neck that hinted at my cleavage without shoving it in everyone’s faces. The girl certainly knew her stuff.
She let me out the door in ballet flats since she knew we’d end up in the emergency room if she made me wear heels. My hair was swept off my face and pulled into a barrette to one side with soft curls flowing down my back. I might be a bit of a tomboy, but I did love to keep my hair long. Dad always said that my hair reminded him of my mom, so I didn’t have the heart to cut it too short.
My makeup was lightly done, but it accented my green eyes so they would draw attention. They were slightly slanted at the edges, kind of like cat’s eyes. Aubrey always raved over them, often lamenting that it wasn’t fair that my eyes were so cool when she had boring blue ones. I thought she was crazy since she had the whole blue-eyed blonde thing going on. Her Barbie-doll looks always drove the boys crazy, and I was sure tonight wasn’t going to be any different.
Even though she went a little conservative on my look for tonight, Aubrey had gone the opposite direction with her own. Her bright red dress would draw attention by its color alone. Add in the fact that it clung to her like a second skin and was a couple inches shorter on her than mine and we were in for a riot tonight when the guys got a load of her. She’d picked out a pair of silver stilettos with rhinestones on them that added several inches to her height. She had topped it all off with smoky eyes and shiny red lipstick that I knew from experience wouldn’t smudge all night long.
“What the hell, Aubrey? Are you on a mission to pick up a guy tonight or what? Aren’t we way overdressed for a college party?
“Lex, sweetie. Trust me on this. We will fit right in tonight. I swung us an invite to the hottest party on campus, courtesy of my big bro. The Sig Chi’s are throwing a ‘welcome back to campus’ party that is supposed to be epic. From what Faith and Natalie have said, the guys there are super hot. You know that means that the chicks are going to be dressed to impress tonight. There is no way I am going to this party without looking my best.”