The Best Friend Scandal - Lucia Jordan Page 0,41

which will be inspired by tonight’s fashions and will be hitting stores within the next month.”

There was vigorous applause, and I wasn’t sure what to do except for a smile.

“Everyone, enjoy the show,” Arlo said before turning and walking back down the runway with me. Right before we got to the exit of the stage, he stepped down to sit in the audience and let go of my hand.

“You got this.” He winked with a smile.

I gave him a weak and nervous smile in return and then continued backstage. I wished that he were coming with me. I wished that I weren’t such a rampant tangle of nerves.

As soon as I stepped into the backstage area, Kerynne shoved me with her shoulder as I tried to walk past her.

“Step aside, Hensley,” she snarled. “Let the beautiful people try to make this shit look good.”

God, she was so obnoxious.

I listened as Kerynne and Cai took to the stage in their first set of wardrobe changes. The sounds of delighted gasps and raucous applause echoed even behind the stage. The audience loved the designs. As the models went on and off the stage, I helped them change quickly between outfits before sending them back for another walk down the runway. Each design that walked out was greeted with applause and nothing short of the sound of a very impressed and astounded audience.

As nervous as I was, I was emboldened by the crowd's reception, especially since I knew who was sitting in that crowd. I hadn’t been able to see too much when I had walked out onto the runway because of the blazing overhead lighting, but I was able to catch a few familiar faces in my peripheral vision. The most impactful designer, who carried some of the heaviest pull in the industry, were sitting right in the front row at the edge of the runway. Arlo would be sitting there, too. As I waited my turn to walk, I was an electrifying level of nervousness. But it wasn’t until it was almost my turn that my nerves started to make me feel sick when a last-minute surprise emerged.

“Looks like you’ll be walking alone,” Kerynne said. “Sorry about that, but I think your partner walked a turn early.”

“What?” I asked. I looked around and saw that she was right. The male model who was supposed to walk the runway with me had already returned from the stage and was already taking off his outfit.

“How did that happen?” I asked. “Don’t you guys practice this? Doesn’t everyone know their line order?”

“Oopsie,” Kerynne said as she smirked and shrugged.

That wasn’t an accident, I could tell. Kerynne had done this on purpose to try to unnerve me. Well, fine; it didn’t matter. I could walk the runway alone as easily as I could walk it with someone else.

“You know,” I said to her as I got close to her face and spoke in the most quietly threatening voice I could muster. “You must feel much more insecure about yourself then you let on. Because if someone as beautiful as you on the outside was that beautiful on the inside, then you wouldn’t feel the need to belittle other people. So I think you’re just threatened by me.”

Kerynne’s face turned beet red, which made her look a rather sickly shade against her complexion.

“I am not threatened by you,” she hissed. “But you should feel very, very threatened by me. I’ve been playing nice with you, but now the gloves are off.”

I ignored her completely. She didn’t scare me. It felt good to stand up to her, and now I would go wear one of my own beautiful designs on the runway of my own debut show. Nothing could take away the feeling of fulfillment that gave me; nothing.

I stepped into the runway entrance, just behind the winged partition as I waited for the other model to return and my turn to walk. I was ready for this.

But, as soon as I stepped into the opening and got my first tiny glimpse of the awaiting audience, I felt something cold and hard and smooth run across my back. For a second, before I started to walk, it didn’t even register with me what it was. But by the time I realized what had happened, it was too late.

15

Chapter Fourteen (Arlo)

I was thrilled for the show to begin. Everything seemed to be in place and running smoothly. Everyone was amped-up on an excited energy, and even though Hensley