her new friends would be like. Blonde, bimboed, plastic? What if they changed Lila into a completely different person? What if she didn’t want to be my friend anymore?
“Did I tell you girls I invited a guy to meet us at Tango tonight?” Emma broke the awkward silence with her somewhat surprising news.
“You did? Who? Where did you meet him?” we all peppered her with questions. I hadn’t known that Emma was seeing anyone, and she rarely did the inviting. She preferred men to chase her.
She gave a coy shrug, blasting Hannah’s hair with hairspray. “His name is Corey. I met him a few months back when we did the pancake and beer thing,” she said, nodding towards Carmen. “He goes to Des Moines University, is a senior, tall, blonde hair and blue eyes, super fit, majoring in psych work or something like that. We’ve met up at a few more bars here and there, and I just thought it might be fun if he comes out tonight. That’s all.”
“Have you two ever hung out anywhere else besides a bar? Have you done dinner or anything?” Lila asked, sliding her eyes to meet mine. I could count the number of times Emma invited a guy somewhere–– twice. And to invite him to a party where all her girlfriends would be? That was Emma’s version of having the guy meet her parents.
“Nope. Just bars. Would you guys stop looking at me like that? It’s no big deal. Seriously.” Emma turned back and fluffed Hannah’s hair once more. “You’re golden. Peter will fall all over you tonight.”
“Am I going to be the only one without a date?” Carmen asked, taking a sip of her margarita. “Damn it, I knew I would be the last single one in the group!”
“I don’t have a date,” Lila reminded her.
“Yeah, but you’re...” Carmen let her voice trail off, but we all knew what she was about to say. Leaving. Would Lila be considered part of the group anymore? Surely she would find her own group in LA to be a part of.
“Look at the time!” my voice was high pitched as I spoke, frantically gesturing to my watch. “We better get dressed. The limo will be here shortly.” We actually had plenty of time to get dressed. I just didn’t want to keep thinking about my best friend moving away from me.
The five of us shuffled out of the bathroom and into Lila’s room, where our outfits were all laid out on her bed. I squeezed Lila’s hand as we walked and she shot me a grateful smile, but her eyes were shining with tears.
Carmen started the conversation again, talking about how perhaps she would hit on Max at the party just to feel like she had a date too. We all laughed at that, but I secretly wondered if my exotic friend hadn’t fallen for the blonde Max. What babies they would make. I shook myself out of that daydream, knowing how much Carmen would scold me if she could hear my thoughts, and focused on the clothes again. It was still bitterly cold in Iowa, but since we were going to a dance club and apt to get sweaty, our outfits reflected on our destination, not our journey.
Lila slipped into a light green mini-dress, which she paired with a chunky silver bracelet and necklace, dangly silver earrings with diamond crosses, and thigh-high tan boots. Those were a purchase she made in LA, and I knew it would make her stand out amongst us.
Hannah dressed more demure, and while she had insisted on just wearing skinny jeans, Emma somehow persuaded her to at least bump it up to leggings. Her black leggings and red shirt–– borrowed from Emma that was backless–– made Hannah look like a completely different person. Peter wasn’t going to know what hit him.
Emma and Carmen had on similar sequined dresses, but Emma’s was a dark gray with silver sequins and Carmen’s was more beige with black sequins. Sky-high stilettos and lots of jewelry completed their looks.
I had chosen a tulip miniskirt for the night, light pink in color, and found a funky white top that was splashed with different colors along the fabric. It was loose and dipped down to show off some cleavage, and I borrowed a pair of Lila’s heels and kept my jewelry minimal for the night. My hair was set in bombshell curls, and I was feeling pretty confident about my party. Especially since we were to