unreadable. When he spoke again, he uttered a low yet firm, “Don’t ever do that again.”
The thing was, I couldn’t make that promise.
Not out loud.
Chapter Ten
Stiletto.
Emmy
We were in Indiana. The Vixens portion of the show had ended and as I stood by the stage, Cherry approached from behind. “Gidget.”
I spun around and smiled. “Hey, you guys killed it tonight.”
“Thanks, doll.” Her expression turned serious. “Look, Beth sent me. It’s her birthday. She wanted me to ask you to come out with us tonight.”
She did?
That was nice but after quickly thinking about it, I decided to decline. “That’s so kind, but—” I smoothed my hands down the front of my jeans and grimaced. “—I’m not exactly dressed for the occasion.” I threw her a hesitant smile. “Will you thank her for me?”
“No.”
My face fell. “You won’t thank her for me?”
Cherry rolled her eyes. “No, I mean that’s a lame excuse and you’re coming out.”
“But—” I blinked up at her. “—I can’t.”
“Yes, you can,” she returned before looking me up and down. “I’m going out on a limb here and guessing you don’t have anything racier than what you’re wearing in your luggage.” Her eyes met mine. “Am I right?”
I looked down at my jeans, loose tee, and Chucks combo. When our eyes met again, I pushed my glasses up the bridge of my nose and shook my head.
Cherry tilted her head and pursed her lips. “You’re about Beth’s size. I’m sure we can sort you out.”
I was suddenly sweating bullets. “I don’t want to put anyone out.”
“Beth wants you there. She likes you. Are you gonna make me go back to the suite without you and explain to the girls that you’d rather spend another night alone than come out with us?” Her eyes widened. “Sure, let me just get a dagger to stick into her heart too.”
I didn’t want Beth to be upset. Especially on her birthday.
And then I realized what she was doing.
My nose bunched. “You’re manipulating me, aren’t you?”
Cherry tipped her head back and laughed. “Is it working?”
“Yes,” I admitted reluctantly and when Cherry chuckled, my lips tipped up at the sides. “Well, only if you’re sure.”
“Totally sure.” Cherry wrapped an arm around me and walked me to her dressing room. “The girls are gonna be stoked.”
The girls were indeed stoked to see me. I sent Noah a text letting him know I was currently in the custody of The Vixens and when I walked into their suite, Beth quite literally threw herself into my arms, jumping up and down excitedly. Pearl jerked her chin and winked at me, and when Cherry explained that I didn’t own any makeup other than my trusty lip balm, Ettie came to the rescue.
“Emmy,” she asked curiously, “can you see without your glasses?”
I gently removed my large cat eye frames and blinked rapidly, trying to adjust my focus. “I can, just not well.”
“But not so bad to stumble over shit, right?”
I shook my head. “I’ll survive.” Then a shocking thought took me. “You’re not going to make me look stupid, are you?”
Ettie pulled back as if I’d slapped her. “What?” She was genuinely stunned. “No. Why would you think I’d do something like that?”
My memories of Caitlyn Moore doing my makeup for the senior play came rushing back to me with a bang. I had landed the role of Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Caitlyn’s job was to make me look beautiful but when I saw myself in the mirror only minutes before the show started, I wanted to weep. The foundation she used was way too dark for my complexion, she used too much blush and she basically painted thick, black eyebrows on me.
Surely it was a mistake. We were seniors and she wouldn’t single me out. Would she?
Heck yes, she would. I was all anyone was talking about after the play and for the entire next semester. Caitlyn even made sure a close-up of my face was used in the yearbook so I could never live down the time I trusted my appearance to another woman.
Scarred for life, it was a wonder I was allowing this.
I swallowed hard and shrugged lightly, averting my eyes. “No reason.”
Ettie noticed my reluctance and vowed, “I’m gonna make you look hot. You’re gonna turn heads so hard they spin, babe.”
At her enthusiasm, I bit my lip to hide my smile and chuckled. “I don’t think that’s physically possible, Ettie.”
“Oh, honey.” She pulled my chair closer to her and started to work on my