Third Chances (Men Of Manhattan #2) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,11
heaven.
Layla plopped down next to me. "This is the most comfortable bed I've ever lain in."
"Me too," I said through a huge yawn.
"Get up, you two. We're going out!" Kristen was already rummaging through her suitcase. She pulled out a short blue dress and started changing.
I groaned. "Kristen, it's 10 o'clock back home. And we've been traveling all day. Aren't you exhausted? Maybe we could rent a movie or something?" I looked over at Alina. She was usually on board with renting movies and staying in.
"Don't look at me," she said. "I want to go exploring."
Layla sat up. "Just so we're all on the same page, if I'm not in bed by midnight I'll probably turn into a pumpkin." She slid off the bed and opened up her suitcase.
Maybe I'd be able to get her on my side later to stage a coup. But right now, I was really hungry. I sat up and stretched. Everyone else was changing into skintight dresses and heels. I think I had packed a few sundresses. One of those would have to do. I grabbed the first one I found and pulled it on.
"What the hell is that?"
I looked over at Kristen staring at me.
"A sundress. I just bought it. It's the perfect combination of cute and sophisticated, don't you think?"
"You're a grown ass woman. You have no business dressing cute. Fortunately, I packed way too many clothes, knowing you were going to be lame." She tossed me a dress from her suitcase.
I had feared she was going to do exactly that. All throughout college Kristen had insisted on dressing me. I thought I was finally free of her tyrannical fashion advice. The only positive was that Kristen was so much taller than me that the dresses that were super inappropriate on her weren't so bad on me. They'd probably go down to mid-thigh instead of right below my ass. And it wasn't worth fighting her on this. I just wanted food in my mouth immediately.
I pulled on the dress and grabbed the only pair of heels I brought. They were fancy sandals that worked with everything. Kristen seemed to agree because she didn't say anything. I sat down on the edge of the bed while they finished getting ready. Last minute touches of makeup and hair primping. Not that they needed it. My friends were basically all models. Alina looked like a perfect blonde Barbie doll, except short. Layla looked like a younger Sofia Vergara. Actually, Alina and Layla had both done some modeling after their scandalous TV appearances. And Kristen fit right in with them. She had dark hair and was super tall like a model, but not sickly skinny. She was thin but somehow still had big breasts and a great ass. I'm surprised a modeling agency hadn't picked her up.
And me? I looked down at the dress I was wearing. I wasn't tall and I wasn't short. I had mousy brown hair. I was so average. Not that I was complaining. I liked being average. I liked that when guys liked me they got to know my personality first. It was important to me. Kristen had said that cute wasn't something I should be aiming for. But that's what I always ended up looking like. I had one of those baby faces that made me look a lot younger than I was. And I was used to wearing sophisticated clothes to work, trying hard not to accentuate my breasts or ass. I never aimed for cute, but that's what I tended to look like every day. And I thought it was a good look for a teacher. I liked it. No one ever called me sexy. That wasn't me. That was a word reserved for my friends.
I pulled the neckline of my dress up. I had forgotten the fact that it would be a little lower due to Kristen's height. I stood up and looked in the mirror. My hair didn't seem to agree with the Costa Rican humidity. I ran my palms over it, trying to get rid of some of the frizz.
"You look great," Alina said. "You can borrow one of my dresses tomorrow if you want. I know how anal you are about showing off your tits."
She was right, my boobs were everywhere. "Thanks. But I don't even care right now. I just need food and sleep."
"And...dancing?"
"If that's the price I have to pay for what I want."