Page 96 of King
“ – get under somebody else,” Kim chimed in, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at them. They were ridiculous, and I loved them both to bits.
“All right now, let’s pay for these clothes and grab a late lunch.” At Kim’s suggestion, we all changed back into our own clothes and headed for the front counter to pay. Kim hadn’t been kidding about the deep discount we received, so I only winced a little at the total as I handed over my credit card. I knew that no matter how I felt tonight, at least I would look good, and dammit, I deserved to treat myself a little.
I didn’t have much of an appetite at lunch, but managed to push enough of my food around my plate that neither woman seemed to notice I wasn’t actually eating much.
We spent the rest of the afternoon doing some window shopping, then checking out an independent bookstore that was one of Kim’s favorites stores in the world. I found a vintage baking cookbook in the used book section. I also found a psychological suspense novel that looked interesting. The fact that the storyline revolved around the gruesome murder of the cheating male protagonist was strictly a coincidence. Mostly. OK, it wasn’t a coincidence at all, and I was definitely looking forward to reading it.
By the time we stopped at a restaurant near Kim’s townhouse for dinner, I was ready to curl up with a glass of wine and the murder book. But, it was Kim’s birthday, so that wasn’t an option.
We didn’t linger over our meal, since we still needed to go back to the townhouse to get ready. Before I knew it, I was dressed in my sexy new clothes, with Camille ordering me to grab my makeup bag.
“It’s time to get you glammed up.”
“But, I –“
“Nope,” Camille interrupted. “Tonight calls for a bold glamour look. No offence, El, but your makeup screamsbusiness meeting, notnight on the town.”
Twenty-five minutes later, the makeup brushes and curling irons were put away, and I barely recognized myself in the mirror. My face had been contoured, concealed, and highlighted, making my blue eyes pop and my cheekbones more prominent. The finishing touch was a bold lip color that I would have never used if left to my own devices. I had to admit though, it made my lips look lush and kissable.
Thanks to Kim’s magic touch with the curling iron, my hair fell in tousled waves that looked fun and sexy. WheneverI tried to create that effect, I ended up looking like I hadn’t brushed my hair for a week.
“Old and boring, my ass. Fuck you, Dante,” I murmured as I stared into the mirror, causing Kim and Camille to both hoot with laughter.
“That’s the spirit, cuz.”
The two of them finished getting ready, and both looked positively gorgeous by the time the rideshare driver pulled up in front of Kim’s place.
I tried to ignore the ball of dread that started building during the ride to the club, while Kim and Camille kept up a running commentary on the plan for the rest of the night. From what I could tell, it involved drinking, dancing, and dicks. I was up for the first two, but they would need to count me out on that last one.
