Page 55 of Girl Like Me

Once we arrive the guys all wait downstairs while Chloe, Clarissa and I head up to Clarissa’s bedroom with her stylist.

He takes a few minutes to inspect Chloe's hair.

“Ok pretty girl, take this and wash your hair with hot water. This will help remove all that gunk. Once you’re done I have a couple of dresses that you can choose from and we’ll work magic and get you looking fabulous again.”

Chloe smiles and takes the bottle from him. She disappears into the bathroom.

“Did you know what they were doing?” I ask Clarissa quietly.

“Not at first. It wasn’t until they disappeared that I knew they were up to something. I cornered one of their dates and he spilled the beans when I crushed his nuts between my fingers. I couldn’t see you anywhere so I raced out the back to try and stop it but it was too late.”

“I feel terrible for her. That’s one of the reasons she steered clear of us.”

“Don’t feel bad for her, that girl has a fire in her eyes. You can’t walk through life avoiding everything that makes you feel uncomfortable. Yes, it sucked what happened but she’ll come out on top once I’m done with her.”

“Bruno, you’re a lifesaver.” Clarissa exclaims.

“I know,” he says with a laugh.

Ten minutes later Chloe comes out wrapped in a towel, her hair free of gunk and feathers. Bruno gets straight to work blow drying her hair straight, not a curl in sight. When he finishes her hair and makeup he pulls out the dress bags and unzips them with a flourish. Chloe picks a short pixie style dress with a skin coloured top that has green designs that appears to cover all the naughty parts. It's an off the shoulder with one long sleeve and the skirt is green and super short.

She looks absolutely stunning with her smokey eyes and the new dress. Once she slips on her heels she is ready to join the party and just in time before everyone turns up. I text Mac a heads up so he can be ready for her entrance.

Chloe takes the stairs first reluctantly, you can tell she is nervous about all the people. Mac is the first to spot her and his mouth falls open. He slaps Echo in the chest, who turns to him and looks like he is about to murder him until he looks up and is instantly in awe. I smile as her guys watch her descend the stairs, even Chev sulking in the corner has his eyes on her.

Echo jumps up and races to the bottom of the stairs. “You are perfection,” he breathes. She looks down shyly as a blush tints her cheeks but he reaches out and lifts her chin. “You’re my queen, you hold your head high.”

He takes her hand and leads her towards Mac and Mossy who fawn all over her. I head over to my guys to check on Maximus, but he is oblivious to what is going on with his headphones on and playing a game on his phone.

He removes his headphones when he notices me standing in front of him. Clarissa joins us a second later and comes to stand beside me.

“Hey Maximus, my dickhead brother has a game room upstairs that you’re free to use. He moved out and never uses it anymore.”

Maximus smiles at her and I’m grateful that I mentioned this to her a few times in passing.

“That would be great,” Levi answers for him. I take Maximus’s hand and we follow Clarissa as she leads us to the room. She presses in a code and tells us she will text it to me so I can forward it on.

She leaves as we get Maximus set up, he looks super excited looking around the room. After a few minutes in thought he chooses an Xbox and gets comfortable on the massive couch.

“If you need me, just send me a text. I have my phone on me,” I say and he nods.

I go to walk away but he tackles my hand, and pulls me in closer and places a kiss on my lips. This time when I walk away, I have a massive smile on my face like a love struck fool.

Snoop Dogg blasts throughout the house, which if I had to guess, that means Echo has taken over control of the stereo. The house has started to fill up with kids from my school, it doesn’t look like Lydia has made an appearance but I spot Carter watching me. He winks at me and I shake my head as I walk away. We find Chloe and the guys on the outside deck, all sitting around an outdoor table with drinks in their hands. Chloe is sitting in Mac's lap and I wonder how he fought off Echo for her attention. I can see him trying to share but I also know it’s hard for him.

“It’s about time you fuckers came back down. We plan to start the night with a game of truth or drink.”

Clarissa puts a couple of full bottles of alcohol on the table. Vodka, something amber coloured and tequila. Oliver, who is extra close to her, dumps a bunch of plastic shot glasses on the table and a box of game cards.

“Who wants to start?” Clarissa asks and Rocky is the first to throw his hand in the air. He leans over and takes a card from the box. He looks around the table and smiles.

“JD, what would you wear if you are hoping to go home with someone?”

I rub my chin as if I’m thinking. “If I was planning in advance I particularly have a fondness for a red sexy thong and instead of a bra I would tie a red ribbon around…”

Mercer quickly slaps his hand over my mouth. “She’ll drink.” I laugh into his hand as he slides a shot my way and Rocky laughs.

I take a card from the pile next.

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