Page 59 of Reviving Kendall

“Awe,” she says, “I missed you too.”

We’re gone for a little over five hours. She takes me with her to the salon and demands that I get a manicure and pedicure with her. After doing it, let’s just say there will be more trips like that in my future. I watch her getting her hair styled and decide that maybe it’s time for something new for me too, but not today. Then we eat lunch and shop for a new outfit for her, even though I’m beginning to think that the whole thing was for me as she throws yet another skirt at me.

Both of us leave with two new sets of clothes, and feeling like a million bucks from the salon. I hate being wasteful with the money in the bank, but I owe her several times over, and don’t let her pay for anything.

As we pull back up to my house, I let out a huge yawn, and I think about going back to sleep. For some reason, today has completely worn me out.

“Uh uh,” Ryleigh says as she parks. “The guys would kill me if they came over to find you passed out.”

“Why would they care if I’m asleep later?” I ask while watching her dig through a bag in the back.

She mumbles to herself and then says, “Ah hah,” as she finds what she was looking for. Handing me a slim silver can she says, “This is made with natural fruit juice and green tea. It’s like a healthy energy drink.”

I look from her to the can skeptically, but crack it open and take a swig anyways. It’s not half as bad as it sounds.

The smile she shoots me is smug, “You’ll thank me for that later.”

Her attitude and playfulness remind me of Teagan, but not in a weird way. “I’m glad to have you back,” I smile.

Returning it, she says, “Right back at you. Now get out of here and go get ready.”

My face scrunches in confusion, “Ready for what?”

“Uh uh,” she says with a shake of her head, “I’ve managed to keep it a secret all day. Just trust me. Wear the second outfit.”

I roll my eyes. Should have known that her and the guys were up to something. I take my time getting out all of my bags as a small act of rebellion, and she sighs dramatically in the front seat, “You’ll have fun I promise. Call me later…or on second thought. Maybe not.” We both laugh as I shut the door and she pulls away.

Beautiful Sweaty Messes

Juggling the bags and drink in my hands, I manage to get the front door open, only to be accosted with color everywhere. There are flowers on every inch of flat surface available. Bouquets of soft pink roses, big yellow sunflowers, deep purple lilies, and tiny white carnations cover the entire living room. It doesn’t surprise me that the guys were in the house while I was gone. They all have their own key to get in, but the flowers are like a sucker punch to the gut. No one has ever gotten me flowers before, well, besides Billy, and I’m just going to go ahead and say that it doesn’t count, considering.

I drop my bags at the door and walk to the counter where a note sits waiting.Be ready to go by six.That gives me about three hours to get ready and after this, I’m going to put as much effort as I can into looking nice for them. I’ll have to trust Ryleigh since she seems to know where we’re going.

After taking a long hot shower and shaving every inch of my body that needed it, I put my wet hair up in these old school rollers that I’ve had forever. Found them a long time ago at one of the thrift stores back when I used to dress up to go out. They’re pretty cool. All I have to do is roll up my wet hair and then blow dry them. I used to put some hairspray kind of stuff on it before the rollers came out, but I haven’t bought that stuff in a really long time. Let’s just hope it’ll hold up without it. I’ll leave them in while I do my makeup and get dressed just in case.

Going as light as I can, I only put a little powder on my face and then do up my eyes with eyeliner and eyeshadow. Stepping back to look at my face, the black liner brings out the green in my hazel eyes, but something is still missing. Searching through my scantly filled makeup bag, I find it. I dab some of the bright red lipstick across my lips and blend it in with my finger. When I’m done, I nod at myself in the mirror. Fucking perfect.

I drag the bags from the shopping trip into my room. Once again trusting Ryleigh, I put on the outfit that she recommended, and when I look in the dresser mirror, it’s hard to even recognize myself. I still haven’t gained back all my weight, so I’m skinnier than what I normally am. The skirt is black with huge red, roses and their green leaves all over it. Sitting right above my belly button it leaves the bottom hem to stop mid-thigh. There’s about a two-inch gap between that and my shirt, showing off a little skin between them. The shirt is what truly sold me on the outfit. There’s a strip of black fabric that runs across my breasts. See through lace sleeves works from the bottom of my elbows up to an oval shaped neckline and covers that strip of fabric all the way down to the exposed skin. The back is definitely my favorite. It fastens like a bra at the bottom, leaving a big open hole exposing most of my back and tying at the top with lace strings that hang down to the skirt. Putting my feet into a pair of all black wedges and taking my hair out of the rollers, I stand for a good five minutes just staring at myself. Not to sound conceited, but I look good. Even I wouldn’t guess that the person in front of me came from the trailer park.

All dressed up and nowhere to go, I sit on the couch and fidget with my phone as I admire all of the flowers. Just from knowing the guys as well as I do, I know who picked which flower. Lucas the pink roses. Teagan the sunflowers. Mav the purple lilies. Last but not least, Goose the white carnations. I’d bet my last dollar on that, which probably isn’t such a good phrase to use anymore. I’m just thankful for all those days in the garden with Nana. At least now if the guys ask, I don’t look like a complete idiot.

Lights flash across the front windows and my heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest. All of us but Mav have been on some sort of date kind of thing before, and I’m not sure what to expect. The rap on my door makes my heart skip a beat, which is weird because they never knock. As soon as the thought fires in my head, the door opens and Teagan walks in.

Holy fucking sexiness. His hair is pulled up into a messy man bun thing on the top of his head, and the smile he throws me would melt ice. There’s a blue open long sleeve flannel shirt covering his t-shirt and the tight blue jeans hug his legs just to show off all the muscle there. His smile turns dark as he takes me in from head to toe. When I make a move towards him, he holds up a hand and in a husky voice says, “Wait right there. They need to see this as I did.”

Less than two seconds later Goose comes in complaining, “Dude, you could have at least waited until the car was in p…” He trails off as he catches sight of me standing across from them. Damn it, Goose looks just as good as Teagan in his own way. His black dress shirt is buttoned all the way up except the last few, and his sleeves are rolled up, like always, displaying his massive forearms. Just as T, his light blue jeans look like they were tailored to fit him. He opens his mouth to say something, but closes it just as fast.

Lucas, who was right on Goose’s heels, grins at me as he says, “You look down-right fucking sexy, baby.” He’s the first one to come over and wrap me up in both his arms and his scent. As always, he’s in his jeans and leather jacket. A look that has become one of my favorites. He should patent that shit.

When he lets go, my eyes lock on Mav’s face as he does a head to toe inspection of my body. My cheeks turn pink as his eyes linger on the open space on my stomach. His eyes meet mine, and I see the fire there that he’s trying so hard to hide. He arches an eyebrow as he shoots me a wicked half smile. That’s all the invitation that I need. I move to stand in front of him, and he keeps that same look on his face, almost daring me to make the first move. Teagan and Goose are standing close enough for me to see them watching us out of the corner of my eye. Dressed just like Goose, his dark button up has every one done up to his neck, and paired with a lighter pair of jeans.

His hands twitch like he wants to reach out for me, but he puts them in the pockets of his jeans instead. Challenging me to make the first move, his head tilts back to look down to me with that sexy fucking eyebrow still arched. The wedges have given me some extra height. Wrapping my arms around him, I’m able to go up on my tiptoes to kiss him right underneath the chin. It dips, and his lips find mine as his arms go around me. The naked skin of my back meets his fingertips and then his palms as his kiss deepens.

It’s a good minute before we pull away from each other, the fire still burning in his eyes. A laugh slips from my lips as he goes to smooth his black hair that I messed up just now without even realizing I was doing it. Letting go, I take the one step to Goose and throw my arms around his neck. He pulls me into a big bear hug, lifting me off my feet, as he whispers in my ear, “You look beautiful.”

I grin like an idiot and give him a quick kiss. Almost as soon as my feet touch the floor, T has my hand and spins me to him. Surprising me, he dips me back and kisses my chin as a laugh falls from my lips. Always expect the unexpected with him. After he pulls me back up and kisses me thoroughly, I thank them all for the flowers.

T circles his arms around me from behind as Lucas says, “We weren’t sure what your favorite was, so you got four different kinds.”

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