Page 78 of The Heartbreakers
After my makeup was finished, Ken took his turn. First, he curled my hair into elegant waves. Then he took the bottom layer of my hair, pulled it back into a ponytail, and pinned it up. After almost a full can of hair spray, he managed to mold my hair into a beautiful marcel wave with my blue streak running through the middle like a bolt of blue lightning.
“You like?” he asked when he finally held up a mirror for me to see.
“Can you do my hair every day?” I asked jokingly.
I never thought I’d use the term to describe myself, but I looked sophisticated. After I pulled on my black dress and heels, I twirled in front of my bathroom mirror to see my completed look. Not to brag, but Oliver was going to be blown away.
“Damn,” someone whistled. I turned to see JJ resting against the door frame, looking smart in a black tuxedo. “Looking like a hot mama tonight.”
“You think?” I asked, glancing at my dress.
JJ looked me up and down in a not-so-subtle way. A slow smirk pulled at his lips, and he stepped up to me. “Oliver’s gonna blow his load when he sees you.”
At this, I gasped and smacked JJ on the arm, pretending to be offended. In reality, his words were flattering even if I was too embarrassed to admit that out loud. “Do you always have to be so vulgar?”
“What?” he asked, pressing a hand to his heart in mock-offense. “That was a compliment.”
I rolled my eyes. “In your own nasty, perverted way, I know you were trying to be nice,” I said, “but still.”
“What about me?” he asked with a pout. “Aren’t you going to tell me how dashing I look?”
“I suppose you clean up nicely,” I teased, which was stingy of me—JJ always looked handsome.
“That’s it? Not so hot that you’re going to dump Oliver for me?”
I shot JJ a pointed look. He cracked a grin in response, and soon we were both laughing. As much as JJ flirted with me, I knew he didn’t mean anything by it. JJ was like that around any girl, he was just that type of guy, and it never affected our relationship in a negative way. Truthfully, he was always so easygoing and entertaining that I felt like we’d been friends for years, ones that were so comfortable around each other that we could joke about anything.
It surprised me that he didn’t have a girlfriend. He was hilarious and kind, not to mention that most of the female population would bend over backward to date him. I’d asked him about it one afternoon, and he explained that he took relationships very seriously. Since the boys’ lives were so hectic and busy, JJ said he’d never be able to devote enough of his time to make a girl happy, and I thought that was adorable.
“Hey, Stella?” Xander called, bursting into the bedroom.
I looked up at him, noting the concern in his voice. “Yeah?”
“Oliver hasn’t—whoa,” he said, stopping when he saw me.
“She’s hot, right?” JJ asked, nodding at his friend.
Xander blushed. “Yeah,” he said sheepishly. “You look nice, Stella.”
“Thanks. You look good yourself,” I told him. “What were you going to say about Oliver?”
“He hasn’t called you, has he?” he asked, trying to sound hopeful.
“No, why?” I’d checked my phone several times today, so I knew I had no new messages, but I reached for my cell out of instinct.
“He still hasn’t shown up yet,” Xander said, his forehead wrinkling with worry. His words made me frown. “It isn’t like him to just disappear.”
“Have you talked to Courtney?” I asked. If anyone knew where Oliver was it would be her. She always kept tabs on the boys, not because she was a control freak and it was her job, but because if she didn’t, they’d probably get in to some kind of mischief.
“That’s the strange thing,” Xander said, the lines in his brow deepening. “I called her, and she doesn’t seem worried at all.”
“What?” JJ responded, and joined us in frowning. “That doesn’t sound like Courtney. Normally she’d freak out.”
Xander nodded quickly in agreement. “I know, right? She told us to meet her in the lobby in ten, so I guess we’ll have to ask her then.”
Ten minutes passed quickly, and Oliver still hadn’t returned. All the excitement I felt for the evening was slowly trickling away, and it was being replaced with a stomach dropping feeling.
Alec looked down at his phone. “Guys, we need to leave.”
