Page 15 of The Curse of Eternity
“Why am I even letting you do this?” I asked, not for the first time, and peeked through my eyelashes as Everly turned away.
“Because you usually never let me and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.” She winked at me, then puckered her lips like I was meant to mimic it. So I did, rolling my eyes which felt heavier with all the product clumped on. Once she was done applying something to my lips, she smacked hers and I followed suit.
“It’s not likeI’veever had the opportunity, either,” I said, a bit sullen at the turn of conversation.
“Exactly, because you only datelosers.” Everly huffed, oddly peeved. True, in hindsight, my ex partners were less than stellar. I squirmed at the uncomfortable thought. Like it was my faultthat I picked the worst people for me. My gaze quickly settled on hers in challenge.
“Right, and your usual dating pool is what? Princesses?” I scoffed, but Everly grinned like she had a secret.
“Don’t forget, there was that one lady I was talking to online who said her father was an oil baron. That’s basically the same thing these days.”
“And I remember that one endingsowell,” I said, vindicated, but Everly shrugged. Her face fell, and I internally winced at my teasing comment. Even if she had started it. “I’m sorry—”
“Our petty dating disasters aside,” she cut in, focusing on my curly hair while she ran her fingers through it with some kind of gel-like substance, “thepointwas that you never let me doll you up for a night out. So I’m taking advantage of it.”
“Yes, because if the vampire tries to maul me then at least I’ll look fabulous.” I smiled wide, and Everly smirked. Seconds ticked by while she worked, but a glance at my watch revealed I had plenty of time, too much, really. Weird tumbles started in my stomach, like moths made of acid. Nervous, I picked at my plain fingernails for something to do.
“Have I told you that I’m talking to someone lately?” Everly piped up, surprising me.
“Uh, no. Who?”
Considering the blush spreading across Everly’s freckled face, it was probably more serious than her tone let on.
“Just a woman I met at Humble Coffee the other day. She’s super pretty, and totally took an interest in my Wicca stuff right away. The first thing she told me was that my pentagram earrings were cute.” Everly’s smile turned shy, and guilt swelled in my gut. How long had I been hogging every phone call with Everly that I didn’t know she had met someone new?
I forced my expression to brighten. “What’s her name?”
“Courtney. And she’s super mysterious, too. I hardly know her but there’s been absolutely none of that ‘new relationship’ awkwardness,” Everly rambled, practically glowing. “She’s got connections all over the place, too. She promised to take me to that up-and-coming nightclub—you know the one on Central Avenue? There’s a line a block long on weekend nights, but we have plans for tomorrow. And she’s so cool, she even said that I could bring friends!”
“That’s generous,” I remarked, barely getting a word in.
“Yeah, do you want to go, or—Oh, um, I’m sorry.” Everly bit her lip, face flushed, and my hands stilled on my lap. Like she was embarrassed to have brought it up, her attention fell to the sink where she started packing away her makeup.
“Eve, I’m going to abartonight. I can handle being around alcohol,” I assured, but her bright green eyes were full of uncertainty.
“That’s true, I just didn’t want to overstep… I remember how you told me you liked to avoid those places on principle—”
“Because I usually end up at night clubs for work, not partying.” I exhaled a dry laugh, glad I skirted the words ‘hunt’ and ‘vampire’ when there was a knock on the bathroom door.
“We’re decent,” Everly said, and cleared her throat. Did everyone in my life not trust my word anymore? Discomfited, I stood as Addison opened the door and held out a black length of fabric.
“This is all I could scrounge up without spikes or rips in it, as requested.” She handed it over, and Everly cooed at it while holding it up by the straps. Personally, I was dumbfounded.
“Is it still folded up?” I asked, taking the dress when it was offered only to realize that, no, this was the entire length. While holding it up against my bust, I doubted it would cover all of my ass. “This is a shirt.”
“It’s a dress,” Addison stated in monotone, her deadpan stare on my frazzled shock. I swallowed, not wanting to be ungrateful, and Everly shooed Addison out the door.
“Try it on and see how it looks,” Everly squealed at me, stepping outside just as her black cat, Bast, rushed into the bathroom meowing her head off. About to argue, I raised my hand to get Everly’s attention, but she was too focused on closing the door to the hall.
It clicked shut and, alone except for the feline, I breathed a sigh. Would it be really rude to only pretend I’d tried it on? Maybe marginally better than if I refused it outright… Except curiosity got the best of me, especially when I glimpsed my face in the mirror’s reflection. Glitzed and glammed was an understatement. I looked like I was being preened for the prom night I never attended.
Ignoring the silver eyeshadow and dark eyeliner, plus the oddly shiny lips I pressed together, I frowned at the outfit. How was I supposed to get thethingon? A handy zipper down the side let me shimmy it up, barely making it over my hips, eons wider than Addison’s skinny frame. Somehow, the material managed to stretch to cover my butt and then some.
Then came the question of my machete. Since there weren’t any belt loops, I shrugged and strapped it tight around my waist. It wasn’t unusual to see weapons on a person’s hip this far South. Counting it as an accessory, I bobbed my head at my reflection. Weirdly enough, I liked it. The dress contoured my curves, pushing up my braless breasts to create way more cleavage than I could attain naturally.
There was a soft tap on the door. “How’s it going?” Everly called out, and my shoulders slumped. Right, I wasn’tactuallygoing on a date.
This was too ridiculous, even for me. Forget trying to ‘blend in’ with the regular weekend night crowd. The vampire wouldhave to deal with my T-shirt and jeans. I was about to unzip the dress, and then hastily wash off the makeup, when Bast started scratching at the door. Mewing like I’d been holding her hostage for the last five minutes, she darted out the second I cracked the exit open.
