Page 117 of The Last Second Chance
Joey looked over her shoulder and mouthed “help me” to Jax. But he just grinned and wandered toward the suite’s bar. “I’ll bring you ladies a drink,” he called.
In a matter of seconds, Joey found herself seated on a tufted ottoman in front of the mirror while some guy named Soloman in a muscle shirt sprayed stuff in her hair and Sylvia with the pink highlights furiously filed her nails. Didi chattered on as rock star thin Becca started smearing colors on her face in a pattern that looked like war paint.
“Are you excited for tonight?” Didi asked.
“I am. I’ve never seen one of Jax’s movies before.”
Didi gasped and the hair and makeup team froze. “Never ever?”
Joey shook her head. “I don’t have time to watch a lot of movies and I kind of hated him for a few years.”
“Well, that makes sense. He’s really good. Like really good. There’s talent there under all those sexy smoldering looks.”
Joey felt weird talking about Jax with a woman who’d also shared his bed.
Didi must have picked up on the awkward vibe. “Sorry! I mean that in the most respectful way possible. We dated very briefly and it was never anything close to serious. Now, you two? Well that looks like a very different story.”
“I guess,” Joey said, watching as Sylvia pulled out a bottle of lavender polish and started slicking it on her newly shaped nails.
“Puh-lease,” Didi snickered, puckering up for another layer of paint on her high cheekbones. “I think Jax has been pining over you since forever. In fact, after meeting you, I can see bits and pieces of you that he’s used in his leading ladies.”
Now that was enough to make a girl feel strange. Just what qualities of hers had he lent his characters? Hard headedness? A mean, unforgiving streak?
Joey decided when she got back she was going to have a Jackson Pierce Moviethon all by herself so she could pick apart the leads and see the parts of her that he decided to share with the world.
That squishy feeling was back in her stomach so Joey changed the subject asking about Didi’s date.
Two hours later, Joey had been plucked, painted, and curled into a higher standard of beauty. She leaned forward in the mirror, turning her head this way and that trying to identify with the reflection. The old Joey Greer was still there, but more polished, she decided.
Didi, leaned in next to her and snapped a selfie in the mirror. “Damn, we look good.”
“You look like a bombshell,” Joey told her.
Didi had poured herself into a white sequined gown that put her most noticeable assets on display. Her short blonde hair was done up Marilyn Monroe style. Red nails and lips pushed the needle into Old Hollywood glam.
She flashed a million dollar smile at Joey. “Okay, now we have just enough time to practice standing.”
“I know how to stand,” Joey told her.
“No, you know how to hold yourself upright. I’m going to show you how to pose on the red carpet.”
She moved to the far end of the bathroom and pause, one hand on her hip, one foot kicked out. “Now, Jax is a writer, so you aren’t going to have to do the whole big press line. But you’ll still be getting your picture taken and when you do, this istheway to stand.”
Didi moved toward Joey with the prance and attitude of a thoroughbred. “See, if you give your feet a little kick with every step, you move the skirt of your dress out of the way and you won’t be as likely to trip.”
Joey hadn’t thought about falling. She hadn’t thought to worry about walking. She decided she wasn’t going to let go of Jax’s arm. If she went down, she was going to take him down with her.
“So it’s like a kick stomp?” Joey asked.
“Exactly. You give it a try.”
Joey mechanically kick stomped her way across the marble, glad she’d chosen sparkly flat sandals rather than those icicle thin stilettos at the store.
Didi watched her intently. “I think you need to loosen up your hips more. You look like you’re marching into battle.”
Joey gave a little shimmy to warm up her hip flexors and tried again.
Didi nodded her approval. “Okay, now when you stop I want you to think boobs out, tailbone in, hand on hip, and foot point.” She demonstrated and instantly looked half her size.
