Page 117 of Awestruck at Dusk
“Yes. That sounds great.”
“Joaquín liked your work, so if you meet his expectations on the internship, there’s a possibility to keep you on the roster for any eventual projects once the semester at Parsons starts,” Mel explained. “It’s a highly competitive work environment, I’m not going to lie. But if you keep Joaquín and his team happy, they might ask you to collaborate on other projects too.”
This opportunity couldn’t have arrived at a better moment. I needed this. Not only was I sure it would be a lot of fun, but I would learn a lot and keep myself busy during the rest of the summer, which was something I desperately needed after everything that happened lately.
I grinned at Nina and squeezed her arm, making her know this was a good call. She seemed desperate to know what was happening.
Mel went on to explain how someone would call me tomorrow to explain everything in further detail. Her call mainly was to offer me the position and make sure I accepted, which I did, of course.
I thanked Mel for the millionth time and ended the call.
“It was Haute Magazine. I’m starting an internship with them this Monday.” I squealed.
Nina screamed and tackled me with a hug. I burst out into laughter. “Congratulations! They must’ve loved your work, Billie!” she exclaimed. “We need to go out and celebrate.”
“We do.”
And hell yeah, we did.
A Counterfeit Shade of Red
CJ HAD ME LAUGHINGhard as I talked to him on the phone on my way back to my apartment. We had a great time that evening. We went to a bar at around 6:00 p.m., just Nina, him, and me. He was ecstatic when he heard the news about my internship, and I allowed myself to let loose a bit tonight.
My father surprisingly approved of me to go out with my friends right away. It was encouraging to feel like maybe he would start to ease up on me as I grew older. The last time I went to an actual bar was in Paris on the night I met Thomas, so I guess it was time to make some new memories.
I hadn’t really drunk this much since my birthday, but I didn’t mix this time. I stuck to tequila, so I was “good.”
CJ and I couldn’t stop laughing as we remembered how we forced David into downing a shot with us. I had to tell Aaron I couldn’t find my phone and asked him to look for it in the car, and that’s when we made him do it. He was terrified when Aaron waltzed back into the bar, especially since Nina said, “Hey,Aaron,” looking over David’s shoulder the moment he drank the shot. He almost choked on it. It was so funny.
Nina gave David a couple of spearmint gum afterward, so no biggie. I didn’t think Aaron would notice. I know it was wrong to ask David to do that, but he found it especially hard to deny CJ, of course.
My good mood drained to the floor when I saw William’s apartment door open as I approached my place. There was a mini-party going on in there, from what I could see. A guy I didn’t know stood just outside his door, leaning against the wall, making a call. He looked at me and shot a two-finger wave in my direction.
“I’m gonna have to call you back,” I said to CJ.
“Wait, Billie, what—”
I ended the call and tossed my phone back into my purse. It was best for me to flee the scene, but I couldn’t find my keys, and the alcohol flowing through my veins wasn’t helping my case.
“Hey, Red.”
What the…
I spun around thinking I was officially going mad, but instead, I saw Liam Kelly sauntering my way with a drink in his hand. Liam was the Australian actor who was at my birthday party. How could I forget him?
“Hey, snitch,” I said, focusing my attention back on finding my keys. I was a second away from emptying my bag on the floor. I shot him a death glare and said, “Don’t call me Red.”
He laughed and closed the distance between us. “Why?” he asked, amused.
He was damn cute. Liam had big brown eyes, heavy eyelashes that any girl would kill for, light-brown hair, and the obligated celebrity-white smile that went great with his golden sun-tanned skin. He was like a polished surfer boy.
“You told on me. At my party,” I said, pointing at him with a lip gloss. He stared at it with a frown. “Tobias wouldn’t speak to me for almost two months after you told him I introduced Jordan to Cecile. That’s why you’re on my permanent snitch list. Right next to Tobias. He’s proven to be a snitch in the past too. I guess like calls to like.”
Liam laughed. “Yeah, that was fun,” he said, sipping on his drink. I was getting annoyed, and all I wanted was to get inside my apartment. Quickly. “But what I meant is why can’t I call you Red.”
I rubbed my face with exasperation. “Just—don’t.”
“Locked out?” he asked, lifting a brow, watching me struggle with my things.
