SIX DAYS (8 page)

“The guy throwing the party, Devan Montgomery, is very particular…” Tosh trailed off, and began examining dresses, thinking. “Some of the girls who’ll be there like to tell everyone
who they’re wearing
and what it cost them, so it would truly piss them off if someone they’ve never laid eyes on showed up in something they’d have a hard time getting their hands on. Something that would make their jaws hit the floor. Something like this!” Tosh squealed. She pulled a dress from the rack and held it against me. “That’s it! That’s the dress,” she beamed, and then began scanning the Polaroid’s stuck to the fronts of the shoeboxes.

“Heather Foster is going to be so nauseous when she sees you,” Tosh gushed. Making Heather Foster want to barf must have been something Tosh was looking forward
to.

“Heather Foster’s going to completely ruin her De La
Renta draws when she sees you,” Hazel laughed, startling me. “She’s gonna shit big-time.” That girl was crazy good at sneaking up on people. She’d almost made me shit my Target brand draws.

“Who’s Heather Foster?” I asked.

“Only the biggest bitch on the planet,” Hazel offered gleefully.

“We went to high school with her. She’s the type that likes people to worship her for what she has, not who she is,” Tosh explained, and began carefully wiggling a shoebox from the middle of the stack. It was as if she was playing a life-size game of
Jenga or something. I held my breath, hoping the other boxes wouldn’t come toppling down on her until the moment she’d skillfully freed the one she wanted.

“These are perfect for your dress,” she said, before revealing the contents of the box. The first thing I noticed—the label—Valentino. The second thing I noticed; they were sky-high platform sandals.
Also, they were the single most beautiful pair of shoes I’d ever seen in my life. Just thinking about wearing them gave me a rush. I slipped into the shoes and sighed.

“Look at my feet,” I gushed. “My feet have never looked so amazing.”

“Well, that’s the job of a fifteen-hundred-dollar pair of shoes,” Hazel said. I gasped. I knew they were expensive—just not half of what my first car cost—expensive.

“Why did you tell her that?” Tosh whined. Hazel shrugged, signaling that she didn’t know she wasn’t supposed to. “What they cost doesn’t matter. Time does, though. Take off the shoes so we can finish getting you ready.”

In half an hour, Tosh had turned my long, limp hair into beautiful silky waves. After I got dressed, she pulled one side back with a jeweled comb, which showed off the intricate chandelier diamond earrings she’d let me borrow. She and Hazel stood back to take a look, swearing everything was perfect, and then began working on themselves.

I couldn’t believe I was looking at myself when I saw my reflection in the mirror.
Or that I could look so amazing. My dress was vibrant turquoise and had sapphire and crystal beading on an angle from top to bottom with an intricate design down one side. It had one strap and was floor length, with a long slit, so at least one of my shoes would be visible—along with most of my leg.

“Do I need to know
who I’m wearing
?” I asked.

“No. No one will ask you. They’ll find out though. I just hope I get to see Heather’s face when she figures it out,” Tosh said, slightly laughing. “Hey, and don’t take it personally if some of the girls at the party are a little cold toward you.”

“Cold,” Hazel laughed. “Frigid is more like it.”

“You have the subtlety of a bulldozer,” Tosh complained.

“Well, it’s true. Ryen’s going to show up looking smokin’ hot in a dress that’ll have them sick from jealousy and a date that has probably starred in every wet dream they’ve ever had.” My mouth fell open. I couldn’t believe she’d said that. Hazel looked at me like she couldn’t believe I was so surprised.

“Oh please. You know that boy is sin on a stick. The fact that he wants you will make most of those girls instantly hate you. Kasey’s a hard one to get hold of,” she smiled. “But trust me; I’d consider not having to converse with ninety-percent of the assholes in that crowd a blessing. That goes double for Heather Fucking Foster.”

“Why are we going if everyone is so awful?” I asked.

“Because stirring things up will be wicked fun,” Tosh said, and I swear something evil flashed in her eyes.

Later, when the doorbell rang, we hurried to meet the boys. They were wearing black tuxedos, black ties, and black shoes. They all looked so handsome. I’d been a little nervous about seeing Kasey since I’d had sex with him the second time I’d seen him, but that nervousness vanished when he smiled at me. Hazel was right. The boy was sin on a stick, and for whatever reason, he wanted me, and I planned to soak up every second I got to spend with him.

Kasey kissed my neck so he wouldn’t smear my lipstick and whispered sweet things about how beautiful he thought I looked, and how much he’d enjoyed last night, and that he’d been
thinking about seeing me again since I’d left his house that morning. I smiled at his confession. He placed his hand in mine, our eyes met and held there. It was amazing the power encompassed in Kasey’s stare. I’d shut out the rest of the world, concentrating only on him.

“Wait! I want pictures before you go!” Tosh’s mother
came flying down the main staircase, the heels of her shoes clicking hard against the marble, waving a camera in the air.

“Momma, no,” Tosh whined.

“Oh, don’t you
Momma no
me, Natasha,” Vita scolded. She had a bit of an accent, which I couldn’t place. But really, if it wasn’t French, Jersey, or Tennessee, I had no idea.

“Oh, you all look so beautiful. Such handsome escorts, too,” Vita gushed. “And who is this one?” she asked, lightly resting her hands against my cheeks.

“I’m Ryen.”

“Oh hello, Ryen.
It’s so nice to meet you.”

“Let go Momma, you’ll ruin her makeup,” Tosh griped.

“I’m not going to ruin anything, Natasha,” Vita sang, and then began fussing with Tosh’s hair while scolding Hazel for wearing too much makeup. “Your face is too beautiful naturally for you to cover it with so much goop.”

Vita said she didn’t know me well enough to pick on me yet, but would discuss the snugness of my dress with me later.

Tosh and her mother looked just alike. They had the same blue-green eyes, caramel color skin, and shiny black, slightly wavy hair flowing down their backs.

Tosh’s dress was white and sparkly. She looked like a princess. She could have been one for all I knew. Her family was definitely wealthy enough to own a country. Maybe her father was gone so much because he was overseeing their kingdom or whatever.

Hazel wore a muddy green, silk organza gown that highlighted the color of her hair and eyes. It was strapless with crystal beading circling the waist and outlining the bust.

Vita took tons of pictures; the last one was of the six of us together. “Momma, we have to go,” Tosh, kissed Vita’s cheek and made a mad dash out the front door. The rest of us followed her. “Have a nice time,” Vita called from behind us. “Be safe.”

The party was held at a private estate named Tremont. The entrance was immaculate, with lush landscaping and fancy stone covered walls flanking the driveway. The words Tremont Est. 1926 were etched on a modest plaque imbedded in one of the walls.

Kasey told me before we left that I would need to bring my real ID, because security would check it at the entrance since I didn’t have an invitation. He showed me his invitation. It was platinum and the size of a credit card with a date and time engraved on the front and nothing else, which confirmed what Tosh had said about this party being exclusive. The guy didn’t even have to include his name or tell people where to go. They just knew. 

“How long has Devan been having this party?”

“This is the sixth year. The first party was crazy. It was all everybody talked about. The ones who were there made the ones who weren’t wish they had been. It made him elite, when he’d practically been unknown before. His parties now are very tame, but everyone still wants in.”

“This looks simple enough,” I said, flipping the platinum card around, looking it over. “Couldn’t someone who wants in just have one made?”

“The outside looks simple, but there’s a chip inside that can’t be faked. It contains a code that supposedly only
Devan knows. No one ever sees it, not even security. When they scan an invitation, a green or red light will appear—green gets in, red goes home.” I took Kasey’s word. I wasn’t too concerned about Devan Montgomery’s security measures.

I looked out my window, at the beautiful grounds. The property was so full of mature, blossoming trees that it was difficult to see the house until we were right in front of it. It was a dramatic stone and ivy covered Tudor mansion. I was busy taking it in when my door opened and a white gloved hand presented to me. I placed my hand in his and the man helped me out of the car where I met Kasey, who then traded his keys for my hand.

Kasey and I walked inside hand-in-hand with the others close behind. I would have been lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about getting the stare-down from all the girls in the room who’d dreamt of screwing my date. 

“I bet this isn’t what you imagined a twenty-first birthday party would be like,” Kasey said. “Not in a million years,” I mumbled, keeping my jaw tight so it didn’t hit the floor.

I’d been warned that this party would be tame, but it was as if we’d been transported to another world. A world where young adults dressed up and stood around like forty-somethings at a corporate cocktail party. No one was dancing; no one was laughing, or being loud. The biggest sound in the room came from the lite jazz band that was playing in a corner. I instantly wondered how Hazel Hart had ever made it through a single Devan Montgomery party, or why the hell she’d come to the ones that followed.

Kasey stopped a waiter who was carrying a tray of champagne in elegant flutes and beer in tall Pilsner glasses. Tosh, Hazel, and I took a glass of champagne. The boys took beer.

“
Do not
get drunk,” Hazel whispered to me as I put my glass to my lips. “And don’t eat.” I wanted to ask why, but decided to save my breath. I figured the reason was stupid.

There was food everywhere and I was hungry. It was nine-thirty and the last time I’d had anything was at the spa. I’d eaten a handful of strawberries while getting my toes touched up. I knew then that I couldn’t take more than another sip of my drink; otherwise, I would break the no getting drunk rule.

I casually looked around to see if I might be able to sneak a bite of something and noticed that
none
of the girls were eating. None of them. I imagined that if I had taken a bite of something that the music would stop, the room would fill with gasps, and a giant spotlight would appear out of nowhere and shine directly on me, allowing everyone to see
the girl who was eating
in blaring white light. At least I looked good, I thought, although I was dry and empty.

As I was returning my glass to a waiter’s empty tray I saw a flash of light and turned to see a group of girls giving me their best eat shit and die looks. I’d been warned to expect it and didn’t let them bother me. I smiled, thinking of what Hazel had said about jealousy, and snaked an arm around one of Kasey’s.

The five girls stood clumped together looking at a cell phone. One of them feverishly moved her fingers across the screen. I figured out they’d taken a picture of me and casually watched as they eagerly stared at the screen. Then, in unison, they all went wide-eyed and slack-jawed. I figured they’d found out
who I was wearing
.
It made me wish I knew, too, so I’d know what they were so breathless over.

The girl holding the phone handed it to an ethereal looking girl in a flowing, baby pink, floor length gown standing a few feet away. She looked at the phone for a moment, and then her eyes landed on me. She mouthed the word “Fake,” and went back to her conversation.

Tosh and Hazel had also had an eye on the ethereal girl. They told Kasey they needed to borrow me and the three of us headed straight for the girl, confirming my hunch that she was their nemesis, Heather Foster.

“Is this your idea of taking on a charitable cause?” Heather smirked, glaring at me, before turning her attention to Tosh and Hazel. “You’re obviously failing, so let me make a donation, if you will,” she said, and looked at me. “You should never wear a knockoff of a one of a kind gown to a party full of people who’ll know better. If you can’t afford the real thing, you should just stay home next time,” she said, and turned her back to me.

“Bottom right hem,” I spit.

Right before we left her house, Tosh whispered those words to me and winked. I was positive
that this was the moment I was meant to use them. They must have contained a bit of magic because when Heather Foster turned back around all of the color was missing from her face. She eyed Tosh and Hazel for a moment and then snapped her fingers at the girl standing next to her. The girl knelt down and studied the bottom right hem of my dress.

“It’s there,” she said, as she stood back up. Heather swiftly bent down to look for herself, the expression on her face falling after her examination.