Page 57 of Effortless

Camilla tossed the phone to the bedspread, and gave August all of her attention. “Sorry, August. That dress looks nice.”

August pursed her lips, and gave Camilla a look that voiced her displeasure without ever saying a word out loud. Camilla swore her friend was too damn good at that shit, and it could make her feel like a child being scolded.

“Seriously, the dress is nice,” Camilla said. “Actually, nice is kind of understating it.”

“You think?”

“It’s awesome, and you look great in it.”

Camilla wasn’t lying to placate her friend. The dress did look fantastic, and August pulled it off spectacularly. Despite wavering on buying the dress earlier because of the price tag, Camilla figured August would find the purchase more than worth it now.

With a little spin to face the mirror, August smoothed her palms over the maroon-colored club dress. The shiny beading on the low cut neckline sent sparkles casting a rainbow over her dark skin. She had pulled her micro braids into a high piled, wrapped bun at the top of her head, and used dark kohl to line her eyes, and red lipstick to emphasize her pout. The five inch heels topped the whole outfit and look off, really. It was just enough sex and sass mixed with sophistication.

Her friend might have only been eighteen, but she looked every inch of twenty-one in that dress and those shoes. Once Camilla was all dressed up, and they met their friends at the club, she had no doubt the group would have zero issue with getting past the bouncers at the front. Likely without even having to flash their fake IDs.

Besides, the majority of Camilla’s friends were legal age to get inside the clubs and drink. She was edging closer to not even needing a fake ID at all, now that she was twenty. She wondered if partying in a club would still be as fun when she was no longer breaking the rules just to do so.

In her distraction, Camilla’s gaze had wandered back to the bed, and the phone still sitting face down on the bed spread. All over again, her thoughts jumped right back to Tommaso Rossi, and his goddamn text.

He was like a habit she couldn’t kick. Problem was, it had been a long while since she had gotten a fix of him.

Maybe that was the problem. Camilla just needed one more round with Tommaso, and she could get this lingering desire and confusion out of her system. She wasn’t really sure it would work, though, all things considered.

Like the part of her that missed him. A part that wished they had been given just a little more time to … well, to do anything together.

“Are you wearing the gold dress or the black jumper?” August asked.

Camilla glanced away from the phone. It wasn’t like she needed to be caught staring at it again, or for August to think she was ignoring her. “Probably the gold dress.”

“You’re the only bitch I know that can pull it off.”

She smirked. “Yeah, I try.”

August spun back around to face Camilla. “Well, hurry up and get dressed. It’s Jill’s birthday tonight, and we still need to pick something up for her.”

“Yeah, yeah. Chill.”

She took her sweet time getting dressed, brushing her hair into a simple chignon, and then slipping on her heels. She took the most time with her makeup because unlike August, a splash here and there did nothing for Camilla. She liked the whole damn face to be done with some kind of edgy style to stand out in the crowd.

The two friends were just different in that way.

“You know,” August said as she fixed a pair of Camilla’s bangles onto her own wrist, “I thought you would be more excited about going out tonight.”

“I’m excited.”

“Really?”

Camilla shrugged, and dug through the closet to find a clutch and coat to match her outfit. “I mean, yeah, I guess. It’s been a little while since I’ve been out.”

She came out of the closet to find August staring at her in the oddest way.

“What?”

“A while?” her friend asked. “Cam, it’s been like … three months since you were out and did anything like this.”

Had it?

Camilla thought back, and realized August wasn’t overstating it. Actually, she hadn’t partied since that gathering at Zeke’s where she met Tommaso for the first time. She could easily blame it on school as that had picked up, and kept her busy. Some test, a new project, lecture, or whatever else. Something for family usually kept coming up as well. Not to mention, just the day to day things for life.