Page 85 of Forbid It

I forgot about the carpet.

CASSIE

I never forget about the carpet. I always feel like I’m about to throw up until it’s over. Give me a stage and an audience over a wall of photographers any day.

Cassie has probably been on more red carpets and photoshoots than I’ve had hot dinners. To know that she also feels as nervous as me makes me feel slightly better.

ME

Any tips?

CASSIE

One hand in the pocket, one foot in front and mog.

ME

Do I want to know what that means?

CASSIE

lol

Just act like you’ve smelt something rotten and you’re blaming the camera people.

ME

I can probably manage that.

The bulb flashes burn my retinas, creating a wall of bright white light that I can still see behind my eyelids when I blink. I remember Cassie’s advice and put my foot slightly in front of the other, letting one hand rest in my pocket whilst the other lightly flashes the bracelet on my wrist as I readjust my jacket. Just before I left, a representative from the brand arrived with a locked case and a stern warning not to take any of it off for even a second. He told me that the tiny band of diamonds and the matching pendant underneath my Adam’s Apple cost more than my parents house. Each.

I keep my face expressionless and my chin tilted like Cassie said, but I can’t stop squinting at each flash of the camera.

Finally, I’m ushered off the carpet, and I’m able to blink the stars out of my eyes.

“You’re a natural,” I hear a familiar voice call from behind me. There she is. As if just thinking of her has conjured her in front of me. Cassie’s red hair has been curled into big waves that fall to one side, the ends resting on the neckline of a glittering green dress.

Her hips sway as she prowls towards me, the crowd of people around us making room, like she’s a queen walking through her subjects. I almost forget the hundreds of cameras against my back, though I’m sure we’re at least free from sight of the red carpet. There are more than a few people lingering in the hall, and a few photographers taking the photos of celebrities dolled up in their finest.

I don’t know what she’s going to do. My mouth dries at the thought of her not stopping, pressing against me, scratching her nails across the low neckline of my shirt, pressing her warm lips to mine and leaving her sweet gloss behind. I swallow, wariness and a desperation for her to just do it warring inside me. Her brow quirks like she knows exactly what turbulent emotions her presence is causing inside me.

“I had some tips,” I manage to get out when she’s close enough.

She stops a few inches away, the tips of her pointy shoes just brushing mine. I can’t drag my eyes away from her lips as she leans towards me. I freeze, my heart flipping in my chest with adrenaline. Instead of my lips, she presses a kiss to the corner of my jaw and my arms instinctively rise to encircle her waist. Nothing more than a friendly greeting between two acquaintances—and if my hand lingers on the curve of her hip as she steps away, that’s my business. I spot a camera phone sneakily pointed in our direction from across the room, capturing our entire interaction. I should probably remove my hand right about now, but I physically can’t move it even if I wanted to.

She pulls back. “I didn’t know you’d be here,” she raises her voice just slightly, her eyes glinting, as if she wants me to read her mind. Thankfully, I can.

“Had a night off.” I play along. “Thought I’d see what all the fuss is about.” I take the opportunity to gesture to the room around us and chance a look at the camera. I shift slightly, using my body to cut off their view. I remove my hand from her hip and immediately wish I hadn’t.

Cassie shoots me a knowing smile. “And? What do you think?”

I tilt my head back and forth. “Could do with a little more…privacy.”

Her eyes glitter as she bites the corner of her lip. “Tough place to find some of that.”

I lean closer, cupping her elbow under the illusion of trying to hear her in the crowded room. Her skin is chilled from the air con, and I can feel goosebumps as I rest my fingers on the sensitive skin of her inner arm. She glances up at me, her hair falling further down her back. I love her natural curls, but she looks like an old Hollywood movie star right now, and I’m more into it than I thought I would be.

“You look so beautiful,” I tell her quietly, letting my fingers roam further on her arm. She tilts her body closer to me for a second before remembering herself.