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“Ray’s a nice guy.” He pursed his lips in thought. “My dad said he’s a bulldog when it comes to negotiations. He’s very protective of your school.”
Pride pumped through my body like a shot of hot chocolate. I smirked at the boy who still stood in my way and then placed my hands on my hips. “Sounds like my dad. So, as you can see, we belong here. If you’d kindly step out of my way, I’d like to join the rest of the party. If not, you might just find that my dad passed down his bulldog traits to his daughter.”
His lips twitched as he stared at me a moment longer. Humor danced in his eyes that were so blue it was like looking up at the sky on a summer’s day. With a final nod of his head, he stepped aside.
“My bad. We had a bunch of paparazzi sneaking around when we were filming in LA and I guess I’m being a little too paranoid. Please, go on ahead.”
“Paparazzi in Rock Valley?” Beth snorted loudly beside me. “Yeah, that’ll be the day pigs fly.”
He shrugged and then leaned back on the wall, as if he didn’t care if we believed him. I couldn’t help but be fascinated by how he could go from an insanely intense bouncer to someone so disinterested in everything around him. The way he shoved his hands in his pockets and found the shadows again was almost ninja-like.
He said his dad was involved in the negotiations for the film, but maybe he was also a part of the crew. My heart skipped at the thought of running into him on set. He was definitely cute. And I kind of liked that he wasn’t afraid of standing up for the cast. I stared at him for a moment longer, until he looked up from the floor and his blue gaze met mine once again, sending an electric bolt straight down my spine.
“Lexi, is that her?” Charlotte poked me in the side, dragging my attention away from the nameless brooding boy in the shadows. “Is that the Alanis chick you were talking about?”
Sure enough, Alanis Nori was straight ahead, sucking down a red colored drink with a couple guys. Her hair was stacked high on her head in a thick braid and she had gold feathers attached to her false lashes She looked even grander than the profile picture on her website. I couldn’t help but hyperventilate in excitement.
“Oh my gosh, that’s her. I have to talk to her. I have to convince her to let me on her squad,” I said, dragging my fingertips down my face in despair. This was everything. It was my only chance in the dinky town of Rock Valley to get my name out there in the makeup industry. “How do I look, guys?”
“Like you just walked out of a Sephora,” Charlotte said, grinning. “You look great.”
I glanced expectantly at Beth and Hunter, but they could only enthusiastically nod in agreement. Hunter, I could forgive for knowing absolutely nothing about makeup. But Beth...her lack of knowledge about anything girly kept me up at night.
“Right. I’m going in.” I swallowed down my nerves and took a step toward Alanis. “It’s now or never.”
My tunnel vision of Alanis must’ve blinded me to the waiter making a second round with the tray of shrimp cocktails, because the next step I took caused a collision of epic proportions. Shrimp went flying into the air. Cocktail sauce splashed in every direction. I did my best to try and catch the tray before it crashed to the floor, but there was a reason a girl like me didn’t do sports. When it was all said and done, the floor was littered with shrimp and I had to help the grumbling waiter up off the floor.
“I’m so, so sorry,” I said, snatching up a few of the cocktail glasses that hadn’t broken on impact. “That was all my fault.”
“It’s fine.” He brushed my hands away from the broken glass. “Just leave it. The last thing I need is to be blamed for maiming one of the actresses. I’ll go get a broom and a towel.”
I wrung my hands together as the waiter ran off, not bothering to correct him. We’d been here five minutes and I’d already been mistaken for the paparazzi and an actress. It wasn’t the worse thing in the world. Now, if only I could be mistaken for someone with an amazing potential to help with the makeup on set.
“Did you guys see where Alanis went?” I asked, looking up to find my target missing. She’d disappeared into the crowd faster than a cat with its tail on fire. “Please tell me she didn’t see that wreck. I have to say sorry to her.”
“Um...maybe you should go to the bathroom first, Lex.” Beth gently pulled on my arm and then pointed to my shirt. Dread danced in her eyes. “I think...I think you might have gotten hit by friendly fire.”
The moment my eyes took in the red cocktail stain on my mom’s Prada blouse, my knees nearly buckled. I grabbed onto Beth’s arms, glancing around desperately for a napkin.
“No, no, no, no. My mom’s going to kill me. Murder me. Have me publicly executed.”
Hunter shrugged, holding a broken cocktail glass in his hand. “It’s just a shirt. Can’t you get her another one?”
I felt my nostrils flare as I glared up at him. Boys. It was a wonder how they’d come to rule the world. “Sure. No problem. You happen to have an extra $1200 laying around?”
The blood drained from his face. “Why would anyone ever spend that much on one shirt?”
Lexi patted him comfortingly on the arm. “It’s designer, babe. You’re never going to understand. Don’t even try.”
The grateful smile he threw her would’ve melted my heart, if I weren’t in the middle of a major crisis.
“Here.” The boy from the corner reappeared in front of me, pushing a cold glass of clear liquid into my hands. “Club soda. My mom used to say it could get anything out. Better hurry, though. Alanis Nori won’t even talk to you if you look like that.”
So, he’d been listening in on our conversation. That wasn’t cool. But neither was the stain on my shirt, threatening to put me into a grounded status of the rest of my short life if my mom found out. I squinted up at him, trying to find the words to say.
“You’re welcome,” he said pointedly, arching his eyebrows.
I grumbled something that sounded like a thank you and he shrugged, an irritatingly calm expression on his face.
