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ZARA
Ihad no idea getting ready for a dance required hours of preparation. I shouldn’t be surprised; the High Fae back at the Summer Manner would spend an entire day being pampered before they got ready for big events, but this is the first time I’ve been the one going to the party. It’s a different experience. But that’s part of the reason for doing this, isn’t it. Over the past several months, Ruby, Rhys, and all of my new friends, have been trying to give me these experiences. It almost doesn’t feel like real life at all.
“Why do you look like you’re going to cry?” Ruby is glaring at me through the mirror. “Did Rhys do something? Am I going to get into a fight tonight?”
Miri snorts and Lena rolls her eyes. “We pretty much assume that you’re going to get into a fight at some point tonight, Ruby. That’s just part of the experience.”
“How do you know I’m gonna be the one throwing down? My money’s on Lena. This is a whole town event. Have you seen how those old women go after Archer? Guaranteed Lena is going to yell at some old lady tonight.”
Lena scowls. “Well, have you seen the way they undress him with their eyes. They practically paw at him anytime they get close enough to touch. It’s disturbing. And it’s not just the old ladies. There are some very paunchy, middle-aged men on this island that don’t know how to back the fuck off.”
“On that disturbing note, is everyone ready to get the hell out of here.” Miri touches up her lipstick and then blows a kiss to us all in the mirror. We’re crowded in the master bathroom, which is large, but still cramped with all four of us fighting for mirror space.
We’ve spent the day at Miri‘s house getting ready. I’m wearing more makeup than I’ve ever had on my face before, and my hair has been put up in an elegant updo that even includes braids. If that doesn’t show how far I’ve come in my time here, I don’t know what will. The fact that I trusted not only Ruby, but Lena and Miri to work on my hair is enough to have me tearing up again.
“Let’s go get our fucking prom on.” Ruby raises her hands over her head and shimmies. I think it’s supposed to be a dance move, but she’s just sort of thrashing her upper body around, until her strapless dress nearly falls down.
She ended up going back to Tatterstock and buying the lime green nightmare of a dress. Still, she looks fantastic, and it suits her personality to a T. Lena helped me find something online that ticked all the boxes, including that it be a nod to the 80s. Ruby had insisted on it. I feel a little like one of the princesses in the Disney movies that Ruby demanded we watch as a palate cleanser after all of the violent prom movies. We needed something less bloody.
My dress has a sweetheart neckline and tiny straps to make sure it doesn’t fall down. Although it’s fitted so tightly to my chest, I don’t think it’s much of a concern. The bodice has a natural waist, and the skirt falls from there in a tumble of fabric that nearly sweeps the floor. The color is a deep pink that is more vibrant than I would have chosen without Lena’s encouragement, and Ruby’s shouts that I had to buy it.
Lena’s wearing a sapphire blue floor length dress. There’s only one strap, leaving her other shoulder bare. The silhouette is similar to my dress, nipped in at the waist and flowing to the ground. The bottom of her dress floats when she walks. Even with ruffles over the one shoulder and on the skirt it’s beautiful and elegant.
Miri has on a strapless fitted black leather dress that ends mid-thigh, or maybe a touch shorter. She has a collection of silver necklaces around her neck, rings on her fingers, and bangles pushed up her arms. It should be fussy, but she just looks gorgeous and tough.
With one final check that everything is in place, we leave Miri’s house and head down to Aspen Street.
Downtown looks like a dream. I helped set up the decorations and get everything ready for tonight, but seeing it now as the sun goes down is incredible. Flowers are everywhere, courtesy of Miri and her green thumb. Turns out part of her magic isn’t just concocting potions, she’s also able to infuse life into greenery. All of the flowers on top of tables and decorating lamp posts were grown in her garden and greenhouse.
Strands of white twinkling lights hang over our heads, starting at a building on the far end of the street and zigzagging from side to side. Tables are set up with refreshments, drinks of the regular or alcoholic kind, as well as an entire spread full of desserts. There are cupcakes of every flavor, little tarts with fruit and berries, delicate chocolates that look like they would melt on your tongue, and pastries that make my mouth water just looking at them.
“God, I’m going to gain 10 pounds just standing next to that table,” Miri groans. “Where are the guys? Aren’t they supposed to have corsages for us and tell us how pretty we look?”
As if her words summon them, Davis, Archer, Ezra, and Rhys walk out of his bar. I have no idea what anyone else is doing. I have no idea what the other guys are wearing, or their reactions to our dresses, because all I can do is stare at Rhys.
I thought my mouth was watering at the pastries. I was wrong. Because now I'm practically drooling at the sight of Rhys. It’s summer on Wild Haven Island, so it’s not cold out, but Rhys is wearing a tuxedo with a red velvet jacket. There was probably a tie of some sort that went with it, but he doesn’t have it on. His hair is tidier than usual. He’s handsome as hell, but I never want him to be anything other than himself. I almost have the urge to mess up his hair.
Rhys’s eyes scan me from head to toe, his gaze eating up every inch of me. Heat blooms in my chest and goosebumps skitter over my skin when he leans in and whispers in my ear.
“You look ravishing.”
“You look hot,” I blurt out. Not sure exactly how I mean that.
Ruby snorts over my shoulder.
“I mean, that jacket must be hot, but also you look incredible.” I laugh, my cheeks flaming. Except I’m not embarrassed. My thoughts have gone down another path entirely. All I can think about is pushing the coat off Rhys’s shoulders and unbuttoning his shirt. His skin would be so warm where my fingers brushed against it.
Rhys’s eyes glow with lust. “I would give anything to know what you’re thinking right now.”
I lean into him, my hands braced on his biceps as he grips my waist. Needing to rise up on my tiptoes, even in the heels I got talked into wearing, I graze my lips over his ear. “I’ll tell you if you just ask nicely.”
“I have a feeling I’ll be begging you by the end of the night.”
I pull back to look at him, struck anew by how handsome he is. “What will you be begging for?”
“To be put out of our misery. We can hear you, you know,” Ezra interjects and a different kind of heat sweeps up my chest all the way to the roots of my hair.
“Hear what?” Ruby asks, and I frown at them both. Ruby’s much closer to me and Rhys than Ezra is. How can he hear us, but she can’t?
