Falling For The Playboy

EVA

Therefore I Am by Billie Eillish flowed softly from the Bluetooth speakers, giving the room a somewhat chill and badass vibe as Laura took care of my makeup.

When I’d first rejected her offer to apply my makeup, insisting that I didn’t need one, she had given me a look of disappointment saying, “Your gown deserves better than the treatment you’re giving it, Eva. “. I’d rolled my eyes, telling her that I hadn’t wanted to wear the gown in the first place but then I’d stared at the gown, then at my face in the mirror, and I had silently gone and sat on the chair by my dresser, watching as she readied her tools with a satisfied nod.

I mean, no one said I wasn’t pretty, but my untouched face was way too undeserving of the gown. That, I knew.

The gown -my gown, was a masterpiece. It would be considered simple to most, underrated even, but it was more to me, much much more. I hadn’t worn a gown like that before. In fact, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d worn a gown, period. So taking a step like this and wearing such a figure hugging gown, was a huge one for me. Not that I’d had any other choice but to wear it as Laura had picked it out and laid it out on my bed. There was no arguing with her.

She was good at what she did. The look of concentration on her face, the expert strokes of her brush, the careful selecting of the shades she used, all told me she knew what she was doing. I realized that I wasn’t the least bit worried about the outcome.

“You’re taking all this pretty well, ” Laura noted, “For someone who’s never been to a party before. ”

I shrugged. “My fate is sealed. There’s really nothing I can do. ”

The brush stopped moving on my face. “Am I really the only reason you’re going? ”

My mind briefly wandered to Axel.

“Aren’t you curious, even if a little, as to how these things go? ” she pressed.

“I’ve never thought about it before. ” I have. “But I guess going once wouldn’t hurt. ”

She gave me a look, before continuing with my make-up. They -Abi and Laura, believed, for all the world, that I was only going to the party because Laura had persuaded me into tagging along with her. Neither of them knew that Axel was one of the major forces that influenced my decision.

“You’re driving right? ”

I blinked. “No, I’m not. We’re going together, isn’t that what you said? ”

“Uh…. When I said together, I didn’t mean together together. ”

“What’s wrong with the both of us going together? ”

She answered my question with one of her own. “What time do you leave the party? ”

“What time does the party end? ”

“It doesn’t. ” she quipped, “It’s an all-nighter.”

I gulped. I hadn’t known that. Since the party was set to start at 7, I’d estimated it to last three hours at least, and had put the closing time at 10pm.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t leave whenever you want though. ”

The tension dissipated from my body, but I still wasn’t settled. “And people aren’t going to talk? ”

She gazed at my face intently for long, uncomfortable seconds, and just when I was about to turn away, she grabbed something from her box, coated it in a substance, dabbed it on my face, then proceeded to spread it out with a brush.

“They won’t. You’re not the only one that’s going to be leaving, believe me. ” she chuckled lowly.

“What do you mean? ”

“What? ” she squinted, her eyes briefly flicking from her working hand to my face. “Err, back to what I was saying, I’m not leaving until it’s morning. ”

“What? ”

“Exactly. Which is why I think you should go with your car. ”

I lifted my hand to drag it down my face in frustration, but at the last minute, dropping it, remembering that I couldn’t. “I don’t have a car. ”

“Oh. ” she hummed, “I’m sure we’ll be able to figure something out. ” she spun me around to face the mirror, rising from the stool she’d been sitting on to stand behind me, watching as I took in her hour work.

Awe. The only word I could find to describe the feeling that had me blinking back tears that had suddenly sprang into my eyes, was awe. It didn’t look like she hadn’t done much on my face, although it felt like she had. I was still me, albeit a more sophisticated, slightly more mature version.

I opened my mouth and closed it again. I couldn’t find the right words to thank her, to tell her how much this meant to me.

“I’m that good, huh? ” she grinned, her eyes lighting up. “Just put on your gown. Be careful with your face and your hair. ” then she hurried out of the room.

Her hair bounced around her as she jogged out. She hadn’t done anything extraordinary with it, all she did was divide it in half from the front and back, then tie the front in twin buns, leaving the back half free and bouncing with every step she took. Her hair was nothing short of divine. It was a mystery to everyone, how naturally curly they were.

The gown didn’t have a zipper, so it was easy to get it on without any help. It stopped four inches from my knee, a decent length, but I couldn’t resist tugging it down. When I straightened, it jumped right back up and I sighed, giving up.

I walked over to stand in front of the mirror. It wasn’t full length, but it was enough for me to see what I needed to. The person staring back at me was a complete stranger.

This rich, beautiful, classy girl couldn’t be me. I pushed the wavy black wig back from my eyes, angling my head as I took in the full effect of the hair, the makeup and the gown. It was… dare I say, hot. Throwing the heel that I hadn’t yet worn into the mix, I was certain that none of my classmates would recognize me.

Laura appeared on my doorstep, shoving her phone into a yellowish-orange bag and what the hell was she wearing? She had on white sneakers, a blue Jean short that she hadn’t even bothered to roll up the zipper, nor button up, but I think that was the style of it because it showed her yellow panties? With a ribbon of the same color around her waist. A white bead-sort-of-thing adorned her left thigh, to match her sneakers I supposed, although I had never seen anything like it before. She wore a single gold necklace and a yellow bracelet on her right wrist.

“Bitch put on your heels. We’re late. ” she interrupted my stare.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.