Face the Music (15 page)

Inner logic kicked in.  There was no room in my life for distractions.  I had goals and dreams that did not include Chris, or any other man for that matter, and I was
working my butt off
to making things happen.  I really needed
to get a hold of myself.

But deep down, in the far rece
sses of my mind where it was impossible to lie to my
self, I knew that wasn’t completely true.

***

Early the next morning I went into Emily’s room and flipped on the light.  She groaned. “What are you doing?  Can’t you see I’m sleeping?  Allie!”  She threw a
pillow
my way
and pulled the blankets up over her head, lifting only a corner to scowl at me.  “Why do you look so damn happy?”

“Do you have Thursday night off?  We got invited to a party.”

“What?”  She lifted her head and squinted against the bright light.  Her hair was matted down on one side.  “Where?  With who?” 

I explained about the Top Ten party.  Her eyes grew rounder with every word.  “It’s by invitation only.”

Her expression fell.  “And you got an invite.  Not funny.”  She grabbed her covers and rolled over onto her side, facing away from me.

I couldn’t resist.  “Well, let’s just say I know a guy.”

She flipped back around and looked at me, eyes as wide as ever.  “You know a guy?  A guy that gave you an invitation?” 

“Two, actually.  The tickets are on the counter.  I thought you might want to know in case you needed to
take
the night off.”  I hid my smile and shut off her light.  She was on my heels before I got down the hallway.

“You’re serious?”  Her face lit up as she eyed the
tickets on the counter.  “Oh my
gosh, Allie, this is going to be so much fun!”  She looked up at me.  “We have to go shopping.”

“Definitely,” I agreed.  The only dress I owned was shoved into a dark, dusty corner of my closet.  It was the one I’d worn to Mom’s funeral.  Probably
the same one I’d wear to Grams’
, I thought sadly.

Emily hugged me and danced back towards her room, but looked at me from over her shoulder before going in.  “Who gave you the tickets anyway?”

Just thinking about him brought a blush to my face.  “Chris.”

She gave me one of her cock-eyed, know-it-all stares, and I knew exactly the thoughts that filled her head.

“Don’t even start,
”
I warned.
 

Thursday afternoon I raced
out of my classroom
to meet Emily.  Chris just happened to be passing by as I rounded a corner, and I ran smack into him, colliding with his hard ches
t.  The force was enough to make me fall
backwards, but he was quick and caught me before I hit the floor.

“Whoa, where’s the fire?” he asked, holding me by the wrists. 

I looked up at him, a breath catching in my throat.  “Thanks.”

He released me and took a step back.  “Did you get your tickets the other night?”

“Yes!  I meant to call, but these past couple days have been so hectic that I never got a chance.  And the tote is perfect.  See?” I said, holding it up for him to admire.  “Everything fits.
  And just enough pockets.
  Thank you, so much.”

“You’re most definitely welcome,” he said, looking pleased.  “I’m glad you like it.  There were so many to choose from, I wasn’t sure.”  He paused and cleared his throat.  “So I’ll see you tonight?”

“Are you
kidding?  I wouldn’t miss it.”

I really needed to get going if I was going to catch Emily in time
for the bus
, but I couldn’t pull myself away from him.  It was like there was some invisible force keeping me there, holding me hostage in his presence.

He reached up and rubbed
the
back of his neck.  The rhythmic contracting and relaxing of his
bicep
was quite
distracting
. 
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?”

“Emily and I are going shopping,” I explained, lowering my eyes
and transferring the heavy bag
to my other shoulder.  “I should get going.”

His arm dropped down to his
side.  “Don’t let me keep you.  Oh, hey, Allie?” he called after I made it a few feet down the hall.

“Yeah?”

“I missed you the other night.  The after-party.”

Shit
.  With everything that had been going on I’d completely forgotten.  “I am so sorry.  I-”

“Did you get my message?  I called a couple times.  Left a voicemail.”

I pulled
out
my phone and stared at the narrow screen.  Nothing.  Not even a missed call alert.  “I don’t know why I even carry this around,” I said.  “I never get my messages.  Or if I do
,
it’s
days later.
”

“Phone trouble, huh?  I thought that maybe, since it was Jimmy, you didn’t want to be there.”

“I had to watch Molly,” I explained.  “But ask anyone, my phone hates me.
  I hope you didn’t think I was blowing you off.
”

H
e arched an eyebrow high above a lascivious grin.  “I’d be alright with you blowing me off.”

***

Emily and I wandered past the storefronts, peeking in windows and discussing
our options
.  She was eying a scarlet gown. 

“Oh, Allie, look at that.  It’s gorgeous!  Let’s go in.”  Leave it to her to wear a red dress to a black-tie affair.

She talked to the sales associate while I combed through the clearance rack.  A powder blue dress with metallic silver threading caught my eye.  It was beautiful; strapless and floor length with an empire waist.

“You have got to try that on,” Emily said, fingering the delicate fabric.  “It matches your eyes!”

H
er hands were empty.  “What about you?  Aren’t you going to try the red one?”

She shook her head.  “It’s a lot more than I want to spend.  I’ll keep looking.”

I went into the dressing room and slipped the gown over my head.  It looked amazing.  The fabric hugged my curves in just the right places, and I felt incredibly sexy.  Emily walked circles around me, analyzing the dress with her fashion-savvy eyes. 

“What do you think?”  I beamed, turning before the mirror.

“I love it!  Allie, you look awesome.  You just need a pair of silver strappy heels, and with a sparkly tennis bracelet you will own the room!”  I s
mirked; Emily had a way of over-
exaggerating things when she was excited.

I about choked when I saw the price.  Even
with the discount
it was more than I could justify spending on a dress that I probably wouldn’t wear more than once.

She saw my hesitation.  “You have to get this.  I mean, there’s nothing to think about, really.  You need a dress, it looks fabulous on you.”

“This coming from the girl who won’t buy the red one because it’s too expensive,” I laughed.  She was right though.  I don’t think I could’ve settled for anything else.  “Okay.  If you say this is it, then this is it!”

Emily found a yellow dress in a
boutique across the street.  It didn’t take
us
too
much
long
er
to find
shoes and
accessories.

She
ran her fingers through my stringy locks while we sat on the bus.  “Will you let me do your hair?”

“This won’t work?” I joked, reaching up to touch my ponytail.

“Only if you’re going for the ‘straight from the gym’ look.  But then there wouldn’t be any reason for the dress.”

I laughed.  “You’re going to do my make-up too, right?”  Beyond
mascara
and lip gloss, I was clueless.

It was nearly six by the time we reached the apartment.  After a quick shower, I sat down in a kitchen chair for Emily.  Armed with a curling iron, a blow-dryer, and a box of pins, sh
e started pulling and tugging my hair up into a
flawless twist.  Softly curled tendrils framed my face, and she tucked in some sparkly rhinestone pins for effect. 

I admired my up-do in the mirror.  There must have been enough bobby pins to set off a metal detector.  “Wow, Emily, you have a lot of talent.  You really should go to school…”

She let out a frustrated sigh.  “Don’t start
on the school thing again, Al. 
Turn around, let me do your face.”

After she finished my make-up I went to my room to get dressed.  As I slipped on the shoes and clasped the bracelet around my wrist, I realized
I’d
forgotten to buy earrings.  I tried on half a dozen pairs from my jewelry box but couldn’t find any that went with the dress.  I was about to ask Emily when I remembered the old black velvet box in the back of my dresser drawer.  Inside were the teardrop diamond earrings that Grams had worn on her wedding day.

I had never even considered wearing them before, they meant so much to me, but they were the only thing I had that would work.  I put them in just to see what they looked like.

“Are you ready yet?  It’s a quarter past eight!” Emi
ly yelled from the front room. 
“And it looks like it’s starting to sleet, we’d better go!”

Chapter 9

The cab pulled up against the curb across the street from the Plaza.  “Sorry ladies, this is as close as I can get you.  All those limos are blocking the street.” 

He was right.  Limousines were lined up as far as I could see.  Reporters jutted in and out from between the cars and flashed pictures of everyone who walked by.  I felt like I was about to walk the red carpet on my way into the Oscars. 

It was a spectacular sight.  Three flights of stairs led up to a white marble building.  It had a domed roof and was surrounded by tall, intricately carved pillars.  Strands of white lights hung from the branches of frozen evergreen bushes.  The luminosity reflected off the ice, causing the drooping sprigs to glisten. 

“Well?”  I said to Emily, gesturing to
wards
the steps.

Emily’s face was pure excitement.  “This is going to be so much fun, Allie!  I can’t believe
we’re here
.  Let’s go!”

Careful to avoid the patches of ice that was collecting on the steps, we made our way to the top and handed our invitations to a well-dressed usher.  He pulled the heavy door open and stepped aside so we could go in. 

“Unbelievable,” said Emily, taking in our surroundings.  “I feel like Cinderella the night she met the prince.”

Crystal chandeliers
cast
a golden glow
through
out
the room
. 
In the far corner a
string quartet played, providing a nice backdrop for all the happy chatter.  A waiter walked by with a tray fil
led with glasses of champagne.