Torn (Dark Desires Duet, #1)

Chapter Twenty One

I fucking hate 1800's. Why are these dresses so uncomfortable?

Yes, this again. The party is- surprise, surprise - nineteenth century themed and Tara is stuffing me into another death contraption.

Apparently, all the dresses are Carol's dead mother's dresses who was a Baroness or something and left no money to her children and thus she ended up being Leo's help.

Tara's wearing an orange dress, which somehow doesn't make her look like a pumpkin but a pretty sunset. It's so unfair.

"I think my purple gown makes me look like a giant bruise." I mutter, tugging at the material in front of the mirror.

She laughs and twists my hair in some complicated updo. "No, it doesn't. You look babelicious."

"That's a word?"

"Nope."

Sticking a sharp pin in my hair, she starts humming and then sings the chorus. I close my ears. "Your singing is terrible."

"Deal with it."

"It's not like I have another choice."

Tara grins and hugs me, before twirling away. I choke and stare at her. "Tara? Are you on drugs?"

"Leo kissed me."

I squeal and grab her. "I knew it. Details?"

She laughs and sits down on the bed. "So like, he said some weird shit about knowing my heart beat or something and then kissed me."

She's trying so hard to downplay this but I know better.

"Cute." I snort. Tara looks away and then back at me, her face subdued.

I pull her chin up. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Is it just gonna end up in pain again? I don't wanna fall helplessly only to be broken. There's only so many times I can fix myself. I don't want people taking advantage of me, Kat. And even if he does reciprocate my feelings, I haven't done anything to deserve it-"

"Shut up." I say with venom. "That's enough from you, Desai. You deserve every kind of love and devotion. If you think anything else, you're wrong. I could give you a really motivational speech right now, but I think it'll impact you better if Leo tells you."

Tara sighs and kisses my forehead. "Fine. I'll stop thinking like that."

"And by the way, what he said wasn't weird shit at all. It was fucking beautiful."

With a sneer, she fixes her hair and opens the door. "Like I would ever admit that." She disappears down the stairs and I smile. I have a crazy friend, but she's my everything.

***

"Scantily dressed women and dead slugs on the walls. How exciting!" Leo exclaims cheerfully. I make a face behind Leo and Brandon shrugs, telling me he has no idea how to figure out Leo's mood swings.

The place is a bit dark with lamps shedding light at irregular intervals. Dancers swing around all of us. Some people are drinking and surprisingly, there's a stripper wearing only a corset and lace panties. What a sight for sore eyes.

There's a live band here- two men are playing the violin and one is playing the piano. The music is soft and meant for slow dances, something I really enjoy.

Skye and Tara are both scowling, hands crossed.

"What's wrong?" I ask Skye, straightening her tiny pink evening gown. She fiddles with the bow tied up in her hair and sighs. "This music is boring. I like fast songs that you can, uhm, can tango to!"