The Secret (Boston's Best 1)

Chapter Forty-Five

Maddie

I hadn't planned on going to my Debs at home, Aebhín and I planned on staying in with Ciara and just hanging out. So, me going to a prom with a big group of people is an amazingly scary but exciting thing.

I've never had a big group of friends before, and I'm really grateful for these people because in the short amount of time that I've been here they've all been nothing less than amazing to me.

"Okay, people! Nearly go-time. Are we almost ready?" Brooke announces.

"Yeah, whenever you guys are." Evelyn says from the bed that they've been lying on for the past half an hour because they took the quickest to get ready.

I turn around, "Could one of yous zip me up? Then I'm done."

Penelope zips up my dress, "Just have to put my shoes on."

Brooke nods and looks at her notebook that has her checklist for the day written on it. "Okay, so the boys should be here in twenty minutes so we can all have thirty minutes to get pictures. Alex arranged where we're having food so that should be interesting. I've given us an hour and a half in the restaurant, then we should be at the hotel for ten o'clock." 

She flicks her hair out of her face, "Fashionably late, if I do say so myself."

We all smile as she instructs us down the stairs of her gorgeously fabulous Back Bay penthouse apartment down into the even more fabulous lobby.

It's all shiny white and has real silver and diamond decor all over the place and long mirrors and plush chairs.

Brooke claps her hands, "Okay, Maddie, over there against the plant wall. I want to get some solo shots and group pictures of us all before the men cramp our style."

I do as she instructs and stand near the wall that lives up to its name. There are vines and by the looks of it, real plants all over the wall.

I pose as best I can with the help of all of their words of encouragement.

"Gorgeous, Mads." Evelyn says.

Pen wolf whistles and I laugh.

My dress is an emerald green slip dress with a slit up the thigh. I kept my hair in its natural mess but I made up for that mess with the gorgeous tennis bracelet Brooke got me for my birthday and the 'M' necklace Matt got me and a pair of silver hoop earrings.

I pull the dress down on my legs, "It's very tight is it not?"

"What?" Pen says, "Of course not, you look hot."

I bite my lip, "I don't know, it feels tight. Like it shows all of my curves."

Brooke puts her phone down and looks at me. "Maddie. Just because you might be slightly curvier doesn't mean anything. Actually it means one thing, that you are beautiful and that your body is your own for you to decide how you want it to look.

"And coming from someone who wants to work in fashion, don't bother looking at the magazines with the paper thin models in them. Because that's just a small portion of people. You look like you, and you are beautiful just the way you are."

"You look like a model, Brooke." I say.

"Okay? I'm also five foot six inches. You're five foot ten inches and you have an ass and hips dips and you're just as stunning. Pen's five foot eight and has huge boobs and an hourglass figure. Evelyn is five foot three and could not be more pocket-sized if they tried. But we all have our insecurities and our own faces and bodies and we are all beautiful, stunning, amazing people."

Evelyn slowly claps, "Couldn't have said it better myself."

"You do have great boobs." I say to Penelope.

She smiles, "Yeah, I do."

We all laugh and I shrug, "Sorry about that, I haven't felt like that about my body in forever."

"Don't apologise." Pen says, "You're allowed to have feelings."

"Okay, Pen. You're next." Brooke says and Penelops and I switch places at the wall.

Pen's in a stunning blood red dress. Its top haf is a corset that has roses sewn into the design and the skirt is made of tulle and it's long and reaches well past the floor. Her shoes are like four-inch red heels that wrap around her ankle.

Her hair is down in long voluminous curls. She also has her tennis bracelet on and beside that and stud earrings that's all her jewellery.

Evelyn went for a simple long lilac purple dress. Spaghetti straps and a princess kind of skirt. But it has pockets! And they chose comfort over fashion and they're wearing matching purple converse. They're hair is out of their signature braids and in its natural afro.

Brooke literally looks like a queen. Her dress is gold and glittery and has possibly the biggest skirt I've ever seen. Which also contains pockets. Her hair is in loose waves and in a braided crown half-up half-down look. She is also wearing her tennis bracelet and no other jewellery. Not that she needs it between the dress and her face; she'll be the most stunning person there.

We continue on taking group and single pictures until the boys show up. They're ten minutes late which causes Brooke to nearly have an aneurysm.