Big Shot | ✓

13 | burn

Mara had allowed me to commandeer the little bluetooth speaker we'd brought as we got ready for the dinner gala, and I faintly hummed along to my music as I finished applying my eyeliner in the brightly lit bathroom mirror.

"You have the weirdest taste in music out of anyone I know," Mara told me as she walked into the bathroom to have me zip up the back of her long black dress.

"I prefer the term eclectic," I responded with a smirk. "And besides, this is a classic. It's Finch, they were featured in Laguna Beach."

"Never heard of 'em." Mara shrugged as she spun back around to face me. She'd tied her braids into a long side ponytail, exposing one side of her sharp, glitter-dusted collarbone. "You look like you're ready to take names and numbers tonight."

I sighed as I took a step back to survey a more complete look in the bathroom mirror. The dress hugged my body in ways most clothes I wore did not, and the rhinestones that adorned the straps that wrapped around my neck glinted brightly in the light. "It's not too much, is it?"

"No way," Mara insisted. "It girl, remember? Besides, the look on Reid's face when he sees you will be so worth it."

"Who says Reid is making any kind of face?" I scoffed. "If I know Reid the way I think I do, the face he tends to make is one of disdain."

"Okay," Mara popped her lips. "Whatever you say."

We finished getting ready and made our way down to the lobby with a few minutes to spare. I was surprised to see JJ waiting for us, clad in perhaps a more traditional suit than the one he wore yesterday, but still trendy in all black except for the lapels, which were leather.

He greeted us across the lobby with a giddy wave, and as I lifted my hand to wave back, Reid stepped into the light of the big crystal chandelier that hung above us. Unlike JJ, he had on the same light blue suit he wore yesterday, but something about the way the light showered him created a halo-like glow around him. He glanced up at me with dark eyes, but not cold in the way you expected dark things to be, like night skies and deep water. They were warm, like the summer air.

"Hi," he greeted me in a breathy voice.

"Hi," I echoed.

"You look beautiful," he said with a soft smile.

"So do you," I blurted out. Not that I didn't mean it, but it wasn't the type of verbal blunder I was used to having, and I wondered if my cheeks were as pink as his.

Reid looked down at his loafers and dug his hands into his suit jacket pockets. "It's the same thing I wore yesterday."

I scoffed. "Oh just shut up and take the compliment, it was well-intentioned."

Reid shook his head at me. "Me? You-"

"Alright big guy, we've got folks to talk to," JJ tugged Reid away, although I was sure he knew he was rescuing us both.

Mara fell into step beside me as we walked out of the lobby, shaking her head with a comical disapproval.

"Don't start," I groaned as I gave her a gentle shove.

The same "ballroom" that had been the basecamp for media day had been converted once again, this time into a more basic version of what I expected a wedding reception at the hotel looked like. All the round tables were draped with white tablecloths, and the chandeliers hung high in the ceiling were dimmed for ambiance as night began to creep through the big open windows. Some subtle ambient music floated through the air, but not loud enough to have to shout your conversation at the person next to you.