Always a Friend

Chapter 60

Chloe, Ava, and Sarah met me at the salon at two sharp for our hair appointments. Since I had no clue what to do with my hair, I asked Chloe and Sarah what to do. Chloe couldn't believe I hadn't picked out a hairstyle before now and walked over to the chair so the stylist could start on her hair. Sarah shook her head in disbelief and told her stylist she would be back in a second. Sarah walked me over to the chair, grasped my shoulders, and backed me up to where I had to sit. She turned the chair, so I was facing the mirror and grabbed sections of my hair. She told the girl that I had no idea how I wanted my hair, but I'd always looked good with part of it up. The stylist nodded, smiled, and glanced between Sarah and me without saying a word. I didn't know whether to be relieved or scared that she didn't say anything in response. Sarah patted me on the arm, smiled at me in the mirror, then turned and returned to her stylist. I took a deep breath, swiped my phone on, and prayed my hair wouldn't look like a fifties beehive style.  I tried not to look in the mirror much so I wouldn't freak out at what she was doing to my hair. 

"I hope you like it." My stylist said an hour later.

I set my phone down in my lap, closed my eyes, inhaled, and opened them slowly. Before I could really look at it, Sarah was behind me, smiling and ogling over my hair. "Oh, my god! It's perfect." She beamed, her eyes bright with excitement. 

"Really?" 

"Yes. It's gorgeous." 

The stylist turned me around and handed me a mirror so I could look at the back of it. It was twisted half-up with cascading curls. She left several strands of hair down, framing my face. Sarah was right; it was gorgeous. The girl told me she twisted small sections of hair toward the back and gathered them to create the hairstyle. I told her it was beautiful and thanked her for doing such a fantastic job. I got out of the chair and looked at Sarah's raven springy curls hanging down from her updo. She had a few curls framing her face. Ava kept most of her hair down and did a half-up crown French braid. It looked great with her long, curly blonde hair. 

"Selfie." Chloe smiled, getting up from her chair. She wore a low bun with strands of hair framing her face. She motioned us toward the front of the salon, held up her phone, and took the picture. "We need to get going. We've got to get going." She rushed to the counter and paid for her hair first. I paid next, then ran out the door right behind Chloe. The wind started to pick up as I tried to move my head in the direction so it wouldn't mess up my hair. Chloe told me she'd respray it once we got to the house. I told her she didn't need to come to the house with me. Chloe insisted and said her stuff was already in her car. "I know your mom won't be there, and you'll need help getting ready." She smiled, fixing a piece of my hair. How could I argue with her when she made a perfectly valid point? We waited for Sarah and Ava to walk out, then headed for our vehicles so we could go to our houses and get ready. 

And just as Chloe figured, Mom wasn't home because her parking spot was empty in the driveway. I pulled in beside the empty spot, glancing down at the shadows from the trees dancing on the pavement. Chloe parked behind me, knowing Mom would have a fit if she parked in her spot even though she was hardly home. I exited the vehicle and grabbed Chloe's makeup bag out of her car while she carried her dress. I opened the front door, letting Chloe go in first so she wouldn't get her dress dirty. 

"Do you want a drink?" I glanced up at Chloe, who was two steps from the top of the stairs. 

"Yeah. Give me a second; I'll come down there." She hollered, disappearing down the hall to my room. "I'm starving. I could use some pretzels," she announced, rounding the corner and walking to my room. I went to the kitchen, got our drinks, and then went to the pantry, digging through the wire basket of chips for the pretzels Chloe was craving. She was lucky we had a brand-new bag hidden behind the other bags of chips in the wire basket. She snatched them from my hand and opened them, popping one in her mouth. I was too nervous to eat anything and didn't want to get my dress on, so I had to run to the bathroom and kiss the toilet. I turned my mouth down, shaking my head at the thought. I reached for my glass of lemonade instead, taking a few sips, hoping it would ease my queasy stomach. Chloe popped a few more pretzels, grabbed her glass, and then motioned to the ceiling, letting me know she was ready to head to my room and start getting ready for the dance. 

"Where's your makeup wipes?" Chloe asked, glancing down at my vanity table amongst my scattered makeup. 

"Hmm..." I glanced down at the mess. "I forgot to bring some more in from the bathroom. I'll be right back." I hurried down the hall to my bathroom and returned within a few minutes with a brand-new container of makeup wipes. 

"Sit down so I can do your makeup, " she patted the pink vanity bench cushion. What color eyeshadow should we use?" She walked over, grabbing an eyeshadow palette out of her bag. She had me get up so she could turn the bench sideways to give her more room.

Almost thirty minutes later, I got up, walked over to my closet, pulled my dress out, and hung it on the door. I stared at the sequins sparkling through the sheer plastic garment bag from my ceiling light. I couldn't believe I let Chloe and Sarah talk me into buying this dress. I stood there briefly, staring at the double spaghetti-strapped, v-neck lavender gown.  

"Gem, get your dress on. They guys are going to be here in about thirty minutes." Chloe jumped up out of her seat and rushed to my closet to retrieve her dress. We managed to put on our dresses and heels in record time, giving us enough time to check our hair and makeup one last time. "Oh, my god...You're stunning." Chloe said, breathless. 

"It's not too much?" I looked down at my all-sequined lavender dress. 

"No. It's perfect." She smiled. 

"What am I doing? I shouldn't go. I'm not going." I walked over and sat down on my bed. 

"Gemma, you look amazing. You're going to take Ashton's breath away. Literally." 

My brow furrowed at her over-dramatization, peeking at her out of the corner of my eye. 

"What?" She held her hands palm-side up like she didn't know what she said. 

"You look gorgeous, by the way." I smiled, tilting my head to the side. The dress is perfect." I motioned my hand at her burgundy, tight-fitting, off-the-shoulder gown. It showed off Chloe's curves in all the right places. I ran my hands down my dress, hoping I looked that good. We grabbed our new wristlets, which were big enough for our phones and maybe lip gloss. 

As we walked down the stairs, I saw the guys through the window, walking up the steps to the door. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to slow the pounding in my chest before my breathing started to pick up. Chloe walked over to the mirror, checked her hair and makeup, adjusted her boobs asked if I was ready for her to open the door. I looked down at my dress, adjusting the sheer sweep train, praying it didn't get snagged on anything tonight. Chloe turned and took another look in the mirror. She took a deep breath as she reached for the door. It was as if her hand moved in slow motion toward the door, and what took a few seconds felt like several minutes as my breathing quickened and my heartbeat pounded in my ears. 

"Wow! You look gorgeous! Braedon's eyes widened as he walked in, taking Chloe's hand. 

"Wow..." Ashton stopped in the doorway, staring at me. He looked so good in his grey suit, with a lavender tie to match my dress. He stood there, unable to move out so that we could close the door. Finally, Chloe took his hand, pulled him inside, and closed the door. "Wow..." he said breathlessly. 

"Isn't she beautiful?" Chloe commented. 

"Yes," Ashton agreed, not taking his eyes off me. "Breathtaking." He took my hand, pulled me closer, and gazed at my hair and dress. "I want to kiss you so bad." 

"What's stopping you?" I leaned closer to his mouth, staring into his eyes. 

"That's just it. I don't think I'd be able to stop." His fingers brushed against my cheek as a slight smile appeared.