Me and the Devil

19.

I let JJ rest for the afternoon, until he headed out to help set up for Midsummer's at the club, since he was on serving duty tonight. Kiara showed up not long after to get ready for the party.

The air feels thick as I stand in front of my mirror, staring at my reflection. My hair cascades in soft waves down my shoulders while Kiara flits around my room, holding up the various dresses my mom had laid out for me the other night.

"What about this one?" she calls holding up the ugliest dress of the bunch - a loud tropical pattern halter dress with a weird peplum in the middle that trailed into a long skirt.

I raise an eyebrow. "You have to be kidding me."

She tosses the dress aside with a laugh. "This is disgusting." She stares at herself in the mirror. "I look like a bourgeois pig. People not three miles from here have no power, no running water, and we're going to Midsummer's. That's so tone deaf." She flops onto my bed.

I let out a half-hearted sigh. "I know, Kie. But we gotta put on our party face if we want to live." I reach out and wriggle my finger into her side. She squirms, ticklish. Wit ha roll of her eyes, she stands and heads to the bathroom to change into her dress.

I assess the last two options of dresses. A white chiffon floral dress with a corset top and a plunging neckline, or a purple floral aline dress, with cutouts on the side and an open back, but obnoxious ruffles on the straps.

I slip into the white dress, cinching the corset tight and glancing in the mirror. The corset and plunging neckline are doing wonders for my figure, especially in the areas I usually lacked. The pale blue flowers scattered throughout the ruffle chiffon complement the forget-me-nots in my daisy chain headpiece. While I'd rather not be going, I will admit that I clean up nice.

From behind me, Kiara steps out of the bathroom in a pale purple silk dress, with her hair pulled messily into a top knot and finished with a deep purple flower crown.

"You look hot" Kiara says as she saddles up next to me in the mirror.

"Correction. We look hot" I say, winking at her through the reflection.

Kiara smiles and sits cross-legged on my bed as she starts rifling through a pile of jewelry, her expression a mix of disbelief and concern. "Are you really going with him? I still can't believe it." she finally mentions the elephant in the room.

I glance away, not sure how much to reveal. "Trust me I don't get it either. My mom set it up. Guess she thought it'd be some kind of power move - remind everyone there that she's not a Pogue anymore." I roll my eyes trying to mask the idea that spending the night with Rafe, the guy I couldn't stop thinking about but knew I shouldn't be anywhere near, made my stomach flip.

"Rafe Cameron, though?" Kiara shakes her head. He's beat up Pope and JJ in the last two days. You know how he is. You know what he's capable of."

I bite my lip not sure how to respond. There was a thrill to Rafe, a pull I couldn't explain, and that scared me. I know I shouldn't be involved with him, not with everything going on. But there was something inside of me that liked the danger, that wanted to feel the chaos he carried with him.

"I know Kiara,. Believe me, I know. But, think about it. Rafe's involved in a lot more than we know. I know I shouldn't be the one to tell you this, but have you wondered where John B has been for the last day? He's been with Sarah Cameron trying to figure something out about the treasure. If I can get close to Rafe, maybe I can find out what the Cameron's are up to. Plus, if he's distracted by me, maybe we have an edge. I can throw him off his game."

I say it like it was all part of a calculated plan, when in truth, I wasn't entirely sure myself. It sounded smart when I said it out loud, but I couldn't deny that there was something else driving me.

"John B and Sarah!" Kiara exclaims.

"That's what you took away from that? Before we jump to any conclusions we should let John B explain himself. Either way it probably doesn't hurt to have an inside source with the most prestigious kook family on the island.

Kiara crosses her arms and huffs. "Well, then, let's at least make sure you look good doing it." She stands from the bed clasping a chain around my neck.

I glance at myself in the mirror again, and for once the girl looking back didn't seem so out of place. Maybe I could play both sides-balance between the Pogues and Figure Eight. Between JJ and Rafe. Maybe I could make this work.

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