Take The Chance (A Limitless Novel) [Book 1]

Eighteen

I looked back at myself in the mirror, slightly horrified by how different I really looked. The skirt and crop top didn't meet, so there was a strip of tanned skin around my waist that was on show. Lottie had given me one of her push up bras, the only piece of clothing which she liked to buy a couple of sizes too small. However, it fit me perfectly and helped the girls to sit up high and very much on show.

Lottie got very carried away with my makeup, putting on foundation, powder, mascara, eyeliner on both above and below my eye, shimmery black eye shadow and a natural pink lip stick. The eye shadow, eyeliner and mascara all allowed for my eyes to pop, my eyes were definitely the bluest I'd ever seen them. Yet, even with all this makeup, I didn't look like I had a full face of makeup. Lottie may have gotten carried away, but it wasn't like she'd become so carried away that it looked bad. I actually looked really good.

A knock at the door made me jump, reminding me that I was currently standing in one of Dean's many bathrooms. His whole flat was a maze; he had more rooms than Jake had in his whole house. It had taken me nearly fifteen minutes to even find a bathroom, and it was just as extravagant as the rest of his house. His house was made up of black, gold and earthy tones, a typical bachelor pad. So I wasn't surprised to find the tiles in the bathroom were a golden-beige marble, with a black toilet and a matte black sink that matched the matte black faucets.

"Are you nearly done in there?" An annoyingly high-pitched voice asked from the other side of the bathroom door, pulling me back into the present.

"One second!" I called back, before I looked back at my reflection and braced the countertop.

I'd been at the party for an hour or so, with no sign at all of Jake. I'd lost Lottie early on, Caleb was nowhere to be seen and Dean was definitely not friendly enough to want to hang around with me. I was completely out of place and was starting to feel ridiculous. Why was I even here? Instead of being at Jake's, reading or watching TV? Why had I let Lottie dress me up like her own personal Barbie doll? I shouldn't even be here, I thought to myself as I turned away from the basin.

I opened the bathroom door and slipped out into the hallway, finding a pretty brunette waiting impatiently for me to be done. She tapped her foot against the deep hardwood floors, as she looked me over. She rolled her eyes and snickered, before pushing me out of the way and slamming the bathroom door shut. Great, even she knew, with one look, that I didn't belong here.

I picked up the shreds of my confidence, before starting down the hallway and re-entering the party. Everyone was in Dean's lounge room, but the room was so massive that no one felt squished or uncomfortable because they were touching shoulders with someone else. I would have put the guest list in-between fifty to eighty people, all of which seemed to ooze confidence and money. I could tell everyone at this party was well off, whether they were born into it or worked for it. It was just another thing that set me aside from all of these people; I was a nobody to them.

I sighed and turned back towards the hallway, wanting to get away from everyone and running straight into Jake. He steadied me after I'd smashed into him, his hand holding my elbow and pushing me an arms length away from him. The faint hum of music and talking in the other room filled the silence between us, yet it wasn't loud enough to drown out my heart beat in my ears.

Jake was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans, a white V-neck top and a leather jacket that was similar to the one I owned. On anyone else, his outfit would have been casual but on Jake it was so hot that it didn't even matter. The leather jacket hugged his biceps and shoulders in the best way possible. I wanted to trail kisses all over the base of his exposed neck, but knew that was never going to happen. Ever.