High Stakes

Chapter One

I glared at the redhead in front of me, but her green eyes just sparkled in amusement. She was a bit taller than me, situated at 5'9 and I at 5'6, and I had to look up to see her face. She wore a tight bright blue strapless dress and black heels, which made her even taller. In one slender hand, she held a little black dress, and in the other, a new bottle of Vodka by the neck - the cheap, hard to swallow kind.

"I'm not doing it, Jacey."

"You have too, please. For me. For my birthday?" She pleaded, pouting.

"Your birthday isn't for two months." I murmured, looking anywhere to avoid her eyes. If I looked any longer, I knew I would crumble and give in, just like I always did.

"But you know I'm not going to be here. The agency is moving me in two days, my 5 month contract is up." I sighed. I did know. Jacey was a travel nurse, and the agency she worked for moved her every 3-5 months. This time, she was heading to Seattle, Washington, a long way away from Dallas, Texas. "Adaline Claire Gorman, do this one thing for me. It's my 25th birthday, and I need to have a little fun, let loose. Please? You won't see me again." She pleaded, leaning against the doorframe, ultimately forcing her body into my field of vision.

I sighed in resignation, focusing on a freckle near the edge of her eye. "Fine. Where and when."

She brightened, standing straight. "Nine tonight, and don't worry about where, I'm here to personally escort you so you can't escape." She grinned, shoving the black dress at me. "Do you still have those gorgeous red pumps right? They would go great with this."

"Yeah. It's not like I'm going to toss a gift." I answered. She nodded, still smiling.

"So are you going to invite me in or what? I think I feel a cold front coming on." She shivered, and pushed her way into the apartment.

I only smirked in response. It hadn't gone below 65 degrees in years. No reason it would start to now.

"Alright. We have an hour, let's get you ready to go." She giggled, grabbed my hand with hers, and dragged me to my own room.

She pushed me on the bed, then grabbed my supply of makeup from the bathroom. She set the bag beside me, fished out the things she needed, then got started, polishing and primping.

Although I didn't wear it very often, I adored makeup, and had quite a stash of it.

"All done!" She murmured. "Now throw on that dress you're gripping so hard, and lets get going." She turned around to give me some privacy.

I stripped, and followed her instructions. It had sleeves made of lace, two buttons in the back joining the fabric, leading to a hole just under my neck, then hugging my body until it fell to the middle of my thigh. Stalking to the closet, I grabbed the red pumps - conveniently shoved to the farthest corner of the small space - that Jacey had gotten for me. I stuffed my feet in them, then marched over to the redhead, nudging her to tell her I was ready to go. She had popped open the bottle, and was slowly taking sips from it as she perused through her phone, tapping her foot to an unheard beat.

She turned, stuffing her phone down her bra. "Damn girl." she whistled. "You always clean up good. You are so lucky to have hair that you don't have to mess with." She shook her head.

"Anyway, the taxi is out front - I called them a few minutes ago - and be prepared to get plastered!" She giggled. I walked to the kitchen with her following me, grabbing my keys from the bowl and my phone on the counter before she waltzed out the front door. I was sure to lock the apartment behind me.

"Time for some fun!" Jacey singsonged.

"Yay," I muttered sarcastically behind her. She jumped in the cab, and I followed suit. Anything to make her happy, I guess.

A/N: So this is the start of High Stakes, a new kind of story I wanted to right. It really isn't like what I normally do, plus it's a spur of the moment. So tell me what you think! Thank you! <3