Winning Skylinn

44

A/N: Picture above of Jake's outfit and stuff. I just realized I never really described her appearance to you guys...
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Once we got home, I took another shower to get all the salt out of my hair. Then I put my dress back on and called Jake.

"Hey yo guuuurl!" she said into the phone.

I laughed. "You can come over now, crazy pants."

"Great. Be there in ten." She hung up abruptly and I knew it would take her at least fifteen minutes to get here. Jake was late to everything.

While waiting for her to get there, I played with Mistletoe and got all my makeup out so it would be ready for when Jake came.

Finally, she arrived. "Happy birthday!" she exclaimed, slamming into me with a hug.

"Oof!" I gasped from the impact, stumbling back a bit.

"Let's get you all did up."

"Dude, what's with you today?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, seeming not to notice.

"You're talking kinda weird today."

Jake shrugged. "Birthday spirit, I guess. Let's go!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me upstairs.

"What are you doing?" I asked as she sectioned off my hair.

"I thought I'd do this braid crown." She showed me a picture on her phone. "I saw it on Polyvore once."

"Okay. But...I look better with my hair down."

"Trust me, it'll be cute. Plus, the experts say that if your dress or shirt has a high neckline, you should wear your hair up. Just like if your dress is strapless, your hair should be down. And if you have a one-strap, you should have a side-do. Get the picture?"

"I guess." Even though I liked doing hair and makeup, it was pretty clear Jake was even more into it. And she should be. That's what she went to college for. But currently, she was on spring break.

When she finished, I had to admit, it looked pretty cute. She took a picture of the back and showed it to me. "I think this is the best I've ever done," Jake said proudly.

"Good job. I love it," I told her, smiling. "What are you doing with your hair?"

Jake had blonde hair cut just above her shoulders, and I was always in awe that anyone could pull that off. It looked terrible on me.

"I think I'll do little braids. Just tiny pieces like this," she said, demonstrating. There was a strand of hair about a half-inch in width between her fingers, and she started braiding it. "Then maybe I'll curl the rest. But I don't know."

"That would be cute."

Her dress was a pretty aqua color with pink floral designs, and she was wearing tan sandals with it.

"Crap! I forgot to put on perfume before I came," Jake panicked.

"Don't worry, I have some you can borrow." I handed her my Endless Weekend perfume.

"Hey, it sorta matches my dress too," she noted.

"What da ya know."

When she was done fixing her hair-she did put the curls in after three tiny braids on each side of her head-Jake did my makeup. "Gosh, why are so pretty?" she whined.

"Um. Genes? I don't know. But you're pretty too, ya know."

"Yeah, yeah." She waved me off dismissively and I rolled my eyes. Pretty girls who thought they were ugly were something I would never understand.

Jake changed the subject quickly. "What shoes are you gonna wear?"

"Well I was thinking heels at first, but I don't wanna be way taller than you," I said, gesturing at her flat sandals. "So maybe my cowgirl boots?"

"Dude, yaaaaassss!" She grabbed them out of my closet. "Put them on, put them on!"

I laughed, thinking she seemed a little like my mother on prom night or something. I got the boots a few years ago, but luckily, my feet had stopped growing. They fit just the same.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I brought your present."

"I thought you guys were waiting til dinner."

"Think of this as, like...the first course."

"You got me more?!"

Why was I so surprised? Both my best friends always overspent on my presents.

"I did. Now open it." She handed me a bag from Bath and Body.

Inside was a new set I'd never tried before, called Passion Struck. It came in a red bottle and smelled amazing. There was a full-size shower gel, a full-size perfume, hand sanitizer, and a full-size lotion.

"Do you like it?" Jake asked hopefully.

"Love it." I opened all the bottles and put lotion on my legs, then sprayed perfume all over. The scent filled the room and I coughed a little. It was strong, but heavenly.

"Alright, let's go. Are we meeting Jonny there or all going together?" I asked, wondering why I hadn't bothered to ask before.

"I think we're meeting him there. Come on." She took my hand again and we went downstairs, took a couple pictures, then left. We took Jake's car so she wouldn't have to come back for it afterwards.

"Where are we going for dinner?" No one would tell me before, and I figured she wouldn't. But I still had to ask!

"It's this place in a barn. They just opened it last month."

"Ooo, a barn?"

"Yeah. It's really authentic and beautiful."

"Well I guess I made the right choice wearing these boots."

"Definitely. They're so cute, too." She smiled and switched lanes.

When we got to the restaurant-excuse me, barn-Jake walked ahead of me. "Let me get the door. You can't do any work on your birthday!"

"Okay, Miss Pharisee," I joked.

As soon as Jake opened the door, I heard about twenty voices all screaming, "Surprise!"