Disloyal

~17~

Chapter seventeen- the party

Vanessa P.O.V

I've spent the whole day at the salon and spa, thanks to the mysterious owner. He has a shocking amount of connections and a even more shocking amount of kindness in his heart for people he doesn't even know. I'll have to thank him when I see him. I close my eyes and fall asleep in peaceful bliss.

"Miss, wake up, please. It's time for makeup." I jolt awake and feel embarrassment flood to my cheeks.

"I apologize," I tell the amused woman in front of me.

"No worries. Just don't fall asleep during makeup, okay? I don't want to mess up."

I nod. For an hour and a half, I sit statue-still as Ms. Gwen, as her name tag reads, tisks at my uncooperative face.

"You need to start taking care of yourself, young lady," she scolds me at the end. "Your eyebrows were a complete mess! It's lucky that I took care of you and that you are naturally beautiful."

I flush. "Thank you, ma'am."

She nods briskly and shoos me off to the hair salon.

Two hours later, my hair is heavy with hairspray and I leave with the voices of the owners, Don and Patty, screeching at me to 'keep my paws off of the 'do!'

I don't think I'll ever be able to undo this tight complicated bun. They added small lilacs and diamond studded pins to make it look extra fancy, which would be great if it didn't add an additional five pounds to my head. Thank the Lord my dress is a zip up-that brings the chances of me messing up something down to 99.99%.

~•~

"Let's go," Chase tells me, waiting by the door. After the kiss, which I know he enjoyed by the expression on his face, he had looked at me helplessly and gone back to his room. Coward.

I take one glance at his suit and try not to react.

"You look great," he says, barely glancing at me.

"You look better," I respond back. His lips curl upwards slightly before he quickly pulls them back down. I sigh and roll my eyes.

"Let's just go."

~•~

Unfortunately for me, the party is just around the corner, so instead of driving, we get to hike our butts up the steep hill to get there. Yeah, heels were definitely not the best choice for today.

Chase is sticking to this whole untouchable jerk act. Honestly, if he keeps this up, I just might punch his lights out. Maybe dad was right and there is some kind of curse on my name. After all, I experienced an amazing first kiss and got rejected for no reason in the same day.

"We're here."

"Thanks, jerk."

I walk inside, immediately blown away. Everything is lilac and gold, adding to the fairy-tale ball feeling. The room is warmly lit by glittering chandeliers and tea candles, and walls are lined with tables almost overflowing with food. We stand the marble balcony for a few seconds, soaking it all in.

"Your names, please?" A thin woman questions us.

"Vanessa Brooks and Chase Rivera."

She nods and sighs. "Vanessa and Chase Rivera!" She announces, and everyone looks up and applauds before settling back into their previous conversations.

"Well, that was embarrassing," Chase whispers as we walk down the stairs.
I ignore him.

"Look, I'm really sorry for what I said. I shouldn't been so harsh. Can we just forget about it tonight?"

I sigh. "I guess so."

"Hey, look, it's my favorite pregnant couple!"

"Crap."

The man we encountered yesterday is heading towards us, a beautiful girl trailing beside him on his arm.

"This is my daughter, Rosalina. It's her eighteenth birthday today."

The girl smiles at us and waves. This must be her birthday party, which means the man is her dad... The owner of our rentals!

"It's nice to meet you all. Vanessa, I have to say you look great for a pregnant woman. When's it due?"

"Five months," Chase blurts out, and I roll my eyes. Smooth. Maybe if he hadn't been so busy staring at Rosalina he could have acted more convincingly. She is gorgeous, though. Her jet black, curly hair almost reaches her waist, and she has a natural glow to her light brown skin. Her eyes are like melted caramel. Just great, I don't stand a chance. Plus, she's super nice and friendly. Somehow, her face is even more beautiful than her dress, which is light purple with intricate gold designs weaved through it. She looks like a freaking princess.

"Boy or girl?" She laughs, obviously catching his lie. Her dad joins in.

"Alright, that's enough, Rosie."

She looks up and her father lovingly and smiles. My heart sinks. Mom just married Rob, her boyfriend of three years. He's great to her, but isn't so interested in me. He never wanted a kid. Especially not a mess up like me.

"Hey, are you okay?" Rosalina asks worriedly.

"I'm fine."

"Okay. Here, come get some food with me, I'm starving."

I nod and follow her to the table.

"Take a plate and help yourself." She nods toward the plate stack. I freeze. As klutz of the year, I plan to stay as far away from those expensive looking gold lined glass plates as possible. Rosalina follows my gaze and laughs.

"They're fake, don't worry. Even if you do break one, they cost about two dollars each."

I sigh in relief. "Thank you. I'm kind of a klutz."

"Don't worry about it. Oh, look. Here comes your Prince Charming."

"He's not my Prince Charming. He hates me."

"Believe me, he doesn't hate you. I saw the way he was looking at you when you all came in."

Chase taps me on the shoulder and I turn around. "Um... Do you want to dance?"

I stare at him disbelievingly. "I'm sorry, but I'm a little busy now. After all, why would I want to dance with someone I obviously mean nothing to?"