Stuck Up Meets Crazy. [COMPLETED]

SEVENTEEN

"When I saw you on those blogs with Alexander, I knew I had to style you," Mario gushes, his energy as bright as the room's lighting. Cara's not sure if it's the compliments or Mario's enthusiasm, but she's starting to feel like she's floating.

She grins. She loves him already.

"Before we start, let's take a picture." He tosses his phone to Xavier, who catches it with a quick reflex.

"Watch the face!" Xavier yells, half-joking, half-serious. Cara moves to Mario, who's wrapped in a dramatic red kimono, and throws an arm around his shoulders, planting a kiss on his cheek as Xavier snaps the photo.

Xavier tosses the phone back to Mario, who nearly fumbles it. "Perfect!" Mario beams as he examines the picture. "What's your Instagram handle?"

Cara tells him, and as she does, it hits her again—she's now got over 500k followers on Twitter and 1.2 million on Instagram. It's wild, surreal even. But that's the price of being Alexander Black's pretend girlfriend.

"My assistant will be here soon with some of my creations, and you can pick what you like," Mario says, brimming with excitement.

Cara hears footsteps and turns to see Cassie standing at the door, frozen as she spots Xavier munching on an apple. Cassie looks like she's seen a celebrity, which, to be fair, she has.

"Well, that escalated quickly," Cara thinks, hiding her grin. She may or may not be trying to play matchmaker here.

"That's Xavier Black," Cassie gushes, completely starstruck, which is more than a little embarrassing.

"Told you I was popular," Xavier says with a wink, sauntering over to the girl at the door, his charm turned up to eleven. He extends his hand. "And you are?"

"C-Cassie F-Fisher," she stammers, clearly flustered.

"My best friend," Cara chimes in, trying to rescue her friend from melting into the floor. "And can you two move away from the door? Someone needs to come in."

They step aside as Mario's assistant rolls in a rack of clothes.

"Great, my assistant's here," Mario claps his hands dramatically. "Let's get started!"

~~~

"What do you think?" Cara steps out of the dressing room, her baby bump discreetly hidden by an off-the-shoulder red dress.

"It's cute," Xavier says, not really paying attention.

"Nah, not you," Cassie says, scrunching her nose. Cara nods in agreement—cute isn't the vibe she's going for. She's aiming for knockout.

She goes back to the rack and pulls out a white silk dress, tight and curve-hugging. "I'm trying this on," she says, heading back to the dressing room.

Just as she starts changing, she hears Xander's voice outside.

"Where is she?" Xander asks.

"In there," Xavier replies.

Wait, he's not going to—Cara scrambles for her bra, but it's too late. The door swings open, and she barely grabs her red dress to cover herself.

"Ever heard of knocking?" she snaps, glaring at him.

Xander doesn't even flinch. "We're leaving by nine," he says, then turns and walks out, shutting the door behind him.

Cara throws on the white dress in record time, fuming. Xavier and Cassie are going to pay for this.

"How could you let him in? I was naked!" she yells as she storms out.