Page 53 of Like You Know
“Fuck the hair and makeup, Mom! I don’t want you involved with these people.”
“I’m not.” She squeezed my hands for emphasis. “I promise. I’m glad I went, because it was helpful initially, and it led me to meeting Calvin, but I’m done with it.”
“Then why are you going to Raine’s party?”
“A lot of important people will be there. Raine is very well connected—even with people not part of BestLyf. Calvin and I are planning to start a business, and this party is a great opportunity to network.”
“You’re starting a business?” Maybe some of those meetings actually were business related. My mother was making my head spin with all these surprises. But I started to feel better about the whole situation. She didn’t seem to be sucked into a cult. She was happier and healthier than I’d seen her since before Dad died. Maybe I was overreacting.
“Yes. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow. I promise. Now, go get ready for prom.” She nudged me toward the door. I looked between her and Cal, chewing on my bottom lip.
“I won’t let anything happen to your mom, Amaya,” Cal said with a serious expression. I supposed he wanted to reassure me too, and he had been consistent so far.
“OK, fine,” I relented. They would be in a room full of the most prominent members of Devilbend society. What was the worst that could happen? Still ... “Can you please check in with me during the night? Just so I’m not worrying.”
“If it’ll get you to go and enjoy your prom, fine, I’ll send you a few texts.” Mom rolled her eyes.
“Every half hour,” I demanded.
She pursed her lips. “Every hour.”
“On the hour.” I raised a brow.
“Deal.”
“Deal.”
Then she literally herded me out of the room, and I headed out with a smile on my face.
Mom would be fine. And I would have fun tonight. I fucking deserved it.
CHAPTERNINETEEN
While most girlsliked to match their dress to their date’s tie, my girls and I picked our outfits to match one another. This plan had been in the works for months—well before Harlow dropped out—so she joined us in getting ready too. Even though she wasn’t going to prom. Easton was taking her out on an elaborate date to some fine dining place so the outfit wouldn’t go to waste.
She was in a mini dress with a sweetheart neckline and a sheer layer that fell to the ground, her hair in a high, sleek ponytail. The dress was a rich royal blue, and she wore hot pink heels and accessories with it. We’d all agreed on royal blue as our theme color. It matched all our complexions and was easy to individualize.
Donna wore a dramatic fit-and-flare with a black leather corseted top. She was leaning into her Dark Donna vibes with smoky eye makeup and killer heels.
Mena had gone full ballgown after saying, “Fuck it! How many opportunities are we going to get to wear a completely over-the-top princess dress?” It had a cream silk bodice and silk flowers around the bottom hem with layers and layers of tulle.
I’d gone for a solid royal-blue halter-neck gown with a slit and detailed white beading around the waist. I loved how well we matched while still expressing our individual flair.
We took a bunch of pictures on our phones, gushing about how amazing we all looked, before we headed downstairs.
The boys had arrived to pick us up, and my mom and Cal stood with the girls’ parents, chatting and waiting for us to make our grand entrance. Even Easton was there to pick up Harlow. He stood at the complete opposite end of the foyer from her dad, looking constipated. But his eyes practically turned into hearts when he caught sight of Harlow leading the way down the curved staircase.
Hendrix looked Donna up and down as if studying the dress and figuring out the fastest way to get it off her. He was lucky all eyes were on us, multiple cameras going off.
Turner was the first to step forward, taking Mena’s hand and placing a gentlemanly kiss on the back as she reached the bottom of the staircase. His thoughts were just as dirty as Hendrix’s—he just hid it better.
Everything became background noise when I caught Jet’s eyes. He looked ridiculously hot. I loved him in jeans and his leather jacket, could hardly keep my eyes off him in shorts at the gym, but I’d never seen him in formalwear. He was in a gray suit, his tie perfectly matched to the blue of my dress. All the guys had royal-blue ties on, indulging us girls and our matching-outfits vision.
“Wow,” he mouthed as he watched me. His eyes practically sparkled, taking in all the details. If I was the kind of girl that blushed, my cheeks would’ve been red as a fire truck. I still couldn’t hold back the little grin that tugged at the corners of my mouth.
The boys stepped forward with boxes that they opened to reveal three unique corsages. We’d all hated the idea of a traditional corsage—it would’ve completely clashed with the style of my dress—so we’d opted for ring corsages. Jet slid the delicate arrangement of little flowers onto my finger.
The parents all oohed and aahed, taking more photos.