The Stand-In Boyfriend (Grove Valley High #1)(6)
Jessie. I need to focus on Jessie. That’s the reason I’m here, the reason I let her dress me up in this ridiculous way. She’s right—I know Jessie likes the glam look. Maybe Sophie’s plan might actually work after all. Right now, though, I want to run home and hide.
“Do you have a jacket I can throw on?” I ask, looking behind me into her back seat.
“No way. There is not a chance I’m letting you cover up. If I had abs like yours, I’d wear nothing but crop tops.”
“Soph—”
“Seriously, you’re not even that dressed up. I have way more showing than you.”
I gulp but can feel myself nodding. She’s right. Sophie has on a tiny skirt and shirt. I’m wearing her long sleeved crop top and high-waisted skin-tight jeans. Yes, they’re formfitting and don’t exactly hide anything, but in terms of actual skin on display, there’s only a couple inches of my stomach showing.
“Are you sure about the shoes?” I ask. I’m wearing her nude-colored stilettos that she saved all junior year for. They’re a size too small for me so they pinch a bit—which is the least of my worries since I never wear heels and therefore resemble a newborn colt in them—and add five inches to my already tall frame.
“Yes. They totally complete the outfit.”
I pull down my own visor mirror and take a look at my reflection. I’ve got to admit, Sophie’s got skills. I rarely wear makeup—too much hassle—but Sophie has spent hours watching tutorials online and she really worked her magic on me tonight. She used subtle browns and metallic golds to make my blue eyes pop, and she pulled the top half of my blonde hair back off my face into a messy top knot. The rest of it falls around my shoulders, contrasting with the black of her top. I swear when she showed me the end result, I nearly fell over. I don’t look like me right now. I know deep down I look good. I know she’s right and I look conventionally hot, but I’m so far out of my comfort zone I can’t even get out of the car.
“Soph—”
“Liv.” Her voice has softened and she turns to fully face me, her brown eyes warm. “Honestly, you look beautiful.” I smile at her sincerity. “We are going to have a great time tonight, but we can’t do that from in here. So, stop freaking out and get your fine ass out of the car.” With that she opens her own door and climbs out. I take a deep breath and follow her lead.
She waits for me by the side of the car and then together we make our way up the driveway to Aaron’s house, her sashaying along like she’s on a runway, me trying to make sure I don’t trip and land on my face. It takes me a minute to actually look up at the house and when I do, I let out a low whistle. This place is huge, like an actual mansion. I had no clue Aaron was so loaded.
Sophie chuckles next to me and when I glance over, she’s grinning. “I forgot you’ve never partied here before. Did you never wonder how he drives around in that brand new Jeep?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know what car he drives.”
“His family is loaded,” she explains. “Something to do with dealerships, I think.” I nod. I guess Aaron’s always looked like he’s wearing the latest clothes and has the newest phone and all that; I just never put two and two together. “Chase lives like two streets away. His house is even bigger.”
Suddenly she throws a hand out, stopping me in my path. She nods toward a tree a few feet away from the steps that lead up to the porch. Mark Feltham, her ex-boyfriend, is standing by it with his phone in his hand and his eyes fixed on Sophie. He mutters something into his phone and abruptly hangs up. I don’t even have to look at Sophie to know there’s a smirk on her face.
“Give me a second—I’ll meet you by the steps,” she mutters under her breath before strutting over to Mark, I’m sure making it very abundantly clear to him what he’s missing now that he’s dating Jenna and no longer pining after her. Honestly, it’s ridiculous. Sophie has always wanted what she can’t have. A hot older guy showed up and Sophie forgot all about Mark. Now that Mark’s taken, she’s noticing him again. I have to bite back a grin as I watch her. Mark’s jaw is almost on the floor as he takes her in, and I have to walk away just to avoid feeling sorry for him. Sophie will have him eating out of the palm of her hand within minutes.
I climb the steps to the porch before brushing my palms down my jeans and then I lean against the wooden frame, waiting for Sophie to be ready. There’s not a chance in hell I’m entering the house alone.
A loud wolf-whistle comes from the house, and it takes me a couple of seconds before I realize it’s aimed at me. I turn around to see Chase Mitchell, Brendon James, and Jackson Taylor—all jocks from school—spill out onto the porch. Judging by the shit-eating grin covering Brendon’s face, I’m guessing the whistle was his doing.
“Livy Chapman is actually gracing us with her presence?” he begins, looking me up and down. “And looking like this? Be still my fucking beating heart.” I shake my head but allow a small smile. I don’t know these guys well but we’ve gone to the same school for the last three years, and because they’re on the soccer team we’ve shared the occasional training session, so we do know who each other is.
Jackson laughs and shoves him in the shoulder. “Shut up, man,” he says before turning back to me. “Hey, Livy.” He’s greeting me, but his eyes don’t reach my face. In fact, all three of them seem to have their gaze fixed on the sliver of bare skin I’m showing, and I shift uncomfortably under their scrutiny. “You look great.”