True Colors (The Masks #1)(5)
Eric popped Lacey onto the ground and herded her towards the house. Knowing it would be my last chance for the day, I kept my eyes on him as he tucked his surfboard under one arm and grabbed his weekend bag from the passenger seat. I loved the shape his muscles made when they were bearing weight.
Man, I was pathetic.
Stella’s car horn forced me to turn away. I ran up the path and jumped into the passenger side, turning down the music. Stella didn’t even notice. Her eyes were fixated on Eric as he walked up his front steps.
"I'm so coming over tomorrow."
"Why?" I knew why, but asked anyway.
"Look how long their grass is. Eric’s home for the weekend. There's going to be some bare-chested lawn mowing going on tomorrow and I'm not going to miss it."
I chuckled. Eric was a freshman at UCLA and didn’t live at home anymore. Luckily for us, he was around a lot on the weekends and Stella always kept an eye on the lawn. I will never forget the day we first noticed him mowing. I swear we both swooned like groupies. It was ridiculous.
"Here's your fake ID."
I looked at the plastic card in Stella’s hand and swallowed. "I don't remember ordering one."
"Well, I knew you'd chicken out, so I went ahead and got one for you.” Her perfectly plucked eyebrows wiggled and two dimples appeared on her flawless cheeks.
I smiled at her expectant green gaze, trying to look enthusiastic as I took the card from her. I had to remind myself that this was why I loved Stella, she made me do things I'd never have the courage to do on my own.
“Martha Woodgrove. Really?”
She giggled, her cheeky expression lighting with glee. “Take what you can get, sweetness.” She pulled on the wheel, spinning the car back around. “You owe me a hundred bucks by the way.”
"Thanks." I think. I tapped the card against my thumbnail, trying to look grateful. “So where are we really going?”
Stella smoothed down her shiny, blonde hair with a deft hand. “Well, Chase and I thought we should take you somewhere where you can forget about your parental woes...so we’re going clubbing.”
“Clubbing." I tried not to grimace.
“Yeah. It’ll be fun.”
I pushed a smile over my lips, not my genuine one, but the wide toothy smile I used when I was trying to make other people happy. I hated dancing. I mean I didn’t mind if it was all choreographed and we were all doing the same thing, but that awkward shuffling on a crowded dance floor to thumping loud music, was so not my style. There was no way I was going to say anything though. Stella and Chase were looking out for me. I nodded and turned up the music so conversation would cease. I didn’t want Stella asking details about my mother’s lecture. She already thought my mom was an old fuddy-duddy. Besides I was too stressed about the dancing to waffle my way through a conversation where Stella came out feeling on top and my mother wasn’t dragged through the mud completely.
It took twenty minutes to reach SkyBar at the Mondrian Hotel on Sunset Boulevard. Stella gave the car to the valet and we joined the throngs of others waiting to get the approval of the bouncer before gaining entry to the exclusive club.
"Come on, let's see if the others are ahead of us." Stella yanked my arm before we could even join the line properly, pulling me past the hyped up crowd.
I was grateful I had chosen to wear my tight tank top and leather jacket. It was smart casual, which suited me fine. I hated dressing up, but if I didn't put in some effort, I looked like a total slob next to Stella. She always looked stunning, and the hot pink number she’d squeezed her curves into tonight screamed sexy. She was turning heads and loving it. She even got a wolf whistle, which made her smirk.
I, of course, went unnoticed beside her until we reached the corner where Chase, Sean, Audi and Kurt were, in fact, waiting. Audi and Kurt were wrapped around each other as they always were. Chase looked relieved to be away from them as he approached us, pulling me aside for a private word. Stella continued her confident strut, enjoying the way Sean’s eyes travelled over her body. He was so into her. Poor guy, Stella was never going to let him have her, but it didn’t stop her from flirting up a storm whenever there were no other guys to choose from.
Chase ran his fingers over the exposed skin where my top and jeans didn’t quite meet, setting my skin on fire. “So how was the third degree?”
“Not too bad." I shrugged, not wanting to get into it.
His smile went all soft and mushy as he slid his arm around me and pulled me close. “So, I was wondering after this if you wanted to find somewhere quiet where we could finish what we started." He nibbled my ear, his warm breathing tickling the nape of my neck as he kissed my skin.
I grinned, trying to ignore my mother’s warning as I let his hands slide over my butt. He pulled me towards him, pressing his hips against mine, showing me exactly what he meant. I had to nod. What else could I say to him? His expression lit with pleasure. Grabbing my face in his hands, he planted his lips on mine as we forgot we were on a public street.
"Come on you two love birds,” Sean hollered, but Chase ignored him, continuing to kiss me until my senses were reeling.
Finally I couldn’t take the catcalls anymore and pulled away. I pushed at Chase’s chest, put on a sexy smile and whispered, “Later.”
This seemed to appease him. He kissed me one last time, thrusting his tongue into my mouth, before grabbing my hand and pulling us back into the line in time to enter the club. My nerves were going off like fireworks as I walked through the door. I was so uncomfortable with using a fake ID. I’d already been in trouble once today and yes, it wasn’t that bad, but if Mom knew what I was up to at this moment, I’d probably be on house arrest for the foreseeable future.