“No smoking!” both my parents shout at me in unison.
“Man, you two are no fun,” I chuckle at them.
“We’re heaps of fun.” Dad draws his brows together and scowls at me with a ‘serious’ look. But I know he’s kidding. “Just no to you having fun.”
“Seriously,” I say with a wide smile. “How was work, Dad?”
“It was alright.” He shrugs. “Being a loan officer at the bank isn’t really exciting. Granted some loans, and declined some others.” Dad loosens his tie and takes it off. He rubs his temple and I can tell he’s frustrated with himself.
“Why don’t you do something you love?” I say.
He snorts. “Because there’s no money in tap dancing,” he says and chuckles.
“Come on, Dad. What makes you happy?”
He puffs his chest out, his gaze going between me and Mom. “You and your mother make me happy. You two will always star in my proudest memories. Nothing can compare to the both of you.”
“Aww,” I say and look at Mom, who’s got the biggest smile ever on her face. “You’re almost nauseating,” I tease Dad. “Lucky I love you too.”
Mom bursts into uncontrollable laughter. The rice she’s eating sprays out and some lands on Dad. “Note to self, don’t say anything sappy in front of teenage daughter again. If I do, I’ll remember to wear a raincoat.”
My family is small but so tight. Nothing could come between us. The bad and the ugly couldn’t destroy the love we have for each other. It just couldn’t.
Chapter 2
“You’re going to wear jeans?” Kristen asks as she sprawls across my bed.
“Yeah, why?”
“It’s my parents’ anniversary. Wear something nicer.”
Opening my wardrobe, I grab a flowery dress and hold up against myself. “Like this?” I ask.
Kristen scrunches her nose at me. Her long blonde hair falls over her face, and she blows it out of the way before tucking it behind her ear. “You’ve gotta have something cuter than that. It looks like a beach dress.”
“I don’t want to wear anything too dressy. It’s just at your parents’ house. What are you wearing?” I ask.
Kristen is slim, like really slim. She’s on the cheer squad at school, so you can imagine how gorgeous she is. “I’m wearing this,” she says as she jumps off the bed, goes to her bag and produces something ultra-small.
“What? That’s a headband.” I point to the black scrap of material she’s holding.
“Look.” And of course, Kristen with no modesty at all, strips down to her bra and panties and slides the black material over her vivacious curves.
“Oh, it’s a dress. Well part of a dress.” I make her spin to see exactly how tight it is. “You have the best body in the world. And you can pull that off, but don’t you think it’s maybe just a bit too short? My Mom would freak and say, ‘you can’t wear that,’ so what’s your mom gonna say?”
“Mom bought it for me. And hey, it’s covering everything.” She tugs it down over the top of her thighs.
“Please tell me you’re not wearing hooker heels with it.”
“Nah. Don’t be dumb.” She pulls out a pair of black flats that are super cute. “These won’t hurt my feet.”
The dress really isn’t that bad, but I hate showing any part of my body. I’m not a prude or anything, but showing too much just isn’t for me. I don’t feel comfortable doing it, but hey, power to whoever does.
“You’ll look super-hot,” I say.
“Yeah, I know.” She wiggles her brows at me and gives me a sexy smirk. “Guess who I invited tonight?”
“Don’t tell me you invited Brad?” Brad’s her long-time crush. Kristen can barely talk around him. She becomes a blubbering mess whenever he says anything to her. It’s really kinda cute because he’s totally into her, but she’s an idiot who loses all her social skills around him.
“Maybe.”
“How did that conversation go? You can barely string a sentence together when you see him, so how did you get the invite out without stumbling over your words?”
“Well…here’s the thing. I technically didn’t invite him. I made Sasha do it.”
I start laughing. “I can see this is going to go really well for you,” I add sarcastically. “What happened?”
“Sasha said we’re having a party and does he want to come? He said yes.”
“Why don’t you just talk to him?” Instantly, Kristen’s face burns with a wild red glow. “Oh yeah, that’s why.” I point to her face.
She lifts her hands so I can’t see how red her cheeks are turning, but she’s giggling like a little school girl. “Help me, Hannah. What am I going to do? I can barely think of him without breaking out in hives. I like him sooooooo much.” She flops on the bed, face still buried behind her hands.
“Just talk to him. How about I start talking to him, and you can come over and join in the conversation?”
“You’d do that for me?” She peeks at me from behind her hands. Her eyes are wide with excitement.
“Duh, of course. You’re my best friend.”
“Thank you.” She leaps off the bed and throws herself into my arms. “I love you.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I love you too.” I exhale a big breath and turn to look at my closet. “What about this?” I take out another dress. It’s knee length, red in color and kind of fitted with a small split on the side.
“Oh, yeah. This’ll make your eyes pop. Oh, my God! Can I do your hair and your make-up? Please?” She places her palms together like she’s praying. “Pretty please?”
“Jeez. Okay, you can do my hair and make-up. I was just going to put my hair up in a bun.”
“Ugh,” Kristen grunts and sits on the side of my bed. “You always have your hair in a bun. You look like a nerdy librarian.”
“Librarians are not nerds. They’re cool. And they love to read.”
“Nerd,” she mumbles with a smile.
“You know what?”
“What?”
“You hurt my head.”
She laughs out loud. “You hurt mine, nerd.”
“Fine, do my hair and my make-up. But no making me look cheap.”
“Pffft.” She waves her hand at me. “You’re way too classy to look cheap. Unless you got fake lips.”
“Fake lips don’t make people look cheap.”
“They do when they overfill them.”
“Who’d overfill their lips?”
“They say ‘go big or go home.’”
I place the red dress over the back of my chair and kneel so I can see what shoes I have to wear with its. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. We were discussing one thing, and now we’re talking about plastic surgery.”
“I think I want a boob job,” she says as she squishes her boobs together to make them bigger.
“You’re seventeen. You don’t need a boob job. Your boobs are big enough as they are.”
“But don’t you think they’d look good like this?” She squeezes them together.
“Yes, wear them under your chin. Totally normal. You need to worry about the English paper we have due, not your boobs.”
“You should get a boob job too.”
Slowly I turn to look at her. She’s lying on her back now, and she’s playing with the ends of her hair. “My boobs are fine. I don’t need or want any extra attention. Thank you very much. What I do want is to get an A on this English paper.”
“Have you ever gotten anything but an A?” I pick up my slipper and throw it at her head. “Hey!” she protests. “What was that for?”
“’Cause I felt like throwing it at you. And you’d get A’s too if you studied like I do.”
“Nerd,” she mumbles again.
I stick my middle finger up at her. Although she’s pretending she can’t see me, I know she can. The smile is a dead give-away. “Hey, what about these shoes?” I hold up a pair of black pumps.
“Yeah, they’re
nice. Bit high for a nerd, don’t you think?” she teases with a slight head wobble and big grin.
“I swear, Kristen, the next thing I throw at you won’t be a soft slipper.” She laughs at me and buries her face beneath my pillow. “I’m going for a shower, I’ll be out in a few.”
“I’ll make you look like the prettiest nerd known to man,” she says from under my pillow.
It’s no use trying to rein her in. She’s just so… so… so… Kristen.
“You look beautiful,” Dad says to both Kristen and me when he drops us off at Kristen’s house.
“Thank you,” I say, leaning over to give him a kiss.
“Thank you, Mr. Mendes,” Kristen says as she closes the car door. “I think Mom or Dad can bring Hannah home tomorrow. If not, Eva should be able to.” Eva is Kristen’s oldest sister. She’s twenty-four and a total brainiac. She’s going to college and studying to be an honest-to-God rocket scientist. She’s already got a job at NASA lined up, and she’s by far the smartest person I know. But just like the rest of the family, she has blonde hair and a slim body. Everyone in that family looks like they belong on the cover of Vogue or GQ magazine. They were all graced with amazing genetics.
“Call if you need anything,” Dad says.
“Thanks, Dad. Bye.”
Kristen and I head up to the house. Their house is cute. It’s a gray colonial-style home, with white shutters on the windows and a darker gray roof. It’s a stark contrast to ours, which is more a traditional style. Hers is cute and cozy, mine is more refined and expansive.
“Mom and Dad have hired a band for tonight.”
“Wow, that’s impressive,” I say as I adjust my dress. “You sure this isn’t too much? I brought jeans and a t-shirt, I can always change in them.”
“No, it’s a party. You look hot. Anyway, there’s no time to change, people have already started arriving.” She points to the few cars parked along the street.
“I feel like I’m overdressed.” Then I look at her dress, and smile. “I suppose if I stand beside you all night, I won’t look overdressed at all.”
She cheekily smiles as we walk into her house. “Mom…Dad, we’re here,” she calls. “I look hot, you can say it.” She wiggles her hips at me.
“Yeah, you do.” The dress could almost be spray painted on her. But man, she carries it so well.
“Hi, Krissy,” her mom says when we walk out to the back deck. “Hannah, wow. You look so beautiful. And so grown up.” Her mom comes around to give me a kiss on the cheek, and hugs and kisses Kristen. “You both look gorgeous.”
I look around and see how they’ve transformed the back deck into a wonderland. The band is set up and playing soft music, the singer, a younger woman, is singing in the background. There are lanterns and fairy lights, and big vases with brightly colored flowers springing out of them. It’s beautiful. There’s a chill in the air with fall closing in quickly, but it’s definitely not cold yet. The temperature just reminds us what’s around the corner.
“This all looks amazing,” I say as my eyes draw onto every detail.
“Thank you,” Kristen’s mom proudly says. “Not every day you celebrate twenty-five years of marriage.”
“Congratulations,” I say smiling.
“We’ve gotta put our stuff in my room. Where’s Sasha?” Kristen asks her mom.
“I’m not sure, she should be around here somewhere.” Her mom looks around for Sasha. “I have to go; more guests are arriving.”
“Come on,” Kristen says as she grabs hold of my hand and we head toward her bedroom. When we get in there, she shuts the door and plonks her bag down, before sitting at her desk to start touching up her make-up. “Do I look alright?” she asks. There’s a trace of worry to her voice. “I mean, do you think Brad will think I look okay?”
“I think if Brad doesn’t go weak at the knees for you, then there’s something wrong with him. You look so hot. I wish I looked half as hot as you do.”
“Girl, you’re gorgeous. A nerd…but gorgeous.”
Standing behind Kristen, I try to look at myself in the mirror, but she’s a hog and has taken it over. “You sure I’m okay?” I run my hands over my stomach, trying to suck in while I straighten my back. “I think I look terrible. This dress isn’t me.”
“Stop it. You look really beautiful. That lipstick is killer on you.”
“It’s red. Red doesn’t suit me.”
“Your dress is red, and your lipstick is red, and you definitely look hot in the color red. If you didn’t, I’d tell you.”
This is true. She’s definitely honest, even when I don’t want her to be. But that’s one of Kristen’s best qualities, I know she’ll never lie to me. “Fine,” I say as I pace back and forth in her and Sasha’s room. It’s a large room, with two double beds, and two desks and two night lights. It’s spacious enough so when I stay over, I can either sleep on a fold-out, or sleep with Kristen on her bed. I’m still nervous about what I’m wearing, I feel like I’m dressed up like a doll.
“Hey, losers,” Sasha says as she bounces into the room.
Kristen is up on her feet in a heartbeat. “Is Brad here yet?” Kristen asks.
“Not yet, but he messaged me and asked if you were gonna be here. The boy is missing a brain cell or two, right? How can you not be here when it’s our parents’ wedding anniversary?”
I chuckle at Sasha, but Kristen is already in panic mode. “He asked if I’m going to be here?” she says in a dreamy, excited voice.
“I think that’s all she heard,” I say to Sasha, who laughs. Sasha is Kristen’s identical twin, but anyone can tell the difference between them. Sasha’s hair is cut in a short pixie style, whereas Kristen’s is long, half-way down her back.
“Anyway, I’m going. I just wanted to tell you he’s on his way over. See you losers outside.” And with that, she’s gone again.
Kristen runs over to me, grabbing hold of my hands. She starts jumping up and down. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!”
“Calm down.”
She lets go of her death grip on me, and steps back, taking several deep breaths. “Okay, I can do this. Just don’t let me make a fool out of myself.”
“I promise I won’t,” I say to her.
She turns to look at herself in the mirror again, fixing her micro dress and fluffing her hair. “I got this.” The confidence in her has increased in a matter of seconds. “I got this,” she says with more sass.
“You’ve got this,” I agree, nodding.
Kristen has been crushing over Brad for ages. I hope he treats her well. Kristen pulls her shoulders back and lifts her chin with confidence. “Yeah, I do.”
We both head outside, where more people have arrived.
People are stopping Kristen to talk to her, but I can see she’s looking for Brad. I say hello to a few of their extended family and friends I’ve met over the years, but quietly make my way over to get a drink.
There’s a bartender serving, and when he sees me he smiles. “What would you like?” he asks when he finishes serving someone.
“Just a soda, thank you.”
“Coming right up.” He opens a can of soda and pours it into a glass. “Here you go,” he says with a huge smile before turning to serve the next person.
I place a straw in it, and turn to watch the room. I can’t believe how many people are here. The music is louder, the deck is spilling over with people, all sharply dressed. There are some little kids running around and playing with the balloons. It’s very family-oriented. I like this about the Watsons. They have a large family, but everything they do always includes all of the family. And they always make me feel at home whenever I come here. It’s just the type of people they are.
Mr. and Mrs. Watson are wrapped in each other’s arms talking to people. There’s lots of laughter and love here tonight, and that makes me happy.
“Hi,” I hear from behind me.
Turning, I come face to face with one of the most beautiful
men I’ve ever seen in my life. He’s half a head taller than me, with ruffled, dark brown hair, and eyes so blue they instantly remind me of a clear sky.
“Hi.” I manage to keep my composure and not act like a giddy school girl.
“What are you drinking?” he asks as he eyes my soda.
“Just a soda. You?” I look to the bar and notice he’s got nothing yet.
“I’ll be getting a bourbon.” I can feel my face starting to burn so I offer him a quick smile before I turn away from him. “I haven’t seen you at the Watson’s house before,” he says which forces me to turn around to answer him.
“Funny that, because I was just thinking the same thing about you,” I say.
A smile tugs the ends of his lips. “I’m Zac and I’m Uncle Jason’s nephew.” He points to Mr. Watson. “And I know for sure I’ve never seen you at one of these things before, because I would’ve noticed.”
“Well…Zac,” I say his name slowly, commanding his attention. “I’ve been to almost all their parties over the past ten years. I’m Kristen’s best friend.”
Zac takes a deep breath in. He lets his eyes roam down my body then back up again. “Then I’m a damn fool. Because I never noticed you, until now…and phew, I definitely noticed you tonight.” He lifts his brows, as if he’s approving my choice of clothing.
“Well, nice meeting you, Zac, but I should go find Kristen.” Leaving my drink on the bar, I leave.
I barely make it a few steps before I’m tapped on the shoulder, Zac’s holding my drink out to me. “You forgot this.” He thrusts it forward so I can take it.
“I wasn’t born yesterday, Zac. I’m no longer thirsty.” I wink at him as I turn and walk away. Sashaying my hips a little more than usual. I doubt he’s spiked my drink, but my mamma didn’t raise no fools either. Better to be safe than sorry. Kristen stands out in her tight dress, and immaculate, long blonde hair. “Hey,” I say to her.
“Brad’s here,” she half squeals. “I saw him and smiled.”
Edge of Darkness Box Set Page 2