Chapter 16 #3
At 6:00 PM sharp, Katy rang the doorbell.
I opened the door and unlocked the protection barrier so she could enter.
Katy was a tall, beautiful Amperian who seemed incapable of handling silence.
While she styled my hair, letting it fall in well-defined waves, she talked about fashion and men, getting plenty of laughs out of me.
By the time she finished my hair, my stomach already hurt from laughing so much at her eccentric ways.
Then she turned her attention to my face and, this time, preferred to fill the silence with music since she needed to concentrate.
I asked her not to do anything too dark, so she went all out with red lipstick and only enhanced the size and color of my eyes with lots of mascara and subtle eyeliner.
At 8:30 PM, Katy left and I let Kiara out.
The chimera sprawled out on my bed and stared at me with curious eyes.
I was wearing a white robe and my slippers, but when I looked at my face in the mirror, I didn’t even recognize myself.
Katy had done such a perfect job, and my face looked so beautiful, that I wondered if it was wrong to hide behind all that makeup.
Apparently, the chimera was also having trouble recognizing me—she stared at me as if hypnotized.
I silently thanked Ambrose for sending her.
I left the upbeat music playing while I finished getting ready and slipped off my robe. I admired the sheer black lingerie in the mirror, swaying to the beat. I turned sideways to check out my hair, which reached almost to my butt. If I were a man, I’d definitely go for myself.
I sat on the bed to put on my heels and then started laughing at the chimera.
She was staring at me strangely, as if she’d never seen me before.
Sometimes she had that vacant look, but today it was off the charts.
Maybe Katy had overdone it and I was completely unrecognizable.
Still laughing, I walked over and hugged her huge head against my chest.
“Do I really look that different?” I asked, looking into her eyes. She seemed frozen, her stare catatonic. I started to get scared—was she okay? Could it be some kind of mutation?
“Kiara?” I called, running my hand through her mane.
At my touch, she snapped out of the trance, shaking her head with an unpleasant expression.
She rubbed her snout against my hand and rested her head on my leg, closing her eyes.
Everything seemed fine, but maybe it was time to take her to Dr. Owen for a routine checkup. I’d do that as soon as possible.
I gave her head a little kiss and got up to finish getting ready.
Δ
“Holy shit, Kay! You’re... Wow...” Breno stopped mid-stride on his way to open the car door for me and clutched his heart, massaging it dramatically.
“Don’t start, Breno,” I said, blushing the deepest shade of red as his eyes traveled over my body.
“You’re simply... Wow. Imagine every beautiful adjective that exists and fit them all into this sentence. You are a million beautiful adjectives.”
This time I laughed, and just like that, the embarrassment melted away.
“Has that line ever worked on any girl?”
“I don’t know, but by the end of tonight, we’ll have an answer.” He shot me a mischievous wink, opening the car door for me while his eyes followed my every step. “Just so I know, is it working?”
“Definitely not. But thanks for the compliment.”
The truth was, I looked amazing in my body-hugging dress, and now I understood the power a woman feels wearing something like this.
“A shame.” Breno, still smiling, shrugged and started the car.
“What can I expect from this kind of party?”
He kept his eyes on the road as he answered:
“Everything. At these parties, there’s every kind of pleasure: drinks, drugs, and music. They hired strippers, so when I say everything, I mean everything.”
“But isn’t this a pre-graduation party? Shouldn’t it be more controlled?” I asked, a bit shocked, playing with the sparkles on my dress.
“Save the control for the graduation ceremony, where we’ll have parents and authorities. Pre-graduation is for students to forget their responsibilities and blow off steam from exams.”
I should have been terrified, but actually, I kind of liked the idea. This would probably be the only party I’d ever go to—I wanted to be a normal girl at least once in my life.
“Wow, I can't believe we're actually doing this!” I said excitedly, turning the music up a little more. Breno glanced over at me and smiled, his eyes shining.
“Seriously, Kay. I've never seen you look so beautiful,” he said, smiling. “Not because of the clothes or the makeup... It's just that I've never seen you having this much fun. I think the right word is radiant.”
I smiled shyly at him, unable to handle such a genuine compliment, and we continued past the wall toward the most remote corner of the fae district.
Forty minutes later, we parked on the street where the party was being held.
I watched several students filing through a black door at the end of the block.
The place was pretty secluded. Breno got out of the car and opened the door for me.
“Ready?” he asked, offering his hand like a gentleman.
“More than ever,” I replied, slipping my hand into his.