Chapter 26
Riley
I’m busy getting ready for the banquet when somebody knocks on our door. “Come in,” I call out.
“Hey,” Star says as she comes into our room.
“You must be Star,” Stephanie says by way of introduction.
“I am.”
“I’m Stephanie, and this is Ashley.”
“Hey, Star,” I say as I walk into the bedroom from the bathroom. “Ooo, you look gorgeous.” She’s wearing a long black dress with one thick strap on one side, but the other shoulder is bare. It shows off her dark tan skin and looks gorgeous on her.
“Do you think it’s too much?” she asks.
“No,” all three of us say at the same time.
“It’s perfect,” I tell her. “But you need makeup.”
She grimaces. “I brought my makeup bag, but I’m pretty basic when it comes to makeup.”
“I’ll help you,” I assure her.
There’s another knock at the door, and I look to Ashley, who just shrugs. “I called in the big guns,” Stephanie says as she answers the door. I can’t help but grin when Tessa walks in with a huge bag over her shoulder.
“I’m here, never fear,” Tessa says brightly.
“Hey, Tessa.” I walk over and give her a hug.
She looks at my tank top and shorts. “Uh...”
“This isn’t what I’m wearing.”
She grins. “I mean, I’m sure Reid would love this look; but I don’t think it’s going to work for tonight.”
I shake my head. “I was just finishing straightening my hair.”
“Let me see your dress, so I can know how to do makeup.”
My eyebrows raise. “You’re doing my makeup?”
She gives me a challenging look. “Do you know how to create a smokey eye?”
“Not perfectly,” I admit.
“Well, I watched three videos online; so now, I am an expert.”
I laugh. “Three videos? Wow, I trust you completely then.”
She grins. “We’ll figure it out.” She looks over at Star, who is watching our interaction.
“Oh, Tessa, this is Star, my teammate. Star, this is Tessa.”
Tessa gives Star a warm smile. “Nice to meet you, Star. Do you want me to do your makeup as well?”
Star shoots me a look, and I can’t help my grin. “You can try to say no, but...” I shrug.
Tessa grins. “All right. Let’s get to work, people. Star, you look gorgeous in that dress.”
“Thanks,” Star responds graciously.
“Do you have a date for tonight?” Tessa asks.
“She’s going with Reid and me.” Reid, of course, said yes right away when I asked him. He’s sweet like that. Speaking of Reid, I miss him. I’ve barely seen him all week. We’ve both had crazy busy weeks and haven’t had much time to spend together, so I’m looking forward to tonight.
“Actually,” Star says, catching my attention.
I turn quickly to look at her. “You have a date?” I ask excitedly, and she nods. “Who? Do I know him?”
“Yes.” She keeps smiling, and I figure it out.
I gasp. “Did Cameron finally work up the courage to ask you?”
She laughs. “He called me this morning.”
“Oh, my goodness. I’m so excited. Talk about last minute, though.”
She laughs. “It’s all good.”
“Who wants to go first?” Tessa asks.
“Star?” I ask.
She shrugs. “Sure.”
Tessa sets up shop and starts on Star’s makeup, while I start curling my hair with my curling iron. When Tessa finishes, she steps back. “What do you think?”
I come out of the bathroom. “Oh, Star; you look gorgeous. We just need to do your hair.”
“I can start that,” Stephanie volunteers, and the two of them head into the bathroom.
“I have to go, but take lots of pics tonight,” Ashley says, grabbing her bag.
“I will. Have a good night,” I call out after her.
“Right here,” Tessa says, patting the chair we’re using.
I take a seat. “How’s it going? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever.”
“I know,” Tessa responds. “We’ve been so busy coming and going with games; it’s been crazy.”
“Are you enjoying it?” I ask.
Her entire face lights up. “Every moment. It’s been so fun!”
Her grin is contagious. “I’m glad.”
“I never thought I’d enjoy student broadcasting, but I love it. Of course, it helps that I get to travel with Slate and his team; and I’m literally reporting on my guy.” She sighs. “It’s pretty incredible.”
“I’m glad.”
“How about you? How are things going for you?” she asks.
“It’s been good. The first two weeks of basketball have been grueling but good. Last week was just tryouts all week, so this was the first week of actual practice.”
“How are you handling it?”
“It’s been a little rough. I’m playing a position I don’t excel at, but I’m pushing myself to get better. We only have two more weeks of practice until our first game.”
“It will be a home game, right?” she asks.
I nod. “Yes. Reid’s team also plays that weekend.”
“I can’t wait to watch you play.”
She steps back and studies my face before going back for more product. “All right; I’m just about done.” She sweeps more blush on my cheeks then steps back. “Looks good.” She gives my hair a once over. “What are you doing with your hair?”
“I’m not sure yet. I just curled it.”
“Can I do it?” she asks.
“Knock yourself out. It’s thick and uncooperative.”
“I’ll make it work,” she assures me. “How are you doing with your classes?” she asks as she starts working with my hair.
“Okay. I’m keeping up for now, but I worry about when we start traveling for games.”
“It’s definitely an adjustment, but if you use your time wisely when you travel, you’ll be surprised how much you can get done. Slater and I use most of our travel time for getting caught up on assignments.”
“I’m surprised you two get anything done, sitting next to each other,” I tease.
She grins. “Well, it’s definitely not by choice. I’d much rather sit and talk or make out, but...” she sighs. “Duty calls.”
I laugh. “I’m so glad you get to travel with him.”
“Oh me too!” She stops what she’s doing so she can look at me. “Do you know how many girls try to make a pass at him? Even with me right there, it’s bad. I can’t imagine how bad it would be if I wasn’t there. It’s ridiculous! I want to bash all their crazy heads with a stick.”
I laugh. “Violent much?”
“When it’s my man they’re after? Yes.”
I grin. “You’re so great for Slate, Tessa. I’m so glad you guys found each other.”
A blissful smiles fills her face. “Me too. I love him so much.”
“He loves you too; it’s so obvious,” I say in return. “It’s almost sickening.”
She waves the brush at me. “Look who’s talking? Reid is way worse.”
I scoff. “No, he’s not.”
She laughs. “Oh, he is. Evie and I picked up on it right away last year.”
“Really?”
“Oh yeah. Do you know he watches you like all the time? He never takes his eyes off you when you’re in the same room as him. Even before you knew about the mating bond, he had eyes on you. It was adorable, especially because you had no clue.”
“Yeah. I really had no clue. You know, we used to be close,” I tell her.
Her eyes meet mine. “Yeah?”
I nod. “Yeah. Reid, Zane, and I used to do everything together. Well, Zane never wanted me around; but Reid always convinced him to let me tag along. Reid and I were pretty close back then.” I think back to those days. “And then one day, he wanted nothing to do with me.”
Her eyes meet mine, and I see the compassion there. “Was that after he found out you were his mate?”
“Yeah. Of course, I didn’t know that. I just thought he was eighteen now and wanted nothing more to do with me.”
“That must have been difficult,” she says softly.
“It was. He was my best friend. I don’t think I realized how much we did everything together until he was gone. I mean, I had other friends outside the pack. But inside the pack, we were really close. I struggled with it for a lot of years,” I admit.
“I’m sorry, Riley,” Tessa says, dropping a hand to my shoulder.
“Well, in the end, it all worked out because now he’s my mate,” I offer.
“How come you guys haven’t bonded yet?” she asks and quickly follows up with, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“No, it’s fine. We’re waiting. Well, he’s waiting because I asked him to.”
She stops what she’s doing and looks down at me. “Do you not want to bond with him?” she asks softly, so the girls can’t hear.
“Oh, no. I do. I just want some time.” I sigh.
“Last year was really crazy. With the constant—” I pause.
“Problems,” I finally settle on. “I was so restricted,” I say softly.
“It’s been good to finally have some freedom.
I just didn’t want to get tied down right away.
I wanted to be able to enjoy my freedom for a little bit. ”
“I get that.” She goes back to working on my hair.
“Well, I know you guys will get things all worked out. It’s obvious you both love each other.
” I startle at her words but don’t say anything.
Her words rattle around in my head, and I wonder if we’re at that stage already.
Obviously, we’re mates; so we’re connected.
But love? I don’t know if we’re there yet.
“I’m sorry. Did the l-word throw you for a loop? ” Tessa asks, interrupting my thoughts.
“No, you’re fine. It just made me stop and think.”
“Well, don’t worry about it too much. I want you to have an amazing time tonight.” She steps back. “Your hair is done, and your makeup is done. All that’s left is your dress.”
I stand up and walk over to the mirror in the bathroom. “Oh, wow, Tessa, that’s gorgeous.”
“Wait till you see the back,” she says, handing me a mirror.
I use the mirror to see the back of my head and look at the hair style she created. She left most of my hair down but pulled back the sides and did a pretty crossover style that I’d never be able to accomplish on my own. “It looks amazing. Thank you.”
She beams at me. “You’re welcome.”
I look over at Star and smile. “You look gorgeous, Star.”
“Thank you. Stephanie is a miracle worker.”
“Nah, you’re just really pretty,” Stephanie says.
“You need to get dressed,” Tessa reminds me. “What time is Reid coming to get you?”
“Six-thirty. What time is it now?”
Tessa grabs her phone. “Six-thirty.” I quickly walk over to my closet and pull out the dress I hung there earlier. I strip down and put on a strapless bra and then step into my dress.
“I’ll zip it up,” Tess offers. “Ooo,” she says before I even turn around.
It’s a mermaid style dress in bright red with sequins all over it.
It has spaghetti straps and a rounded neckline.
My favorite feature is the slit up my left leg.
It only goes mid-thigh, but it feels daring and fun.
I slip on my matching red heels and then find my favorite red lipstick.
After applying it, I step back and turn around. “Well?” I ask.
“Wow,” Tessa says and then grins. “You’re going to give Reid a heart attack.”
I return her grin. “I hope so.”
“Can I be there when he sees you? Please?”
I laugh at her pleading. “Sure.” Star walks out of the bathroom looking gorgeous and tall in her black dress and heels. “Let me see your hair.”
She spins around, so we can see the low bun updo that Stephanie created on her. “It looks perfect,” Tessa says. “You look so beautiful, Star.”
“You look gorgeous,” I add. “But Reid had better keep his eyes to himself,” I add.
Star rolls her eyes. “The man never takes his eyes off you. Tonight won’t be a problem.”
I grab my cell. “Ready?” I ask Star.
She nods. “Yep.”
“All right. Let’s do this.” I face Tessa. “Thank you.” Stephanie is cleaning up in the bathroom, so I walk over to the bathroom door. “Thank you, Stephanie.”
She turns to face me with a smile. “Of course. You look beautiful, Riley.”
“Thank you.”
“Let’s go,” Tessa calls out. “I’ve got my phone ready to record.”
I shake my head. “Okay, let’s go.”