Double Threats Forever (Double Threat Series)

by Prestsater, Julie

  Josh and Keesh work the crowd, pointing at the crowd, smiling, winking, and doing the pageant wave. If she doesn’t win, I will be shocked.

  When it’s our turn to dance, I’m about to hyperventilate.

  “Just chill, Meg. We dance all the time,” Keesh tells me after changing from her formal gown she wore with Josh on the runway to her Scary Spice costume.

  “Not dressed like this. And not on a stage in front of the whole school with spotlights in my eyes.” I’m pretty sure I look like a hooker in my short pink fitted (like a glove) dress and ridiculously high heels. I may have lost the weight to fit into shit like this, but it doesn’t mean I’m comfortable in it. Someone get me my Berkeley hoodie and a pair of sweats. Throw in some Chucks while you’re at it.

  “Dude, stop being a wimp. If I’m not freaking in my stripper costume, then you shouldn’t either. Just pretend we’re at a party.”

  “How you doing, Shay?” I ask.

  She looks about as good as I feel. Even with the gobs of makeup she’s wearing, she still looks pale. At least she doesn’t look like a tramp like the rest of us. “I’m okay. Let’s just hurry and get it over with.”

  Steph, who I thought would be the one to freak, is surprisingly calm. She peaks her head around the curtain and waves.

  “Who you waving to?” I ask.

  “Dominic. He’s sitting with the moms.”

  Oh great. Even more people to see me when I trip and fall.

  Before I can run away, Keesh is name is called and our music begins. Steph pushes me toward my spot on stage and I begin our routine to “Wannabe.” I loosen up after the first few beats and have a blast with my friends as the audience sings along with the music.

  When the whole thing is over, I meet my mom outside.

  “What did you think?” I ask.

  She hugs me. “Well, if you guys ever need a part time job in college, you could always dance.”

  “Ha ha.” I say. “Very funny. I told them the only thing missing from our routine was a pole.”

  “Josh is always saying he’s a pimp.”

  Oh no. Not my mom too. “Don’t encourage him.”

  Chapter 10

  Sometimes I feel like Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail. I’ve only watched it with my mom a thousand times. She loves that movie. But instead of emailing back and forth, I thrive on getting video chat requests from my hot college friend. I don’t know why I don’t just say boyfriend. I can’t remember the last time I went out with someone other than him, or even wanted to. But Alex and I are still just really good friends. Whatever. If anyone believes that, they’re blind.

  There. Video chat coming through. I sit up in my bed, adjust the screen so he can see my perpetual smile, and I click on accept.

  “Hey, babe! I’m surprised you’re not out celebrating,” he says as soon as the call goes through.

  “Yeah, I thought we would too, but once Keesh got her crown, she left as soon as she could to go home and talk to Jon.”

  “It must be killing him that he missed it. Hell, I’m sorry I did. If it had been you, I’d have driven my ass down there just for the halftime show at the game and come right back up here. I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.”

  His eyes are so sincere, I know he means it. “Thanks. If I would’ve known that would get you home, I would’ve run. I’ll take any excuse to see you.”

  He winks at me, flashing his pearly whites. Aww … he makes me melt. I feel all warm and fuzzy all over. “Are you and the girls doing the whole salon thing tomorrow before the dance?”

  “Hell yes,” I tell him. “It’s a big day. I can’t wait to show you my dress.”

  “What does it look like?”

  “I’m not telling. You can wait to see me all dolled up tomorrow.”

  “Ugh. You’re killing me. I never thought I’d be jealous of Josh and Eric but I am. Remind me to warn them about keeping their hands to themselves.”

  I chuckle at the thought. “You’re a dork. After you do that, make sure you give me the numbers to all the girls you talk to so I can threaten them with a life of bikini rash if they even bat their lashes at you much less touch a millimeter of your sexy ass body.”

  He bursts out with big belly laughs. Through giggles, he tries to speak again. “Bikini rash? Do I even want to know?”

  “Probably not,” I say with a grin, chuckling now since his hysterics are contagious.

  “No worries though. It’s just you and me, babe. I’m all yours.”

  “Is that right?” I say, staring deeply into his on-screen eyes. “Well, I’m absolutely safe with my three dates. You have nothing to worry about.” Me, Keesh, Josh, and Eric are going as a group. The boys don’t have dates, and us girls aren’t interested in any, so we decided to go together. No pressure, no strings. Just someone to dance with the whole night.

  “I forgot about Keesh. Maybe I should be worried. You’re not gonna make out with her again, are you?”

  I shake my head at his silliness. “You’re bad.”

  “Hey, I have a surprise for you.” He suddenly gets serious. He’s not chewing the inside of his cheek so that’s a good sign. “Actually, I have two things to share with you.”

  “Cool. Tell me.”

  “Well, first, I gotta go soon. I have some last minute research for tomorrow morning.”

  “For what?”

  “I have an interview. I applied for an internship months ago. I just figured it got filled since I never got a call back. Then, bam! Today I get a call.”

  “That’s great. Just tell me really quick about it. What’s it for?”

  “It’s an internship at a local architecture firm. They do a lot of work with public projects like elementary schools and city offices. I’ll be doing lots of paperwork, but it’s good to know both sides. The contracts and such are just as important as the designs and construction.”

  “Very cool. Once they meet you, I’m sure the position will be yours. They’re gonna love you.”

  He smiles from ear to ear. “Thank you, Megan.” He blows me a kiss and I pucker my lips to him. “Okay, now on to the better surprise.”

  “It gets better?”

  “Sure does. I finally got a letter from Ben.”

  “Oh my god,” I squeal in excitement. Bouncing up and down, my computer topples off the side on my bed and onto the floor. “Sorry. Alex, you still there?” I flip my sheet off and try reaching for my laptop.

  “Yeah. I’m just staring at your floor.” He chuckles. I finally grasp him and turn him upright. “There you are. Excited much? I haven’t even told you what he said.”

  I brush my hair out of my eyes with a swipe of my hand. “Tell me. Hurry.”

  “He’s graduating from boot camp during Thanksgiving break. He’d like you and me to go to the ceremony.”

  My throat tightens as the tears creep into my eyes. “Oh, I’d love to.”

  “God, I wish I was there to hold you. Don’t cry, Meggie. We’ll all be together again soon.”

  I wish he was here too. What I’d do to feel his touch again. To feel his strong arms around me and his sweet lips on mine.

  Not only will Alex be home, but our best friend too.

  I’ll have so much to be thankful for.

  Together again, soon. Sounds perfect.

  We splurge for day of pampering at my mom’s salon. The four of us have appointments all at the same time, starting with the dreaded waxing. Andi and I want to skip this part, but Keesha and Steph insist. Steph even tells Andi she has thicker eyes brows than Joe Jonas. So nice. Andi is horrified and agrees to pain. Getting my brow and lip done is one thing, but these girls will never convince me to get my vajayjay done. That’s sacred land. I’d rather bust a Scary Movie than let someone inspect me close enough to spread hot wax down there and rip out any fuzz.

  Andi and Keesh go in to two separate waxing rooms. When they come out, Andi’s eyes are wet but my other friend waves me out of my seat with a smile on her face like she
didn’t just have her facial hair torn from its follicles.

  “You guys like great. No red at all,” Steph tells them as she takes the walk to hell.

  “They’re awesome here. Whatever they used, it felt like heaven. Smelled good too.” Keesh is still smiling.

  “Great. There’ll be no evidence of torture in our pictures.”

  “Shut up, Meggie. And get your ass in the room,” Keesh scolds me.

  I look over at my little friend who gives me a sympathetic look.

  When we’re done being plucked like Anne Hathaway in the princess movie, we move on to our next station. Mani pedis. Thank you. There’s something amazing about the moisturizing massage at the end of a pedicure that leaves me feeling soothed and hurt at the same time. I love it. Especially in this salon where the latest love songs sing in my ears and we sip on champagne glasses full of apple cider that fizzes, tickling my nose.

  “Dude, this is the life,” Andi says, relaxing against the throw pillows that surround us as four women work on our toes.

  Our nails are finished, having been taken care of by two other women. A whole team of estheticians has taken a turn at each one of us. It kind of makes me feel like a spoiled brat that we can do all this. But hey, it’s our last year. And we sure as hell have never done anything like this before.

  “Yeah, but I’m starting to think we should’ve saved this for prom. How can we top all this?” Steph says. She must be thinking the same thing.

  “Just enjoy it, girls,” one of the ladies says, never taking her eyes off Keesh’s toes.

  “She’s right,” I say. “To the queen.” I raise my glass into the air, then reach over to clink it with my friends’.

  By the time we leave the salon, the day of pampering was just that. A whole day. A total of six hours of poking, pulling, clipping, and tearing. And let’s not forget lungs full of inhaled hair spray.

  We look good though. Damn good.

  “Every year, you just look more and more beautiful, honey,” my dad says. “You’ve become such a stunning young woman. Where did my baby go? The one with the chubby cheeks and little pot belly?”

  “Wow, Dad. That started off so good and went downhill fast.”

  He hangs an arm over my shoulder, and brings me in for a squeeze and a kiss to my temple. “It wasn’t an insult. I loved you just as much then as I do now. I just wish you still looked like my little girl. I’m not ready to be the old man of a high school senior. I think you should go back to kinder. Or at least fourth grade.”

  I rest my head against his chest. “Sorry. I’m all grown up. There’s no turning back. But I’m still your little girl.”

  “Thanks, honey.” He steps away from me and holds up his camera.

  “That was beautiful,” Mom says, wiping a tear from her eye. “I just love you guys.”

  My dad shakes his head with a chuckle. “Oh stop. Just get over here and take a picture with your daughter.” He counts to three and a flash goes off. “Only now, you look more like sisters.”

  My mom wiggles her brows. “Ooo, I’ll take it.” She saunters over to my dad with puckered lips and slides her hands around his waist.

  “Gross.”

  “Hey, Meg.” Dad turns away from my mother. Whew. “I forgot something.”

  When he turns back around, I notice he’s holding a clear plastic corsage box in his hands. He opens it and removes the flowers—bright pink Gerbera daisies. My favorite.

  “Thank you, Dad.”

  “Don’t thank me. I wish I could take credit for this, but it was Alex. He ordered it and paid for it. He called and asked me if I could pick it up and give it to you.”

  I inhale a deep breath and sigh. From miles and miles away, he still takes my breath away.

  My mom’s eating this up. “How sweet!”

  “The guy’s a stud.” My dad laughs. “I would’ve never thought of something like this.” He stretches out the elastic and circles it around my wrist. “There. You’re ready now.”

  When my dad is finished taking pictures, I ask my mom to take a few with my phone. In one in particular, I’m holding my corsage to my lips as if I’m kissing the petals. The bright flowers are so pretty against the black shimmer of my sexy dress—a one shouldered mini. I send that one to Alex along with a quick thank you. I also tell him I’ll be sure to express my appreciation when I see him. A winky emoticon punctuates the end of the message. I’m sure he’ll get the hint.

  Chapter 11

  Multicolored lights fly across the room in all different directions when we enter the dance. The DJ is already flowing and the dance floor is packed. It doesn’t take long to notice that the hot colors this year are yellow and red. It looks like a sea of eggs and ketchup out there.

  On the bright side, I’ll be able to find my girls easily. Steph and Keesh are both wearing pink tight floor length gowns. Andi is wearing a bright turquoise mini party dress. It’s super short and super puffy with never-ending layers of tulle and chiffon. As if her dress doesn’t stand out enough, her hair does even more. But I love it. The matching turquoise streaks in her hair are classic Andi. I wouldn’t expect anything less. Travis is adorable in a tie of the same shade. They’re perfect together.

  “Okay, ladies. Ready for some non-stop dancing?” I shout. After three years of formal dances, we’ve finally figured it out, ditching our purses in the car and filling the guys’ pockets with lip gloss and money. No need to be tied down to a table when the guys can carry our junk.

  “Let’s do this,” Keesh says, grabbing Josh’s hand and pulling him toward the crowd.

  “Yeah, we only have three hours so let’s make it count.” Steph smiles up at Dom. He follows her with a hand on her lower back.

  “Well, if some people didn’t spend all day getting ready, we would’ve been on time,” he says.

  “I hear ya,” Eric agrees. “And how many pictures did we really need to take? They look the same every year.”

  “You got that right, bro.” Now it’s Travis’s turn to complain.

  “Dude, let’s just dance without them while they bitch and moan.”

  “Sounds perfect!” Andi and I join our friends with some hip shaking and booty bumping while the rest of the guys slowly follow us.

  We’re having a blast goofing around with each other. I don’t think it can get any better, but it does. When Dominic clears a lane of dancers and dives to the floor, I almost die of laughter. He does the worm with perfect form over and over as we all cheer him on. Josh itches to get in on the excitement so he raises his hands and stares at the ground like he’s going to try it, but his teammates talk him out of it. Poor guy can’t have fun without anyone trying to stop him from hurting his precious arm. I can tell he’s disappointed so I get my other girl date and we freak him in a sexy lady sandwich like there’s no tomorrow.

  Eric slides in behind me wanting a piece of the action so I turn around and get funky with him. To others it may look a little flirty, but to our group it’s all in fun. Even the couples join us in the grind fest.

  “Dude, I gotta pee.” Andi crunches up her face in agony. “Go with me, please.”

  “Sure, let’s go.”

  We weave through sweaty bodies on our way to the rest room.

  “Nice dress, Meg,” a familiar face says.

  “Thanks,” I say, making a beeline for the door that says ‘girls’. “I’ll wait out here for you. I need to cool off.”

  Andi rushes inside with a groan. Scanning the crowd, I see couples kissing, fighting, and some too shy to say anything.

  “I don’t know why you even asked me to come if you aren’t going to dance with me. Just take me home,” a girl says as she stalks past with a guy trailing at her heels. Yeah, I’d be pissed too if my date didn’t dance. Brody was about to get pounced on last year when he said he wasn’t going to dance. But I got him going. I wish he would’ve come tonight. I tried to bribe him with promises of hot girls and steamy dances, but he wouldn’t budge because of some com
ic book festival. At least he promised he’d go to prom. As long as they’re no geek conventions, I guess.

  “Are you scoping out your next victim or what?”

  Just the sound of her voice makes me cringe. “You’re dumb. Go away.”

  “Or are you happy going back to Eric? I never thought you would, after … you know. What he and I did. A lot. But then again. He has experience. Maybe he can teach you a few things because you wouldn’t want to be less experienced than your college boyfriend.”

  “Dude, shut the fuck up already. You’re such a sad excuse for a girl. I thought the movie Mean Girls was bad. You put a whole new spin on the word bitch.” Andi links her arm in mine and tugs me away. I’m speechless. “She’s awful. I can’t believe you were friends with her.”

  “I know what you mean.” Amy is awful. The girl needs more therapy or something. I don’t get how she can be so mean especially after I held her hand through one of the hardest times in her life. Maybe it wasn’t hard for her. It would be for me. I don’t know. I need to stop trying to figure her out. She’s beyond comprehension.

  After party, baby! Hotel party! Can’t say we’ve done this before. As homecoming queen, Keesh got hooked up with invites to a ton of parties. Josh was going to throw one, but we talked him out of it. We want to go out and have fun without worrying about the dang clean up. It took the whole crew several hours to get his house back to normal after his end-of-the-summer bash.

  Another ASB kid reserved a luxurious suite for the party. I don’t know how he managed it, but I’m not about to start asking questions. We’re here to make some memories. It has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a huge living room. I plant myself on a sofa and kick off my shoes. I’m surprised I lasted this long in my two-inch heels. (Don’t judge. I’ve come a long way from my three-quarter inch chunky platforms.)