I wipe the tears from under my eyes. “I’m fine. I’m just not feeling well. May I be excused?”
I don’t wait for an answer. I just get up, leaving the table before we even order food. I don’t even care that I’ll probably be in a lot of trouble later. I just can’t sit there and listen to Kade talk to me like that anymore.
And to think… I thought we were going to be friends.
Friday, August 9
Beautiful.
Aside from Damon checking on me to make sure I was okay after Sunday brunch, nobody has talked to me all week. Not even Victoria, who I assumed would be by to yell at me, has said one word to me. I’m not sure what is worse—her anger or her silent treatment.
On Friday, the silent treatment is broken when Victoria shows up at my door. She’s not alone. There are two people with her that I’ve never met.
“Um, hi.” I give them a little wave.
Victoria doesn’t respond, she just walks into my room.
“Frank and Sasha,” Victoria says, pointing at the two people behind her. “This is my niece, Reign.”
“She’s gorgeous,” Frank says.
“Stunning,” Sasha agrees.
Sasha has a Russian accent, I think. It sounds Russian.
“Frank is going to be fixing your hair, Sasha is doing your makeup,” Victoria explains. “I’m going to lay out your outfit for you. Damon will be giving you a ride tonight.”
“A ride? Where? What’s going on?” I push a piece of hair behind my ear.
“We’re going to a party, dear. It’s a black and white party.” She crosses her arms. “It’s for charity. There will be auctions and such, but that doesn’t matter. It’s basically just an excuse for everyone to get together.”
I start to ask another question, but she’s already half-way inside my closet before I can utter a word.
“What is a black and white party?” I address Frank, who is pushing me toward a chair in front of my mirror.
“It’s a formal party where you wear black or white.” He pats the chair, so I sit as directed.
Right. Okay. So, is this how the point one percent lives? They throw parties with color schemes and pay people to fix their hair and makeup?
I mean, I don’t mind having somebody fix my hair. Frank seems to know what he’s doing. He’s currently sectioning it off. Sasha is sitting on the couch, filing her nails—I guess she’s waiting her turn. I don’t know.
“This dress.” Victoria holds up a white lace dress. It’s really pretty but on the short side. The kind of dress my mom would kill me if she saw me wearing it.
But then again… my mom abandoned me. She doesn’t have a say in what I wear, so I’m going to put it on.
Maybe wearing something to spite somebody else isn’t the best choice, but I’m allowed to be upset about my mom leaving me with a stranger. Even if Victoria isn’t a stranger to my mom, she is a stranger to me.
“These shoes.” She comes back out of the closet with a pair of white heels. They’re beautiful, but they look extremely uncomfortable. “They’re silk, so be careful not to stain them. The dress too. It’s expensive.”
I nod.
I will be extra careful.
She goes back into my closet and comes back out with a necklace. I didn’t even realize I had jewelry in there. I really should look through all the drawers in my closet.
“This necklace,” she says, putting it on my bed with the dress and shoes. “I’m going to go get ready myself. Frank, Sasha, if you need anything, you know where to find me.”
Victoria turns and walks out of the room, leaving me with complete strangers.
“You have gorgeous hair.” Frank wraps a small section around the curling wand. “Too beautiful to be put up. I’m going to leave it down tonight so everyone will be jealous of how beautiful you are.”
I grin. “Thanks.”
I like Frank.
He’s older—probably in his late fifties. While we talk, I find out he’s been married to the same woman for thirty years and that they have five children together and now they have fifteen grandchildren. He’s been doing hair his whole life—he and his wife own a salon together. It’s a passion they both enjoy, which makes me happy. It gives me hope that someday I will find my own happy-ever-after.
I know I’m only seventeen. I have plenty of time to settle down. But sometimes I worry that no guy will ever be able to see me for me and not just for how I look.
I don’t get what is so great about me anyway—there are a lot of pretty girls in the world. What makes guys so drawn to me? I don’t want them to be drawn because of the way I look. I want them to be drawn to my personality or my brain.
Someday, I will find love. Like my mom.
Mom always told me the story of how she met my dad. It was a love at first sight kind of thing. They were both fresh out of high school and they met at a concert. She said they got married within a week and it was a whirlwind. She said she never regretted it because she knew he was the only one for her. He passed away when I was a baby. I don’t remember him at all. I wish I did. All I know is that my mom missed him terribly. She never remarried or even tried to date anybody else. It must have been a really powerful love.
Two hours later, my hair is done, my makeup is done, and I am in the most expensive dress I’ve ever seen. At least, it feels expensive.
Victoria really loves clothes.
I stare at myself in the mirror and I can’t help but think I look like a model. I’m definitely tall enough to be one in these heels.
I feel beautiful.
Usually, I don’t dress up. I tend to think maybe I’ll get less attention if I wear baggy clothes or messy hair, but it never works. But I like the way I look and the way I feel when I dress up, so why don’t I do this more often?
So, I decide… from now on, it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks of me. It only matters what I think of myself. And if I want to wear a pretty dress and fix my hair then I’m going to do it. Other people are going to think what they want to regardless. I might as well look fabulous while they judge me.
Mad.
I’m mad at Damon.
I know I shouldn’t be, but I am.
He hasn’t said one word to me since Sunday—not since he checked on me after brunch. I really thought that we were going to be friends. Then again, I also thought Kade was going to be my friend before he said all those horrible things, so maybe I’m not the best person to judge the situation.
I didn’t really have friends in St. Louis. I was kind of friends with a few people I worked with, but not really. We’d only talk at work, and even then the girls I worked with only liked me when guys weren’t there. The second a guy showed up, I felt like they were trying to compete with me, but I never wanted to compete! They could have all the guys; I wasn’t interested. And the guys that I worked with were always too flirty. It was frustrating. Even when I straight up told them I wasn’t interested, it didn’t seem to deter them. After a few weeks, my manager caught on and only scheduled me with girls. I was thankful for that.
There is a knock on my door and my heart picks up speed because I know it’s him.
I take a deep breath before walking over and opening my door.
Damon is wearing an all black suit, of course. And he looks amazing. My eyes slowly scan his body and my face warms when I realize that I’m checking him out, but he’s doing the same thing to me.
“You look… wow.” His eyes are wide, and his mouth is slightly agape.
“Thanks. You look handsome,” I say. “I like the suit.”
He shrugs. “Victoria wanted it, so Dad made me.”
“I think a man wearing a suit is sexy.”
Oh, my God.
Did I seriously just say that?
I clear my throat. “Uh, we should go, right? We don’t want to be late.”
I don’t actually know what time the party starts, but I assume it’s soon. It’s almost eight o’clock and I wonder if w
e’re actually already late.
“Everybody always comes late to these kinds of things.” He shrugs.
“How bad is tonight going to be on a scale of one to ten?” I run my hands down the front of my dress. “One meaning best time ever and ten meaning I’m going to be some kind of weird virgin sacrifice.”
He laughs. “I don’t think they could use you as a virgin sacrifice.”
“What the heck? Does everybody think I’m some kind of super slut or something?”
“No. We just… know that your kind has needs, you know. No shame,” he says.
“Last time I checked, I was definitely still a virgin. But if you want to think that I sleep with every guy I see because I have needs, whatever.” I have never even kissed a guy for goodness sake, but he doesn’t need to know that.
“That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry.” He grimaces. “That came out way wrong. And I didn’t know you were a virgin. That’s cool.”
“Whatever. Let’s just go,” I huff.
I seriously want to know why everybody thinks that I will just sleep with anybody. First that Kade guy thought it and now Damon does. Why would they think that? And they keep saying ‘your kind.’ Do they mean poor? Certainly they don’t think poor people just have sex with everybody all the time.
I don’t wait for Damon to apologize anymore. Instead, I head out of my room and down the hallway.
“I’m really sorry that I implied that you sleep around.” Damon’s voice is quiet as he speaks, and I sneak a glance at him. “That was rude. You can’t help who you are. I think it’s cool that you fight your urges. You don’t have to, you know.”
“What the heck do you mean by that? I can’t help who I am?” I throw my hands up. “You make it sound like I’m some sort of sex addict. Clearly, I’m not.”
“No, I just mean because you’re a succubus.”
I laugh. “Yeah, okay. And next you’re going to tell me you’re a vampire. Good one.”
Damon doesn’t say anything more, so I just keep walking until we get to his car. He opens the passenger side door for me.
“I can open my own door.”
“I know. I just wanted to open it for you,” Damon says, standing by my door.
I want to slam the door, but he’s blocking me from being able to shut it.
“I’m sorry about what I said. Clearly, I was mistaken.” He frowns as he looks at me. “I realize now why you were so offended. I promise you, I did not mean to offend you by what I said. It’ll all make sense someday. I guess I’ll talk to Victoria. I bet she has no idea you don’t know.”
“Know what?”
“Everything.”
I turn and face forward, crossing my arms over my chest.
“I’m sorry.” Damon reaches a hand out to touch me, but I jerk away from him before his skin can touch mine.
“Whatever, Damon.” My lips set in a firm line. “Let’s just go.”
He sighs, but eventually shuts the door and walks around to climb in the driver’s side. I don’t look at him the entire drive there. Honestly, I’m just hurt that he thinks so little of me. Maybe I was delusional to think that I could ever be friends with a guy. They all think the same thing about me.
Money and power.
As soon as we get to the party, Damon and I part ways. I know he feels bad about what he said, as he should, but maybe I’m overreacting. He did say he was sorry. But for now, I just want space from him. We’ll talk later and I’m sure I’ll forgive him.
The party is in a mansion—of course it is. Everybody seems to live in a mansion around here, so I’m not even surprised. People inside stand around sipping champagne. Some girl carrying around a tray offers me one, but I shake my head. I’m only seventeen and the legal drinking age in America is twenty-one. I honestly can’t believe she even offered.
“I would’ve taken it. These parties are dull and the only thing I look forward to is the alcohol.”
A guy walks up beside me and I’m surprised because he’s taller than me, even in my four-inch heels. That never happens.
Is everybody in Vegas super tall or something? Geez, what do they put in the water?
“Oh, wow. You’re a succubus. So… alluring.” He grins, his eyes raking over my dress.
He’s the second person today to call me a succubus.
At least he says it like it’s a compliment.
“Hi, I’m Tytin Bergstrom, but everybody calls me Ty.”
“Hi, Ty. I’m Reign Evermore.”
“Did I see you come in with Damon Arrington?”
I nod. “My aunt is married to his dad.”
“Oh, so he’s your cousin. Good,” he says with a smile tilting his lips.
“Good?”
“I was worried you were together or something.”
“Oh. He’s not really my cousin,” I explain. “I kind of just met the guy, to be honest. Even though we live in the same house, he’s barely talked to me.”
“If you lived in my house, I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off you.”
My heart races at his words.
I would very much like to live in the same house as this guy.
Ty is gorgeous. He’s got dark brown, messy hair that I find myself wanting to run my fingers through. And his eyes… they’re hazel, kind of. But they’re also kind of green and gold. He has flecks of different colors throughout, and I feel like I could stare into his eyes all day just trying to memorize the pattern.
I back away from Ty though. Because as attracted to him as I am, I don’t know the guy.
“You’re very flirty,” I say.
“And you’re… not,” he counters, raising an eyebrow. “I thought succubi were supposed to be all… seductive.”
“Maybe I’m just a really bad succubus.”
I mean, if everybody is just going to call me a succubus, I’m going to roll with it. Why not?
“I doubt that.” He takes a sip of his champagne. “What brings you to Vegas?”
“I just came to stay with my aunt for a while.” It’s definitely a better answer than telling him my mom abandoned me and I have no other choice but to come here.
“Do you like it?”
I shrug. “I’m kind of… bored. And lonely.”
“We should hang out then. I can definitely think of something to occupy our time.” He raises his eyebrow suggestively.
“You can show me around town.” I grin, excited about the prospect of having a friend. “I haven’t had a good cup of coffee since I got here. And I don’t know where anything is. Victoria bought me a car and I’ve only driven it once.”
“I can’t believe your cousin hasn’t shown you around.”
“Damon is not my cousin.” I may be protesting too much, but I can’t help it.
He grins. “He’s kind of your cousin.”
Nope. I refuse to accept that, because I would never be attracted to my cousin, and I’m very attracted to Damon.
Not that I have any cousins….
Besides, we’re not related.
“This is a really fancy house.” I motion with my hand as I attempt to change the subject away from Damon and me.
“Not as fancy as the one you live in.” He shrugs, glancing around the house dismissively.
I shrug. “It’s my aunt’s house, not mine.”
“This is my house,” he admits. “Well, my dad’s house. But it will be mine someday.”
“This is where you live?” I ask, looking around.
“Yeah.”
I am not sure I will ever get used to the world I was thrust into.
“Isn’t your mom a really important person? I’m sure your house was nice too,” he says.
I shake my head. “My mom was a medical transcriptionist. We weren’t exactly rich.”
Ty tilts his head to the side, studying me. “I’m really confused. Your aunt is Victoria Arrington, right?”
“Yes,” I say. “I get why you’d be confused, since my aunt is rich. But I
didn’t know her before I moved here. Actually, I didn’t even know I had an aunt.”
I don’t know why I’m telling a stranger all this, but I feel like I need to explain myself. I feel like people need to know why I don’t fit in here.
Or do I?
I certainly look like I fit in.
But I don’t act like it.
I’m a fraud in designer shoes.
“I’m glad you’re here.” His eyes sparkle with humor. “You’re just what we need around here. Things were getting boring.”
“Thanks.” I think.
“I want to show you something.” He stands taller, if that’s possible, and motions with a head nod over his shoulder. “Come with me.”
He starts walking through the crowds of people, so I follow him. Maybe it’s not smart to go off with a stranger, but I feel comfortable with Ty. Plus, if he tries anything I could always beat him with my four inch heels.
I follow Ty up two different staircases and eventually we end up on his roof.
“This is awesome,” I breathe out.
The roofs in St. Louis are not flat. They can’t be because of the rain and snow. I think I prefer the weather here, even if it is really hot.
I follow him over to the edge and we look down at his front lawn. I see cars are still pulling up—lots of them actually.
“Everybody likes to arrive fashionably late to make an entrance,” he muses.
“I’d love to see one of those women trip over their heels.”
He grins. “You and me both.”
“I don’t usually wear heels,” I admit. “Victoria picked out my outfit. I prefer jeans.”
His eyes scan my body. “This dress looks amazing on you.”
“Thanks,” I say, my face growing warm at his compliment.
I’m not used to this—a guy that I actually like paying attention to me.
It’s too soon to say if I like Ty or not, but he’s definitely nice. And I’m attracted to him.
I’ve never really been attracted to guys before I moved here. I mean, there were celebrities I thought were cute, or maybe even a guy I’d see at the mall would be cute, but I’ve never felt the way I do here. I almost feel drawn to Ty.
Dragon Royalty (Dragon Shifter Academy Book 1) Page 3
