“What is that? An art class project or something?” He smiles sheepishly. “I haven’t told many people about this, but I paint in my free time. I especially love redoing comic book characters. I started this project back when we first started getting back together, and I was going to wait for your birthday to show it to you, but I can’t wait any longer to see your reaction.”
“Okay?” I lean forward in expectation.
Gio turns the easel around and my chest expands with a gasp. On the canvas, in exquisite detail, Gio has painted a reimagining of Wonder Woman with my face on it. He brings it closer so I can examine it. I gaze at it in awe, unable to find words. Everything from my hair to my eyes to my nose is perfectly captured. The only thing he changed was my crooked jaw. I don’t mind him smoothing that out for a painting, even if it is something about myself I don’t want to change.
“Gio, this is breathtaking. You made this?”
If Gio was the blushing type, his face would be scarlet. His eyes are begging for my approval. He nods, pressing his lips together tightly. I gaze at the painting again, not missing the look of unwavering determination in my eyes or the smirk on my face.
Gio knows me a lot better than I thought he did. This art piece brings out my soul like I’ve never seen anything do before.
“I love it, babe. I don’t even know how to thank you.”
His mouth bursts into a smile and he rejoins me on the bed. Taking my face in both his hands, he latches onto my lips and empties his soul out to me.
“Happy Birthday, bella,” he whispers against my lips. I kiss him back with equal fervor. Three words are edging their way to the surface, and I’m exhilarated by what they might mean for me. Falling in love with the actor next door wasn’t a part of my plan when I came to L.A., but every time I climb that wall I fall a little deeper under his spell.
October 17
The Sweetest Damn Thing
I’m attaching a picture below of my early birthday present from Gio. I am so fucking lucky. This painting is beautiful and something I’ll treasure forever. He was so happy I liked it.
I think I’m really falling for him. I’m a little scared to. For some reason, I’m still afraid to believe this is real. Even with all the things he’s done to prove his love, I still see myself as that dorky farm girl from Kentucky who doesn’t deserve him. Hopefully someday that will change. For now, I’ll enjoy my exquisite presents and heart-melting kisses.
He’s keeping the painting over there for now since Raven might come to our place again. I hate not being able to look at it every day, but I’m hoping this is only temporary. Secret relationships are more complicated than I realized in the beginning. I can’t wait for the day when we can come out into the open. For now, I’m keeping the picture here to hold me over.
Ttyl,
Mads
After band practice on Saturday, Logan and I agree to meet on WoW as soon as we get home. He says Claire has been going out of town on weekends lately, so he should be completely free. I guess he must have talked her into letting him stay with the band, because he hasn’t made any moves to leave yet, for which I am extremely grateful. Logan belongs with us. I know we just started, but I really can’t imagine the band without him.
The four of us are getting pretty close-knit and our music is getting good, but we still haven’t come up with a band name yet. Ideas have been thrown around, but none of them have that punch we’ve been looking for. Dad and Cass say there’s still time for us to figure that out. We don’t need a name until we go public with our music.
When I get home from band practice, I immediately slip into my PJs and hop on the computer to meet Logan. We put on our headsets and chat on our way to Ashran about game updates and add-ons.
Later, as Logan and I get stomped by the Alliance in Ashran, we discuss ways to avoid this kind of humiliation in the future. One way is to get in preformed groups who actually know what they’re doing. It’s hard trying to carry twenty other people who seem to die every other second. We look into joining groups, and somehow the conversation turns to my eighteenth birthday. “We’re having a Halloween/birthday party.
Costumes and all. I’m so excited I can hardly think about anything else,” I admit.
“That sounds epic. You could do a cosplay, maybe dressed up as Alexstrasza or something. No one would care about the geekiness as long as you’re wearing a bikini.”
I laugh…hard. “That’s actually not a bad idea, but I’d rather do that for BlizzCon. I’m going for the first time this year.”
“Me too!” Logan’s voice gets a little high-pitched with his excitement. “I thought I would be going by myself. If you and your dad are going, I’ll just hang out with you.”
“Actually, it’s just me. Dad’s more of a fan of Battlefield and Call of Duty,” I explain. “I thought I was going alone too. Wanna be my BlizzCon date?”
“Definitely. That will be a nice excuse to hang out without pissing off my significant other.” I giggle. “Agreed. And hey, if you’re in the neighborhood, feel free to drop by my birthday party on Halloween.”
“Will there be booze?”
“There will be booze.”
“Then I definitely will be there,” Logan assures me. “With Claire being gone all the time, I figured I’d be spending Halloween alone too.”
I frown, pouting my lower lip. “That’s sad. Why is she gone so much?”
“Work, visiting friends in NYC and Paris…dating a model means sharing her a lot. I…honestly, I hope I’m not sharing her in more ways than one. I saw a suspicious text on her phone the other day and it’s been eating at me.”
“A suspicious text? What did it say?”
“It was from a New York number and it said, ‘Can’t wait to see you this weekend. I’ve been dreaming about you whenever you’re not here.’” “Hmm…” Scrunching my eyebrows, I process this new information. Claire could be innocent—it could be a text from a friend or a creeper that won’t leave her alone—but it could be a clue to her insane jealousy over me. I hate to weigh in on this at all since I’m a point of contention in his relationship, but he did bring it up.
“I don’t want to sway you or anything, but if I were you, I’d be watching out for more texts like that.”
“Yeah, I’m thinking you’re right,” Logan says with a groan. “I hate spying, and I especially hate confrontation, but something is wrong. I’ve just got this bad feeling in my gut.”
“Sorry, Lo. Let’s talk about something else. BlizzCon?”
I can hear the grin in his voice. “BlizzCon.”
We talk enthusiastically about BlizzCon and the party, forgetting about girlfriend and boyfriend troubles for the moment. Talking to Logan really is like a breath of fresh air. It makes everything feel okay even when my tornado of drama is whirling and gusting around me. The easy confidence that radiates from him is contagious. I’d like to catch some of that.
Maybe hanging around him more is exactly what I need.
October 24
Another Crazy Week
I had a hard time this week with my twisted ankle. It was worse than I thought, especially when I had to try to run in P.E. When tears were streaming down my face, the teacher finally let me get off it and sit on the sidelines while everyone else ran the mile. After that, the ankle got worse and worse. I haven’t been able to visit Gio at all, so we’re just playing Battlefield and talking that way. He hasn’t had a whole lot of time this weekend, so I’m actually spending more time with Logan than with him.
Today the ankle finally seems to be healing up a bit. Dad and Cass insisted on me not going anywhere and taking care of myself until I’m feeling better. I’m resting with my foot up on another chair at my desktop waiting for Logan to get done with lunch. He must have cooked himself a feast, because it’s been thirty minutes and he messaged me a minute ago saying he just sat down to eat. From what I’ve heard, he likes cooking even more than Dad and Cass do. I’ve heard more about Gordon Ramsey an
d Bobby Flay lately than I ever thought I’d know. Cooking honestly isn’t my thing, but I’m glad it’s his. It will be nice having someone in the band who knows how to cook a good meal. The four of us were talking today at band practice about hanging out more. I’m going to have them over after this whole birthday party thing is done.
Have I mentioned how excited I am about my birthday? Because I am. Like, a lot.
Dad is a different story. He’s been reminiscing a lot about my baby and toddler years lately. I know he’s sad about his baby girl becoming an adult. When I sit beside him with my foot propped up on the ottoman in the living room, he puts his arm around me and snuggles with me, acting like he never wants to let me go. I never mind sitting with my dad, but I feel bad for him. I don’t plan on staying home forever, and he knows that. He’s probably worried he’s going to lose me once I start touring. That’s never going to happen. I’m probably going to be calling him every damn day yelling, “Daddy, come rescue me!”
And he’ll be on the first flight out, because that’s just how we are. He doesn’t realize that when a single parent gives up their life to raise their kid, that child will be loyal to them for life. I’m always going to be Team Mike. He shouldn’t worry about losing me, ever, even if my relationship with Jess improves.
As long as he doesn’t crash my birthday party, it will all be all right. I got him to agree to celebrate with me the day before so we can have the house to ourselves. He knows a party will be happening and he told me that as long as we clean up and don’t leave a disaster area for Kelsey, he won’t say a word. I think he’s actually going out of town to Santa Barbara with Cass. They’ll have fun, we’ll have fun, everybody wins.
I hope the next week goes by fast.
Ttyl,
Mads
October 31
Happy Birthday to Me!
I’m up at 12 a.m. because I wanted to be awake to ring in my eighteenth birthday. I’m not planning on being my usual night owl self tonight, though, because tomorrow is going to be hectic as hell.
Raven has already been driving me crazy this week with preparations for the party. This is supposed to be her biggest event of the year. Personally, I would have been fine with a few friends and some booze, but not Raven Redinger. Everything has to be a spectacular, over-the-top showing with her. So far the guest count is up to two hundred seventy, which I’m pretty sure exceeds maximum occupancy even in our monster of a house. Sadly, Gio, Dalton, and Devon won’t be there, but at least I can hang out with Chandler, Kiki, and the other girls, and of course Logan when he gets there. He had to work, but he’s supposed to be getting off early and coming around eleven. As long as he shows up at all, I’ll be happy. He’s a good friend. I appreciate him coming so I won’t have to overdose on douchery.
Seriously, I think most of Wilcox is coming, probably because of the big name guests that will be there. Lots of teen actors and musicians have messaged us saying they can’t wait to attend. It’s very flattering, but it makes me a little nervous, because I have a recorded history of screwing up in front of other big-name celebs. What if I do something stupid again? I can’t ruin this. Raven will end me. I have to make sure I’m on my absolute best behavior tomorrow night.
I know I can rely on Mari to keep me in line. She’s already prevented me from several screw-ups over at Wilcox. She doesn’t seem interested in being my friend, but she does care about keeping me on schedule and out of trouble. I guess I’m grateful for that. She’s an unpleasant person, kind of like Raven, but also like her, she proves useful in some situations.
Guess Wonder Woman’s going in with a full squad of sidekicks tomorrow. Hopefully if any bad guys show up, we’ll have no problem taking them down.
Ttyl,
Mads
“Thank you, Kelsey.” I smile and dismiss her after her final chore is done for the day. Closing the door behind her, I sigh with contentment, loving the fact that Dad turned a blind eye to us planning a full-fledged party here. We have lights set up and we cleared the living room and sunroom furniture off to the side to create a dance floor inside the house. There’s going to be a DJ and some of Raven’s minions are going to serve—secretly spiked—punch. I’m already dressed in my Wonder Woman costume with my hair fluffed to perfection and my makeup done to a T. I got my legs waxed for the first time and my bright red manicure accentuates the outfit perfectly. I half-considered going next door to show Gio before the party begins, but I don’t want to get caught there.
Soon after Kelsey leaves, Raven arrives in her limo. I walk out to the car to greet her, planning on giving her an obligatory birthday hug. The driver steps out as I approach the vehicle and comes around the side to open her door. When Raven steps out of the limo with a smug smirk on her face, the air leaves my lungs, and I stand there dumbfounded.
“How do you like my costume?”
I stutter and grunt, trying to find words but coming up with nothing.
Raven is wearing a Wonder Woman costume.
Not just any Wonder Woman costume.
The exact one that I am also wearing at this moment.
“Raven…what the hell? I didn’t think we were matching today.”
She grins wickedly. “I saw you out shopping for your costume a couple weeks ago and thought it was a magnificent choice. I was going to dress as Snow White, but then I realized that was nowhere near as good. I couldn’t let you outdo me, now could I?”
She picked the same costume as me on purpose so I couldn’t outdo her. I’m speechless and truly blown away.
“How…” My voice comes out hoarse, and I clear my throat. “How are people going to tell us apart?”
Raven comes up and links her arm with mine, leading me back inside the mansion. She leans in to whisper in my ear conspiratorially.
“Well, you see, I thought we could turn this into sort of a game. Since we’re dressed alike, people will have a harder time telling us apart, so we could have those who guess our identities correctly win a prize.
Then every time someone guesses wrong, they’ll have to take a shot. My driver is bringing in some of the goodies I brought. I think you’ll find them quite satisfactory.”
I shake my head in awe as Raven leads me inside the house and into the kitchen. She really surprised me this time. I had hoped I might have one night where I could be unique and express myself, but of course she found a way to ruin that too. Still, the game idea does have some appeal. I could see people possibly having fun with that. I guess I’ll go along with this as long as she doesn’t try to pull some crazy stunt.
Thirty minutes later, the assistants trickle in and help with the last-minute details. Mari, Kiki, and Chandler stay by my side while the guards Raven hired—which seem like legit club bouncers—let our guests in one by one. I stand beside Raven when our guests begin to arrive and greet everyone with my warmest smile, hating the way the corners of my lips are twitching. I’m nervous as hell, and it shows. I hope I’m able to keep my cool and not do anything moronic tonight.
Once the DJ has arrived and darkness has descended, the party officially begins. With the multicolored flashing lights and makeshift serving staff, it feels almost like we’re in a real club. I head out to the dance floor with some of the girls after my first cocktail and we all laugh and squeal as I crank out my best dance moves. I can’t dance for shit, and now they’ve all seen that. I start to rethink my choice to show off my non-talent after it’s already too late.
Lots of the girls are dressed in nothing but a bikini and some sort of identifying headband: devil horns, bunny ears, a feathery halo. Most of the guys chose a superhero or police officer costume. We’re surrounded by sexy, famous rich people and I should be enjoying it, but all I can think about is waiting for Logan to get here so I can say hi, hang out for a little bit, and sneak out. My real party is taking place later tonight, and the closer I get to it, the more the bundle of nerves in my stomach grows. I know there’s a chance I might surrender to Gio tonight and tell him
I’m falling for him.
Several people guess my identity right, but quite a few people get it wrong. Between the darkness, the drinking, and the identical nature of our costumes, it’s the perfect setting for this “Guess Who?” game.
I have to admit, Raven’s idea is making this party a bit more interesting. She gave me a basket to hold with sweet treats, and mine is currently way fuller than hers. She’s been going up to guys, pushing out her chest, and asking them which twin she is.
Cheater. I don’t care. I figure the more sweets I have left over, the more I’ll be able to eat once the party’s done.
Finally, Logan walks in the front door in a skintight Thor costume with a blond wig. He shaved his stubble to fit the costume and is carrying an impressive replica of Thor’s hammer. I take in his attire and feel guilty at the slight burn of hunger behind my eyes. Instead of going up to him, I wait for him to find me so he can play the game. He spots me immediately, grins, and walks up to me confidently.
“Mads, you can’t fool me. I’m afraid I’m going to have to take a goodie from you.”
I grimace as he takes one of the chocolate éclairs from the basket. “That was my favorite.”
Logan cackles victoriously, making his Adam’s apple pull up and down. “Sorry, sweets. That’s what I’m calling you from now on, by the way. I’ve never seen so many types of dessert in one basket.”
I blush at him calling me “sweets.” I shouldn’t like it so much, but I do.
“This was Raven’s doing,” I admit. “She came up with this game. I’m afraid she’s stomping me at it too.”
Logan glances at Raven out of the corner of his eye. She’s still shoving her chest in the face of any guy who isn’t currently making out with another girl. “Yeah, well at least you’re playing fair. Good for you. That’s how I knew who you were, by the way. You’re not the type to taunt guys like that. You’re too sweet.”
D.O.R.K. Series Box Set Page 38
