Page 178 of Wicked Dreams

She laughs. “Yeah. It’s ridiculous. Hence why we’re not going…”

She turns away from me and strips, quickly sliding her dress on. “Zip me up?”

I venture closer. She has a tattoo on her shoulder blade. It’s the outline of a bird.

I tap it, not bothering to ask, because she immediately sighs.

“Long story.”

“Okay.” I zip her dress and finagle the eyehook clasp at the top.

She smooths the fabric and spins around.

I love it just as much as when she tried it in the store.

“Your turn.”

What I didn’t think of—that I definitely should’ve—is that this dress is backless. Backless means no bra. My breasts are pretty small, so that isn’t a concern. Whatisa concern is the fact that Riley brought sticky circles for my nipples.

It’s embarrassing, but I guess I’d prefer them to showing everyone how cold I am…

I roll my eyes. “I’m gonna need to figure this out in private.”

She tosses me the pack. “Have fun.”

I take my dress and the stickies into the bathroom, staring at myself for a minute. I still don’t know what my mask looks like. The anticipation of finding out is almost unbearable.

Once the stickies are on and everything is situated, I slide my dress up over my hips. It has a higher neckline, like a shallow crew neck, and the straps over my shoulders are wide. The whole thing dips low in the back, cutting just inches above my tailbone.

It’s dangerous, but I secretly love it. And thebeading. I run my fingers over the intricate swirls along my waist. They curl up toward my breasts and down lower, onto the skirt. The dress is seriously perfect.

“Ready?” I ask Riley.

Time is picking up speed, hurtling us toward…Social anxiety.

“We got this.” She hands me a matte red lipstick from my tiny collection. “Put this lipstick on, and let’s dazzle them.”

I smile. I swore Riley to secrecy about my dress, just in case Caleb decided to interrogate her while I wasn’t around. I’m not too worried about matching him. Something tells me he’ll have that handled. But something tells me she’s seen my mask.

After my lipstick is in place, Riley and I strap on our heels. She picks up her mask. And… off we go.

“I’m suddenly nervous,” I admit.

She nods. “Want me to go first?”

“Please.”

At the top of the stairs, I lean against the wall and take a few deep breaths. Riley heads down, and the conversation below screeches to a halt.

“Wow.” Eli’s voice has a way of carrying. “You… that’s beautiful.”

I imagine her raising the mask, pouting like she did in my room.

“Where’s Margo?” Caleb asks.

“Oh, she’s coming,” Riley answers.

He grunts.

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