Page 24 of Take My Crown

“It’s happened a few times before,” she shrugs like that’s nothing.

Making sure she sees how serious I am, I tell her the truth. “Well, it won’t with me.”

“You’re a good friend,” she softly smiles, tugging me to the stairs.

“What is with this place? It’s an odd house,” I whisper to her in case her parents are somehow listening.

“Daddy chose an architect who builds safety houses. This place could be blown up and still stand at the end, but it’s…different,” she replies. “Luckily, it won the eco-friendly category at some random architecture festival, otherwise Daddy would have had to cut the architect’s career short.”

I had a feeling it isn’t the career which would have been cut.

“Anyway,” says Milly as we get to an open door and she pulls me into her bedroom. It’s a mess of dresses laying over a white framed bed and a big white fur rug takes up the floor. There is a cute modern fireplace on the one wall and a board with dozens of different bits of fabrics and drawings.

“I was thinking that we should put you in something which would really make a statement, you know, make all those bitches at school realise they’ve got competition. Something like this. ”She holds up a yellow dress which is barely legal. Short with cutouts in the side, I would be exposing more flesh than material in the whole thing.

“Yeah. That’ll be a hard no on that,” I say. “I’m more of a jeans and slouchy tees kind of girl. There’s no way you’ll ever catch me in something like that.”

“Come on, Ivy,” Milly pleads. “You’ll look amazing. Your figure’s perfect. You’d have everyone’s eyes on you for all the right reasons.”

I fold my arms and glare at her.

“Fine,” Milly sighs. “Maybe next time… All right. If you prefer a more casual look, why don’t we go with a classic black outfit? I’ve got a few options for you. There’s this one…”

She holds up a black dress that is hardly better than the yellow one. Seeing my face, Milly swiftly moves on.

“Or if you want to go with a more covered look but still keep it sexy, I’ve got these black leather jeans. Why don’t you try those on and if they work, I’ve got a few ideas for what to team them with.”

Now that is more like it.

I take the jeans and go into Milly’s bathroom to get changed. They fit so tight they look like they’d been painted on, but I have to admit they do make my butt look amazing, all perky.

Coming out of the bathroom, Milly squeals with delight when she sees me.

“YEEEESS! Right. I’ve got theperfecttee to go with that.”

She disappears into her walk-in wardrobe and returns a moment later with a scrap of fabric. She holds it out in front of her so I can see that rather than a rag; it is in fact, a crop top with a print of the Harley Davidson logo.

Beaming with pride, she says, “I remember you saying you liked motorbikes, so this shows off your personalityandyour figure!”

“Nu-uh.” I shake my head. “There’s no way I’m wearing that. What’s wrong with the T-shirt I was wearing when I got here?”

“Oh, Ivy. So naïve.”

That’s rich, coming from Milly.

“You have to play the game,” she tells me. “These parties are just as much about showing everyone how powerful you are in every way possible. For us girls, that includes showing off what our mamas gave us.”

The phrase sounds ridiculous the way she says it, but she is so earnest, it is obvious she meant what she said.

“Trust me,” she says. “If you don’t wear this, or at least something like it, you’ll stick out like a sore thumb. Everyone will be wondering what you’ve got to hide. There’ll be rumours about hideous birthmarks or a misshapen belly button.”

“So?” I scoff.

“So, any sign of weakness leaves you open to attack,” Milly explains patiently. “Make life easy on yourself, Ivy. Wear the top.”

In the end, we compromise. I wear the top but team it with a black leather jacket with studs Milly happened to have lying around. Although she insists I leave it open to show off my tummy, I have every intention of doing it up as soon as we get to the party.

“Do you need any help with your makeup?” she offers. “I do a mean smoky eye.”

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