Page 3 of Once Upon a Fake Date

She threw a mostly finished top in my direction. “Want to rhinestone this?”

“Hell yes.”

What I said before about glitter? Double that for rhinestones.

As far as I was concerned, the more sparkle, the better.

We looked perfect.Looking at us in the mirror, I couldn’t help but smile. For years, we’d always done matching costumes. This year, however, I was a pink witch, and Ella had designed a princess costume for herself. One shestillhadn’t put on, even though it was Halloween weekend and we had a party to get to.

“What do you think?” I asked, both of us inspecting Ella’s makeup and hair in the mirror. If sewing and creating was her talent, makeovers were mine. I’d loved makeup ever since I was little playing with my Barbies, and now my friends always asked me to do theirs.

“I swear, you’re my Fairy Godmother,” Ella laughed, touching her cheeks. “Your transformations are likemagic.”

I looked down at my costume, twirling my hips so the dress would flounce out. “Well, you made methis, so I guess you’re mine as well.”

“The perfect pair,” Ella said, a smile on her face.

Laughing, I poked her in the shoulder. “Come on, go get dressed! It’s getting late.”

The party hadn’t even started yet, but I was way too excited.

My twin rolled her eyes at me, unzipping her Castleton University sweatshirt and sliding her leggings off.

“No one gets there when parties start, anyway,” Ella grumbled, picking up her dress and pulling it on over her hips before taking her bra off. “Zip me up?”

I nodded, and once Ella had her silver heels on, she turned to me. “Happy?”

“You used to dream about these parties, you know.” I still loved them. Seeing friends, socializing, and getting compliments on my outfits. It might have been shallow, but they made me feel good, so no complaints here.

“Dreams change.” Ella huffed out.

My voice was quiet when I responded, “Come on, not all guys are like that. You know it.” She’d had a rough experience last year walking in on a guy cheating on her, and ever since, had been focusing more on classes instead of having fun. Tonight, I wanted her to let loose and forget about that. She was a catch, and anyone who didn’t see that was anidiot.

“Finishing touch,” I murmured, gently placing the tiara in Ella’s bun. “An outfit fit for a princess.”

She looked perfect. We both did. I loved the fluffy pink skirt on mine, the way it fanned out around me as I twirled, and even my pink witch hat.

“Shall we?” Ella asked, linking her arm through mine.

I grinned at my twin. “Heck yeah. Let’s go!”

Heading out of our room, we walked arm in arm down the stairs of our sorority house.

While we didn’t usually go to the Delta Sig fraternity’s parties, I’d wanted a change of scenery.

Mostly because I didn’t want to run into my ex, and I knew exactly what circles he ran in. I scrunched up my nose at the thought.

“What?” Ella asked, poking me in the arm.

I shook my head. “Nothing. Just glad our street’s a little quieter.” Honestly, the fraternity houses on the weekend were a constant barrage of pulsing music. The sorority house was a few blocks away, giving us the precious silence we needed so I couldsleep.

Sometimes I joked that my favorite hobby was sleeping, but I was definitely grumpier when I didn’t get my full eight hours of sleep every night. Ten hours? Bliss.

Ella bit her lip, rocking on her strappy silver heels. “Are you sure about this?”

“Of course—” I grinned. “It’ll be fun! We’ll just grab a drink and wander.” I stopped walking, turning to face my sister. “If you’re not having fun after that, we’ll head back, okay?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

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