Page 176 of Saving Sparrow
“You look hot as fuck,” Quentin said as we approached him. The long metallic dress was simple enough that he wouldn’t look overdressed, but elegant enough to make him stand out in a crowd of other men dressed like him.
“Yeah,” I seconded. “Gorgeous.”
Rachel and Kayden had changed into their outfits, too, but they paled in comparison to Elliott.
“Thank you,” he said in a shy voice.
“We didn’t have time for a master class on walking in heels, so he’s got his Chucks on. You can’t see them, but it wouldn’t matter if you could because he still looks badass,” Rachel said.
“Definitely badass,” I agreed. “How do you feel?”
He turned to the vanity mirror, touching his hair. “Amazing. I feel like… myself.”
“Good, because you should.” I swooped in for a hug and kiss, but Kayden got in my way.
“Oh no, you don’t. You will not fuck up his makeup on our watch. You and Muscle Man can save it for later.” He looked us up and down. “Oh my gawd, why aren’t you two dressed? The show starts in thirty minutes; we’ve got to get seats near the stage. Tell me why you’re not dressed!”
Elliott’s smile faded. “Yeah, whyaren’tyou two dressed?”
Quentin and I looked at each other. We’d discussed this outside the door. “You go and enjoy yourself tonight,” he said. “We’ll go to the next one.”
“What?No, I can’t go without you two. I never said I wanted to do this without you.”
“It’s okay,” Rachel jumped in. “Kayden and I will take care of you. We’ll stick with you the whole time, drive you there and back.”
“I…” Elliott seemed unsure.
“What if we picked you up?” Quentin suggested.
“Yeah, I’d like that.” Elliott shifted on his feet. “You need the address.”
“Already got it,” I said.
“Maybe the phone number too, just in case the cell signal is bad.”
“Got it,” Quentin said. “And we’ve got Rachel and Twi…” He stopped himself.
Kayden gave him a look. “Watch it, Muscle Man.”
“We’ve got everyone’s number,” Quentin amended.
Elliott peered down at himself. “Maybe I should change. I’ll be fast.”
Quentin sidestepped Kayden, cupping Elliott’s shoulders. “You just said you feel like yourself. Don’t ruin that because someone might look at you weirdly. Fuck ’em.”
“Yeah, fuck ’em,” Rachel said.
“Fuck ’em,” I added.
“Fuck ’emrealgood.” We all glared at Kayden. “What?” he asked innocently.
Quentin kissed Elliott, ignoring Kayden’s warning about his makeup. “Have fun, pretty girl.”
“Ugh, pretty girl.” Kayden sounded faint. “Gets me every time.” He fanned himself.
Elliott took a deep breath, smoothing his hand down his dress. “Okay, let’s go.”
Kayden snapped his fingers, grabbed his purse and headed for the door. We followed them outside. Elliott preened under the fading sunlight, not allowing the few stares to get to him. They loaded into Kayden’s Jeep, all of them waving as he pulled off.
