Page 39 of The Boy I Once Loved

"We should all get ready together at mine," Katy suggests.

"Girl's time!" Aria cheers clearly thrilled at Katy's suggestion.

I'm none too thrilled about the idea of girl time but I realise there is no point in trying to fight Aria who insists she will pick me up. I promise Aria I will be ready for five and she takes off to find Connor, leaving me to put my books in my locker.

“Hey, Ella.”

I turn around to find Danny standing before me, hands in pockets and kicking at the ground with his foot.

"Hey, Danny. You okay?"

He nods. “Are you going to the party tonight?”

“She is, with me,” a deep and unfriendly voice that I recognise too well from over my shoulder answers for me. Dylan’s hand appears on my hip and he squeezes gently. Danny notices the hand and smirks.

“I’ll maybe see you there then Ella?” He asks me, completely blanking Dylan which I can tell by the way his hand squeezes slightly tighter on my hip, really pisses him off.

"Yeah, sure, Danny," I reply, smiling warmly. As soon as he has gone, I whip around and poke Dylan in the chest. "Did you have to be so rude?"

He holds his hands up in defence, feigning innocence. “What? He was hitting on you. I thought I was helping you out.”

I sigh. I have to agree it does seem like Danny is interested in me and in truth I’m not remotely interested in him, mainly because of the idiot standing in front of me. “I’m big enough to fight my own battles, Dylan.”

He takes my bag off me and swings it over his broad shoulder. He looks good today. I mean he looks good every day, but today those jeans fit snug to his thighs and the blue fitted t-shirt he wears shows off his toned arms. “My mum said she will run us to the party. Shall we say seven-thirty?”

“Oh, I’m getting ready with the girls at Katy’s, so I’ll already be there.”

He drives me home and I have a quick tea before I head up and start searching through my wardrobe for options for tonight’s outfit. The doorbell rings, pulling me from my dilemma.

"I know I'm early, but I thought I would help you pick out your outfit for tonight," Aria announces as I open the door and she waltzes inside.

She rifles through my closet like a woman on a mission. “Ooh, I’m thinking this skirt.” She hands me a black pleather skirt. “This red top should go nice.” It’s a top with a V-neck that wraps at the waist. “What shoes do you have? I’m thinking it will have to be something flat. Do you have any Vans or Converse?” I nod and direct her to where my white converse are. “It won’t exactly go, but it will have to do.” She claps her hands together. “Okay, let’s go, we don’t have long to get ready.”

My eyes nearly pop out of my head. “Aria, we have two and a half hours!”

She shrugs as she walks down the stairs in front of me while I shuffle down on my bum. “We have to have you looking your best. You might meet the man of your dreams tonight.”

Two hours later and I'm dressed in the outfit that Aria picked out for me and I have had my hair done in beach waves. Katy has done my make-up, but I insisted she kept it minimal and not too heavy. Aria admires herself in the mirror. She has chosen to wear a floral playsuit. Freya is wearing a tight body-con dress that leaves very little to the imagination. I heard her earlier asking Katy if she thought Dylan liked the colour purple. Freya reluctantly takes my crutches while Aria and Katy help me down the stairs. Once downstairs, I plonk myself on a barstool next to where all the drinks are stationed. Katy gets some music on and she puts out bowls of crisps and snacks around the room. The doorbell rings and without waiting for an answer the boy's trail in, Connor at the front, followed by Lucas, Jack and Caleb, but it is the boy at the rear that grabs all my attention. Dylan looks like a girl's version of a wet dream. He's in ice blue denim jeans and a white t-shirt that hugs his pecks. His hair is its usual ruffled and sexy self.

"Dylan!" Freya squeals, hurrying straight over to him and wrapping her arm through his. "Let's get you a drink. A beer, right?"

As she walks over with him, I hold out a Magners and smiling; he takes it off me. “Ella Umbrella, where are your clothes?” He asks, frowning as he looks me over from head-to-toe.

I roll my eyes and take a sip of my fruit cider. "It's called a skirt Dylan. Most of the girls here are wearing one. Well, except for Freya here who is wearing a bandage."

Freya scowls at me and then raises her face and smiles seductively at Dylan. “Do you like my dress, Dylan?”

He nods. “Yeah, it’s fine,” he replies, not even looking her way. She is clearly hoping for more of a compliment than he offers her as her face falters slightly before she paints back on a smile.

“Wowsers, Ella bear! You look hot,” Caleb announces as he walks over and takes me in. “Even with that big ugly boot on your leg, you look good.” He winks at me and then gives Dylan the finger when he finds him scowling at him. “And that is my cue to go mingle.” He grabs hold of Freya’s hand and pulls her reluctantly away from Dylan. “Come and mingle with me Freya and tell me about that delicious dress you are wearing.”

Caleb looks back over his shoulder, and Dylan mouths thank you to him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a skirt,” he states, continuing to frown at my bare legs. “Jesus, I’m going to have my work cut out for me tonight in keeping the wolves at bay.”

I decide to ignore his judgement on my outfit; he sounds like my father and I have managed without one all these years, so I don’t need one now. “Is she coming tonight? The girl you like.”

He chews on his lips as he leans beside me on the island. “Yeah, she will be here.”

“Are you going to point her out to me or am I going to have to guess?” The room is filling up as more people arrive and I look around the room at all the girls present. “Is she blonde or brunette?”

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