Page 14 of Savage

Chapter Four

“Oh, my God! I had the worst flight from hell! I swear to God, I almost just stabbed someone.” Kells erratically charged into the living room without greeting anyone. She immediately came straight here from LAX and seemed beside herself, animated as she parked her belongings in the corner in drastic haste. We had been in the middle of deciding what type of hairstyle would suit the dress when River’s cleaning lady, Linda, had let her in.

Intrigued, Anton and I both stilled, knowing that whatever got Kells so enraged, it would be pure juicy drama.

“What the heck happened to you?” Anton and I both chimed at the same time.

Superbly dressed in her summer dress and designer shoes, her bright green eyes sparkled like impeccable emeralds as she paced to and fro, before she managed to stop and glance at us with those powerful gem-like eyes. “The plane was full, and there’s this guy I sat next to in first class. I have a fear of flying, you know, and sometimes the only way I can relax is to sit near the window, but all the seats were taken. So I tried to explain my situation to this man next to me, but he just dumbly stared, as if he didn’t understand what I was saying. So I figured this Brazilian man didn’t speak an ounce of English. So I let it slide, trying to be understanding and all …”

“And?” I pressed further since she was painstakingly taking a great deal to reach the ending.

Kells let out an aggravated groan before her shoulders sagged as she recalled what transpired. “But, like, half an hour later, he asks the steward for some vodka in fluent American English, so I flipping confronted the asshole. We had a serious discussion. My blood boiled, obviously.”

Okay, where was she heading with this?

Anton shook his head, treating this as one of those episodes where Kells liked to overreact and exaggerate. He took it upon himself to wheel in Kells’ makeup equipment and began to set it up, taking up the entire the dining table as we waited for Kells to get it together and finish her distorted story.

“Babes, I love you, and I know you’re upset and all,butour Cara has a red carpet appearance in two hours, so can we chop-chop and multi-task while you spill the goods?” Anton interrupted Kells, which seemed to have snapped her out of her funk.

Kells unhurriedly began to lie out all the brushes, the color palettes, foundations, and such before she bit her lip and let out a labored sigh. “Anyway, so I pretended to sleep because there’s nothing worse than getting all hyped up for an argument to only end up getting stared at like you’re this babbling moron. But after a while, pretending to sleep became such a hellish nightmare, so I began to, um, you know. Well, he probably thought I was asleep, and I managed to peek at the email he was writing. His name’s Carter Mason. Mister jackass of the twenty-first century!”

“With that name, I can only guess this Carter guy is hot as fuck! Am I right?” Anton snapped his fingers as if he had just figured something brilliant. “Ooo, I get it! He’s gay and thinks you’re a snotty bitch!” He threw her a devilish grin.

Her facial expression said it all. The woman was not amused.

Of course Kells wouldn’t be capable of being so wounded had the man in question been gorgeous. She was probably more insulted that a hot man ignored her. An occurrence that seldom happened to her.

“Anyway, I’m not sure if I read it right, but it looked like his girlfriend died.” Kells was clearly troubled with her stellar spying abilities. “Her name was Natalia.”

Anton shook his head. “If that were the case, then he had every right to be a jackass to you.”

After making sure my robe was tight and secured, I glanced up to see my best friends seeming at odds with each other. “That’s not nice, Anton,” I mumbled with a smile. He was a tad right, just a tad.

“Seriously,” Anton interjected, clearly not done with his piece. “I love you to death, Kells, but you can be such an inconsiderate bitch sometimes.”

Kells barely heard Anton’s words as she unceremoniously plunked herself into one of the white leather seats. “He was just too … ugh, what, like standoffish? He could’ve just said something—anything. I was just annoyed because I felt like a total loser. No one—no one has ever treated me so abysmally. I felt disrespected. It’s appalling to be so cold … I’m just shocked.”

“You could’ve apologized. The guy was obviously going through a shit ton of shit. I mean, after you’ve spied on him, you know.” Anton suggested as he pointedly raised his brow at me, signaling that I should probably say something.

“Like hell I would. He’s the one looking at me like I’m some brainless vermin.” Kells toyed about the long line of makeup brushes, seemingly deep in thought.

“Kells, snap the fuck out of it please. Cara’s being nice, but I bet you a hundred bucks she’s probably freaking out. The hair lady’s due to arrive in thirty minutes!”

She regarded Anton with rueful face. “I’m sorry. I think I’ll be in much better shape if you give me a glass of wine.”

“I’m on it!” I announced as I got up from the couch, relieved that she was ready to beautify my naked face. Anton was right; we could discuss this lonesome dark stranger after today’s event.

River was due to arrive in an hour’s time, coming from the studio. He would shower and get all spiffed up from here. He wholly asserted that he didn’t require a lot of time to get ready. I didn’t doubt it because the man mainly needed to shower and his great DNA did the rest.

It took half a bottle of Pinot to rev up Kells’ engine so we could remotely get her working again. In her buzzed state, she seemed to have calmed down a notch, humming as she began to prep my face. She suggested that maybe a darker shade around the eye area would make me standout more, seeing that my dress was a subtle color. The contrast would be eye-popping, as she lightly put it. I trusted her judgment. Kells wouldn’t be one of the sought-after artists in the world if she wasn’t one of the best.

While I comfortably sat before the brightly three-way mirror Anton had grandly situated in the living room, Kells progressed painting my face while the hairstylist, the ever-calm Irma, fashioned my tresses. My best friend didn’t appreciate small talk while she waved her wand about me—in her case, her fine fancy brushes—so I sat like a statue as they did their magic.

And after an accumulated time of over an hour, they both did a fantastic job, giving me a off-circa nineteen-fifties vibe. It was effortlessly elegant, chic and painstakingly gorgeous. The makeup and hair perfected the whole ensemble. Hopefully I’d pass everyone’s expectations, whatever that may be.

Still donning a robe as the girls did the last touches on me, my boyfriend stormed into the condo. He literally had half an hour to get ready before the limo was scheduled to arrive.

“Hi, beautiful ladies!” River cheerfully greeted in a mad rush, quickly popping into the living room before swiftly planting a kiss on my lips then dashing upstairs, taking two steps at a time. “I’ll be ready, baby. Don’t worry!” he hollered from the landing before I heard the loud thud of his bedroom door being shut close.

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