Page 40 of You Had Me At Thirteen

Speaking of whom, he walks in first, with a suitcase trailing behind him.

I stare up at him from the end of my bed. ‘What is that?’

He gestures to my entire body. ‘Have you met you, sweetie? I brought the army.’

‘Wow. You sure know how to charm a girl.’

He pulls me into a standing position and purses his lips as he spins me around to inspect my body. ‘Listen, you’re beautiful, but not my type. Sometimes you need to show off that sexy side, you know, for a certain… neighbour, in particular.’

I’m dizzy by the time Clive stops spinning me, so I press my fingers into my temples as I squeeze my eyes closed. ‘Can we not talk about him tonight?’

Clive whacks my upper arm. ‘Fine. But stand up straight.’ He tilts his head as his gaze roams my body once more.

I twitch, hating that I’m being subjected to Clive’s scrutiny this way. ‘Are you done?’

‘Almost,’ he says before kneeling in front of his suitcase and unlatching the clips. It splits into two, an arsenal of cosmetics, hair products and God-knows-what-else scattering onto the carpet.

Audrey bounces in next and tackles me onto the bed, her full weight crushing my chest. ‘Hey, Til. Ready for tonight?’

I push against her. ‘You’re crushing me, bitch,’ I say as I gasp for air. And, no, I’m not looking forward to tonight, but I don’t voice that for fear of the wrath of Clive Hoffman.

Audrey rolls onto the bed beside me and sprawls out like a starfish. ‘Do you think Koby will be there tonight?’

‘No idea. Have you asked him?’ I say while positioning myself onto my side with my hand holding up my head.

‘Have you spoken to Wren?’ She raises a perfect eyebrow at me in an attempt to turn the focus on me.

‘Nope.’ Not since last night when he slammed the door in my face. I love that she’s turned this conversation around.

‘Well, you’ll need to at some point, Til. You have your assignment to do.’

‘I know, I know. Don’t remind me.’

Audrey squints at me for a moment then sighs. ‘Fine.’ She climbs off the bed and grabs a garment bag from the door handle – one I didn’t know she had placed there – and walks back over to the bed. She unzips the cover and pulls out the outfit before laying it on the bed. ‘Perfect.’

While Audrey curls my hair, Clive sits on my desk chair in front of me to make mesuper slutty– his words, not mine.

When they’re done, I’m wearing the tightest black minidress that Audrey could find. But at least I look hot. Clive has contoured my face to perfection, my eyes surrounded by a dark shadow, my lips a bright red.

My legs look longer than usual thanks to the heels I’m wearing, and I make a mental note to purchase more dresses. I’m a jeans kind of girl, but this dress is giving me sex-on-legs vibes.

Clive stands back with his hands on his hips. I swear he has tears in his eyes. ‘I’m a miracle worker,’ he says, fanning his face. ‘An artist.’

Jesus. ‘The canvas was pretty decent to begin with. Calm down Picasso.’

He swats at me, then air kisses my cheeks so he doesn’t ruin my makeup. ‘Tell Wren he can thank me later,’ he says, a smirk on his pretty face.

Audrey snorts. ‘Forget Wren, I’ll thank you right now. Our girl is smoking.’ She licks a finger then presses it to my skin, making a sizzling noise with her mouth.

All I can do is shake my head. These two will be the death of me.

Audrey has changed into a high-waisted black leather skirt and a tight red top that shows off her midriff. She pairs it with black platform ankle boots and dark makeup, similar to mine. If Koby doesn’t up his game tonight, some other dude is going to fill his shoes for sure.

Clive is his usual self. Tight white jeans – a brilliant contrast to his beautiful brown skin – that cut off at the ankle, and an oversized blue sweater. How he’s wearing a sweater in this weather is beyond me. I’m already sweating and I’m wearing next to nothing. His hair is freshly shaved at the sides and slicked back on top. He opted out of dying it blond, recalling how Trevor is into brunettes.

We pull up outside a massive two-storey red brick house. The beat of the music and muffled voices seep through the open windows as we approach. When we step through the large front door, which is fitting for the size of the house, we’re greeted by cheering and wafts of cigarette smoke as a group to our left plays a game of beer pong. One girl already has her top off, showing off her average-sized chest. Maybe this is strip beer pong? Although, I’m not seeing any nakedness on anyone else. I’ve never seen the interest in such games, but they look like they’re having fun. The men, especially.

Audrey grabs my hand as we follow Clive into the lounge room. He points to Trevor sitting on one couch, talking to a redhead with massive boobs, which I’m sure would set off anyone’s jealousy radar. Lucky for Clive, Trevor is obviously more into men.

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