I groaned and texted him back. “Bite me.”
“Oh, I’m planning on it. And we both know I don’t need to pay you for it.”
I rolled my eyes and set my phone down. Rob was funny, but I wasn’t ready to laugh about this yet. Not when there were literally thousands of pictures out in that hall advertising my prostitution services. I pulled my ruined tights off and threw them in the trash.
Another text came through: “Please tell me Operation Disappearing Troll is back on?”
I bit the inside of my lip. I was angry at Isabella. I was so freaking pissed. My phone buzzed again.
“And if so…I really need those blueprints to the Pruitts’ apartment.”
I actually laughed. I had no idea why our pudding prank needed blueprints, but Rob seemed to really think it did. He’d been bugging me to get them for weeks but would never say why he needed them. It was tempting to just tell him to do whatever the hell he had planned. But I wasn’t going to stoop to Isabella’s level. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. And I wouldn’t go against my promises to Matt.
“I haven’t changed my mind,” I texted back.
“Really? Wait, you are at school today, right? If not, my going rate joke probably landed a little flat.”
I laughed. “I saw the pictures. But I’m not going to stoop to her level.”
“Suit yourself, Sanders. It’s just a prank, though. It’s not like we’re going to get her half naked in front of tons of people. That would just be pure evil.” There was a winky face at the end of his text.
I shook my head. Yes, Isabella was evil. But she’d have to do something a lot worse than this to make me break.
Chapter 27
Saturday
Justin sprayed my hair with hairspray for what felt like the millionth time. I tried not to cough. Even though my hair was a little too long to pull off the perfect Sandy Halloween costume, I thought it looked pretty great. Justin walked off to pack the hairspray back into his bin.
“What do you think?” Kennedy asked as she lifted up her genie lamp. She rubbed the side of it seductively.
I laughed. “You seriously look just like Jasmine. Now we just need to get Rob to agree to be your Aladdin.”
Her smile was so big. “Thank you for all this.” She looked down at her outfit.
“I didn’t do anything. It was all Mrs. Caldwell.”
“Yeah. But you’re her future daughter in law. It’s all about connections in this town, haven’t you heard?”
I laughed. “What do you think of my outfit?” I asked and spun in a circle. “Is it too much?”
“No, it’s perfect.”
I ran my hand down my skintight leather pants. Last weekend, these had seemed like a good idea. But now I kind of wished I’d picked one of Sandy’s girl-next-door outfits instead of this one. “Are you sure it’s not too…”
“Prostitutey? No. And screw all them anyway. Let them talk. Everyone’s just jealous because as soon as Isabella graduates, you’re going to be the new queen of Empire High. And then no one will ever be able to say a bad word about you again.”
I didn’t know about all that. But once Isabella, James, and Mason graduated…I couldn’t think of who was more popular than Matt. And like Kennedy said, it was all about connections in this town. By association, Kennedy and I would be at the top of the totem pole. The rumors swirling around school about me being a prostitute hadn’t completely stopped. But no one ever said anything when Matt was by my side. And he made sure to be glued to my side in the halls of Empire High. Isabella had even been surprisingly well behaved the rest of the week. I hadn’t gotten a single evil note from her.
Besides, everyone was way more excited about the annual Caldwell Halloween party than stupid rumors. There was a buzz in the air all week long. Tonight was going to be so much fun. Decorators and caterers had been in and out of the house all morning, transforming the Caldwells’ house into the haunted mansion it was meant to be. I was so excited to see how it had all come together. Two hours ago Justin had locked us in the guest bedroom I was supposed to be using, but it felt like we’d been waiting in here forever. I was dying to explore before the party began.
“And the last touch - the perfect heels,” Justin said. “High enough to lift your ass, but low enough to dance the night away.”
I laughed. “You get me.”
“It’s my job to get you.”
“Speaking about your jobs.” I leaned down to strap on my heels. “I talked to Matt. And it’s going to be hard for us to plan a wedding for the fall because of school.”
“Oh,” Justin said. “Right, of course. I completely understand. It was silly for me to even mention it.” He started putting all the makeup into his travel bin. I’d never seen him look so dejected before.
I tried to repress my smile. “Which is why we decided we should get married in the winter. This winter,” I added.
His hand froze on a curling iron.
“Will you help us?” I asked. “I know it’s last minute, but…”
He screamed. At the top of his lungs. And then he was lifting me up in the air and twirling me around.
His laughter was infectious.
“I don’t know if you’re joking,” he said as he set me back down on my feet. “But you can’t take it back now. My fragile heart would shatter into a million fabulous pieces.”
“I’m serious. We want to do it on December 22nd. And I can’t imagine planning it without you.”
“December 22nd? Done. But we need to hurry.” He grabbed both my hands. “I have so much to do. Wedding dress shopping this week, yes?”
“Okay.”
“Do you have any idea what style dress…” his voice trailed off. “Never mind. We both know you need me for this.”
I laughed. “I absolutely do.”