I’m in the dance locker room, eating pizza with the most of the girls on the dance team. We’re laughing and getting ready for the dance. I don’t know many of the girls very well yet, but my initial impression is that they all seem to be very friendly. I’ve been surprised that I have yet to hear one catty comment from anyone. They all seem to get along and have gone out of their way to make me, Katie, and Bethany, the other new member of the team, feel welcome.
My first day here, I looked casual in the knit dress, the cowboy boots, and straight hair. For the carnival, I looked mostly sweet. The little print dress. My hair in a pouf. The leopard wedges definitely gave it an edge, but mostly I’ve looked like a good girl.
Tonight, I’m going to give them a different Keatyn. I’m wearing an Herve Leger black bandage dress. Mom wore this dress to a premiere in London last year. Kym told me I should pack it and wear it tonight for the dance. That it would look killer on me, which is good. The dress has a plunging halter neckline and a body-hugging design that leaves nothing hidden. Every curve of my body is amplified in this dress. And it’s ass-skimmingly short. But, actually, a little longer than the dance team dress I just took off. My shoes are black platform peep-toe Louboutins covered with studs. Tough girl shoes. The only jewelry I’m wearing is my locket and a large silver cuff bracelet.
I’m curling my hair into a riot of big, sexy, just-got-out-of-bed-but-my-hair-looks-ah-mazing supermodel curls.
I do my make up simply, with pretty pink lips and blush, but then add dark, smoky eyes.
I think I look pretty damn good.
At least I’m feeling kinda sexy.
Tonight I look like a bad girl.
And that’s good because somehow I have to get through twenty-nine dances with the God of all Hotties.
And I really want to knock his socks off, and maybe a few other articles of clothing as well.
Twenty-nine songs.
8:30pm
I go to the dance with Katie and Maggie, another cool girl from the dance team. Peyton ditched us to go get ready with Whitney and crew. Which is typical. I don’t care one way or another, but I am glad I don’t have to walk in here alone. We make a pretty good-looking entrance. Katie looks cute in a slinky royal blue dress that shows off her ample cleavage. Maggie is wearing a gorgeous copper-colored dress. It looks really pretty against her auburn hair and tanned skin.
I’m looking for Aiden when Dallas walks right past me, gives me a complete look over, and then walks away.
“Dallas!”
He turns around, looks confused for a second, and then says, “Holy shit, Kiki! Look at you! I didn’t even recognize you. You look freaking hot!”
“I think you owe me a dance.”
“Hell yeah, I do.”
He leads me out to the dance floor. Grinds with me. Jumps around crazily. I should have known he’d be fun to dance with. I dance a long DJ remix of songs with him.
Then another.
Finally he says, “I’m dying of thirst.”
We walk to the drink table and grab a couple bottles of water. “Hey, you wanna go to the cave later?”
“Maybe. Did you hear I owe Aiden like thirty dances?”
“I heard it was twenty-nine. One for every point he scored.”
“You hear way too much.”
“Well, I’m more worried about what I didn’t hear.”
“What’s that?”
“I didn’t hear what happened with you and Riley this morning. Other than that he brought you coffee in bed and planned on not letting you out of it.”
“Nothing happened.”
“Kiki, seriously. We talked about this. No fibbing.”
“Okay, so I tried to put the moves on him, but he turned me down. Told me he just wanted to be friends.” I try hard not to laugh.
“No way,” he says. “You’re lying.”
“Fine. I had a breakdown and cried on his shoulder.”
“Seriously. The cave tonight. We’ll chill, have some fun.”
“Maybe.”
Riley walks up behind us, grabs me around the waist, turns me toward him, and takes in my outfit. “God damn, baby, you look tough. Hot. Fuck-me-in-the-bathroom hot. Speaking of that.” He grins at me.
“I’m not going in the bathroom with you. You had your chance this morning.”
He laughs. “Yeah, right.” Then he grabs both Dallas’ and my hands and pulls us out onto the dance floor.
Riley’s dancing is naughty. Plain and simple. Seriously, I think we could get expelled for this. One hand is cupping my ass, he’s grinding into my hips, and the other hand is running down my arms, in my hair. Thank goodness the dance floor is packed by now, and we’re in the middle of the pack, surrounded by people doing their own version of the bump and grind.
“I have to pee,” I tell him after quite a few songs.
“You’re just trying to get me in the bathroom, right?”
I roll my eyes at him and walk off the dance floor. The boys stay out there. Riley has another girl grinding her butt against him almost before I step away.
I look around for Aiden.