“You’re from Texas?”
“Don’t let the non-accent fool you. I wasn’t born there, but we moved to Texas when I was in middle school, and lemme tell you: I fell in love with everything big. Big eyes. Big hair. Big everything.”
“Uh oh.”
Carrie laughed. “Relax! I’m not gonna make you look ridiculous. I’m gonna make you look like a Texas beauty queen.”
“Beauty queen, huh?” Cadence glimpsed herself in the mirror once more before adding, “Bring it.”
An hour, a mega hot curling iron, and dozens of clip-in extensions later, Cadence stood in front of Carrie’s full-length mirror taking in her entire look. She decided on the black strapless mini dress to go along with the pink pumps she purchased on her shopping trip last year with Avery.
Her hair. Good Lord, her hair! Curls cascaded down her back like a waterfall. Wispy curls framed her face. The clip-ins added so much volume and thickness that she was afraid she’d collapse under their weight.
“I have big hair,” she said.
Carrie laughed. “Girl, you have hair for days. And it’s fab.”
“Can I really go out like this?” Cadence asked.
“Oh my God. After all that work I did? Uh. Yeah.”
Carrie stood with her hands on her hips sporting a blue sequins mini dress. She decided to go with straight hair tonight and flat-ironed it. Her hair was so long that it nearly reached her waist.
“Just a couple of hot chicks ready to rock it,” Carrie said.
She pulled out a bottle of rum from under her bed and filled two plastic cups a fourth of the way. She popped a bit of Coke in each and handed one to Cadence.
“You’re a ball of nerves, I can tell,” Carrie said.
Cadence took the drink. “I’m not one for attracting attention, and I’m afraid this hair will do it.”
Carrie burst out laughing. “Relax. Attention can be good sometimes. And I think you need it right now. Well, that or a diversion. Maybe they’re one and the same.”
Cadence nodded thoughtfully then sipped her drink.
“I’m glad it’ll just be us two,” Carrie said after a moment. “Michael gets on my nerves sometimes.”
Cadence walked back to the mirror to look at her dress. She was also happy Michael wasn’t joining them. Ever since that weird hand tracing incident, she avoided him as much as possible.
“He’s annoying,” Carrie went on.
“I thought he was your really good friend,” Cadence said, fingering the ruched fabric hugging her waist.
“Yeah, he is, but then, that’s why he’s annoying,” Carried explained, watching her.
Cadence chuckled. “You get close enough to a person, and it’s bound to happen.”
“Ugh. Tell me about it. That’s why I’m always looking for new friends to hang with.”
Cadence turned around and cocked her head. “So you’ll eventually find me annoying and dump me as a friend?”
“Naturally,” Carrie replied, and the girls giggled. “Let’s make a rule to only see each other, like, once a week or something. Then maybe we’ll actually stay friends.”
“Deal,” Cadence said and finished off her rum and Coke.
“Another?”
“No way. That’s the right amount for me,” Cadence replied. Already she felt the low-burning embers in her chest, warming her body and making her face flush.
“That was like nothing,” Carrie argued.
“Don’t pressure me.”
Carrie grinned. “You’re such a good girl.”
“No! No, I’m not,” Cadence said. She wasn’t good at all. She was a bitch. She hated her best friend at the moment. She hated her boyfriend and communicated with him as little as possible. She hated herself, her black heart and mind that conjured black images of hurting the ones she was supposed to love. She wanted to bury Mark under his lies. She wanted to bury Avery under her own anger and jealousy. She wasn’t growing older and wiser. She was moving backwards because of hurt she couldn’t rectify.
“What are you thinking?” Carrie asked. She’d been watching her friend the whole time.
“I’m thinking that I’m ready to dance,” Cadence replied.
“Then let’s get to it.”
The club was crowded with gorgeous people—women competing to be the most provocative on the dance floor. Men competing to get closest to them. Carrie and Cadence danced all night, attracting dance partners who weren’t shy about putting their hands on places they shouldn’t. Cadence never protested. She realized she liked the attention and wanted it to follow her to the bar for another free drink.
The girls actually found a space at the end with two empty stools. They claimed them for the rest of the evening, chatting and laughing about Carrie’s failed dates and her inability to attract the right guys. The conversation eventually turned to Mark, and Cadence spilled her guts about his marriage. Carrie listened intently, ordering more drinks, consoling Cadence who looked like she was on the verge of tears.