“I can’t believe that you’re going to seduce him. With his girlfriend still in the picture,” Sally said, her jaw slack as her eyes sparkled. “This is going to be a crazy weekend.” She paused and grinned at me. “Notice anything different?”
“Different?” I said, unsure what she was talking about, and then I noticed her long, silky black hair, hanging straight down her back. “Oh, my God, your hair! What did you do to it?”
“I got a keratin treatment.” She beamed. “That’s why I was really late; don’t tell TJ. I mean if he knew I was getting my hair done and shopping, he’d have a fit.” She laughed. “Doesn’t my hair feel silky?” She leaned forward and I ran my fingers down her locks.
“Wow, yeah,” I said, impressed. “You didn’t want to be curly this weekend?” Sally had gorgeous curly hair and I was always jealous that I couldn’t get my straight hair to have any sort of wave or curl.
“Well, I might go curly if we go skinny-dipping in the lake. Me and Cody.” She giggled. “Not you and me.”
“Duh.” I rolled my eyes and shuddered. “And that’s gross, by the way.”
“It’s totally not gross.” She grinned. “I told my parents that we were going to the lake this weekend and my mom just winked at me.”
“Oh, funny,” I said.
“And let’s be real, Cody and I would have such cute kids.”
“Sally!” I raised an eyebrow at her. “You’re meant to be the reasonable one.
“I am.” She giggled. “Well, most of the time.” She leaned back and I stared at her caramel complexion affectionately.
“You look like you’re glowing,” I said. “Makeup, or have you been in the sun?”
“Oh, it’s some glow stick I got at Sephora.” Her eyes sparkled at me. “I wanted to make sure I looked my best.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked me up and down. “I guess you had a change of mind.”
“No.” I laughed. “A change of plan, but not a change of mind.”
“Oh, we’re so bad.” Sally laughed, her eyes sparkling as she looked at me.
“Would we have it any other way?” I laughed and then she leaned forward.
“No.” She laughed again. “I blame it on the Italian blood in both of us.”
“Yeah, I would agree.” I grinned. “It’s the crazy Italiano.”
“Yup.” She grinned. Sally’s father was second-generation Italian and her mother was from Guyana, a country situated on the continent of South America, just south of the Caribbean. She’d gotten the best qualities from both parents and was gorgeous. Men used words like ‘exotic’ to describe her, but she hated that term. As far as she was concerned, her looks weren’t as important as her brains. Though I don’t think any of the guys she dated cared about her brains.
“By the way, the Troy idea was epic,” Sally said in a low voice and leaned even closer to me and whispered. “It sounded like TJ was pissed.”
“Oh, he was so pissed.” I grinned. “I just wish that Troy was real.”
“About that…” Sally looked sheepish. “I have something to tell you.”
“What?” I asked her suspiciously.
“I did something that will make everyone believe that Troy is real.” She grinned and my eyes narrowed.
“What did you do?” I asked, but then I hushed her as I saw TJ and Barbie approaching the car. Troy disappeared from my mind and my stomach dropped as I gazed at her. She was beautiful, almost like some picture-perfect image of a Cinderella princess. Why did she have to be so good looking? I was starting to doubt that I could convince TJ to go with me when he had someone like her. Grr, why did he have someone like her?
“Hi,” I said with a wide—albeit fake, but still wide—smile to the buxom blonde as she got into the back seat.
“Hi,” she said, her face looking sour.
“I’m Mila.”
“Like Mila Kunis?” She looked up at me in interest.
“Well, I guess, but I’m just Mila.”
“Not Mila Kunis?” Barbie asked me and I shot TJ a look of surprise. Okay, maybe it was more a cross between, ‘who is this dumbass?’ and ‘I’m really trying to be nice here.’
“No, just Mila,” I said. “What’s your name?”
“Barbie,” she said and I watched as she flicked her long blond hair.
“As in Barbie and Ken?” I asked her softly, but she just looked back at me with a dumb expression.
“Hi, I’m Sally, Mila’s best friend,” Sally spoke up next, her voice seemingly really happy to be meeting peroxide Barbie.
“Mila Kunis’ best friend?” Barbie asked her, looking excited, and Sally looked at me with laughing eyes as she shook her head.
“I’m afraid not. I don’t know Mila Kunis or any Hollywood stars, to be honest.”
“Oh, you just said you’re Mila’s best friend.” Barbie looked confused.
“She’s talking about me,” I said, a slight attitude in my voice. “The Mila you just met.”
“Oh.” Barbie looked at me with a bored expression. “I see.”
“I’m not sure you do,” I said under my breath as I watched TJ get back into the car, his expression not giving his thoughts away.