"Bella!"
Bella groaned quietly into her pillow.
"Bella, come on! You agreed." Alice's voice drifted through the apartment the girls were sharing.
Bella snuggled deeper into her duvet hoping Alice would leave her alone if she thought she was asleep. Of course, she had no such luck.
"Bella. Rose will be here any minute, you have to start getting ready," Alice chirped.
"Alice, I've been thinking," Bella broached the subject with trepidation. "I don't think I'm ready for this, I need more time, I…"
"No, no. I'm not letting you get out of this," Alice interrupted. "It's been three weeks since you and Jake ended. Rose and I have let you wallow for long enough. It's time to put yourself out there again. Enjoy life."
"But Alice…"
"'But Alice', nothing. Get your arse out of bed and into the shower, now. Or are you going to wait to hear the same talk from Rose but in a much less friendly fashion?" Alice argued.
She had a point. Rose had always been a straight-to-the-point kind of girl but she didn't always go about it in the most tactful way. Bella dragged herself from the comfort of her bed and headed towards the bathroom under strict instructions to shave and buff her body to perfection for Alice to continue the torture that was getting ready for a night on the town.
Standing under the light spray of the shower gave Bella a chance to think and strengthen her resolve. Alice and Rose were right, she did need to stop wallowing and get back to the real world. Jake had hurt her. Jake had cheated. Jake was a douchebag. It was that simple. What wasn't simple was just forgetting about him and being able to move on, being able to move past the heartache and enjoy herself again. But that would change tonight, Bella was determined. With a little help from her favourite tipple she would drink until she had forgotten his name. Dance until the lights came on and for hours after. Laugh, sing, and shout. Find a guy to help her forget the bad times and remember the good. Remember what it was like to have someone cherish her, hold her, bring her the pleasure she could only dream about.
Fifteen minutes later, Bella stepped out of the shower and made her way back to her room. Alice and Rose were both sat on her bed with a bundle of her clothes laid out between them discussing what Bella should wear. Normally, she would fight their desire to play dress up but tonight was different. Tonight she trusted their judgement to make her look her best.
"So, where should I start?" Bella asked.
Alice threw a strapless black bra at her followed by what Bella assumed were supposed to be black knickers. Although, from the amount of material present they looked more like dental floss.
"Put those on," Alice demanded.
Bella did as she was told and then proceeded to put her black silk dressing gown on. Rose pushed her down into the chair in front of her dressing table where there was an assortment of makeup items in front of her.
"I'm gonna do your hair before Alice does your makeup," Rose declared. "You're going to look fierce when we're through with you."
"I hope so, Rose," Bella said. "Hey Alice, in the freezer on the top shelf is a bottle of Crown Royal. Go and grab it, would you? I think I need a bit of Dutch courage."
Soon Bella had relaxed slightly. She was on her second helping of the smooth whiskey while Rose curled her hair into the style she wanted. It fell in long dark tresses down her back, just grazing her lower back. Bella loved her hair, it was her crowning glory and contrasted with her porcelain skin perfectly. Jake, on the other hand, had always complained about it. She couldn't snuggle against him without him whining about how it was tickling him or was in his face. He had even asked her to cut it once. That argument did not end well.
"There, perfect."
Rose stepped away from Bella looking pretty pleased with herself.
"Yay! My turn!" Alice shouted, having already gotten herself ready while Rose was preening Bella. "Right, the dress we've chosen is charcoal grey so I was thinking of going for a dark, smoky eyed look. That sound alright? It will really bring out your eyes."
"Whatever you think is best, Alice. I trust you."
"Excellent."
The next ten minutes Bella spent with her eyes closed, until Alice turned her around to apply the final touches to her eyes.
"All done," Alice declared with a triumphant smile.
"Bella you look amazing. You're going to be fighting off boys with a stick tonight," Rose laughed.
"Thanks, Rose. But tonight's going to be different. I've had enough of boys to last a lifetime. Tonight, I want a man."
"Woo go Bella!" Alice cried.
Bella finally spun around and got a good look at herself in her mirror. She barely recognised herself. The woman staring back at her looked sexy, sophisticated and even confident.
"Right, here's your dress and heels. Put them on and I'll order us a taxi," Rose stated.
The dress Rose handed over was short, but not slutty. It was charcoal grey as Alice had said and was made from a silky sort of material that felt amazing against Bella's recently shaved legs. It was a three-quarter sleeved, off-the-shoulder number, hence the need for the strapless bra, and hung loosely around Bella's petit frame at the top before tightening from the waist down and over her arse.
Bella had to admit, she did look amazing in it.
The 'heels' Rose had mentioned were black leather boots with a pointed toe that ended just below her knee. Although comfy right now, Bella knew she'd be struggling to walk in these later on, especially if she continued with the whiskey.
Rose had been right, Bella did look fierce.
Once all the girls were ready and had accessorised appropriately, Bella downed what was left of her whiskey and headed out to the waiting taxi.
Author's Note:
A story idea based on Lady Antebellum's hit single, 'Hey, Bartender'.
No copyright infringement intended, all recognisable characters are the work of Stephanie Meyer.
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I know it's short, the following ones will be longer, but I just wanted to get a feel for what you guys thought of the story. This is my first ever posting so let me know what you think via the review button Thanks!