After school, I went home with Nessie, who decided it was imperative that I dress up for the movie night Quil was having. I still dressed in my baggy sweat pants and sweatshirt, but that wasn't good enough.
When we got to my house, my dad was sitting in the living room, watching some hockey game on television.
"Hey girls!" My dad got up and hugged me. "What's going on tonight?"
"We're going to Quil's for movies and stuff," I explained as he hugged me.
"Sounds like fun." He hugged Nessie as well. "Be home by two?"
"Of course, Mr. Hatcher," Nessie laughed.
"Oh are you staying over night?" my dad asked.
"If that's okay with you," she replied.
"Perfectly fine with me." My dad kissed the top of my head. "You girls have fun!"
"We will!" Nessie called back as I dragged her up the stairs.
I finally got her in my room and closed the door.
"I like your father," she giggled as she plopped down on my bed.
"Most people do," I chuckled. "Now why do I have to dress up for this?"
"Because it's a party!" she answered.
"A party?" I asked. "We're watching movies."
"Come on," she whined. "Humor me!"
"Fine," I growled. "You wanna do my make up?"
"Like you have to ask," she snorted. "Luckily I brought make up. We need to go shopping to get some for you."
"Ugh, I hate shopping," I whined.
"Oh shut up and sit at your desk so I can do your make up."
I never understood how Nessie was so good at doing my make up. She was like a professional without the price. When she was done, I was completely transformed. I didn't look like the girl who wore those baggy clothes; I looked like the girl who wore high heels and tight clothes.
"You look beautiful," she cooed. "Don't you want to look like this all the time?"
"Even if I did, I wouldn't get the technique down like you," I told her. "You're amazing."
She smirked. "Not to toot my own horn, but you're right."
I rolled my eyes and chuckled. "Don't get too cocky or you might choke."
"Ewww!" she laughed. "That's so nasty!"
I laughed with her, and we laughed until we were crying. In Louisiana, all my friends were guys; I hated girls because they were catty and emotional, but Nessie was such a great friend. I enjoyed having her around, even though girls weren't my thing; I could barely stand them.
"You're gonna ruin your make up!" Nessie scolded.
That only made me laugh more.
She slapped me and giggled. "I'm being serious!"
"Okay, okay." I caught my breath. "I'm good."
"So do you have anything besides these baggy pants?" she asked.
I shrugged. "Beats me. I wear whatever I grab first."
"Ugh!" she whined and walked over to my closet. "Like I said, shopping!"
"No!" I begged. "Please don't make me go!"
She rolled her eyes as she started digging through my closet. She finally found a pair of jeans that weren't stained with oil or torn to almost pieces. After that she found a blue, V-neck, long sleeved top that I barely ever worn.
"Finally something cute," she laughed. "Get dressed. We're going over there in an hour."
"How are you so perfect?" I asked. "Like you don't need any touching up or anything."
"Oh, trust me honey, I am a piece of work. It takes me about two hours to get ready in the morning, one hour if I hurry. This takes a lot of work."
"I bet you're just as pretty without make up," I told her.
She shrugged. "Maybe, but I like doing make up. It makes me feel like I'm an artist, and my face is a palate. That's why I love doing yours. You are like my own work of art. I just keep going, adding little touches, until my masterpiece is complete."
Her love of make up was like my love of cars.
"Wow, that's deep." I pulled my clothes off and got changed quickly. "Well, do you think I'm ready?"
She smiled and got up. "You look beautiful. Let's go."
We got our stuff together and walked out to the car. She jumped in and we drove over to Quil's. We got there, walked to the door, and Quil immediately answered.
"Hey girlies!" he greeted, hugging us both at the same time. "About time you showed up!"
"Who all is here?" Nessie asked as she let herself in.
"See for yourself," Quil laughed as he led me in.
Nessie immediately plopped into Jacob's lap. Embry was sitting next to him, chomping on a bag of chips. He looked over at me, and a smile grew on his face.
"Hi baby," he greeted as he walked over to me.
I chuckled at the pet name as I let him engulf me in his arms. "Hey, pig."
He squeezed me harder. "That's not nice."
"So?" I teased. "Stop stuffing your face."
He kissed the top of my head and carried me over to the couch. He sat down with me on his lap.
"When's Rachel coming over?" Quil yelled into the kitchen.
That meant Paul was there too.
"How am I supposed to know?" he called back. "She gets here when she gets here!"
Quil rolled his eyes and sat down next to Embry and me. "God, I can never figure anything anymore."
I smiled at him, and he chuckled.
"Your smile is so fucking contagious," he laughed.
"That's why I like her." Embry kissed my neck. "She's a little sweetheart."
I shrugged my shoulders, removing his lips from my sensitive skin.
"When are we going out again baby?" he purred into my ear.
"When you take me out," I chuckled.
"Did you actually put make up on?" Paul asked me as he sat down in the other couch.
"Courtesy of Nessie," I laughed.
"You look beautiful," Embry whispered. "But that's not unusual."
The doorbell rang, and Rachel, Molly, and Kim walked in. They greeted everyone, and that was when I saw Jared and Seth for the first time that night. Seth grabbed Molly by the waist and kissed her. Rachel walked over to me, hugged me, and then sat down next to Paul. It was almost weird to hang out with so many people. I never hung out with more than three people back home, unless I was with my dad, and I barely talked to anyone.
"Are Collin and Brady coming?" Molly asked.
Seth shook his head. "I don't think so. They had something else planned."
"So it's just us?" Rachel asked.
"I've got someone coming over," Quil said.
"Quil?" Jacob teased. "Oh really?"
He nodded. "Her names Kelly. Be nice."
"Aren't we always?" Jared teased.
"No," Quil replied.
Embry held me closer and rested his face in the crook of my neck. His warm breath felt so good against the bare skin, and it made me relax. Everyone was talking, but I really didn't pay attention. Quil's new friend came, and she was pretty. They all were nice to her. I murmured a quick hello, but didn't pay much attention. I didn't know why I was so tired, but I didn't feel like talking.
Quil ordered pizza, and I was surprised at how much he ordered. There were ten pizzas, plus Buffalo wings and bread sticks. It was hard for me to understand how they could eat that much, especially since the girls and I barely ate anything.
After we were all settled in with the food, Quil put in Saw IV for us to watch. All the girls were a little freaked out about it, but I loved scary movies; I had watched them for as long as I could remember. It never occurred to me that they could be really. Actually, I found most of them really funny because they were so unrealistic.
I moved from Embry's lap to resting my head on his shoulder. He had his arm around me and caressed my upper arm slowly. For the longest time I was so afraid of hanging out with guys without an adult around because of my mom, but something in Embry changed that. He made me feel safe and secure. A part of my body was scared that he could make me feel that way, but the other part was completely happy. I needed some peace in my life, and Embry was the one who would give it to me.