Hey guys! I'm back with the next chapter. I know i said I would post every few days but I realized that I don't have enough time so I'm going to stick to one chapter a week. This chapter is the girls day out for real! Also, A Second Chance has hit 2K reads! I'm literally speechless right now, thank you guys so much! I don't want to make this ridiculously long so thanks again and I hope you enjoy this next chapter!
America POV
I left Celeste in the hallway, seemingly plotting revenge. I realized I hadn't really looked in my closet since we moved into this house so I decided to check it out. I expected to find the same drab clothing that I was used to wearing as a Five but was surprised to find new articles of clothing hanging on the racks- my old clothes nowhere to be seen.
I looked at the brand new clothes confusedly- wondering who could have gotten them for me. My family certainly had no business updating my wardrobe.
"I got them for you", a voice from behind me spoke, causing me to jump. I whirled around and saw Celeste. I hadn't even heard her enter the room.
"I figured that since you're single you needed more attractive clothing to lure in the guys", she said with a wink. I sighed. "Celeste, this is sweet and all but I hardly doubt a guy cares what type of clothes I wear. Besides, if he's anything like regular guys he probably can't wait to tear them off of me." Celeste giggled at the statement, though I hadn't intended it as a joke.
"Plus", I continued. "How can I be sure that the clothes you picked are the type that I would wear. We both know your style isn't as...modest as mine is", I said, indicating her current dress that was skin tight and molded to her body like a second skin. There was no doubt the dress made her figure look stunning- but if the clothes hidden in this closet wear even half as provocative as this dress or the ones she wore during the Selection, well it's safe to say I wouldn't be caught dead wearing them outside the house. I wouldn't even consider wearing them inside the house.
"Just take a look", she said smugly, as if she knew a secret I didn't. Though I really didn't want to, my curiosity took over and I picked out a random piece of clothing from the closet. When I saw it I was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't nearly as revealing as Celeste's outfits were. In fact, it was actually kind of cute. I rifled through the rest of the clothes and saw that the rest of the clothes were equally as amazing. There were a few dresses that were a bit suggestive but I figured they were there for a reason.
Turning to Celeste, I admitted "Wow Celeste. I stand corrected. These are fantastic." She smiled at me, in that I-told-you-so sort of way. "Obviously I factored in your sense of style when choosing these. I even put some jeans in there." I considerably brightened at that, her words taking me back to the beginning of the Selection to the deal I made with Maxon and how he had given me what I asked for even though I had lost. The thought of Maxon didn't make me as sad as it used to, I only felt a small pang in my chest. I took that a good sign.
Celeste picked a dress for me and tossed it to me along with some flats. The dress itself was a deep blue that was fitted at the top while the skirt flared out, stopping an inch above my knees. It had a bit of designed lace at the neck that gave it a sort of fancy type of feel. The shoes were flats that were the same color as the dress and had little golden bows at the toes. All together it was an incredibly cute outfit.
"I remembered how much you loved blue back during the Selection", she said innocently with a shrug. "It seemed that you seemed to like it pretty well too. You tried to copy me", I teased. "Well what was I supposed to do? The prince loved you", she replied. I blushed but it disappeared as quickly as it had come when I was reminded that wasn't true anymore.
"Sorry about that though. I was jealous and couldn't understand how the prince could like you over me. Ripping your dress probably wasn't the best way to handle it though", she apologized. I shrugged. "It's fine. It's over." She nodded but I could tell she still felt bad.
I walked towards the bathroom to change. I looked in the mirror and smiled at the result, the dress looked quite flattering on me. The color was a nice contrast to my pale skin and fiery red hair. I brushed out my hair so it was shiny and tangle-free, leaving it down so. I left my face bare since I had a feeling that we would be receiving full makeovers today during our girls day out.
"Ok, I'm ready", I announced as I walked back into my bedroom. Celeste was rearranging my closet and looked up when I walked in. She gave an approving nod and led the way back into the hallway. We kept up a conversation as we walked to the front door and I waved goodbye to my family as I exited the door. Obviously, Celeste had a car parked in front of my house, proving her status as a Two. It was sleek and sophisticated just like her, and was painted a black as dark as the night sky.
"Hop in", she said, getting into the car and gesturing for me to do the same. "Where's everyone else?" I asked. "Natalie? Elise?" wondering where the rest of our friends were. "They're going to meet us there. It's faster than me picking up everyone in my car."
"Oh ok", I said. "Then why didn't we all just meet there? You didn't have to pick me up. I could've walked, it would save even more time."
"No, you wouldn't know where to go. Plus, the places I booked us are miles away from your house. I wouldn't let my friend walk all the way there."
I just nodded, glad she had saved me from a couple of hours of walking. My legs would definitely be thankful for that. We got in the midnight colored car and when Celeste signaled to the driver he pulled the ignition and started off down the road. Celeste showed me the mini fridge in the corner of the car that held a variety of finger food and miniature cans of soft drinks. I helped myself to some cheese and crackers and immediately grabbed a bottle of the delicious Coke that I had tried on my dinner date with Ethan.
After about a half hour we reached our first stop, a little spa called Luxury Dreams. Strange name but I had no doubt they would deliver on it considering Celeste had picked the place and would never settle for second best.
We got out of the car and the it sped away. We walked through the door and it jingled to signal that we had entered. We garnered the attention of the lady at the desk and the two customers waiting on the sofa, one beautiful blonde and one girl with clear New Asian ties.
"America!" they screamed and they ran over to me, engulfing me in a huge hug. "We missed you so much", Natalie said, acting as bubbly as usual. "We did", Elise piped in, her voice far quieter- though not lacking in excitement. "I missed you guys so much too", I said earnestly. "It's great to see you again", I said with a huge smile.
Somebody cleared their throat and we turned to see Celeste standing in the corner looking at us. To any outsider she looked as confident as ever but I could detect that she felt a little bit awkward seeing our joyful reunion and not being a part of it. I immediately felt bad for not including her.
"No hugs for me" she quipped, a bit half-heartedly. Natalie immediately wraps her arms around her. Even though she hadn't been there when Celeste had apologized to Elise, Kriss, and I she was never one to hold a grudge. Besides I don't think Celeste had ever done anything to try and deliberately get her out of the competition since she probably never saw naive and aloof Natalie as a threat.
Celeste clumsily wrapped her arms around Natalie, and it was obvious that she had never really given anybody a hug. Affection didn't seem to be something she was comfortable with. I knew her time with Maxon had mainly been spent trying to seduce him, they probably had never done anything as sweet as hugging or holding hands.
I went to join in on the group hug, wrapping my arms around both Celeste and Natalie. Celeste seemed slightly more at ease once I had joined and it wasn't just her and Natalie. Elise seemed reluctant at first- mostly because she and Celeste were in strange territory. Celeste had repeatedly tried to make Elise's time at the palace hell and force her to bow out of the competition. She had never succeeded since Elise never wavered.
Elise also didn't seem to be much for physical contact either. She was more reserved. I even remember her telling us when it was almost the end of the Selection that her and Maxon had only shared three kisses.
After a few seconds she joined in, probably because she felt awkward just standing there. I felt giddy inside at this strange friendship. Just a couple of months ago we were all competing for the prince's heart. Now that the competition was over we were about to enjoy a whole day together as best friends. I knew not all was forgiven and things would be tense at times, but Amberly was right when she said the girls I once regarded as my fiercest competition, sometimes even enemies in Celeste's case, would become by best friends by the end of it. I felt a pang in my chest when I realized Marlee was missing all of it.
The girl at the desk coughed as she tried to get our attention. Celeste noticed first and she extricated herself from our tight hug, her cheeks tinged with a light shade of pink. The rest of us untangled ourselves as well, happy to see each other but slightly embarrassed at our extremely public display. It didn't seem like the type of thing that the women who came to this spa usually did upon meeting each other. They probably exchanged air hugs and air kisses. I rolled my eyes.
A lady came out the front door and when she spotted Celeste she came rushing towards us. "Celeste! It's so good to see you!" she gushed. Celeste smiled, a genuine one, and greeted the woman- whose name I learned was Marie- with equally as much enthusiasm. Marie then noticed Natalie, Elise, and I and once again gushed at how she was so privileged to be treating four of the former Selected, though I could tell Celeste was a regular based on the way Marie greeted her.
We were then led to a little room in the back of the place. Celeste explained that we all had the full package- which included a massage, a facial, and an hour in their sauna. I smiled when I heard this, a day of relaxation was just what I needed. Marie then said that we all were in separate but adjacent rooms for our massages.
We all retreated into our separate rooms and Marie told us to strip and wear the little robe on the rod in the corner of the room. She said that our masseuses would be with us shortly. I was kind of nervous to strip in front of a stranger but I didn't really have a choice. I was used to being naked in front of my maids but that was needed and I had gotten comfortable after a while. Now they were my best friends.
After a lot of hesitation and thinking I decided to let go of my insecurities and just do it. I piled my clothes in the diner of a room and wore the little blue robe that they had given me, tying it securely around my waist. I then sat down on the edge of the table and waited for the masseuse to arrive.
A short while later I heard a knock on the door and a lady let herself in. She was an older lady who was quite short with kind eyes and laugh lines around her mouth. She had a bit of a welcoming aura around her and it melted my nerves away.
"Lie down", she said and I obliged. She then got to work massaging my body, working out the tension and the stress. It was extremely relaxing and it left me feeling so much better. All thoughts of Maxon and the Selection left my mind and I was stress free. "You seem to be very stressed", the woman commented lightly, though I saw a frown creasing her features. I chuckled and tried to play it off as a lot of work so she wouldn't be too worried. She saw through me and she obviously knew who I was but she didn't say anything else. Probably out of politeness or a respect for customer's privacy or something along those lines.
After about another 15 minutes of pure bliss she said that she was finished. I got off of the table and walked out of the door and was met by the rest of my friends who seemed relaxed and at ease as well. We then went for facials that rejuvenated my skin and gave it a healthy glow. Afterwards we got our time in the sauna which was hot and gave us time to catch up.
We talked about our life and how it was at the moment. Elise talked about her parents' reaction to her not being Selected and how they were mad at fort but got over it at the end. Natalie talked about how things were slowly getting better at her house though they were still mourning her sisters unexpected death at the hands of the rebels. Celeste's life was as lavish as always and she had modeled for a magazine a couple of days ago. I expressed how much I wished Marlee could be a part of this and they all agreed. Neither Maxon nor the Selection was brought up and I was fine on keeping it that way.
After our designated time was up we got out and wrapped ourselves in our towels and went back to the room to get dressed again. Then we went to the front desk where Celeste paid for the visit. She swiped her credit card and I looked away so I didn't have to see the total. This place seemed really high-end and I had a feeling that the price was much more than I could make it at a week's worth of gigs combined. Marie then gave us an equally cheery goodbye and waved us out of the store. We then piled into the backseat of Celeste's spacious car. We simultaneously looked towards Celeste to hear the next destination since she hasn't specified any schedule or where exactly we were going.
"Next stop, manis and pedis!" she announced with a smile on her face.
So this chapter was getting really long and I couldn't fit the whole thing in one so I decided to split it into 2. I hope you enjoyed and this chapter was half at America's house and half girls day out but next chapter will be full girls day out! I don't know how long it will be but it will probably be pretty lengthy. Anyway l, I hope you enjoyed and don't forget to vote if you liked it. Thanks again for 2K reads! Bye!