Page 7 of Accidentally Perfect
“I don’t think I can physically take another night of drinking. Why can’t we just act like old people tonight and order room service?” I say while I play with my hair. The color may be a vibrant red, but the volume is limp. The dryness of the Vegas air is doing nothing for it.
After our pool time, Nathan insisted that we take a few hours and get pampered. He tried to pay, but I ensured him that I didn’t need his money. I know he was just trying to be a gentleman but the one thing my father taught me is to be independent. I pride myself on the fact that I am. There isn’t anything wrong with a woman not needing a man financially, there are so many other reasons to need a man and money should never be one of them
Stella and I spent three hours getting waxed, rubbed out, pounded on, mudded, toes done, nails polished, and whatever else they threw at us. We came out feeling like brand new women, instead of death, like when we started.
“Because, Laney, the guys wanted to meet us and I want to meet them. You should too. I’m surprised that you don’t want a little more Nathan time. Maybe some one-on-one Nathan time? Huh? A little horizontal dancing never hurt anyone.”
Troy and Stella have hit it off. By that I mean, they can’t keep their hands off each other. It’s like watching animals mate. Well, maybe not like that. They aren’t humping each other and she’s not sticking her ass up in the air waiting for him to mount her. They're very handsy though. Too handsy, like the public kind that makes the onlookers very uncomfortable. “What are you going to do when we leave here in a few days? What’s gonna happen then?”
“Why do I have to think about what’s gonna happen then when I just want to think about what’s happening now? I swear on all that is holy, if I don’t get that man under me or above me, hell even behind me soon, I'm going to scream, and it won’t be pretty. It'll be brutal, and it may be the last sound you hear before I kill you.”
“Jesus, Stella. Just go on without me. I’m sure neither of the guys will mind.”
“You are so blind, Laney. Yes, they will mind. Nathan will mind. Can’t you see the way that boy looks at you? He looks at you as if you’re the last woman on earth. I know, it sounds cliché, but it’s true. Last night when Hollywood came to play in Vegas he only looked at you and I know because I watched as woman after woman approached him, fondled him, and practically attacked him out there in public. He gave them no notice because he was only talking with you, looking at you and touching you.”
“It doesn’t matter. We’re leaving soon. I don’t want to start up anything with anyone.” I sit on the bed in nothing but my bra and underwear. They're matching, and they’re new, purchased today in the boutique downstairs. I did it for no particular reason. That’s what I told myself anyways when I was making sure they matched the dress I bought moments before. I wanted them to match and that’s it. I had no plans, not one that included sex with Nathan, not one that included sex with anyone. I just wanted to feel pretty. Why am I lying to myself?
“Are you not attracted to Nathan? Is that the deal?”
“Are you serious right now? I get butterflies in my stomach whenever he’s around. I’ve never had butterflies. I’m too old for butterflies, Stella. But yes, Nathan is gorgeous, incredibly handsome and so down to earth. We click.”
“But not enough?” she asks.
“Enough for the weekend.” I shrug my shoulders
“But not enough to tell him all about you. What makes you, you?”
“There’s no point in divulging everything. There’s no
reason to. Why? So I can torture myself and think of a man who might have been? Dreaming of a life that I’ll never have?”
“Are you scared?”
“Of course I’m scared, Stella! It feels right, he feels right, but I know that’s illogical, impossible even. I know there’s more than just me, and I’m tired of not making the right choices. Nathan scares me.”
“Do you trust me, Laney?”
“Yes. Always.”
“Then get your ass in gear and put that number on you bought today. Trust in the fact that I’ve got your back.”
