And he gave me the creeps.
I moved behind the racks and pretended to be checking out another dress. Causally, I lifted my head and peeked over the rack.
He was still there.
“What the hell?” I muttered. Either he was waiting for someone in here or he was a total creeper. Or an Arum. I refused to consider the last one. Glancing around the near-empty store, I was going to go with creeper.
“What are you doing?” Lesa came out, tugging on the zipper to a pink trumpet dress that gave her boyish figure curves. “Hiding behind racks?”
I started to point out the stalker, but when I looked at the window, he was gone. “Nothing.” I cleared my throat. “You guys ready?”
She nodded, and I darted back to the dressing room and quickly changed. The whole time we checked out, I kept glancing at the window. That eerie feeling was still there, following us back to where Dee had parked. I expected the dude to jump out and scare the living crap out of me at any moment.
We folded up our dresses carefully and placed them in the trunk while Carissa and Lesa climbed in the backseat. Shutting the trunk, Dee turned to me. A small smile was on her face. “I didn’t tell you this because I’m sure you would’ve changed your mind about the dress.”
“What?” I frowned. “Does it make my butt look big?”
She laughed. “No. You looked stunning in it.”
“Then what’s the deal?”
Her smile turned downright mischievous. “Oh, you know, just that the color red is Daemon’s favorite.”
Chapter 22
The night of the dance I was full of nerves. A huge part of me wanted to call Simon and beg off, especially since he nixed the whole carpool idea from the get-go, but my mom had bought the dress and Dee had done an outstanding job making me look pretty.
My hair had been curled and twisted up, exposing my neck. A few strategically placed curls hung over my temples and rested on my bare shoulders. She even sprayed this vanilla-scented glittery stuff in my hair, so when I turned, my hair shimmered. My eyes were a warm brown due to the smoky outline she’d given them. I was also pretty sure she’d applied fake eyelashes, because my lashes had never been this long or thick. Her final touch before she rushed off to meet up with Lesa was the gloss she painted on my lips, turning them a perfect shade of ruby.
I inspected myself in the mirror before I went downstairs. It was like staring at a stranger, and I made a mental note to wear makeup more often.
Mom started crying the moment she saw me. “Oh my God, honey, you look so beautiful.” She went to hug me but stopped. “I don’t want to ruin anything. Let me grab my camera.”
Even I wouldn’t begrudge her this moment. I waited until she returned and took a dozen pictures. Dressed in her nursing scrubs, she looked kind of funny snapping pictures.
“Now this Simon guy,” she started, her forehead wrinkling. “You never talked about him.”
Oh Lord. “We’re friends. Nothing more, so you don’t have a thing to worry about.”
She gave me a motherly look. “Whatever happened with the boy next door—Daemon? You were hanging out with him a couple of times, right?”
I shrugged. That was a conversation I couldn’t even begin to broach with my mom. “Uh, we’re frenemies.”
“What?” Her brows puckered.
“Nothing,” I sighed, glancing at my hand. There wasn’t a single mark on my fingers. There was a trace though, still lingering faintly, he said. “We’re friends.”
“Well, that’s a shame.” She reached out, smoothing down an errant curl. “He seemed like such a nice boy.”
Daemon? Nice boy? Um, no. A loud engine from outside ended our conversation. I moved over to the window, peeking out. Good Lord. Simon’s truck was the size of a submarine.
“Why didn’t you two go to dinner like Dee was talking about?” my mother asked, gearing up the camera for another round of shots.
Since Simon had nixed the carpool idea, I’d nixed the dinner. Simon was meeting me here, which I wasn’t too thrilled about, but meeting at the dance seemed stupid. Not to mention he had the tickets.
I didn’t answer as I went to the door and opened it. Simon stood there, dressed in a tux. I was sort of surprised they had ones that fit him. His eyes, which seemed a little bleary, drifted down me in a way that turned my skin the color of my dress.
“You look hot,” he said, thrusting out a corsage that went around my wrist.
I winced, hearing my mom clear her throat. Taking the corsage, I stepped aside and let Simon in. “Mom, this is Simon.”
Simon stepped forward, shaking Mom’s outstretched hand. “Now I see where Katy gets her looks from.”
My mom arched a brow, turning into the Ice Queen. Simon had not made a fan. “Aren’t you kind.”
I slunk over to his side as I slipped my corsage on, grateful it was not one that had to be pinned on. Simon took having the epic amounts of pictures taken good-naturedly, wrapping his arm around my waist and smiling for the camera.
“Oh. I almost forgot.” Mom disappeared into the living room, returning with a lacy black shawl. She draped it over my shoulders. “This will keep you warm.”
“Thank you,” I said, hugging it closer, more grateful for the coverage than she could ever imagine. The dress had seemed fine earlier, but now with Simon practically drooling on my cle**age I felt uncomfortable baring so much skin.
Mom pulled me aside while Simon waited outside. “Make sure you call me when you get home. If anything happens, call me. Okay? I’m working in Winchester tonight.” She glanced out the door, frowning. “But I can leave if need be.”