Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 113130 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113130 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
I don’t bother answering her because she is kind of right. Tiffany was a party girl, even though she was two years older than me. She was the “it girl” because I was burning up the standings. She would always want to go out and celebrate, even though we were a couple months into the season, and anything could happen. It got to the point where we just had different ideas on what our future looked like so we, or better yet I, decided we should maybe stop wasting each other’s time.
I pull up to the hotel and head straight to the valet, getting out at the same time Tori’s door is pulled open. “Keys are in the cupholder,” I tell the guy who gives me a white valet tab.
“Okay, big brother,” Tori urges, “how about you let loose”—she throws her hands up in the air—“have a drink. Have two drinks. Bring out the vacation Jaxon who is funny and witty. Unlike this Jaxon who plays hockey and is all serious and focused, if only for tonight, yeah?”
I chuckle as she wraps her hand around my bicep. “Yeah, only for tonight.” I make fun of her words. I never thought that this would be the night that my life was going to change.
two
Ariella
I’m collecting my things to put in my purse—lipstick, lip gloss, a compact, even though I never actually reapply my lipstick, and then my phone. Looking down, I see that I’ve missed about five text messages.
“Oh my,” I say to myself as I open the app, “how long was I in the bathroom for?” I scan the text messages. Spotting a text from Lexi, who is my cousin and best friend.
Lexi: Have fun tonight. Give everyone my love and a little hug. Call me in the morning! Send me a picture of your dress!
I decide to snap a picture of myself in the full-length mirror near the door, sending it to her and adding in:
Me: These shoes already kill my feet but they make my legs look hot.
She replies right away.
Lexi: That’s because they are hot.
Another from my cousin Zoey.
Zoey: I’m here and I’ve done five shots already.
I snort, knowing that her husband, Nash, is going to be carrying her home at the end of the night. Not that he cares, he would do anything for her.
My brother texts me next.
Brookes: I’m going to be here for two hours and then I’m leaving.
Brookes: I’m with Maddox at a table, if you are looking for me.
He mentions his best friend and our other cousin. The two of them have been thick as thieves since Maddox was adopted into the family. They are two months apart and have been each other’s shadow since.
I step out of the hotel room and hear the sound of the door clicking at the same time I put the key card in my purse and my phone pings with a message.
Mom: We are in the ballroom. It’s on the second floor.
My head is down as I walk toward the elevator door, my heels sinking into the carpet as I round the corner and hit the tiled entryway, where three elevator doors greet me. I take in my reflection. The black lace dress was something I bought today when shopping with Zoey and my mother. It was a spur-of-the-moment purchase, but it fits like a glove, so I had to have it. The lace sleeves are see-through and go to my elbows. The front comes down into a V and is tight all the way until my mid-hips, and then it flares into a ruffled bottom that hits mid-thigh and drapes longer in the back. The bottom part sways right and left when I walk. My black sky-high pumps with a gold T in the back complete the look. I didn’t go big with my makeup, opting for a natural look, with my long brown hair in beach waves. My blue eyes look a light gray tonight.
I press the button for down before answering everyone with the same message.
Me: On my way down.
The pinging of an elevator has me looking up and I see the last one has the white light on top of it, so I walk over to it at the same time the doors open. I step in, pressing the second button before the door closes. I put the phone in my purse, holding it in front of me as I watch the numbers go down from twenty-seven to two. Luckily, it doesn’t stop at any other floor, and when the doors open, I can hear the music coming from one of the ballrooms. I look around, seeing people everywhere. My heart starts to speed up with a bit of nerves as I make my way toward where all the people are.
My phone vibrating in the purse in my hand has me stopping and opening my clutch and pulling it out while it vibrates another four times. I look down and see I now have twelve missed texts. The big red bubble shows me the number.