Page 19 of I Never Stopped Loving You

“Oh. Uh, no, I think I have a black clutch that will go well with this.”

*Ding*

Noah

On the way.

“Shit. He’s on the way.” I sound panicked, but Jenna looks calm as she closes the mascara cap.

“No worries. You just have to get dressed now.”

“You’re already done?”

“I told you, you were in la-la land. I’ve been talking to you for the last five minutes, and you’d only occasionally make the smallest ‘mhm’ noise, so I knew you weren’t paying attention. Ready to see what I did?” Her smile is lighting up her face.

“No. But go ahead.”

“Rude. But I forgive you only because I love you so damn much. Okay. Three…Two…”

On one, she spins my chair back to face the vanity, and my jaw drops. I don’t even look like me. I mean, I do…but…

“Holy shit,” I whisper.

“I know, right. You can say it, I’m fucking brilliant. I’m an artist. I’m…”

“Amazing,” I cut her off. “Holy shit, Jenna.”

My hair is down now, hanging in loose curls and framing my face. My green eyes pop with the dark, smoky cat eye she gave me. The inner corners are highlighted, making the green stand out even more. My lips are no longer bare; instead, they have a mauve tint that shines.

“See. I told you you’re stunning. Now come on. Go get dressed. Noah’s going to be here soon.”

“Thank you.”

“You can thank me by going out tonight and having an amazing time. Don’t come back till the early hours of the morning. Oh, and for God’s sake, promise me that if that man tries to kiss you, you let him.”

“I promise.”

“Damn, you promised fast. He must be really hot.” She waggles her eyebrows at me and laughs before walking out of the bathroom.

I follow her into her room and look at the dress she’s laid out on the bed. I can hear her humming as she goes down the steps to the main floor. She’s probably going to creep out the window, waiting for him to pull up.

I quickly go to my room to grab a pair of tights and my black, round-toe, stiletto pumps. I bought them on clearance last black Friday, but never had a reason to wear them until now. When I return to Jenna’s room, my heart is racing. What if he doesn’t like the way I look? This is the opposite of what he saw this morning. I’m going to look like a completely different person.

After I finish getting dressed and slip on my stilettos, I glance at the stranger looking back at me in the reflection. It’s me…but at the same time it’s not. It’s the woman I always saw inside my head who I’ve wanted to be for a long time, but I was always too afraid of standing out.

A rush of footsteps up the stairs is followed by Jenna crashing through the door.

“Holy shit, woman. Number one, damn. I don’t even recognize you. Whoever designed that dress must be a fucking artist. And second of all, your Prince Charming is here. You did not tell me he drives a fucking MC20.”

“I don’t even know what that is,” I say as I pick up my black jacket. It hasn’t snowed yet, but you can feel it in the air. It’s coming.

“A Maserati. You know, super expensive, super fast, and super pretty…”

“I got nothing.”

“We really have to get you out of the house and into the real world,” she groans as she rolls her eyes at me.

“Hey, I get out of the house…”