“Alright, beautiful!” Serena says after bursting into my dorm room with a silver case in her hands. “It’s time to make some magic happen.”
She’s here because Nick sent me a text this morning letting me know there’s a frat party tonight. He also added that he’s lined up a few guys I might like, which made my stomach queasy. Are any of his frat brothers actually interested in me, or do they only find me perplexing because of all the attention I’m getting from Tristan?
Nick is going to join Serena and me before the party to review his list of candidates since Serena knows most of them. I’ve been anticipating that part of the evening almost as much as the party itself. How will Nick act around Serena? It’s been six months since they broke up, but he has a warm, open personality, and I can’t imagine he’ll hide his feelings for her.
I can’t wait to watch her make him work for her.
“Let’s hope you’re a sorcerer,” I say, “because you’re going to need all the magic you can get.”
Serena ignores my sarcasm as she heads straight to my closet. She rummages through, examining an item before either placing it back in my closet or on my desk chair.
“I’m surprised you found anything good in there,” I say. “Too bad all your friends are skinny. I’d be much better off borrowing something.”
She smiles. “We’re not going to change your style. Just enhance it.”
I shake my head sharply. “Don’t worry about that. This isn’t an exercise of self-improvement. I’m fine with how I look. This is temporary, and it’s all about taking Tristan down.”
“I think it should be about making you feel beautiful, too. I don’t like how often you criticize your appearance. Here.” She pulls out a black dress “Dark colors bring out your eyes. This one is perfect for tonight.”
My mouth falls open. “Serena, are you serious?”
She frowns as she turns to me, seeming genuinely confused. “What?”
“It’s lingerie. I bought it for my ex, and I never wore it because I felt too ridiculous in it.”
Her eyes grow wide as she pulls at the lace hem and spreads the fabric outward. “It’s pretty modest for lingerie.”
“Yeah.” I break out into a laugh. “Because I was self-conscious. I don’t like showing off my body.”
Serena’s dark eyes fix on my face. “Because you genuinely don’t like showing it off, or because someone made you feel self-conscious about it?”
“Honestly, I think I have a great ass. And nice boobs too, but we don’t live in a world that likes fat bodies.”
A slow smile spreads over her face. “Tristan likes your body.”
Heat unfurls in my belly. “How do you know?”
She walks over to my bed and plops down next to me. “Because he never takes his eyes off you. Ever. Even when theother contestants are around.” She lifts the black lace and holds it up to my chest. “Amy, if you can handle it, I really think you should wear this dress. Do you want to shock Tristan or what?”
A tingling heat spreads over my skin. I hate showing off my body, but shouldn’t I be saying “fuck you” to the culture that made me feel this way? I do have a great ass. Maybe it’s time to show it off.
Yes, I’m going to do it.
My stomach flips over. “He would be shocked by this.”
Serena’s smile grows mischievous. “He certainly would be.”
I nod jerkily. “Okay, let’s do this before I start to second-guess myself.” I tug at the end of a strand of hair. The game has been too all-consuming for me to reapply the cheap purple dye. That turned out for the best, since Serena is planning to dye my hair a new color. “Let’s see what you can do with this frizz ball.”
“Trust me, you’re going to look amazing,” Serena says. “Let’s head to the bathroom so I can start working on the dye.”
A little while later, Serena is coating my hair with brown sludge. “I stalked your Instagram last night to find pictures of your natural hair color.” The words are delivered slowly, likely from concentration.
“You would have had to go far back to find it.”
Through the mirror, I see her smile. “Many years. I saw pictures of you and Nick.”
I huff out a laugh. “Yep. I didn’t take those down. But I did rage delete every single picture of me and Harper.”
