Page 40 of Liberating Water

Lailah

“Seriously,guys. I think it is safe for her to leave the house. We’re just going into town. No icy water anywhere close by. We’re just picking out a dress for the New Year’s party,” Cami said, arms crossed as she looked at the boys. “And no, you cannot come with us or it will ruin the surprise. We have one day left before the shops close for New Year’s Eve, and I promise that we will make sure to keep you aware of what’s going on and if there are any changes… sound fair?”

“No,” Micah snapped. “Look, we have no idea when or where this Ubel guy will strike next. If he can change his face and his gender, there’s no telling what could happen.”

I walked up to him and grabbed his hand. “Micah, Ubel doesn’t want to kill me. His goal is to push me to my limit so I give up and turn myself over to the Dark Lord. There is no way I am going back on my word when I have stood my ground so far.”

“What I’m worried about, Lailah, is that you’ll pull another crazy stunt and end up killing yourself this time,” Micah countered.

“I promised you that I wouldn’t put myself in danger, and I meant it. Cami will be there with me, along with Maggs. Both of them know twenty different ways to knock me on my ass to keep me from running into danger. So please, let us go have a girls’ afternoon. I will check in with all of you every hour with pictures if that will make you feel better,” I pleaded.

“Every thirty minutes, and pictures every time you change locations. Back in three hours or no deal,” Jay interjected before Micah could answer.

“Deal!” I said, standing on my tiptoes and leaning over to give him a peck on the lips.

Spinning on my heel, I headed for the door before they could come up with some other reason to keep me from going out, when someone caught my wrist.

“Un-uh Trouble, you can’t give one of us a goodbye kiss and not the others,” Parker said, pulling me back to him.

I gave him a raised eyebrow, looking past him at the others, and saw the same expectant look on their faces. Smiling, I quickly went around, giving them all kisses before I was finally allowed to leave with Cami. Hopping into her car, we headed to pick up Maggs for our outing. It was nice to take the day and shut off all other worries and just be a normal girl.

“So, what kind of party is this, anyways?” I asked as we drove.

Cami looked over and grinned at me, far too pleased with herself in this moment. “The theme this year is The Great Gatsby, so it will all be glitz and glam, Lala. The roaring twenties—the golden age of Europe, full of smooth jazz and champagne to celebrate the end of the war.”

Now I understood why she was so excited about this party. Anything that was over the top was right up her alley, and this was going to be something to remember, by the sound of it.

“Here’s the big question… fringe or no fringe?” Cami asked as we pulled up to Maggs’ sorority house.

“What are you wearing?” I deflected.

“Oh, I got myself a glitzed-out tux with short shorts and fishnets, it’s gonna be amazing! Maggs won’t show me her dress, so I’ll just have to wait and find out with the rest of you what it looks like,” Cami whined as the woman in question slipped into the car.

Maggs frowned at Cami before giving her a kiss on her pouted lips. “Babe, if you keep whining about it, I’m going to show Lailah my dress.”

“You wouldn’t!” Cami gasped.

“Without hesitation,” Maggs said, giving me a wink.

Cami started to mutter under her breath as she pulled out of the drive but didn’t say another word about it. We ended up in a part of town I hadn’t seen before, but it looked like it was full of the more normal chain stores. Before we headed inside, I took a selfie with the name of the shop so the guys would know exactly where I was and that I made it there in one piece. Wasting no time, Maggs and Cami filled a dressing room with dress options, and then I was shoved in to try them on.

They had picked a little of everything—long, short, sparkle, plain—it was overwhelming. I decided I didn’t want a long dress, so I bypassed those and started on the others. After ten attempts, I found the perfect dress and came bursting out of the dressing room. It was a knee-length champagne colored dress with silver and gold sequins on it in an elaborate art deco pattern. It had some slight fringe on the bottom, but nothing too overwhelming, and it clung to my body in all the right ways.

“Oh!” Maggs exclaimed, covering her mouth. “Lailah, that is magnificent.”

Cami let out a whistle and wagged her brows. “As I told you from the beginning, if you swung for the right team, I would be all over that.”

Maggs laughed and swatted her arm. “What am I, chopped liver?”

“Are you telling me you wouldn’t want a shot with her?” Cami challenged, waving in my direction.

Tapping an elegantly painted red nail on her chin, Maggs looked me up and down. “No, you’re right. I would have made a pass at her, especially in that dress.”

“Now you can’t be mad at me for saying it, but we all know that us ladies don’t stand a chance against her brooding crew of men.” Cami sighed and flopped back in her chair. “Such a loss.”

“You both are nuts,” I chuckled. “Alright, so this is the winner. That wasn’t so bad—we finished this up in no time.”

Cami popped out of her seat and grinned. “Lala, we are nowhere near done. We need shoes, jewelry, and to figure out what we are doing with your hair.”