“Do you want to take a walk with me before you go?” she asked.
“Um, I think I’m too tired. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay,” she said. She looked so sad, standing there with tinsel falling off her and vomit crusted onto her dress that I almost felt sorry for her.
?
??What are you looking at, bitch?” she yelled, noticing me watching her.
“Nothing,” I said. I went inside and went to bed.
Chapter 20
“That’s a great dress,” said Shar.
“It’s too late to butter me up. Anyway, it doesn’t matter what I think. You should direct some of your fake positive energy towards Bellamy,” I said.
“It’s too late. I’m going home tonight. How could there be any other outcome after I shat myself and puked all over him yesterday,” she said, shaking her head and downing her cocktail. It ran down the sides of her mouth. “God, I’m such a freakin’ slob.”
Once again, I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.
“Did you spend much time with him tonight?” she asked.
“A little. Not enough, of course,” I said. In reality, I’d spent about two minutes with him. He’d asked me how I was doing and if I was getting along with all the girls. I’d taken that as my cue to send him a hint, so I’d said that everyone seemed pretty nice, but Shar wasn’t my favorite person. It wasn’t really the most helpful feedback, but he’d seemed happy enough with my response.
“Mind if I join you ladies?” asked Tamika, sitting down beside us.
“Did you get any one-on-one time with him yet tonight?” Shar asked her.
“About two minutes before Alanna showed up and stole him away from me. Honestly, I don’t think any of us stand a chance now that she’s back.”
“Does anyone know what happened with her and Antonio?” asked Shar. “Why aren’t they planning their wedding right now like they’re supposed to be?”
“Who knows,” said Tamika.
“Okay, ladies, gather around, gather around,” said Catalina Cartwright. “We’ve got a very big night ahead of us. As you may or may not know, two of you will be leaving tonight. One of you, Jessica, is already safe.” She gestured towards Jessica who was standing off to the side alone, her hair in an elaborate up-do that perfectly complemented her tiara. Jessica bowed a bit in a way that might be considered normal in Australia. Catalina continued, “So, without further hesitation, ladies, take your places. Let’s get down to business, shall we?”
We all found a small masking tape X to stand on and took our places. As always, they arranged us a bit by size and dress color until they thought we looked right. Once we got settled into place, Bellamy joined us.
“Bellamy, welcome! Have you made your decision?” asked Catalina.
“Hello Catalina. Hello again, ladies. Catalina, it’s never easy to send any of these wonderful women away, and tonight was the hardest night ever. I was, like, looking at their pictures, and remembering good times, and thinking and thinking. Geez. It was not easy.”
“But you made your decision?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Great. Go ahead, Bellamy.”
“Okay. Here I go,” he said, reaching for the first tiara. “Emma, will you accept this Deluxe ruby and Swarovski crystal tiara?”
“Yes,” I said, stepping forward. He gently placed it on my head and kissed me on the lips. My body jolted awake. My lips started kissing him back with a mind of their own until we were full-on French kissing.
“Excuse me,” said Catalina, dinging a spoon against her champagne glass.
“Um, thank you, Bellamy, for this tiara,” I said in a persnickety, business-like manner, trying to recover from my hotwired hormones. I joined Jessica.
“What was that all about?” she asked me under her breath.