Perfect Mistake (Privilege 3)

"See? You can totally do it!" Lexa cheered.

"Sure. As long as Adam doesn't mind being my personal walker all night long," Brigit said.

"Adam's your date?" Kaitlynn asked, her eyebrows arched. "Adam with the insanely long legs?"

"That's the one," Soomie replied.

"Well, then you have to get them. How are you going to dance with a guy who's nearly a foot taller than you without heels?" Kaitlynn asked.

Ariana shot her a look. Who was she to be telling Brigit what she needed? But the other girls just nodded.

"She's right, Bridge," Maria said. "You don't want him to be stooping all night."

Brigit sighed. "No. But I also don't feel like breaking my neck, either."

"That's not going to happen," Lexa said, putting a supportive hand on Brigit's arm. "Maria will work on it with you, right?"

"I can make you graceful by next week, guaranteed," Maria assured her.

"Besides, I've already seen Tahira's shoes and they look like Birken--stocks next to those little lovelies," Kaitlynn added.

Ariana's heart skipped a beat as Brigit looked up, her eyes hungry. Kaitlynn had just sealed the deal.

"Really? They're fugly?" she asked.

Kaitlynn laughed, her hand to her chest. "I wouldn't say fugly, but she will drool when she sees these."

151

Brigit dropped into her chair, kicked off the shoes, and put them back in the box. "Ring these up, would you?" she said, handing them to a passing salesman.

"My pleasure," he said.

Brigit shoved her feet into her sneakers and stood up again. "Thanks, guys. I never would have done this without you." She moved past them toward the counter. Ariana grabbed the shoes she'd chosen and went with her.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked. "I mean, those shoes are amazing, but I want you to be comfortable."

"I'll be fine," Brigit said. "You heard Maria. She's going to train me.

They stopped at the counter together and looked back at the four girls, who were mulling over a pair of knee--high boots Maria was considering.

"Kaitlynn's pretty cool, huh?" Brigit said, handing over her American Express Black. "I wasn't so sure about her, but she just totally gave me inside info on Tahira."

Ariana bit her tongue. She had been so involved with her other plans and plots that spying on Tahira had fallen by the wayside, and Kaitlynn had just swooped in and saved the day.

"Yeah, she's pretty cool," Ariana agreed nonchalantly.

And smooth, she thought as Kaitlynn threw her head back in a laugh at something Maria had said. Very, very smooth.

152

BACKUP PLAN

"Thanks for the invite, A, that was super fun," Kaitlynn said sarcastically as she closed their dorm room door behind them. She lifted her messenger bag over her head, tossed it on the floor

, and dropped dramatically onto her bed, splaying her arms over her head. "That Lexa chick is just way too cheerleader. And Maria? Does she always walk with her nose that far in the air? What's she trying to do, catch flies in there? Brigit's about the only one of them I can stand."Ariana's jaw clenched. She walked into her closet and shoved aside a few hangers to make room for her new light blue gown. Then she shoved aside some more simply to make noise and release her aggression.

"If you don't like them, why are you so determined to hang out with them? Why don't you just find yourself some other clique to invade?"