Until Conrad put a stop to it all and declared that Ledger would go with me.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. I don’t trust where you’re going. So if you want to go, Ledge will go with you.”
That seemed to satisfy all my brothers and so that was how I went to Tempest’s birthday party, with Ledger – and some of his friends, who he invited along without even telling me – as my bodyguards.
Which was fine.
I mean, it was an overkill but I understood where Ledger was coming from. The party was going to be full of people from the Mustang camp and he wanted some of his own friends there.
I was just glad to go and to hang out with Tempest, who was glad to see me as well.
Together, we made every effort to forget the fact that our brothers and their respective friends were glaring at each other from across the room. Or that tensions were running high.
At some point during the night, our brothers made a pact: sisters are off-limits.
Meaning they would continue to fight and be at odds with each other but none of them were allowed to bring their sisters into it. So Reed can’t use me to provoke my brother, and Ledger can’t use Tempest to provoke Reed.
As weird as this pact was, it came as a relief.
Because I do think that Tempest is into my idiot brother and I don’t want her being used in the name of their stupid rivalry.
If a pact keeps her safe, then I’m all for it.
Besides, I do want to be her friend.
And ever since her birthday party, Tempest has been coming down from New York every weekend to hang out with me at my house and she always looks for ways to talk to Ledger.
Who always looks for ways to avoid her because she’s a Jackson.
And he hates all Jacksons.
Especially the one by the name of Reed Roman Jackson.
Or just Roman.
Not that I’ve gotten a chance to call him that after the first time.
Because while Tempest is trying everything to tempt Ledger, her brother is trying everything to stick to the pact.
Yup.
Who would’ve thought that Reed would be so good at keeping promises?
At school, he goes about his normal business.
And by business, I mean he always has girls around him. He’s always surrounded by his friends who also happen to be the loudest of all, attracting all kinds of attention. At practice and at games, he provokes my brother and my brother retaliates and vice versa. They stay on opposite sides of hallways and the cafeteria like they always have.
Most of all, he ignores me like he’s always done.
He passes by me in the hallway without sparing me a glance. If we happen to find ourselves in the same place at the same time, he hardly knows that I’m there. In fact, when I go to his house to see Tempest like she comes to mine to visit me, he’s never there.
I know it shouldn’t bother me, but it does.
That’s the only reason why I’m letting Tempest do this.
She’s got it in her head that I’m perfect for her brother.
I’ve told her a million times that I’m not. Her brother isn’t even interested in girlfriends. Not to mention, my brothers – Ledger specifically – would kill him if I ever got involved with him. But she hasn’t listened so far and up until now, I’ve shot down all her ideas to get me closer to Reed.
Until today.
I mean, this isn’t a plan to get close to her brother per se. Her brother isn’t even home; I’m at Tempest’s this Saturday afternoon.
It’s a plan to give me more confidence in my own skin. To make me think that I can be sexy too.
Like all his girlfriends, or girls.
Who somehow are masters at smoky eyes and sultry make-up. Also all of them have dark, sexy hair, unlike my stupid blonde good-girl tresses.
No, don’t think about that, Callie. This is about female empowerment. This is about you, not him!
Anyway, I’m wearing one of Tempest’s dresses. A black mini-dress that also happens to be strapless, which hits me mid-thigh, along with her heels. On top of all this, she’s done my make-up and curled my blonde hair.
All in all, I do think that I look sexy.
After Tempest dresses me up like a doll, we venture out to go to the mall like this. I was happy to stay home and lounge around all dressed up but she says that if I want confidence, then I need to go out and get it myself.
And I do get it.
Because guys have been leering at me, at us, ever since we stepped out of the house. And it is great at first but as time passes, I start to get tired.
My feet start to kill me and after pulling down my dress a million times, I don’t think I like this all that much.