Jillian Dodd - Hate Me

Annie is already hard at work, and I’m shocked to find Jake with his sleeves rolled up, helping her.

“Hey, Jake.” I give him a little elbow to the ribs and a teasing smile. “You join the French Club?”

“I asked him to help,” Annie says. “Because I need your help with something else.”

“My help?”

“Yeah, come one.”

Aiden grabs my hand. “You can’t ditch me.”

I kiss his cheek. “Apparently, I’m needed.”

“What for?”

“Annie?”

“Girl stuff, Aiden. You only have an hour shift and then you can go get ready.”

“Just meet me at seven,” I tell him.

Jake is wearing what appears to be a permanent grin.

“Annie, does Jake know what we’re doing?” I ask her as she grabs makeup and dress bags.

She looks back at Jake and gives him a little wave. “Of course he does. I was kind of freaking out. You guys did my hair and makeup, but wouldn’t let me look in the mirror. I need you to show me how to do it so I can do it myself. I’ve been trying all week and it looks okay, but not as good.”

“What are you wearing?”

“I have two dresses. I’m not really thrilled with either. One because I’ve worn it before and the other because I was supposed to wear it with Ace.”

“Have you talked to Ace?”

“He texted me that night after he got mad. Told me he was sorry. I asked him what really happened and he told me the whole story. The stuff Chelsea said to him over break. How he was stupid.”

“What’d she say?”

“Sexual stuff. And, you know, I would have been fine with that. He could’ve apologized and maybe we would’ve gotten back together. But then he told me that he told her stuff about us. About our sex life. And get this: he told her that I don’t give good head! He never once complained! As soon as he told me that, I was completely done with him.”

“Wow. That’s low.”

“Especially since he wanted me to do it to him all the time. Honestly, though, I was doing something—not wrong, really, but I’ve since learned how to do it better.”

“Did you watch videos online or something?”

She half laughs and half coughs. “No. Jake, um, helped me.”

“Helped you?”

“Let me practice. Gave me some pointers.”

“Annie! I can’t believe you’re doing that with him already!”

“I know, right? I’m a little shocked too. But I’m having a whole lot of fun. And I just want to look really great tonight. So he’s proud to be there with me, you know?”

“I know. I want to look my best tonight too.”

“What the heck is that?” Annie says, squinting at the monstrosity in front of Hawthorne’s dorm. “Is it supposed to be the Eiffel Tower?”

She takes off running to look at it more closely.

Just as I’m getting to my dorm, she runs back to join me. “That’s crazy! Who in the heck’s idea was it to make that?”

“Aiden’s. He just asked me to go to Winter Formal at the top of it.”

“How did you get to the top of it?”

“He took me up to a dorm room, showed me the sunset, and then had me look down.”

“Top of the Eiffel Tower, Sunset?”

“Yeah, when I first tutored him, we joked about going to France together.”

“I heard they’ve been working on the project for over a month but I didn’t know what it was. You do realize that a month ago you were still seeing Dawson.”

“I know.”

“Aiden’s pretty freaking special.”

“Yeah, he is.”

Once we’re in my room, I make her try on the dresses.

She puts the first one on, and I can tell by her body language she doesn’t like it. “Is this what you were going to wear for Ace?”

“No, I wore it last year for something. But I’ve changed a lot since then.” She smiles. “And it’s all your and Maggie’s fault.”

“Our fault?”

“Yeah. I never really cared that much about clothes until I started hanging out with you guys. And you have such a great sense of style. Some of the outfits you put together, if someone else tried to wear them, they would look ridiculous, but on you they just work.”

“Thanks, I think. Speaking of Maggie, where are she and Katie?”

“Getting dressed in Maggie’s room, then pre-partying with Bryce.”

“Cool. Okay, so, what kind of style do you want to have?”

“I want to look classic. You dress in classic pieces, classic shapes, but they all have a little flair to them. Then you go crazy on your accessories.”

“Actually, the reason my clothes are mostly basics is because I usually choose my shoes first! So, classic. What else?”

“Romantic. A little bit girly. But not frilly.”

“Got it. Try on the other one.”

The black dress has a little more style, but black really doesn’t do much for Annie’s pale complexion. I wish she had something in a softer color.

“Oh, I know!” I say, running into my closet and finding a dress that I think will look great on her. “Try this on.”

The dress slides over her hips like butter. “This is beautiful,” she says. “Wow, I look good in it, and I don’t even have any makeup on.”

“That’s one way to tell if a color is good on you. I wore this dress once when I went to dinner with Aiden, but no one else has seen it. Do you have some pretty black shoes?”

She nods. “The ones I wore to Homecoming.”

“Those were cute. They’ll be perfect. Okay, take that off and I’ll show you how to do your makeup.”

After getting Annie ready, I work on myself. I’m supposed to look like a movie star and my dress is perfect for that. It’s tiered black silk organza, similar to one worn in a Miss Dior ad.

I do my hair in big curls, then brush it out into soft waves. The dress has a bit of a twenties vibe, so my hair will match perfectly.

I’m just putting on a pair of black suede Charlotte Olympia cut-out sandals when Aiden knocks on my door.

When I open the door, he hands me a beautiful bouquet of flowers in the palest of pastels. Light fuchsia roses. Pale pink and blue hydrangeas. White lilies of the valley. Dusty pink peonies.

“They’re beautiful, Aiden. Are they for me?”

“Who else do you think I’d buy flowers for?”

“They’re just so pretty. I thought maybe they’re, like, a centerpiece or something.”

“They’re for you, silly.” He sets the flowers on my desk then holds out his arms. “So, obviously, you look crazy beautiful. But how about me? Do I look good enough to play your arm candy?”

I let my eyes slide down his buff body, which is looking totally delectable in a black suit. His hair is perfectly mussed. His angular face is freshly shaven. And his shoes . . .

“You might have more shoes than I do.” I laugh. “You look more than good enough to be my arm candy. In fact, I don’t think anyone will even be looking at me.”

I hold my pink Alexander McQueen appliquéd clutch and look at myself in the mirror again.

Something’s missing.

I spy the flowers behind me. “That’s what I need!”

I grab one of the pink roses, pin it to the plain black satin ribbon that came with the dress, and tie it around my neck.

“You look beautiful,” Aiden says, holding my hands and leaning in for a sweet kiss. He looks at his watch. “We better get to the café.”

I glance at his watch too.

“I'm playing the starlet. I’m pretty sure that means I should be a little late and make a big entrance.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” he says, and leans in for another kiss.

Twenty minutes later, Aiden is escorting me onto the French riverboat set.

Everyone is seated and opening their picnic baskets.

We make a purposefully noisy entrance and, right on cue, I'm stopped by two different dinner guests who ask for my autograph, which I sign on their dinner napkins with a purple glitter pen.