Dark Moon by Victoria Wakefield Read Free Book Online

grin. “I look like a dominatrix.”
    “Only you could
pull that off.” I shook my head.
    “Let’s get out of
here.” Maryanne glanced at her phone. “You’ve got a few hours before your date.
Let me fix your hair when we get home.”
    “What’s wrong with
my hair?” My hand flew to my head self-consciously.
    “Nothing, but it’s
naturally wavy. I think that black dress needs stick-straight hair. Trust me,
the effect will be head-turning.”
    We paid for our
clothes and left.
    Maryanne helped me
get ready for my date with Michael. I washed and dried my hair, and she used
her flat iron to get out all of the kinks. I borrowed her mascara again, and
this time, she made my eyes up with about four different eye shadows. “You use
different colors for the creases,” she explained.
    When she finished,
I had to admit, the end result was quite stunning. My eyes looked huge and
sultry. My hair was sophisticated and the dress was sexy but not sleazy.
    Maryanne took her
phone and made me pose for pictures. “I feel like I’m going to prom all over
again,” I said laughing.
    “I have to capture
the moment,” she said teasingly. “I’ve never seen you dressed up like this,
Lana.”
    “That makes two of
us.” I took the black clutch Maryanne had lent me and placed my wallet, phone and
keys inside.
    “Here.” Maryanne
handed me the lip-gloss I was wearing. “So you can reapply after you eat, or
after you kiss.” She raised her eyebrows.
    “You’re making me
nervous,” I wailed. I fanned my underarms, hoping I wasn’t sweating like a pig.
    “Can I meet him?”
Maryanne asked.
    “You’re not my mom
and I’m not thirteen!” I exclaimed, punching her playfully on the arm.
    “Well at least
take some obnoxious selfies so I can get a look at this hunky doctor of yours.”
    “Maybe.” I perched
on the edge of my bed. “Not long now.”
    Michael arrived exactly
two minutes early. He called me, saying he was in the parking lot by the
dormitory.
    “I won’t wait up,”
Maryanne said as I left. I had the feeling she was glad I was going out. She
hadn’t said she had a date, but Maryanne was awfully dressed up to be spending
Saturday night alone. She was wearing her new leather pants and a red top that
barely covered her midriff. I suspected one of her boyfriends was coming over.
    Michael was
standing outside his car, typing something into his phone, when I walked up.
    “Lana.” His eyes
lit up when he saw me. Michael leaned in to hug me, kissing my cheek.
    “Hey, Michael.” I
tried to play it cool.
    I’d only seen him
in his scrubs and, if possible, Michael was even more gorgeous in normal
clothes. He had on a navy button down top with the sleeves rolled up and the
first two buttons undone, sleek black pants, and his hair was disheveled in the
bedhead-but-I-really-did-this-on-purpose way.
    “You look amazing,”
he said. I blushed at the way he was looking at me. Michael touched my face.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.
    “You’re not so bad
yourself,” I said back, flashing what I hoped was a flirty grin.
    He opened the passenger
side door and I sat down on the sleek leather seat.
    “Our reservation
is at eight-fifteen,” he told me. “We’re going to The Red Door. Have you been
there?”
    “No, but I’ve
heard of it.” The Red Door was a trendy new restaurant that opened two months
ago. It was expensive, and supposedly you had to book a table weeks in advance.
“How did you manage to get a reservation?” I asked.  
    “I’ve got my
connections,” he said mysteriously. He laughed. “No, seriously, it’s nothing
that impressive. I treated the owner’s wife last year. At her last follow-up,
he told me about this restaurant he was opening and said if I ever wanted a
table I could call him personally. And tonight seemed like the perfect night to
take him up on that. I wanted to go somewhere special with you.”
    “Anything would be
a welcome change from the usual campus food,”