Saving Ever After (Ever After #4) by Stephanie Hoffman McManus Read Free Book Online Page A

tonight.” She didn’t even give me a
chance to object before pulling her phone out and dialing Heidi. Even though it
was a Saturday night, and I hadn’t been out since that first night I went with
them, I still wasn’t sure another party was a good idea. I tried to mentally
prepare excuses, but once she talked to Heidi, plans were already set in motion
and I didn’t have much say in it. She eyed my worn cut-off shorts and black tee
with the royal wingcrest from Zelda across the chest.
    “Is that a
band logo?” she asked. I hesitated a second before answering her, afraid of
coming across as lame or dorky if I told her the truth.
    “Uh yeah,
they’re called, uh Triforce,” I mumbled and her face scrunched up.
    “I’ve never
heard of them.”
    No she
wouldn’t, considering the Triforce is an ancient and very fictional relic of
power from the game that only few are able to wield. I doubted that she was a
Zelda fan and would know Hyrule from the kingdom of Gondor. “They were a small
local band back in Seattle that I saw play a few times. Maybe one day they’ll
make it big and you’ll see them on TV.”
    “Cool, but
we need to get you ready.” She practically shoved me back inside my room,
insisting on helping me pick out something to wear. It was the first time she’d
been in my room, and before raiding my closet, she took a minute to look around
and examine my space. Something about it made me uncomfortable. I could see, as
her head turned and her eyes made a slow perusal of my things, that she was
forming opinions and judgments about me. I just didn’t know what they were.
    My room was
my space, the place where I didn’t have to care what anyone expected of me. The
place where my seven hundred dollar Manolo Blahnik wedges could sit next to my
forty dollar Chuck Taylors, and my Fendi and Valentino bags could hang on the
rack that sat under my Final Fantasy XIII poster. Gamer girl nerd met high
class, and I didn’t have to worry about what anybody thought about it. Or well,
I didn’t until now.
    “So, you’re
really into video games?” Jillian asked, now eyeing my entertainment center, but
it was difficult to read anything from her tone.
    “Oh, not
really, but my dad’s company develops some of the software used in game design,
and being a guy in the tech industry, he didn’t always get that, in a house
full of girls, we’d all rather have Gucci than X-box,” I joked and she
muttered, “ Dads ,” on a an eye roll like they were all clueless and would
never understand daughters.
    When she
moved on to my closet, she was much more impressed by what she found hanging in
there.
    “I love your
wardrobe,” she proclaimed as she rifled through hangers of dresses and designer
tops.
    “Thanks.”
    That was the
wardrobe that belonged to the Mia everyone got to see. The put together,
polished, lover of pretty things Mia. I couldn’t deny that I really did love
pretty things, and sometimes had a bit of a shopping problem. There were times
though, that I didn’t want to have to be so put together. The drawer full of
t-shirts, like the one I had on, was for when it was just me, a pizza box, a
bunch of those five hour energy shots and a new game I had to beat before
morning. Last night had been one of those nights, and had lasted into this
morning. I’d squeezed in just enough of a nap before Sadie had called with her
news, that I should be able to make it through whatever party Jillian dragged
me to.
    She pulled a
top and skirt from their hangers and thrust them into my arms and pushed me
toward the en suite. When I emerged, she was dangling a pair of my favorite
strappy black Louboutins from her fingers.
    A few
strokes of eyeliner, a couple swipes with the mascara brush and a spritz of my
favorite perfume later, and the party girl Mia persona was in place and ready.
Even though, I would have preferred another quiet night in, catching up on the
Walking Dead or beating the most recent Assasin’s Creed.