An Open Sky

Chapter Thirty-Two ~Alexa~

I watched as Dani flipped the last few curls over my shoulder. The long brown curls fit together, spilling over my shoulder like a waterfall. Dani let out a squeal as she examined me.

“Hot. I love your hair!” Tia circled me, falling in step with Dani.

“Thanks,” I blushed, “it was all Dani’s magic.” Tia laughed, stepping closer to a mirror to pin up a few strands of her own stray hair into a beautiful, loose bun. Dani was a little wilder, styling only half of her already perfectly wavy hair. She pinned the upper layer around the back of her head and still had plenty of hair left over. I’d never seen so much hair on one head in my life.

“Are we ready?” Tia asked, turning to examine herself one more time in the mirror.

“Yep, but when am I not ready to party?” Dani grabbed her jacket off of the couch, pulling mine off of the otherwise empty coat rack. She tossed it to me and I carefully slipped it over my shoulders, making sure I didn’t move a single strand of hair in the process.

We stepped out the door and made our way through the grass to my car, which was inconveniently parked all the way across the street. We piled in, me sliding into the driver’s seat, being the designated driver, and took off. Tia was my navigation, leaving a pouting Dani to sit alone in the back seat.

Tia flipped on the radio, the speakers comfortably blaring the newest pop star’s latest release. Dani’s mood immediately lightened at the music. She sang along, drumming the back of my seat with her fingers. I was actually surprised at how amazing her voice sounded in the close proximity of the car.

“She gets her singing skills from me,” Tia remarked, reading my thoughts.

“You wish you had my talent,” Dani yelled over the music.

“Turn left up here,” Tia instructed, ignoring Dani’s last comment. She turned and flashed Dani a look, acknowledging that she’d heard it. Dani’s soft laughter echoed the techno blare coming through the speakers.

I turned left. There was really no scenery whatsoever, other than the black cows whose figures were illuminated by the rising moon. There was something eerie about the whole thing. It seemed darker here. I pushed the car to go a little faster down the winding road.

Several more songs vibrated through our ears before we turned again. I turned right as Tia instructed and found myself on a gravel road. The club came into view, lights flashing, bass booming; I knew it was my kind of place. We stepped out of the car, the crisp air seeping under my dress.

“Wait,” Tia said, pulling out her phone. “Give me a second to call Brendan.”

“Who?” I asked as she held the phone to her ear.

“Her sophomore sweetheart; they’re still dating.” Dani informed me, “He asked her to homecoming and here we are now. Little did she know, his dad owns a club.” She winked at me. Tia hung up.

“He’s meeting us outside in a few.” She smiled. Dani pointed at her mouth, gagging.

“You don’t like him?” I asked.

“Are you kidding? He’s hot! They’re just the cutest couple, a little too cute for my taste, actually.” Dani glanced over at Tia, who was still beaming.

“You’re just jealous because you can’t keep a boyfriend for more than a month.”

“Um, correction, I don’t try to keep them for over a month. Guys are stupid.” I laughed, shaking my head.

“Hey!” Tia shouted, running over to meet the tall, well-built man that was emerging from the club. They greeted with a kiss and both came over to meet us.