Page 17

My brother knows how to throw a fun party. Every year all the hockey players get together and play games, have a few drinks, and dance.

“This year is going to be so different because Ryan is with the Seven Devils,” I say to Sydney as we sit in the massage chairs at the nail salon while getting a pedicure. “Just think of every year how fun it was. We used to get so dolled up to flirt with all the upperclassman hockey players. Do you remember that?”

She laughs, tapping away on her phone with her fresh nails. I glance down at my new nails. Almond-shaped with a variety of pastel tips. “Yeah,” she says, finally putting her phone down. “I will never forget those times. Seriously, the best memories ever.”

“Yeah,” I smile. “And this year, the Seven Devils team will be there. I’m nervous.”

She laughs again. “Oh my god, Maddie. Don’t be nervous.”

I nod. “I’m not like nervous like worried. Just anxious to see my brother in a different light. These guys that he plays with have families, and I know it’s going to be fun. But I don’t think it’s going to be the same. It’s not just the college hockey team anymore.”

She stares at the woman painting her toes in deep thought. “You’re so right. I didn’t consider that aspect of it. We have to act like adults, not like raging college kids.”

I nod. “Exactly.”

We lock eyes and break into laughter. The unspoken words hang in the air. As long as we’re together, we’re always going to have a good time.

Sydney leaves once her pedicure is done because she has things to do, and I’m going a few doors down for my eyebrow appointment. When we part ways, she tells me how much she misses me at home and that I need to hurry back. I tell her that I miss my bed and will be back sooner than she knows it.

I enter the salon and the receptionist apologizes about my favorite brow lady being out with the flu last minute, so they booked me with someone else. The party is tomorrow, so I need to get my brows done. I’m hesitant to agree because I’m so picky about my brows but the receptionist convinces me to keep the appointment with another great brow artist. A face that I recognize walks around the corner and smiles at me. “Ready?”

I nod, following her through the salon. I can’t pinpoint where I know her from, but I’m sure it’s from campus.

I lay in the chair, and she gets right to work after I tell her I don’t like them too dark or thick. I show her a picture of my brows after my last appointment. She only nods, clearly not one to talk. I close my eyes and enjoy the chatter around the salon. Without asking, she puts cucumbers on my eyes. I enjoy the coolness of them and relax for the appointment.

By the time she’s done, I feel refreshed and ready for the weekend. She hands me a mirror and immediately my gut twists.

“Oh.” I’m mortified by what I see. I have thick dark sharpie brows. They look horrible.

“So cute, right?” She smiles, not making eye contact with me.

“Yeah,” I mutter and force a horrendous smile. “Thank you. How can I pay?”

She’s hovering over my shoulder as I tap my debit card. I leave a 20% tip out of guilt.

“Thank you,” she says as I leave the salon, trying hard not to catch my reflection. I need to act cool. Cool as cucumber that was just on my eyes as I laid blindly while she sharpied my brows.

As soon as I’m in my car, I look at myself in the mirror and almost cry at how horrible I look.

“Shit,” I scoff, checking them out in every angle. She did not miss a single spot. They’re black as midnight. Immediately I’m sending a picture of myself to Sydney because I can’t bear this alone, and then I’m googling ways to get rid of a dark eyebrow tint.

Sydney Facetimes me. “Oh, my God. What did she do to you?”

She is on the verge of laughter.

“It’s so bad! It’s so bad, Sydney.” I look in the mirror again, sighing.

She chuckles. “What’re you going to do?”

“I think I’m going to cancel the party this weekend.”

She laughs at that.

“Right now, I need to get to Grey’s because I need to grab my books.”

“She did you dirty,” Sydney says with the phone close to her face. “It looks like you let a kindergartener sharpie your eyebrows.”

“I know!” I gasp, starting my car. “She made it thicker, closer together, and very long. What the hell?”

She laughs. “You need to undo whatever she did. I would help you right now, but I need to go, so I’ll help later.”

“No problem,” I muster. “I’ll be dying in a field somewhere, plunging my head into the ground.”

She already ended the call, so I say to myself, “You look scary.”

On the way to Greyson’s house, I am considering running away and finding that field to bury my head in. I am praying that he’s not home because I really need my books for class. And I really don’t want him to see me like this. I think I’m going to stay at my house until I figure out this eyebrow situation. But then the party! Shit.

Sydney: I think I have something that will help. Come by tonight

Maddie: Omg thank god. I will be at the house right after class

When I pull up to Grey’s, I’m utterly relieved that the house is completely empty of Grey and his roommates. Before I grab my books, I race into the bathroom to get a better look at these warlocks. I cover my mouth as I get closer to the mirror because… these brows are showstopping. These brows are a statement. She managed to make them closer together and a centimeter thicker than they normally are. I run a finger over them to see if I can wipe them off. Toilet paper? No. Wet washcloth? Nope. No such thing.

I whine, “They are horrible.” Now I make eye contact with myself and can’t help the laughter eroding from my chest. “I am ugly. Like ugly, ugly. The Greyson Cress cannot see you like this.” I shake my head and leave the mirror. I gather my books, and a few other things, and then leave the house for class.

“You’re my savior,” I say to Sydney when she sits me at her vanity and puts a cotton pad in her makeup remover.

She sits next to me and says, “I can’t promise it’s going to work. They’re really dark.”

I plead, “Stop laughing, please, and help me!”

She nods, trying to keep it together.

Once the cotton pad is soaked in the makeup remover, I close my eyes as she scrubs my brows. The left and the right. I open my eyes when she removes the pad. I look down at it and see no black on it, so my eyes dart in the mirror. They’re not coming off.

“Shit.”

She puts the cotton pad down and says, “Don’t panic. We’ll try exfoliant.”

I nod as she leaves the room. I take the thing and scrub it for myself. Nope, not working.

When she sits down again, she says, “So, you haven’t told me anything about Grey. How is it all going? How is it living with him?”

She applies the scrub to my eyebrows as I blush. “It’s…not bad.”

“Not bad?” she questions.

“Yeah, he’s really clean and quiet. And he’s not at all what I expected.”

She raises her brows at me as if she wants me to continue.

I smile as she scrubs my brows. “I don’t know… I surprised him at his game. Yeah, you knew about that. I texted you. We drove back together, and I don’t know.”

Her brows furrow now. “You’re saying I don’t know a lot. Are you starting to like him?”

When I don’t answer right away, her eyes widen. “Stop, Maddie. You like him?”

“I don’t know.” I give her my best whiny face because I don’t know if I do.

“What? Oh my god. You do, don’t you? It’s written all over your face.”

I think about last night in the rink when he asked me the same question and I avoided answering him. “It is?” I ask. If she can see it, then he could probably sense it. “I don’t know, Sydney. Everybody thinks it’s a bad idea.”

“Hey, I was a part of that crowd, but if you like him, then you like him. It doesn’t matter what we think. But of course, I’m going to tell you to be careful. Who cares what anyone thinks though.”

“My brother warned him. I don’t know what he said exactly, but –”

“Ryan?” she chuckles. “The cinnamon roll of a brother you have?”

“Don’t call him that,” I humorously judge her for a moment, but she smiles at me. “Yeah, my cinnamon roll brother went rogue. He forced me to invite Grey to the party tomorrow.”

“So, it’s not just us girls flirting with hockey players anymore?”

I huff. “I’m sorry I didn’t mention it earlier today. We were having a girl’s day, and I didn’t want to talk about Grey.”

She wipes my eyebrows and questions, “Didn’t you say you’re staying here tonight?”

I nod, looking in the mirror. The shade is not the tiniest bit lighter. “Yeah.”

She forces my chin back to her as she applies the exfoliant again. “So, you like really like him?”

“What?”

“Relax your brows,” she scolds me, and I do as I’m told. It feels like she’s rubbing them raw. “It must be the early stages of realizing you really like him because you’re only staying here so he doesn’t see your beautiful eyebrows.”

“I don’t want anyone to see my eyebrows,” I argue.

She shakes her head. “You walked right past Crew without the slightest amount of embarrassment.”

I scoff. “That’s because Crew is like my brother. You know that. I could grow a mustache, and not shave it around him. I don’t care.”

She shakes her head as she scrubs the hell out of my brows. Seriously, I think they’re going to scab when she’s done. “Well, your face hasn’t stopped blushing since I mentioned Grey, so I’ll do you a favor and stop talking about him. But please, come to your senses and realize that you really like the guy. Your body even reacts to his name.” My face is so hot right now. She wipes my brows and says, “This is working only a little. So let’s try again in the morning.”

I hug her. “Thank you. I’m going to get ready for bed.” I stand up and take the cotton pad to throw it away. “And Sydney, tomorrow will be all about flirting with the hockey boys at the party. Just us girls doing some harmless flirting.”

She nods, smiling at me and then I leave for my room.