Playing His Game

Chapter Fifteen | Can You Hear the Music

Fifteen:

I had agreed to the party, but there was no way I was going in my floor length dress. So, it was almost 11:00 at night when I found myself creeping through the back door of my house to get a change of clothes.

I silently closed the sliding glass door behind me, cringing when the weight of my bare foot made the hardwood floor creak.

I stumbled through the dark kitchen, feeling my way around until I made it to the living room.

I knew my brother was fast asleep, but what I didn't expect when I rounded the corner to go upstairs, was my mom, sitting casually on the couch with the TV flickering in front of her.

I gasped, and my small purse and shoes I was holding clattered to the floor loudly. "Mom, what are you doing up?!" I squeaked. I quickly picked up my dropped items, my stomach lurching with nerves.

She slowly placed her glass of red wine on the coffee table, rising to her feet. She gave me an amused smile, showing she wasn't mad I was home so late.

"Hi sweetheart, how was the dance?" She asked, eyeing my smeared makeup and curls that had by now lost their bounce.

"It was fine," I mumbled, hoping Austin wasn't getting too impatient out front.

"Good! You hungry? Want me to make you something before you go on up to bed?"

I gulped. "Uh, mom...you see, Lily wants all of us to sleep over at her house tonight." I felt extremely guilty for lying, but there was no way she'd let me go to a party.

"Oh!" She looked surprised.

"Yeah, my date from tonight's gonna drive me there, if that's okay."

"Sure, sweetie! Let me just call Lily's mom to make sure it's alright."

"No!" I shouted, panicked, making my mom jump slightly and look up in alarm.

"It's just, uh, Lily's parents are out of town and she feels lonely, is all," I blurted the first excuse that came to mind, hoping she would still believe me after my momentary freak out.

Her green eyes widened. "They're out of town? You girls better not think of throwing a party!"

I laughed nervously. "Of course not! And does that mean I can go?"

"I suppose so," she laughed. After spinning around to turn off the TV, she kissed my cheek. "Change out of your dress and get going, I'm going to bed."

I breathed a sigh of relief and returned her hug, following her as she went upstairs.

Flicking on the light to my room, I flew to my closet, trying to hurry since my mom held me up for so long.

My dress was now a pile of blue silk on the floor, as I rummaged through my clothes in just a bra and underwear.

I quickly slid on some tightly fitted leggings and a knitted, gray sweater. Though most girls wore dresses to party's on Friday nights, it was the middle of December and I wasn't keen to freezing my ass off.

I pulled on my favorite pair of brown suede boots before quickly running to my bathroom. I wiped off the smudges of smeared mascara under my eyes, not bothering to apply another coat.

My hair, that started off beautiful, was now a mess of frizz and limp curls. I brushed it all back, wrapping the whole mass of blonde into a messy bun. A few tendrils of hair in the front escaped, framing my face, but it looked nice so I left them.

I turned off the light again, stepping into the hallway. I tiptoed past my brother's room so he wouldn't wake up; the kid was the lightest sleeper I'd ever met.