Tormented Mistress ( Book One )

Chapter 10

Amber woke to the sound of knocking. She blinked multiple times and rubbed her eyes.

She glanced back to the closed door as whomever on the other side continued to loudly knock.

She jumped up and opened it to find Dave. "It's about time," he said before making his way past Amber and into her room.

She frowned and watched him open her closet she had yet to even open herself and pull out a dress. He proceeded to throw it at her. "It's dinner time. And you ought to wear something cute."

Amber looked down at the clothes she already wore. Her tight red shirt was ripped and her white sweater was now a beige. She wore blue skinny jeans and white flip flops.

Amber then pulled the dress that Dave had thrown onto her and held it up in front of her to inspect it. It was short and black and simple. It had ribbons on each side that appeared to tie in the back.

Amber peered over the dress at Dave who seemed to be impatiently waiting.

"I'm not about to change in front of you," Amber quietly stated.

He flailed his arms in irritation and began to head back towards her door. "I'll be waiting outside."

Amber had the urge to scream the word pervert as he left the room. "Trying to watch me change..." Amber mumbled under her breath as she threw her clothes off and pulled on the dress.

She ran in front of her full length mirror and tied the ribbons around her back. Amber twirled for herself and decided she liked the dress. It flowed with her movements despite the fact that it was short and stopped about two inches above her knee. 

Amber began to walk out of her room and wondered what the big deal was for this dinner. She decided she would ask Dave.

She did not end up leaving the room, though, when she heard hushed male voices outside of her room. 

It sounded a lot like Dave and Joel. And being as curious as she always was, Amber eavesdropped. 

"Why are you up here?" Joel's voice snapped.

"Because I can be." Dave snickered. "Is there a problem?"

"No...I just wanted to walk her down."

Amber heard Dave laugh. "You're so obvious when you have a crush on someone."

"I don't have a freakin' crush on her," Joel said in defense.

Amber felt herself blush. Did he like her? She thought they were only friends. Without really thinking, Amber abruptly pushed the door open and stepped out.

Both the boys' heads snapped in her direction. Dave's wore a smirk on his lips as Joel's was pink.

"Oh...Amber! I like that dress on you," Joel said as he placed a hand on the small of her back.

Amber smiled at him. "Thank you, Joel." He was so sweet to her...

"Well, let's go on down," Dave grumbled.

"Woah, wait now," Joel said, which stopped Amber from heading toward the staircase.

"Your hair must be done, too!"

Amber blushed as he said this. She had not even paid attention to her hair. It must have been an absolute mess. 

Dave gave him a look. "Well, I'm not about to be late for dinner, so you deal with that." He then pushed past the two of them and walked down the stairs, not glancing back once.

Joel shrugged at Amber and led her into the bathroom right by her room.

He motioned for her to sit on a stool and once Amber had done so, he pulled out a brush from a nearby cabnet, causing Amber to burst in laughter. "What are you, a hairdresser?"

Joel chuckled. "No! Just a good person," he said before running the brush through Amber's hair.

He was right- her hair needed attention. It was filled with tangles and Amber was slightly embarrassed as Joel worked on getting them all out. She felt relieved that he did not make a big deal out of it and make fun of her which would have really been embarrassing.

Joel then stood back and examined his finished product. Amber did the same and soon found that he might be a hairdresser. He had brushed it out so it lay in light waves. He had also added a fancy bump in the front.

"I see you smile! You now know of my talent," Joel exclaimed.

Amber only burst into laughter as he grinned. 

"We really need to get going, though!" Joel said as he gently took a hold of Amber's wrist and led her out of the bathroom.

She wore a smile on her face until the two of them reached the bottom of the stairs. She began to worry about this dinner. Who was going to be there? Why was she going? If she was not a part of the family, did she even have the right to go?

Joel glanced at her and gave her a wink before pushing a door open that led to the dinner room before them.