Twisted Steel: An MC Anthology: Second Edition by Elizabeth Knox (top 5 ebook reader txt) 📕

“Thanks, babe.”

She steps away and twirls. “Well, aren’t you going to compliment me? This magic took hours.”

I grin. “Gorgeous. You’ll have the guys falling all over themselves.”

She laughs and loops her hand in my arm. “That’s the plan. You be sure to point out the successful ones, Green, that was our deal.”

“Right.”

We walk in the doors, following several other couples that I don’t recognize, and stop at a check-in table.

I give my name, and one of the women working the table gets big-eyed.

“Wait, you’re Tim O’Leary?”

I nod.

The two of them laugh.

“My God, you’re nothing like the guy I remember from high school,” one of them murmurs. She lays a hand on her chest. “I’m Heather Cantrell. Don’t you remember me? I was on the cheer squad.”

I suddenly do remember. She obviously hit her prime in high school because she hasn’t aged well. I nod. “Right. Heather, how are you?”

“Fabulous. I sell insurance now.”

“Great.” I take my nametag and move along before she tries to sell me a policy.

She leans over the table. “Save me a dance, Tim.”

Misty giggles as we walk down the marble tiled hall, and says in a singsong voice, “She thinks you’re sexy. She wants your body.”

I huff a laugh and roll my eyes. “Lord, save me.”

We pass a door with a brass plate that says Powder Room. Misty pulls on my arm.

“I’ll just be a minute.”

I wait in the hall for what seems like an eternity before she returns.

“That bathroom is amazing. It’s like a beauty parlor. They have everything. Makeup and hairspray and perfume and . . . Oh, look, mints.” She sticks her tongue out to show me the small breath mint lying on it.

“I thought you just had to pee.”

“I did, and I enjoyed every minute of it.” She leans toward me conspiratorially. “The seats were heated.”

“Maybe someone was just there before you.”

“Don’t be gross. Not here.”

Violin music carries to us from a trio set up in a foyer we pass through, and then we’re entering the grand ballroom.

“Holy shit,” I whisper, taking in the gold gilt trim and the huge chandeliers.

“Wow,” Misty utters, staring up at the vaulted ceilings painted with angels.

“I’ve never seen anything like it, have you?” I ask.

She huffs a laugh. “Me? Hell no.” She squeezes my bicep. “This is going to be the best night. Thanks for bringing me, Green.”

“Let’s get a drink.” I lead her to the bar and get her a flute of champagne and a scotch on the rocks for myself, feeling like a turd in a punch bowl.

I scan the room for Sara, but don’t spot her. Misty, meanwhile, is scoping for cute guys.

She tugs on my arm. “Oh, oh, who’s that cute guy over there?”

I follow her gaze. “Simon Keller? He’s a class-A asshole. You can do better.”

“Damn it, the cute ones always are.”

There’s a DJ playing, and couples are out on the dance floor. We stand by the bar and people watch. I spot several faces I remember. I dip my head to Misty and murmur, “It’s weird how some classmates have changed so much, and some not at all. The ones you think will turn out one way don’t turn out that way at all. Life sure is surprising.”

“That it is. Do you see her?” Misty leans to peer around me, still scoping out the crowd.

I raise my glass to my lips. “Nope.”

“So, tell me about this girl. What’s she like?”

“Sara was a misfit like me. We shared a table in the cafeteria one day and when our geeky chemistry teacher walked by and I laughed at the bowtie he was wearing. She snorted milk out of her nose and from then on we were fast friends.”

“Eww, gross.”

“You had to be there, I guess.”

“What else? What did she look like?”

“She was always changing the way she looked. One day she’d look Goth, the next she’d have her hair in pigtails. You could never pigeonhole her into one cliché.”

“Was she smart?”

“Very. She helped me pass several classes. If it wasn’t for her, I might not have graduated.”

“But what does she look like?” Misty whines again.

I shrug. “Long hair. Pretty.”

“You have to give me more than that! Like, what celebrity does she look like?”

“Fuck, I don’t know.”

“Ugh. You’re impossible.”

I take a sip of my drink. “Okay, if I had to compare, I’d say she looked like that chick from 13 Going On 30.”

“You mean Jennifer Garner?”

“I guess.”

“Wait. When did you see 13 Going On 30?”

I shrug. “I got roped into babysitting Cole’s bunch one night. That’s what Melissa wanted to watch, so I sat with her, and watched it.”

She arcs a brow. “Jennifer Garner, huh? So this girl is tall and beautiful?”

“Yeah, but with glasses.”

“Oh, that’s her one big flaw? She wore glasses?”

“I didn’t say it was a flaw.”

Misty sips her champagne, staring out over the crowd. She seems miffed, but I can’t figure why.

Not looking at me, she says, “I suppose she has dimples, too.”

“Yep.”

“I hate her already.”

I chuckle.

“I wonder what she looks like now,” she says, giving me the side eye. She knows I’m nervous about this, and now she’s just taunting me. I think about how little Miss Cheerleader Heather turned out, and my anxiety deepens.

Misty takes pity on me and swats my arm. “Quit worrying, Green. If she looked like Jennifer Garner in 13 Going On 30 back then, she probably looks like Jennifer Garner in Draft Day now.

I’ve seen the film, and that chick was a knockout. I smooth a hand over my short, nearly shaved head, hoping I look okay. There’s a wall of mirrors behind us and I catch my silver club rings flash in the light. I wonder if the whole MC thing will turn Sara off. I won’t bring it up, but she may spot my rings. Earlier tonight, I stood in front of the bathroom mirror debating taking them off, and now I’m ashamed I even considered it. I won’t pretend to be something I’m not. This tux is as