Blaze appeared from his own room wearing black pants, white shirt, and black leather jacket.
I smiled at the three of them. The girls took one look at me and then smiled happily. Margot seemed more pleased because I looked so ordinary standing next to her.
“Shall we go?” Beatrice asked.
I simply nodded, feeling self-conscious, although I didn’t know the other people who will be in the party and I knew Nick wouldn’t care much if I dress like a diva or not.
As we headed out the door, I felt Blaze pull me by the shoulder.
“Nick called,” he said.
We all turned to him. “He wanted me to get him a jacket for tonight and he said Mackenzie should know exactly what he wants and what his size is.”
Margot raised a brow. “I know his exact size. I can go with you.”
Blaze shook his head. “I’m the one paying, and I’m the one he asked to do this for him. And there’s no way I will let you ride my car.”
Blaze was blunt. He made no pretensions that he liked Margot.
“Well, we’ll follow you in the car,” Margot insisted.
Blaze ignored her and turned to his sister. “Tyler needs you there for the preparations. You’re the advanced party, remember?”
“Oh shit, yeah, we need to go,” Beatrice said, heading out the door.
Margot looked at us hesitantly and then she disappeared with Beatrice.
I stood alone with Blaze. Without looking at him, I said, “Nick didn’t ask you to get a jacket, did he?”
He laughed. “And she is smart.” He took my arm and led me out the door. “Come on, we do not have much time.”
I stopped and pulled my arm back. “Blaze, what are you doing?” I knew that if Nick found out I caught a ride with Blaze, he would not be pleased. Was this guy purposely trying to get me into trouble?
“Humor me for a while,” he said. He pulled my arm again and led me to his Porsche.
We rode the car in silence. I was fidgeting in my seat. Although I knew Blaze would not try something funny and I could defend myself, I was still nervous about what he was planning to do.
He parked his car in front of a line of shops. He opened the car door for me and led me inside one of the stores that carried expensive labels.
“What are we doing here?”
“You need to change your clothes,” he said.
I raised a brow at him. “What? Why? What’s wrong with my outfit?”
“You look nice. But nice is not good enough,” he replied. “You’ll be going to a private party full of Nick’s old friends, more than half of which are also Margot’s friends.”
“So?”
“So, the theme is not casual or comfortable. Trust me, it will be extremely uncomfortable since all of Nick’s friends still think they should get back together. And you, coming in as Nick’s date, will be an unpleasant surprise for them. They will judge you, they will compare you with her, and they will scrutinize every detail of your physical appearance. And right now, Margot, with the help of my clueless sister, has made it a game she will surely win. And I’m not going to let that happen.”
I was stunned by what he said, but I could tell he was telling the truth.
“But Nick’s seen me dressed casually and boyishly and he was completely fine with it.”
“I know,” Blaze said. He fished his phone from his pocket and then he showed me a familiar picture of myself—my old self, dressed in androgynous clothes, sporting an undercut with blue highlights in my hair.
“He won’t care. But all the wolves and bitches you’ll meet in the party tonight will. Do you really want Nick to have to justify to each and every person there why he’s with you now and not with the seductive bitch named Margot?”
“It’s not a competition, is it?”
Blaze shook his head. “For Nick, it isn’t. I know my brother more than anyone. He saw something in you. And frankly, I see it too. But not everybody will. So for the sake of those who wouldn’t see what a beautiful person you are, would you care to make it more obvious, please?”
“I’m not sure…”
“For crying out loud, Mackenzie!” he said in a frustrated tone. “Do you like Nick?”
I stood there in stunned silence, staring at Blaze’s semi-annoyed face. Then I nodded.
“Then do this for him! Fight for him, even just this once!” He showed me my picture again. “Is this you?”
I sighed. “Was.”
Blaze stared back at me and smiled slowly. “Then show my brother what made him like you in the first place. Give him his prize if you think he’s worth it. He deserves it.”
No matter how much I tried to deny it, Blaze had a point. I didn’t want this to be a competition. I would set Nick free if he chooses to be with Margot, or if he chooses not to be with me. But Margot already made this into a contest and she was doing her damn best to win it, even if it meant making me look bad.
I have no doubt that she’d use home court advantage to win this game. She had a history with Nick and she had a lot of people supporting her. I barely have two months with him and it seemed I only have Blaze on my side, for a reason I still did not understand.
Nick and I will talk tonight. If he’s made up his mind not to be with me, I could at least show him what he’d be missing if he chose to send me packing back to the States.
Blaze put his hands on my shoulders and spun me around. “Pick a dress. One that will make heads turn and eyes stare, and not just Nick’s. Don’t worry about the bill. I’ll take care of it. I owe Nick a lot of favors anyway,”
Dress, huh? Shit! I can do this!
I went around the shop for about ten minutes, completely clueless about what to wear. A saleslady approached me and said, “Can I make a few suggestions?”
I looked at her and then sighed in relief. “Oh, thank God, please!”
She picked out a couple of dresses, constantly looking at my frame and figure to see which ones would suit me.
Ten minutes later, we were at the dressing room and I was trying on three outfits. One was a tight black dress that ended on my knees. I tried it on and came out of the dressing room, showing it to Blaze. He looked up from the magazine he was reading. Then he shook his head and went back to scanning the pages with a bored expression on his face.
The second dress I tried on was a deep V, tie-around dress. It looked nice on me, but I wasn’t entirely comfortable with it. I felt too exposed. When I showed it to Blaze, he gave me the same reaction.
I tried on a dark pink dress with lace up back straps. When I came out of the fitting room, Blaze looked thoughtful.
“Tempting. But no,” he said and went back to reading the magazine again.
The next dress I tried on was a bright yellow mini dress, with small sleeves, tight bodice and flared skirt that ended a couple of inches above my knees. It was cute, flirty, and comfortable.
When I came out and stood in front of Blaze, he looked stunned for a couple of moments.
“Blaze?” He didn’t say anything. “Blaze!” I had to raise my voice a little louder.
“Wow! That is the dress,” he said. Then he turned to the saleslady and said, “My brother is a little conservative and wouldn’t want anybody looking under her skirt so please do something about that. Also, get her matching shoes.”
The saleslady handed me a pair of black lycra shorts, which was a little longer than boy shorts, but was way shorter than the skirt. I instantly felt comfortable and confident that I would not have accidental exposures in spite of my short, flared skirt.
I chose a pair of white strapped sandals with three-inch wide heels. I actually have no problem wearing high heels, as I used to wear heeled boots as part of my androgynous style. As long as they’re not stiletto sharp, I could even run in them.
Blaze was signing the credit card slip when I came to meet him at the counter.
“I’ll pay you for these,” I said when he led me out of the shop. I knew the clothes were expensive.
“Yes, you will. Later. In kind. I will ask you for a favor and you will not say no.”
Shit! I might have just sold my soul to the devil! But it was too late to back out now. I was starting to grow fond of my outfit.
Blaze opened the door to another shop, which was a salon.
“What now?”
“That dress must be worn with makeup.”
I was way past the point of arguing with him. He seemed like a guy who always gets things done his way. Nick was the same, but at least, he knew how to use the power of persuasion. Blaze, on the other hand, just knew how to order people around.
I was taken care of by one of the ladies, who had multi-colored hair. She asked me to turn around about two times before asking me to sit on the comfy leather salon chair. She then wrapped an apron around my neck to ensure she didn’t accidentally stain my dress with makeup.
My phone kept buzzing but the lady wouldn’t allow me to even turn sideways. She was strict, and I suddenly felt like a canvas in front of Picasso, waiting for the next masterpiece to be painted on my face.
When I was done, I was stunned to look at my own face in the mirror. My eyebrows were shaped in a perfect contour that looked natural at the same time. My high cheekbones were highlighted by very light orange blush. The lady gave me a smokey eye makeup with a touch of silver eyeshadow and shimmery eyeliner. My long lashes were curled and made thicker with black mascara. My short hair looked soft and silky and my bangs have streaks of red highlights.
I have never worn makeup before, but I must admit, this new look suited me. Maybe Terry was right. I do clean up nicely.
When I came out to meet Blaze at the waiting area, he took one look at me from head to toe and gave me a smile of satisfaction. “Now, that’s money well spent.”
I rolled my eyes and said, “I’ll pay for these too.”
“Yes, you would. Not with money though.”
“Blaze, you’re starting to scare me,” I said as we got into his car.
“Relax. What I will ask, I’m sure you could deliver. After all, the great Ken Clarke is a girl with many talents, right?”
Ken Clarke? Shit! How much did he know about me?
“How… how do you that’s what they call me?”
He laughed as he started driving. “Okay, last night, after we talked in the kitchen. I looked you up. You’re not very difficult to find on social media. Mackenzie Clarke does not exist but the name Ken Clarke kept popping up. So I got curious. I found a video of an extremely talented drummer, who looked too pretty to be a boy. Further research and a closer look told me all I needed to know.”
I couldn’t believe that after all Blaze made me go through this afternoon, he knew who I was and what I used to be.
“Looking at that, didn’t you think that maybe I was gay?”
He snorted. “You’re not gay, Ken. You’re just different. You rocked the drums and the androgynous outfit perfectly well,” he said. “I give you ten points for individuality. Although, I wouldn’t peg you to fall for Nick. I mean, I know he’s hot and all that.”
“It wasn’t his looks,” I said quickly. Really, it wasn’t. When I first saw Nick and thought he was hot as hell, I didn’t feel attraction. I felt scared that maybe he was just trying to get to Jen’s pants and then leave her heartbroken. “Nick is a sweet, kind, and wonderful human being.”
He was protective, sensitive, a complete gentleman. I could go on and on, but most importantly, Nick made me feel good about being me. He respected that I’m different and he didn’t want to change anything about me.
“Yes, that he is,” he said in agreement. “He was too good he made me look like the black sheep in the family.”
I stared at him. “And you dislike him for that?”
“Nah! I like being the black sheep. It’s so much more fun.” He turned to me and gave me a wink.
“Why did you make me dress like this, if you’re giving me points for individuality? Nick didn’t mind my usual style.”
“This is not just for him,” Blaze replied. “It’s also for the people around Nick, who would scrutinize you every chance they get. Let’s not give them the satisfaction. Let’s show them that you can kick asses no matter what dress you wear. You’re so cool being the old Ken Clarke. But hey, you rock this style, too.”
My phone buzzed again. I stared at it and found that I have twenty missed calls from Nick.
“I’m guessing he’s been calling you non-stop, huh,” Blaze said.
“Yes. He’s worried. I didn’t tell him where I was.”
“He knows you’re with me. And that’s what he was worried about.” Blazes sounded as if he was laughing at his own joke.
“Could you drive faster?” I wanted to call Nick but I have no idea what I was going to say to him.
“Nope,” he said frankly. “Let’s make him worry for a few more minutes. Nick had never been a jealous guy, you know. He had never been possessive. That’s how I knew you were different. He was different with you.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
He shook his head. “It’s never a bad thing if your man shows that he’s scared out of his skull to leave you in the hands of another man—even if that other man is his own brother.”
“But isn’t that a sign that he doesn’t trust me?”
“Jealousy is not always a sign that he doesn’t trust you, princess. It’s also a sign that he doesn’t trust the guys around you and his own ability to keep you,” he replied.
My phone rang again. I was about to answer but Blaze told me not to. “We’re one minute away from the bar. He can wait.”
I held on to my seat for one more minute. As we approached our destination, I saw Nick at the front of the building, pacing back and forth, dialing his phone endlessly.
When we parked in front of him and Blaze came out of the car, he looked ready to murder him right then and there.
“Where the fuck have you been?! And who told you to take Mackenzie with you?!” he asked angrily.
Blaze didn’t buckle even a little bit. It was like he was so used to Nick snarling at him. Instead, he just said, “Relax, bro. I brought you a surprise.”
Then he opened the car door for me. I took a couple of deep breaths before finally stepping out of the car.
Nick stared at me, his mouth hanging open. He was looking at me from head to toe, as if memorizing every detail of my transformation.