The song: Shoop by Salt-N-Peppa. Because there is no better song about shamelessly checking out hot guys! Seeing all the Soundcrush guys through our Smart Girls eyes is my favorite part of this chapter....
Marley
When the elevators slide open, I am unprepared for the state of the penthouse.
I don't see a single person I know, and it's utter chaos in here.
At least two dozen men and women are moving swiftly around the main living area of the penthouse efficiently unpacking the kind of black cases you would think are filled with sound equipment.
But these aren't roadies and those cases aren't filled with amps and keyboards.
They hold portable makeup stations, stacks and stacks of color palates, and hair products.
You've heard of a Glam Squad?
This is like a freakin' Glam Army.
Loud music is blaring. Larger wardrobe cases are cracked open with feathers and spangles spilling out. Hairspray and glitter hang in the air. Blond and brown hair extensions are being hung on black boards, displayed like crown jewels.
And in the midst of the mayhem, a beautiful biracial woman with curls piled atop her head is is marshaling her troops like a general, directing different color palattes to different stations while she points two nail technicians to a side table.
She tells Penelope, "Go ahead and prepare the hotel manager for the damages to the bathroom. Tell him we will pay. No problem."
Damages to the bathroom? What the hell is going on in the bathroom?
As I see none of the Soundcrushers, I have a vague anxiety that there has been some kind of fight. Maybe between Mac and Arabella? Or possibly some conflict between them spilled over to Adam and Bodie?
A sudden panic that Bodie might have come to blows with his brothers over that bitch—yes, I said it, she might have deep emotional trauma that drives her behavior but if she talks like a bitch and acts like a bitch, I don't feel to guilty calling her a bitch—in my head—anyway, the idea that Arabella is causing drama for Bodie makes my heart race.
My eyes scan the room, half looking for Bodie, half looking for anyone I recognize. Finally, the beautiful general notices me.
She weaves her way through the drop cords that are being used to light up all the portable make up stations.
"You're Marley, right? I'm Tamara, Bodie's cousin. We didn't actually meet at Labor Day last year," she gives me a hug. She waves a hand, "Welcome to my Parlor of Pretty!"
"It's nice to meet you," I say, captivated by her eyes. They are lighter than both Darius and Bodie's—less amber, more blue-green— but the shape, the lid look, the blink, the brow movement?
I see Darius in Tamara even more than in Bodie.
Both beautiful people with captivating eyes.
My heart starts to race with panic at the idea that I might not be the only one. But then I remember that Tamara lives in LA and the chance of her crossing paths with Daemon is extremely slim.
She gives me a curious look, misreading my anxiety. "It's okay, girlfriend. Don't worry. Being styled looks intimidating, but you don't have to do a thing but relax. It's so much fun," she points to the now assembled row of makeup stations.
I see each has a director's chair with names on them. The names are somewhat interesting. The second to left chair says "Madam." To the left of that the chair reads "TrayKat", but on the right of Madam's chair reads:
YOU ARE READING
DRASTIC (Book 4 of the Soundcrush Series)
RomanceBodie Jamison. The enigmatic drummer of Soundcrush,always hiding his pain behind his laughter. Bodie has two habits he can't quit. Heroin and Arabella Burns. What happens when Marley Watkins--Soundcrush's favorite over-the-phone-counselor who ha...
