Mason gently woke me up as the plane began its descent. “I can’t believe I slept the whole way,” I exclaimed, sad I had missed my first trip on a plane.
“You obviously needed the sleep,” he said sweetly, stroking my hair. “It gave me a chance to pen some new songs.”
The way he was looking at me gave me the distinct impression that those songs had been about me. I broke his gaze and sat up, straightening my clothes. I realized I was still wearing my workout clothes. Hopefully Mason was right about taking care of getting me clothes. As the plane taxied down, the flight attendant appeared again. I wondered if she had come back to talk to Mason after I had fallen asleep. Her sullen expression seemed to suggest she had not.
I followed Mason down the steps to the tarmac where a limo was waiting for us. The air was gorgeous and balmy as we walked to the car. Since we had flown to LA with only a few hours to spare before the show, Mason had arranged for us to stay at a hotel close to the venue instead of going to the house he used when he was in California recording. I barely had a chance to glance around at the palm trees before we were rushed into the limo by a few strangers, and Kevin, who Mason had referred to as his “handlers” for the night.
Mason had arranged for his stylists to come by the hotel and help me get ready for the show. They were waiting for us as we walked into a hotel suite that looked like it was the size of Damon and Mason’s New York penthouse. We walked through room after room filled with gorgeously appointed cream and gold furnishings. Mason didn’t look impressed and I wondered what his life must be like to not be amazed at so much opulence. My stomach was in knots as
Mason introduced me to the two stylists that were waiting for us in one of the bedrooms.
Dez was an outgoing, vivacious man who by the looks he had been throwing at Mason, was definitely more interested in men than he was in my barely clothed body that he was currently sharply scrutinizing. His cocoa complexion was perfect and rivaled any woman’s I had ever seen. He was wearing bright green pants with a paisley pink shirt which he somehow managed to pull off perfectly. The other stylist, Darla, was an immensely tall woman with vibrant red hair that was styled into an outrageous Mohawk. Looking at the two of them I felt dubious that I would like anything they had to offer but Mason said he always used them for award shows in L.A., and I definitely was not an expert in fashion, so I was quietly cooperating.
Dez looked like he was about to have a seizure or an orgasm, I couldn’t be sure.
“I swear,” he said in an exaggerated voice. “It is the oddest feeling to be attracted to you when I have never wanted to bone a girl in my life.”
I flushed embarrassingly and Darla and Dez both laughed at me. Dez winked at me.
“Not to worry my darling. Impressive though your powers of seduction seem to be, I will endeavor to stay strong. Now go try this on before I change my mind,” he said, shoving a silky blue dress into my arms, and pushing me towards the hotel suite’s enormous bathroom.
I walked into a bathroom that was three times the size of my dorm room. There was a tub in the center of the room that looked like it could hold ten people. A shower was off to the side, filled with so many nozzles that I wasn’t sure I would be able to figure them out to actually get water running. A long gold full length mirror leaned on one of the walls. The blue dress fell around my curves as I slipped it on. It was a one shoulder strap design and fell quite low over my breasts before cinching in tighter around the waist. Gossamer fabric fell to my ankles. It was lovely. Dez and Darla came abruptly waltzing in and examined me for a moment in silence.
“It’s gorgeous but we can do better,” said Dez affirmatively.
Dez returned to the bathroom with an ebony dress that was covered in crystals that sparkled in the bathroom lighting. I pulled on the dress and inwardly squealed with delight. The straps of the dress hung off both shoulders. It had a waist that tied like a corset in the back and a bottom that clung to my body until it reached the floor. It was stunning. Looking in the mirror I barely recognized myself. The black offset my gold hair perfectly and made my lavender eyes pop. Dez was jumping up and down at this point while Darla simply had a small smile on her face.
“This is the one,” yelled Dez with a fist pump.
We heard a knock on the door. Dez opened it just enough to pop his head out and talk to someone. I heard the deep timbre of Mason’s voice which erupted in laughter at something Dez said. Dez stepped back and shut the door again.
“I told Mason he wasn’t allowed to see you until you were all the way done getting ready,” he explained.
Darla began to tie the corset strings in the back while Dez pulled out various heels and accessories from a suitcase I hadn’t noticed they had brought in with them. Another knock sounded on the door and this time Dez let in a gorgeous Asian woman with large hazel almond shaped eyes and shiny black hair that was cut expertly in a bob around her chin. Her eyes went wide when she saw me.
“Please tell me that she’s the one I’m getting ready,” she said excitedly. Dez put an arm around her shoulder and they both just stared at me.
“She’s a life-size Barbie doll, isn’t she?” he commented. “This is Rey,” Dez introduced the newcomer. “She’s going to be doing your hair and makeup for the show.”
While Darla finished pulling and tucking on various portions of my dress Rey began to pull out various creams and containers out of a large bag.
She got up close to my face and just stared at me.
“This is a first, “she said. “But I don’t think I’m even going to use foundation on you. I literally don’t think you even have pores. Your face is so perfect, you bitch.”
I blushed at her examination but said nothing as she didn’t seem to be waiting for a response. She began to apply various powders to my face, making me purse my lips at times, other times making me look up or down while she applied things to my eyes. I had never been allowed to wear makeup while at the Andersons and I didn’t know the first thing for what any of the things she was applying did besides mascara.
“Mascara is almost too much on you,” she said. “I’ve never seen such long, thick, and dark eyelashes on a blonde before. Do you dye your hair or something?”
“If she dyes her hair than her hair dresser should be running the country,” Dez replied. “Look at her hair Rey, there is no way to do this with color.”
Rey pulled a lock of my hair into her fingers and examined it.
“Makes you want to cut a piece off and sell it doesn’t it,” Rey replied.
I jerked back at her statement.
“Juuust kidding,” she said airily with a grin.
Rey must have finished on my makeup because she began to wrap my hair around a curling iron that had been heating up on the counter. After another fifteen or so minutes she, Dez, and Darla stepped back and examined me.
“We thought our careers were made when Mason hired us, “Darla said. “Every celebrity on the planet will want to use us after they see her,” she exclaimed eagerly.
Rey turned me around to face the mirror. I gasped when I saw the girl staring back at me. Rey had made my eyes smoky and my lips perfectly pink. The image staring back at me looked haunted and ethereal, like a princess from another realm that was hiding secrets.
My hair fell in waves of gold down my back with just a bit more curl than it had naturally. Everything perfectly complimented my dress. Dez knelt in front of me with a pair of black heels with red bottoms for me to put on while Darla fastened some black crystal earrings into my ears. I was grateful that my ear piercings hadn’t grown in during the 4 years I wasn’t allowed to wear earrings. Dez stood up and started bouncing.
“I cannot wait until Mason sees her.” “Maybe he will start ravaging her in front of us and I’ll finally get to see more of that gorgeous man’s body than just his chest,” he announced theatrically.
I grinned at him and then allowed him to help me to the door.
“Mason,” he called. “She’s ready.”
Mason was waiting in the large living room that we had passed through when we first entered in the suite. He was sitting at a large grand piano and playing a song softly. He turned around on the bench…and promptly fell off. A laugh burst out of me. One thing about Mason and Damon was that they both were extremely elegant in everything they did. I hadn’t seen either of them so much as trip during my time with them so to see Mason brushing off his knees with an extremely embarrassed look on his face, and hearing the stylists shocked gasps, this was definitely out of the ordinary.
“That bad?” I asked jokingly. Mason stood up, with that same heated look he had given me on the plane and marched towards me. He pulled me into his body and attacked my mouth. Kissing me so passionately and aggressively that I lost my breath. Pulling away from me he too seemed out of breath.
“You are the must stunning creation I’ve ever seen,” he said fervently. “The whole world is going to want every piece of you they can get after tonight,“ he said almost sadly. “Are you sure you are ready for this?”
I didn’t really understand what he meant. I didn’t know why anyone would want to know anything about me except for why Mason was taking a nobody to the Grammy’s with him. I gently kissed him on the cheek.
“Thank you for bringing me and making me feel like a princess,” I whispered in his ear. He pulled me into his embrace for another second before stepping back, grabbing my hand, and walking to the door. He began to walk fast as I had realized he was habit to do. I pulled on his arm and he stopped, looking at me questioningly. I turned around and looked at Dez, Darla, and Rey. “Thank you so much,” I said to them meaningfully. “You have made me feel so beautiful.” All three looked a bit teary-eyed at that moment and just waved us forward as Mason pulled me out the door, into an elevator, and out a side door where the limo was once again waiting for us. This time to whisk us to the Grammys.