Read Online Raw Deal (Beauty for Ashes: Book One) by Dayo Benson - Free Book Online

dance.
    “What?” I croaked. I squinted at my clock. I wasn’t mistaken; it really was two minutes past five.
    “I’ll be outside your house at nine okay? Do not keep me waiting, Lexi. I’m giving you plenty of notice.”
    “Huh?”
    “Repeat after me, Lexi, shopping at nine.”
    “Shopping at nine.”
    “As soon as I hang up, I want you to set your alarm for eight thirty.”
    “Okay.” I fell asleep.
    Monica rang again three minutes later. “Have you set your alarm?”
    “No.”
    “Set it now,” she ordered.
    She hung up, and I set the alarm on my cell phone for eight thirty. I was about to put the phone back on my nightstand when it rang again, with Monica’s name flashing across my screen.
    “I’ve set it,” I groaned.
    “Good,” Monica replied. She sounded so awake. “See you at nine.”
    I was prodded awake by my mom a couple hours later. I opened my eyes briefly and shut them again as she went over to my window and flung open the blinds. “Mom, it’s Saturday,” I grumbled.
    “Monica’s outside waiting for you. I told her you’d be out in a minute.”
    My eyes shot open. “Oops!”
    “What?”
    “We’re supposed to be going shopping for the dance.” I leapt out of bed, suddenly wide awake. I was sure I’d set my alarm. I must have slept through.
    My mom looked at me like I was crazy. “You’re going shopping?”
    “Yeah, why?” I scrambled to get my flip-flops on.
    She looked pointedly at my closets. “You only have seven closets full of clothes you never wear.”
    “I know, but Monica doesn’t.”
    “Well, let her wear one of yours.”
    “I never thought of that.” I looked in the mirror. My hair was wild. “Anything that will save me from following Monica around all day while she harasses shop assistants and freaks out when they don’t have a dress in her size.” I’d been shopping with her before, and it was not a pleasurable experience. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to just own up to her that I was a model.
    “Lexi, did you wash your face last night before going to bed?” My mom asked. Her pet peeve was people who slept with makeup on.
    “I was tired.”
    She glared at me and tossed over my packet of antibacterial Aloe Vera face wipes, and then opened the window and beckoned to Monica. Obediently, I wiped my face clean.
    Moments later, a frustrated Monica breezed into my room, flanked by Chanel’s Allure Sensuelle .
    “Morning, Monica.”
    “Lexi, I’ve been outside for—” she stopped and took in my disheveled appearance. “You’re not even ready!”
    “Yes, but I have a good excuse.”
    “You better!”
    I walked over to one of my closets and flung the door open. “You don’t need to go shopping. I’ll hook you up with what you need.”
    Monica frowned.
    I put on a Cuban accent like my grandmother’s, “You like de Gucci or de Armani? ‘Coz I gat it all.”
    Monica raised one perfectly plucked eyebrow.
    I dropped the Cuban accent. “You can wear one of my dresses,” I told her. “You should be able to find something you like. They’re all from fashion shows, and photoshoots, and stuff.” And a lot of them were from shopping sprees around Europe.
    Monica stared at me blankly. “Fashion shows, and photoshoots, and stuff?” she repeated.
    “Yeah. I’m a model, so I get freebies.”
    Monica looked incredulous. “You’re a model?”
    “You seem surprised,” I said, feigning hurt.
    “Well, yeah! How come you never told me?”
    “You already know. Remember, I used to model before I left?”
    “Yeah, but I thought it was just stuff like that catalog you were in that time. I didn’t know you were doing designer clothes and fashion shows.” Monica looked at my mom. “Is she for real, or is she just trying to get out of shopping?”
    “She’s for real,” my mom confirmed with a smile. She left the room, and Monica had a million and one questions. What agency was I with? Had I met any famous people? Did it mean I was secretly