31 - the chapter with the stripper costume

Rose

" Hey, what's the matter? " my mom came from her reading room when she heard me slam the door hard.

" No problem, I'm going to take a shower, tell Alex if she wants to meet me, to come up to my room and help me get ready for the party " I warned her as I ran up the stairs " ask one of the boys to get my backpack from Brigette.”

I tried to make the hot water wash away all my frustration with Christian, and to some extent, it worked. I was willing to put that situation behind me for good, especially after getting out of the shower and finding my backpack and the cover with the costume on it on the bed. Putting on my robe, I went to my dressing table, beginning to dry my hair carefully before dedicating some time to my makeup.

I was almost ready when someone knocked on my door, and to my surprise, a stunning woman dressed in a tiger print jumpsuit walked in. She was tall with golden skin, Latin features, and long brown hair.

" Rose?”

" Are you Alex? Damn, you are beautiful! " I stared at her dumbfounded.

She gave a lopsided smile, approaching me looking out of place, and I couldn't blame her. I couldn't imagine what it was like to meet the daughter of the guy you're trying to date, especially with no one around.

" You can sit down, I'm just finishing getting ready for the party, are you and my dad going to a party? " I indicated, returning my attention to my makeup.

" Yes, your mom too, your dad said it would be a good way for us to get closer," she confirmed.

" You'll love hanging out with both of them, they're a lot of fun," I warned, watching her through the mirror.

Alex seemed to have relaxed a little at my reaction, but she still wasn't completely at ease, so I decided on a direct approach to get it over with. I turned to her as she finished her makeup, smiling as I approached.

" Okay, Alex. I imagine this must be a little uncomfortable, but you don't have to worry," I assured her, "I'm not the kind of stepdaughter who's willing to make your life difficult, the only requirements I have for liking you are that you make my father happy and don't try to break up our family.”

" Break up? " She frowned.

" Look, my parents are not together romantically, never have been, I was a work of chance. But that doesn't mean that they are not a family. In fact, my father and I are the only family my mother knows," I began to explain, "Their relationships usually don't last because women don't understand this and at some point want to separate the two of them. If you try to separate them, my father will choose us.”

" Okay, what if I accept this situation? " She crossed her arms.

" My mother will be your friend and I will respect you as if you were my mother. In short, you will become part of our family," I explained bluntly, "All we want most of all is my father's happiness, and we would never do anything to get in the way.”

" Are you saying that I will be accepted with you at the family game nights your father talks so much about? " She gave a small smile.

" Well, I won't participate, because you both banned me. But you'll have a great time with both of them and Nancy.” I took the costume "I'll get dressed, will you help me get ready?"

" Sure, who's Nancy? " She frowned as I walked to the bathroom suite.

" The neighbor they chose to replace me. Ask my dad to tell you the story later, it's great," I winked at her.

As soon as I came out of the bathroom Alex and I were in a mild mood, she helped me adjust the wings and halo on my head, complimenting the final result before going to meet my father at his house. My mood had improved significantly until I received a message from Christian on my cell phone.

Are you going to drive us to the party or are you going to continue with your jealousy crisis?

I took a deep breath, knowing he was doing that to annoy me.

I'm not jealous. I'm just finishing getting ready.

Fine, I won't let him get me mad again, besides, I doubt he wants to keep talking about Allie after he sees me. I put my cell phone and my wallet in my purse and left the room, deciding to meet everyone at my father's house. Almost all my friends were gathered in the living room when I arrived, already wearing their costumes. Liam was dressed as a sexy fireman, with a costume that was incredibly tight for a professional in the area, Harry just put on a Cowboy hat while Theodore wore a vampire cape. The only ones not yet ready were Skyller and Christian.

" Wow, Rose, are you determined to kill someone from the heart today? " Liam sneered.

" I hope I find someone worth it," I crooned.

My costume consisted of a white tulle bodice encrusted with various sparkly pebbles and a tulle tutu skirt that didn't even reach halfway up my thighs. In the back I wore a pair of white wings and a halo on my head.

That's when footsteps on the stairs caught our attention, I looked up in time to see my father coming down, he too was dressed as a fireman, but unlike Liam and his tight-fitting costume, he was wearing baggy uniform pants, heavy boots, a helmet, shirtless suspenders, and in his hands he held a red axe.

He's got to be kidding me!

" So, children. We're going to a party and we want to go over the rules before we... What the hell are you wearing? " his gaze fell on me.

" An angel costume," I frowned.

" Angel? Is that what you think an angel wears? You should be ashamed of yourself! " he raised his voice “You're not going out like that, you're going to get struck on the head by lightning for blaspheming!”

" You talk as if we're religious," I muttered, "I'm not changing.”

" ADDISON!”

" Dad, you're overreacting!”

" Am I overreacting? I wonder where you learned to dress like that!”

" Really? You're dressed like a stripper and you want to talk about me? " I raised my voice

" ADDISON " he called out again.

My mother, who was dressed as a magician's assistant, wearing only a collant, pantyhose, and a top hat, came from the kitchen next to Alex. Her expression upon seeing me was similar to my father's, making me roll my eyes at their hypocrisy.

" Jackson, what's the matter? " Alex frowned.

" No problem, Alex, I was actually just telling my father how much you complimented my costume," I was quicker than my father, disarming him for a few seconds.

" You look beautiful, and I think it's really nice that you're not the kind of parents who think their kids should be perfect saints or anything like that.” Alex concluded with a smile, leaving my father gaping at my side.

" Honey, I told you, we are in control of this parenting thing. Rose is a golden girl," my father winked at his girlfriend, watching her walk back into the kitchen next to my mother before lowering his voice to a whisper, "I saw what you did, you little snake.”

" I learned from the best," I returned without shaking.

We turned to my friends, who were watching this little clash a bit lost until my father took the floor again.

" You, the guy with the accent, go get your girlfriend, and Rose, Davis was going to use your bathroom to take a shower, call him off, I want to get this over with," he muttered.