“Don’t make us ruin our makeup. We need to get out of here before we’re just plain late instead of fashionably late,” I tease before pulling Savannah in for a quick hug. Rebecca gives her a hug as soon as I release her.
“Okay. I need you guys to tell me what you think. Peep toe pumps? Or ankle boots?” I ask slipping one of each shoe on and modeling for them.
In unison, they both say, “Ankle boots!”
Right now, we’re all at her parents’ home in Beverly Hills. They’re still on the road for their tour so we have the entire place to ourselves. We’re getting ready for the Envy party for Savannah that is this evening at Club Vertigo here in Los Angeles in honor of her being on the cover.
Since her kidnapping and accident, she hasn’t done any public outings due to her anxiety of being around a group of people. Kayden has Alec and Jerome with us for security tonight. They’ll be walking the Red Carpet with us and then hanging around the party to make sure no one is there unless they’re on the approved guest list. It’s scary having to live every day looking over your shoulder and waiting for something to happen. I can’t wait for Zak to finally be caught so we can go back to our normal lives again without constantly looking over our shoulder.
I kind of wish I would’ve asked Jax to come because I feel safest when I’m with him. But I know he rarely gets time off so he stayed back in Houston to spend the weekend doing whatever he wanted. You’d think I’d be nervous that he would be out finding other girls to hook up with while I’m in L.A., but unlike Dixon, Jax isn’t a man-whoring asshole. If he goes out and somehow meets a girl, and things get steamy and they end up having sex, I have no problem with that. I feel not one single ounce of jealousy as I think about Jax being with another woman.
But the idea of Dixon being out right now...doing God knows what with God knows who...makes me sick to my stomach. I haven’t spoken to him since the Bahamas. He hasn’t tried to talk to me and even though Savannah has been hounding me to talk to him; I just don’t feel ready to yet. The hurt is still too raw.
After having Kayden yell up to us and text Savannah’s phone a gazillion times, we finally hauled ass out of the house and into the stretch limo that Savannah’s boss sent over to the house to bring us to the event. We left our vehicles in the parking garage earlier while checking in at Vertigo so we can have Jerome and Alec bring us home.
As the limo pulls up to the Red Carpet, we see it’s jammed packed with press lining both sides of the velvet rope running along the sides leading to the entrance. Alec rode up front with the chauffeur and is standing on the sidewalk observing everyone around the blocked off sidewalks as we all exit the limo.
Kayden, with Savannah on his arm, heads towards the swarm of reporters first as they walk down the Red Carpet posing for pictures and answering questions from the press. Reagan, with Rebecca and me on each arm, escorts us next. I love the spotlight so take advantage of being shouted at to pose for this photographer or that. I’m glad I went with the ankle boots because they look amazing with my tight fighting black lace and leopard print, strapless cocktail dress. I accessorized with tons of gold bangles and junky rings making me feel like a true Hollywood celebrity as I pose for the shots. I’ll die if I see myself on Tinsel Town Blog, which is one of the biggest blogs in L.A. next to TMZ and Perez Hilton.
The next few hours fly by in a blur of music, dancing, and lots of drinking. I love seeing Savannah let loose and have fun. She has been tearing up the dance floor with Kayden all night. There are so many celebrities here because Envy has had only the best of the best in Hollywood on their covers. I went selfie crazy snapping pictures with anyone I could get to stop and take one with me. My Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter have been blowing up all night because of it.
I noticed a picture of Dixon pop up on my Instagram when I pulled it up to post a picture I took with Savannah, Reagan and Rebecca on the dance floor. It was of him and his friends out partying at Vertigo in Houston. I hate that even seeing a picture of him makes me miss him so much. I thought being apart for a week would help me move on and forget about him but it’s only made it worse. I think about him constantly.
Finally, around midnight, Eloise got up on stage and stood at the podium asking for Savannah to come up on stage to make her speech. I reach for her hand giving it a gentle squeeze, “You are the bravest, strongest person I know, Savannah. Go up there and speak from the heart—and if you have to, picture all of these hot ass celebrities in their Calvin Klein’s!”
We all burst out laughing as Kayden pulls her in for a quick hug, “I love you, baby. Now get your fine ass up on that stage and rock your speech.”
Reagan and Rebecca each give her a supportive hug before she finally pushes her way through the crowd and climbs up onto the stage. She looks stunning and the perfect picture of grace and strength in her peach colored strapless dress. It has a 1950s retro look with tulle coming out from under the short, puffed-out skirt. Her gold strappy heels perfectly complete the outfit. With Savannah, she always looks like the belle of the ball even with glamorous simplicity. She’s the yin to my yang. It’s why we’re the perfect best friend duo. I’m the loud, wild and crazy one, and she’s the level-headed, reserved, and always polite—well, for the most part—helping to balance out my craziness.
She looks beyond nervous as she stands at the podium beside her poster size magazine cover. I’m pretty sure I’m cutting off the circulation in Reagan and Rebecca’s hands as we all stand and watch our best friend conquer another fear tonight. First was coming here tonight and the second was getting up there and speaking to everyone attending tonight.
“First and foremost I want to thank each and every one of you who has come tonight to help me celebrate being on the cover of Envy. Not only is it my favorite magazine and one of the most well-respected magazines in the world, it’s also one I work for and publish articles each month. I can’t thank my amazing boss, Eloise, enough for taking a chance on a clumsy intern who, on a daily basis, tripped over her words as celebrity after celebrity came through the doors of Envy and for giving me the most kick ass job a girl could wish for. Even though I’ve grown up in Hollywood, being around some of the most amazing talent in the world today still trips me up time to time. I’m truly blessed,” Stopping for a moment, Savannah drops her eyes down to her hands. I watch as she inhales and exhales slowly before lifting her eyes back up to the crowd of people.
The fear in her eyes is evident along with the glistening of tears threatening to fall. I feel my own eyes tearing up as I watch Savannah stand up there and speak from her heart to everyone.
She quickly reels her emotions in, blinking her eyes a few times and blowing out a shaky breath before continuing, “As you all know I’ve had a rough few weeks and because of that this celebration was postponed. Almost dying was the most terrifying experience I’ve ever had to go through in my life, but because of it, I’m now a stronger and more driven person. I cannot thank my wonderful boyfriend, Kayden, enough.” She says smiling down at Kayden before turning her eyes to Reagan, Rebecca and me.
“My best friends, who suffered through sleepless nights, and horrible hospital food and coffee to stay by my side, willed me to come back to you all. Even after being released from the hospital, I’ve had the most amazing and supportive group of friends who’ve been right there every step of the way, helping me to slowly heal and get me back to my old self. And thank you to my mom and dad who, sadly are somewhere in South Dakota right now, for all their love and support.” Tucking a ringlet behind her ear Savannah looks upon everyone in the room as she straightens her back and wraps her hands around the microphone. A look of strength and determination takes over her features.
“I want to tell you all that life is way too short. We all have dreams, goals, and things we always put off for tomorrow. I’m telling you all now, after going through what I have, I now know that life is unpredictable. You could be here tonight and gone tomorrow. So tackle every single day as if it’s your last. Make memorable moments every day with friends, family and strangers. Do something spontaneous and totally out of character once in a while. Just enjoy life and don’t ever take it for granted. We only get one life to live so make it epic!”
The entire room erupts with clapping as everyone applauds Savannah for her amazing and inspirational speech. I know it wasn’t easy. I got choked up right along with her as she began talking about her coma and everything in between. I’m so proud of her for standing up there and showing Zak he may have knocked her down but she is back up and ten times stronger and ready to take on the world head on.
Savannah and Kayden stayed two more hours partying the night away before deciding to call it a night. Savannah was complaining about her feet killing her and wanting to go home, but with the way she and Kayden couldn’t keep their hands off of one another, I doubt they’ll be going to bed anytime soon. She deserves to celebrate after how much of a success tonight was.
The club is easily filled with a thousand people as the doors opened at 1 am to the regular public. We still have super tight security, which makes me feel safe staying and continuing to party with everyone. Jerome is still here with me and will be driving me back to Maverick and Paisley’s place once I’m finally ready to call it a night.