Higher Standards

I was thoroughly impressed with the work Gemma had done in the passed several years. If I were to be honest, I didn’t picture her being a fashion designer, but this show was proving to me just how talented she had become. I watched model after model walk down the run way, fit, trim, tall, beautiful, but so natural. I felt as if Gemma was changing the fashion industry every second a model took a step down that catwalk. Never had I seen such elegant woman look so bare faced. Most of the models seemed to be only wearing hints of mascara, light lip-gloss, maybe some blush. So much for modeling being superficial. Gemma really was changing it all.
A buzz sounded in my lap and I looked down at my phone.

Gemma;
How is it?
Me:
Amazing, darling. Beautiful.

Geema:
: )

Wait until you see the last dress.

I smiled to myself and looked up at the last model walking down the runway. I gasped. Partially at the stunning yet simple elegance of the dress, but also at the woman who was wearing it. She had black, shining hair cascading down her shoulders, with a soft wave. Her cheekbones and jawline defined, but not sharp and severe. Her dress was a deep blue, sparkles glistening unusually like the night sky. The sleeves ran all the way down her arms, flaring out at her wrists swinging in time with her hands as she walked down the catwalk confidently, yet tame all the same.
The dress hit just above the knee, tight enough to show off her figure, but loose enough to keep the garment classy. The woman finished her walked, gave the crowd a dazzling smirk, yes a smirk, I didn’t know a smirk could be so dazzling, but it was the only way I knew how to describe it in my mind.
The fashion show ended with my sister coming out onto the cat walk and giving a bow, I stood up and roared with the crowd, yelling,
“Aye! THAT’S MY SIS!”
I saw her face turn a deep scarlet, her eyes looking down quickly, then up, nodding once more to the crowd before she walked, rather quickly, behind the stage. I chuckle to myself.
Soon, the venue for the show has cleared out, and I am waiting for Gemma to appear from behind the stage. She mentioned something earlier of an after-party. I knew of no one at the party and to be honest, I rather just go with Gemma until I feel a clap on my back.
“Oi!” Liams voice booms behind me, I jolt in surprise
“What are you doing here?” I ask looking him up and down. He’s dressed as if he should be a Calvin Klein model on that runway in his blue pinstripe suit.
“I snuck in the back earlier, I figured Gemma would want more support since the rest of the lads are off on some fancy beach somewhere.”
I bite my lip in remembrance. Niall and Louis were off somewhere warm and bright. I think for Niall it was California and Louis Hawaii. I could’ve had those two mixed up.
“I’m sure she’ll love-“
“LIAM!!!” There’s a high pitched squeal and Gemma is launching herself forward at Liam, crashing into him, arms outstretched.
“I feel the love,” I mutter as Gemma has her eyes shut tight and arms fully encompassing Liam’s waist. He laughs and slowly pulls her hands off.
“Lovely to see you Gemma, the show was brilliant. You have an incredible talent.”
Gemma rolls her eyes and straightens out her pastel pink dress, picking up her endless bags of her designer clothing in the process. Her designer clothing. I shook my head in disbelief. How had she become so talented?
“I appreciate the compliment,” she nods at him smirking, then turns to me, a classic sisterly loving scowl on her face. “Harry here decided it was best to embarrass me by letting everyone know I am his sister by shouting, obnoxiously…”
Liam snickers
“Oh, how sweet of him,”
I begin to respond until another woman approaches Gemma quickly from behind, tapping her shoulder. Long black hair, gorgeous jawline, it was the Blue dress woman.
“Gemma, where’s the party? I’m ready to get shit faced.”
Liam and I exchange glances. An American, shit faced? Who says that?
“Hold on crazy lady,” Gemma huffs, not without a playful smile reaching her eyes. “You lot want to join us for the after party? If so we better get going, Miss Tequila over here wants to take some shots.”
The raven haired lass gives us both a wink then outstretched her hand to me.
“I’m Alyce (UH-LEESE) by the way. And you both must be Harry and Liam.” I shake her hand. As she proceeds to shake Liam’s she’s clearly giving his outfit a once over. I would’ve scoffed had it not been for the serene smile that encompassed her face when she looked at us. Overly flirtatious? Or just a fireball of confidence? It was hard to tell. But she was beautiful nonetheless. She had changed into a gorgeous, knee length purple trapeze dress that complimented her skin tone. I was talking before I could stop myself
“You looked stunning up there.” I said to her. Gemma quirked an eyebrow at me. Alyce just continued to smile.
“Thank you, but Gemma is what made me look so ‘stunning,’” She puts quotes in the air to emphasize and glances endearingly at my sister, “I’m privileged to be able to walk in her garments.”
Gemma let out a quiet chuckled, muttering something like “oh whatever.”
We walked our way out of the venue into the beautiful nightlife of London. Piccadilly was glowing and crowds were moving fast. I took a deep breath. I had missed London during all the touring.
“So to Covent Garden?” Alyce said, pushing passed us and looking at a tube map near the Piccadilly tube entrance.
“An American navigating the tube? You must be quite confident in yourself,” Liam teased her as he approached her at the map. Her nose crinkled, her finger tracing the lines, appearing to ignore him until she looked straight into his eyes, her finger not moving from it’s spot.
“I’ve studied abroad in London and Paris for over six months and I’ve lived in London for about a year now. I know how to navigate an Underground Subway. Perhaps you’d like to keep that pretty mouth of yours shut?” She gave him a beautiful smile, sarcasm practically dripping from her lips. This time I did scoff. Alyce turned her head, looking over her shoulder at me, eyebrows furrowed.
“Sorry just a cough, how shall you lead us there, Alyce?” Her facial expression softened and her blue eyes glowed magnificently. Why was she so pretty?
“Ah yes, this way everyone!” And off she was, practically galloping down the stairs to the Tube. I looked over at Gemma, she was biting her lip, before she could no longer contain a bark of a laugh. I smiled as we began following Alyce.
“How did you find her?” Liam asked Gemma quietly as we tried to keep our eye on Alyce as she raced further down the stairs.
“She’d been studying at UCL, a friend of hers there shot some gorgeous photos of her which ended up being part of an art exhibition at the University. Me being me, and being a bit weird and crazy about art of all kinds, I had to find her, so I asked around and met up with her for tea and asked her to do some modeling for me. That was about four months ago. She’s been working with me on and off ever since.” Gemma appeared to admire the girl. I wondered why. Gemma was a lot more tame than Alyce seemed to be.

15 Minutes Later – Covent Garden – The Covent Garden Cocktail Club
Soon we were shuffled into a members only club; The Covent Garden Cocktail Club. At first I thought it was kind of a dodgy place to host an after party fashion show, but I was quickly proven wrong. The entrance to the place was rather deceiving. It screamed “big whigs only.” Howvever, as I walked into the rest of the place I was pleasantly surprised. Beautiful maroon couches lined several walls, creating a comfortable atmosphere. It looked as if there was enough room created between the bar and the couches for people to dance if they wished. I started to relax as Gemma pushed me towards the bar, commanding me to order a round of shots.
I ran my hand through my hair as I looked at the chalkboard written menu up above and in front of me. All these bloody options. What are these names? Why would you name anything after a blowjob? Sod it. Alyce wanted tequila, tequila we shall have. I lifted my hand up as the bartender walked passed.
“What ya drinkin?” He had a very obvious Yorkshire accent. It felt good to be around the less Posh British accents.
“I need 8 shots of Avion Silver.” He clicked his tongue in confirmation and before I knew it I had this tray in front of me of the silver liquid. This seemed like it was going to be a bad idea. I shrugged my shoulders and headed to the couch where the rest of the group sat.

Notes

First Chapter. Shorter than what the rest of the chapters will normally be like. I hope you all enjoy! I am new here so I am pleased to meet you all and write this story!

Love,
L. Rose