Текст книги "About Last Night..."
Автор книги: Belle Aurora
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Текущая страница: 8 (всего у книги 20 страниц)
Chapter Eighteen
Mia
The smile on my face was a new addition to the morning. It was definitely a welcome one, that was for sure.
After my very first orgasm, I slept. I slept in the nude, and this was something I had never been able to do before without feeling bothered by it. I slept in the nude, and enjoyed it so much that I’d already planned to do it again tonight.
This morning when I woke, I felt light and refreshed. My step had a bounce to it, and I had one person to thank for that.
Quinn.
What was it about him?
I’d chosen him specifically for the nature of his character. It didn’t hurt that he was gorgeous and he knew how to treat a woman in the bedroom, and as I had recently discovered, out of it as well.
Damn.
The flutters in my belly hadn’t stopped since this morning. Sunday was approaching and I was nervous. This man had heard me come. He knew the intimate sounds I made as I pleasured myself.
How humiliating. God. Why did he have to be so thoughtful? And sweet? And funny? I hadn’t been expecting that side of him. I thought he’d be an arrogant prick. After all, he had all the elements to back up such arrogance.
But he wasn’t arrogant. He was incredible. I found myself appreciative of the unlikely friendship we had developed. I just hope it didn’t get weird come Sunday.
I strolled into work with my hair down and walked by Ella, greeting her with a tiny wave. I placed an apple on Pip’s desk and winked at him as he bit into it, chuckling. It was going to be a good day. I could feel it in my bones.
My desk was smaller than the others, but today, that didn’t bother me. I sat down, got comfortable, and logged into my computer. I still had ten minutes before I was officially on the clock, so I reached into my bag and pulled out my cell.
Me: Is the happiness meant to last this long? My cheeks hurt from smiling. I don’t think I like it.
Behind me, a cautious voice asked, “What is up with you today?”
Gasping in fright, I clutched at my chest and spun in my chair. When I saw her standing there with narrowed eyes and tapping her foot, I sighed. “Jesus, Ella. You scared the crap out of me!”
She looked at me in a way that said ‘I’m onto you.’ Then she sniffed the air around me.
Brows almost to my hairline, I smacked her arm and whisper-hissed, “Stop it! You’re freaking me out.”
Just then, my cell chirped. I checked it quickly.
Quinn: Hell yeah. What did I tell ya? Amazing stress relief.
I smiled down at the display as Ella asked, “Who’s that?”
Sobering in an instant, I placed my cell face-down on my desk. “No one.”
She snorted. “Yeah, right. You’re clearly not crushing on whoever is textin—” Understanding dawned on her and she smacked my arm. “Oh, my God! You’re fucking him! Who is he?” In-between my shushing and trying in vain to cover her mouth as she babbled, “Girl, you better tell me who this guy is. We are workplace BFFs. We don’t keep shit from each other!” I gave in.
“He’s just a friend.”
She grinned, her smile sly and catlike. “Yuh huh. Sure.”
I shook my head. “No, I swear. He’s a friend. That’s it.”
Her wild, curly hair falling over her shoulder, she flicked it back with a sassy flip of the hand. “Well, if he’s just a friend, you better be telling him about your sweet, sexy friend Ella who has more curves than he can likely handle. Tell him she really needs to get laid, you dig?”
In a moment of complete brainfart, I almost told her where she could hire him for the night. Slapping a hand over my mouth in alarm, I simply nodded.
As she walked away, she looked me up and down before muttering absently, “God, you are so weird.”
I slid back into my office chair, fighting a groan, and stared absently into my computer screen.
Damn, Ella… you don’t know the half of it.
Work was uneventful. This was probably because Addison had worked offsite today. It was as if the entire office was happier, in better spirits, because she wasn’t there.
And although I felt the same as the others, it was kind of sad that one person had the power to make an entire office full of people cower in fear.
In short…Addison was a super bitch.
Mom had invited me over for dinner, not that I needed an invite. The invitation was more of an order. I was avoiding her, and she was onto me.
Harry was waiting for me when I walked out of the office with a grin. “Yo, turd!”
Not quite reaching to his level of name-calling, I discreetly scratched at my face with my middle finger. I could not let my work peers hear me call my brother a douche canoe…or could I? I didn’t think the workplace etiquette pamphlet I received covered sibling name-calling.
Just as I approached the car, a hand stopped me, lightly gripping my arm. “Mia?”
I looked up to see my outer-office boss. “Nicholas.” I smiled, genuinely surprised. “Hi.”
My brother’s expression turned into a scowl. “Can I help you?”
Nicholas peered over at my brother. “I’m Nicholas Dietrich, Mia’s boss.” He spoke confidently and held out a hand, which I knew my brother would take. They shook hands and my brother introduced himself as I rocked back on my heels. “So…”
Nicholas ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry to bother you. I need to get into the office. Can I borrow your pass?”
Confusion crossed my face. “Why can’t you use yours?”
He looked at me, but glanced over at my brother before clearing his throat and explaining cautiously through gritted teeth, “Someone seems to have deactivated my card.”
Understanding dawned in my mind.
Addison. What a bitch. She couldn’t do that. It was his business too.
Harry cleared his throat and I looked up with an apologetic expression. “Can you wait a few minutes?”
He sighed and rolled his eyes. “If I get a parking ticket for your stalling—he pointed at Nicholas– “then you’re paying.”
Nicholas held up a hand in agreement. “Of course. I only need a minute.”
Harry nodded, puffing out a breath and waving us off.
We walked to the elevator in silence. Only when the doors closed behind us, he spoke, “How are you liking Addison Ltd?”
A beaming smile appeared on my face. “I love it. I love the people. I love the work-pace. I lo– Well, I like the boss.”
He snorted. “You do? I find that hard to believe.” He looked forward, but side-eyed me. “Has she given you ‘the talk’ yet?”
I shrugged. “What talk?”
He gently shook his head. “The don’t-fuck-my-husband talk.”
My mouth gaped. I leaned forward and whisper-hissed, “She does that a lot?”
Nicholas chuckled. And it sounded like rolling thunder. I liked that. He confirmed, “She gave you ‘the talk.’”
“I don’t understand her. She still uses her married name, calls you her husband, and acts crazy when you’re in the vicinity. I don’t get it.”
He made a noise deep in his throat, a little like a growl. “She likes the benefits of still being considered a Dietrich.”
I watched him closely as his jaw worked. He was a very attractive man. I thought about what he said and his assumption. I had an assumption of my own.
Looking back to the doors, my brows rose. “Or she still loves you.”
The elevator doors opened before Nicholas could respond. I scanned my card and we both walked into the office. I followed him down to his deserted quarters and stood by the door. He went through his things, muttering, “Damn,” and, “It’s gotta be here.” Before long, he placed his hands on his hips and came up empty-handed, looking frustrated. “I know where it is. It’s in Addison’s office. But I can’t get in there without her key and she takes it everywhere with her.” He slammed the desk drawer, making me jump, and breathed, “Damn.”
I didn’t say a thing. I didn’t want to get involved in something that clearly wasn’t my business.
Nicholas blew out a long breath. “Sorry. I know your boyfriend is waiting for you.”
My face bunched in disgust. “Firstly, ew. Secondly, Harry is my brother.”
He stood tall while his head tilted to the side in thought. “There is a slight resemblance.” His eyes searched my face and I felt as though I was being dissected, taken apart. “Is there a boyfriend?”
I was finding it hard to swallow. Somehow I managed to let out a hushed, “Not at the moment.”
He absently scratched at his chin. “Interesting.”
“Not really.” My shoulders jerked weakly. “I should probably go. If you’re done, that is.”
He nodded. “Right. I apologize for wasting your time, Mia.”
As we walked side-by-side, I smiled. “That’s okay. All you kept me from was my mom’s meatloaf,”—my eyes widened dramatically—“and trust me, that’s more than okay with me.”
His lip twitched. “Mom not a great cook?”
“Oh no, she’s a great cook. But her portion sizes are astronomical, and if I don’t eat every morsel on my plate, she puts on a guilt trip of massive proportions and I spend the rest of the night feeling like crap. But Harry and I have a system. Every time Mom gets up, he snags pieces of my food.”
Nicholas’ eyes dropped down to my light smile. “Sounds like he’s a good brother.”
I nodded once. “The best.”
He held the door open for me and followed me out. “Thanks again, Mia.”
“Anytime, Nicholas.” I smiled at him and lifted my hand in goodbye then made my way back to the car just in time to sit and listen to Harry’s loud and tone-deaf a cappella version of “Living on a Prayer.” He started the car as soon as I got in, turned to me, tapping the steering wheel, and yelled a lively and animated, “Oh, we’re halfway there! Whoa…livin’ on a prayer!” He held his hand out. “Take my hand…” I slapped it away and he looked affronted, but kept singing, “We’ll make it, I swear!”
I shook my head and looked out the window, trying hard not to laugh. But when he wound down his window and shrieked, “Bon Jovi fo’ life, bitches!” I lost my fight, bursting into fits of laughter. We spent the rest of the car ride singing and dancing without the radio. And when we got to Mom’s, it wasn’t so bad.
She only tried to sneak me one extra serving of dinner and two of dessert.
Still in the afterglow of my big O, I arrived to work on Friday morning in a state of Zen.
Making my way past Ella, I touched her pretty hair and muttered, “Morning, El,” with a small smile.
Ella croaked out, “Mia, wait!” but I didn’t stop. Instead, I turned to look at her as I walked backwards to my desk. The look on her face told me something was wrong. I slowed my step, but kept walking. “What?”
A cough from behind me sounded. I paused mid-step and turned. Addison stood there perfectly coiffed, as usual, and she looked madder than a wet hen. Her lips thin, she uttered a deadly, “My office. Now.”
Oh, shit.
I was in trouble. I never got into trouble. I was trouble-free. A no war zone. I was fucking Switzerland, goddamn it!
I thought hard. What had I done?
It hit me as soon as I entered her office. I started to utter, “I can explain…” when she cut me off with, “I had one rule. One rule, Mia.” She poised herself on the edge of her desk. “I’m so disappointed.”
I was confused. “I’m sorry…but what?”
Her smile was as icy as fro-yo and her voice was warning. “I told you to stay away from him.”
My face paled as my heart raced in panic. I was about to lose my job. “But I didn’t do anything!” I stepped closer and explained in a rush, “Mr. Dietrich caught me as I was leaving and he asked me to let him in, because his pass had been deactivated. As far as I know, Mr. Dietrich is still the owner of this business…”
Addison hissed, “Part owner.”
“…and by not letting him in, I could have left myself open to cursory action on his part. As a new employee of this business, I had only followed orders given to me by my superior. Surely I can’t be punished for following the orders given to me by my boss.” She didn’t respond. A short burst of courage passed through me, surprising even myself, so I added for good measure, “If you attempt to punish me, I’ll take this matter to my lawyer.”
I wasn’t sure it was possible, but her eyes flashed and her expression turned even colder. Through gritted teeth, she muttered, “That will be all, Mia.”
Before she could change her mind, I walked back to my desk, hoping the flicker of respect I had seen in her eyes was not indeed a figment of my imagination.
Chapter Nineteen
Quinn
“What’s up with you?” Harry panted as we ran side-by-side. “Why are you so quiet? You’re freaking me out, man. Say something.”
I looked over at him as sweat dripped down his red face. I didn’t believe him when he said he was out of shape, but from the look of him at this very moment, he was right. He didn’t look unfit. I think that was where people got it wrong.
A larger person can be fit, and a slim person can most definitely be unfit. Harry was definitely the latter. People think being thin automatically puts you in better health. It’s all a misconception, really, and a sad one at that.
I puffed out a laugh. “You need a break, bro? You’re turning a shade of red I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.”
He scowled, swinging his fist clumsily at me. I dodged it with a hearty laugh and he muttered, “Yeah, yeah. Tease me if it makes you feel better.” Wiping sweat from his forehead, we ran on as he gestured to his entire body. “You’re just jealous you don’t have all of this.” He grinned then. “Jealousy is a fickle emotion, Quinn.”
My feet slowed, and as my quick stride turned to a walk, I felt the burn in my legs. Sometimes it’s harder to stop than to keep going. Huffing and puffing, I placed my hands on my hips and walked on the spot, trying to ease the stinging through my legs. I chanced a look at Harry, who had doubled over, hands to his knees, looking about ready to pass out. He looked up at me. “How far was that?”
I fiddled around with my fancy wristwatch fitness do-dad. “Two miles.”
His eyes held a look of disbelief. “That’s it? Two freaking miles? I feel like I’m dying, for Christ’s sake!” He groaned. “Pathetic. Completely pathetic.”
I straightened then slapped his back. “A few more weeks of this and you’ll see; it’ll get easier.” He gave me a look and I pinned him with my stare. “What’s wrong with you? This shit used to come easy. You worked out more than I did!”
Harry’s face lost all expression, so when he muttered, “I hate my job,” I was definitely surprised.
“What?” I asked in disbelief.
He walked along the footpath and stated once more, “I hate my job.”
Immediately, I thought of his sudden need to get back into shape. “Wait. Are you telling me you’re thinking of getting back in the game?”
He shrugged lightly, but avoided my scrutinizing gaze. “Maybe. So what?”
“So what?” I gaped. “So what?” I stood on the spot, shaking my head in incredulity. “What brought on this sudden change?”
I sat on the closest bench. Harry followed suit. “I’m done with bartending. Hell, I fuck all these women, night after night. It doesn’t mean a damn thing. I make them come every damn time. I use my old tricks, every single one.” He looked into my eyes meaningfully. “I work them like an escort, Quinn.”
“But what you told me…about that woman…” Harry trained his eyes on his feet, his jaw ticking. I uttered a hushed, “You said you loved her, bro.”
He barked out a harsh, uncharacteristic laugh. “Yeah, well, loneliness can do that to a person.” He looked out into the distance, all but scowling at a happy couple walking hand-in-hand. “Forget everything I said about love. I don’t even know what love is.” A poker face took over and he smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “May as well get paid to do something I love.”
“Meaningless fucking is something you love?” I asked slowly, skeptically.
“Sure,” he replied without meaning, then added on a whisper, “Why not?”
It was close to midnight when I picked up my phone and dialed the number.
She answered a soft “Hey, you,” and I knew I hadn’t woken her. I was glad that the previous night’s adventure hadn’t embarrassed her, but something was off.
“Hey, yourself, Wonder Woman.” I paused, adding a mildly concerned, “I didn’t expect you to be up. What’s wrong? You sound sad.”
Her voice shook in amusement. “Why would you call if you thought I wouldn’t answer?”
I walked into my room and out onto the open patio overlooking the ocean. “I laugh in the face of conventionality.” She chuckled and it soothed my need to offer her some form of comfort. “What’s wrong, Maya?”
She sighed. “I had a run-in with my boss.”
“Really? Tell me about it.”
“It’s such a long story, Quinn. I can’t be bothered reliving it.”
I put on a mock-pout. “And I thought we were friends.”
She sighed and I knew she was rolling her eyes at me. “Okay, fine. My screeching banshee boss made today interesting. So she calls me into her office and tells me without blinking a lash that if I ever screw her husband, she’ll ruin me.”
My mouth gaped. “What? She can’t do that!”
Maya scoffs, “Oh. It gets worse.”
“Worse?” I question.
“Worse,” she confirms. “Yesterday afternoon, as I was leaving the office, my other boss stopped me, asking to use my pass. I mean, he’s my boss! Of course I’m going to let him into the building. So I go up with him while he looks for whatever it is he’s looking for then we both leave. That’s it!” She sighs. “I got called into her office today. She almost fired me.”
She sounded so wounded that I wanted to reach into the phone and cradle her in my arms until she felt better. “I’m sorry, Maya. That blows. What now?”
“Well,”—I heard her smile—“I told her if she was going to punish me for something I hadn’t done, I’d get lawyers involved.”
My brows lifted and my lips pursed in pride. “No shit? That’s some quick thinking, girl. Good job. I hope she backed down.”
“She did, but something tells me this is far from over.” She paused only to add quietly, “It’s like she sucks the life out of the environment around her. She’s so bitter that she wants everyone else to be bitter so her bitter ass will have company.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed then added teasingly, “You sound stressed. You know what you need?”
She cut me off with a warning, “Quinn.”
My shoulders shook in silent laughter as I added innocently, “I was going to say a bath! Geez, woman. Get your mind out of the gutter. Filthy, dirty girl.”
“I should probably go to bed.” I’d heard that smile a lot. I desperately wanted to see it.
Three more days.
I absently scratched my arm. “Yeah, me too. Night, Maya.”
Her soft yet husky voice was sure to give me good dreams. “Night, Spiderman.”
I slept peacefully that night, and good dreams were had.
Chapter Twenty
Mia
Thankfully, Friday passed without incident.
Ella and I made excellent progress on the desperate and dateless ball. It was exciting to know this would be my first event as an event manager. It meant I would be in charge and on my lonesome with my headset and clipboard. Ella had already given me the rundown and told me if I get stuck that I could call her any time of the night. The event was to officially last until midnight, but the radio station wanted to keep it going until two a.m. Addison had already told me I would only be on the clock until the clock struck twelve¸ but gave strict orders that I was not to leave the premises until the last patron had exited.
That was fine by me. I didn’t mind sticking around. I dragged my tired ass home around seven p.m. and didn’t even bother stopping home before I knocked on the apartment door across from me.
Bill answered smiling then, taking one look at me, his smile fell and he raised his arms, somehow knowing exactly what I needed. I wrapped my arms around his waist and his strong arms held me. He stroked my hair and without removing himself from around me, walked us inside and shut the door.
Terry, who was cooking, called out from the kitchen, “Wassup, ho?” Too busy basking in the warmth of Bill’s body, I did not answer. Which got me a barked, “Yo! Ho!” When I hadn’t answered a second time, a hand at my back and a softly spoken, “Ho?” by my ear made me bury myself deeper into Bill.
“I hate my boss,” I mumbled into his tee.
Terry wrapped his arms around the both of us in a group hug, surrounding me in friendship and support. My chest grew warm and I basked in the glow. Ten minutes—and a Cosmo—later, I sat on the sofa, snuggled up to my two favorite guys. We watched ridiculous reality TV shows while Terry fed me expensive chocolates.
Not so bad as far as Friday nights go.
Incessant knocking at my door woke me, along with the yelling, “Get your ass up, Mia!”
Without acknowledging the knockee, I threw a pillow over my head and groaned. But the knocking did not cease. Dragging myself out of bed, I stumbled out of my bedroom and unlocked my front door. As soon as the latch clicked over, the door was thrown open and Terry strode inside. On the way, he handed me a glass of something frothy and purple. I didn’t even want to know.
“Drink up, sugarplum,” he muttered, careful not to touch anything as he looked around my apartment wearily, as if being unfashionable was catching.
“What…” are you doing here? “What…” is the time? “What…” is the purple sludge in the glass?
There were so many what questions, so little time.
He leaned against my kitchen counter. “Well.” Then looked down at the counter with wide eyes and thought better of it, straightening and wiping at his t-shirt-covered hip. “I know you would never ask, and after you said you were going out tonight, I thought I’d help you choose an outfit before I went to work.” He smiled graciously, leaned forward, and whispered, “You’re welcome.”
I wasn’t sure if that was sarcasm or not. Hell, I didn’t know if Terry knew if that was sarcasm or not.
I opened my mouth to respond, but my mother always said if you don’t have anything nice to say, zip your lip. He placed his fingers under the glass in my hand and lifted it to my mouth. “Drink. Protein. Good.”
Lifting it to my nose, I sniffed. Then I sipped. It wasn’t bad. I sipped again.
He rounded me and walked toward my bedroom, muttering, “Bedroom this way? Great! Let’s do this.”
Terry made his way through my room, pushing open the curtains. As sunlight streamed in, I fought hissing and hiding under my bed. Then Terry turned. His horrified gasp scared the crap out of me. Now awake, I jumped and yelled a petrified, “What? What?”
He covered his mouth with the fingers of both hands and mumbled, “Oh, honey.” He sounded disappointed. “What is that?”
I glanced around my bedroom and shrugged. “What?”
He pointed firmly to my bed. “That!” He made his point by slowly taking the three steps toward my bed and picking up my floral duvet with his fingertips.
I answered slowly, as if he were asking a trick question. “My comforter.”
He looked down at the retro, old school floral print before asking a mocking, “Are you an eighty-year-old spinster who quilts on the weekends down at the ‘ole community hall?”
Just to peeve him off, I crossed my arms over my chest, careful not to spill my glass of sludge, and replied a defiant, “Yes.”
His eyes narrowed and he looked me up and down before declaring, “You look good for your age, Mia.” Then he turned his face from my bed and stated, “Just…no! We are going to fix that.”
Throwing open my closet, he glanced at the clothes inside then asked, “Where’s the rest?”
I sat on my bed with a sigh, sipping my sludge. “Rest of what, Terry?”
“The clothes, Mia.” He turned slowly, his eyes crazy-like. “Tell me you have more clothes.”
I didn’t have an answer for that, so I didn’t answer. Instead, I sipped my berry protein shake and blinked up at him. Letting out a string of curses, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell. Placing it at his ear, he waited then spoke, “I need to book in an urgent appointment with Eddie.” A pause then he rolled his eyes. “I know she’s booked. Tell her it’s Terry,”—he glanced down at me then whispered into the receiver—“and this is an emergency.” He waited a little while then went over to my desk, writing on the notepaper. “Excellent. Thank you!”
Ripping the paper off the pad, he handed it to me. “Edita is the best. She owes me, so she won’t cost you a dime.” He tilted his head then added, “The clothes, however, will cost you. Big time.”
I held the paper in my hand and asked, “What are you talking about? What clothes? Who is Edita?”
Terry beamed. “Why, honeybuns, Edita is your personal shopper.”
An hour later, a sophisticated woman with a black bob in a gorgeous tan, cream, and caramel patterned dress reached up to pull off her sunglasses. Her gaze lingered on me as she muttered, “This is an emergency.”
I looked down at my jeans and sweater combo. Personally, I didn’t see anything wrong with it. I got my sweater in a bargain bin. It cost me eight dollars, because of a snag in the back. I couldn’t see the snag when I wore it. I was sold!
Unlike some of my peers, I worked through college. Every year, I found something new to do. I went from working in a bakery to serving coffee, checking out groceries, and finally, working in the college library. I had a wad of savings in my bank account. That didn’t mean I wanted to waste it all on clothing.
The woman held her hand out, taking mine without permission. “Edita Warshol. Please call me Eddie. And you’re Mia.” Dropping my hand, she placed her arm through my elbow and dragged me along. “Now that we’re introduced, let’s get going. I only have two hours to spare.”
Two hours?
Surely I didn’t hear that right.
Two freaking hours?
Ugh. I was going to kill Terry.
Eddie dragged me from store to store, and I quickly stated that I was on a budget. Without meaning to be mean—at least, I thought she did—she looked down at me with a smile that said, ‘I can see that’.
I hated to admit it, but after a short while, I was pleasantly surprised with Eddie’s services. She asked me to show her a few items of clothing I would choose for myself, took my style into consideration, and then went to work. She pushed me out of my comfort zone with some items, but when I tried them on, I loved them. She made me buy some new makeup, asking the clerk to show me how to apply them, and three pairs of heels I secretly adored from the moment I saw them, and then took me to get all new lingerie.
As quietly as I could, I warned her I wasn’t into sexy lingerie. I was more into plain and comfortable. But she assured me that plain and comfortable could still be sexy. I was miffed to admit she was right.
Ten pair of panties and five bras later, I walked out of the store with a shy but excited smile. Soon, it was time for Edita to leave, and I was surprised when she stopped to hug me. “Thank you for letting me do what I love, Mia.”
“Thank you for helping me. I never would’ve chosen half of these clothes without your push.”
She beamed. “Music to my ears. Knowing you’re going to look fabulous in them is all I need to feel satisfied with my day’s work.” She glanced at her watch. “I have to go, but it was lovely to meet you. Send my love to Terry.” Then she was gone.
I looked down at all the bags by my feet, carefully picked them up, and then hailed a taxi. There was no way I was getting all this on a bus.
A nap seemed like a good idea at the time, but when I woke, I felt even more tired than when I got home from shopping.
Ella had sent me a text confirming we were still on for tonight. When I told her we were, she immediately responded with a ‘YAY!’ and that she would come pick me up around nine. That was when I fell asleep. I woke at 5:35 p.m. and blinked down at the bags of clothing I just bought.
Slipping out of bed, I sorted my new clothes, folding, placing, and hanging them where necessary. The mix of colors in my closet was new. Wearing black most of the time became a habit when I was bigger. Black was slimming, so I wore it always. Unfortunately, black couldn’t hide forty pounds of extra weight.
Now I had reds, pinks, blues, and greens. It made me happy. I couldn’t wait to wear these things. I even had dresses. I never wore dresses. Tonight, I would wear a dress for experimentation purposes. I wanted to see the reaction of myself in a dress from the opposite sex.
Suddenly excited about my night out, I undressed and walked to the bathroom. I needed to Nair.
At 8:59 p.m. a knock sounded at my door.
I must’ve looked like a newborn calf running over in my heels, but I didn’t care. I threw open the door to find Ella standing there with a bottle of wine in her hands. She looked down at me then shrieked, “Get the fuck out!” She hugged me hard. “You look amazing, Mia!”
She wore a long black and white maxi dress that molded to her curves, her curls splaying down her back in a chaotic mess that looked stunning, with bright red pouting lips. Ella was one sexy woman.
The door across the hall opened and Terry spotted me. He gasped then shook his head, looking at Ella. “She does look gorgeous, doesn’t she?” Then he gloated in true Terry fashion. “It was all me. I hired the woman to help her shop, so, yeah.” He blew a kiss to me. “You’re welcome.”
The black dress I had on was lovely. It was a sweetheart cut cocktail dress that came a little too high on my thighs, but when I added the heels, I quickly realized it was beautiful. And I felt beautiful in it.
I had left my hair down, clipped back at one side, lightly applied makeup, and secretly slipped on a new pair of slightly sexy underwear. I was surprised by how great they made me feel. I knew no one could see them, but I knew they were there, and the silkiness of my panties gliding along my dress felt awesome, sensual.
Ella held out her hand, smiling. “You must be Terry.”
He took it, but gaped at me. “You’ve told people about me?”
I grinned. “Of course. You’re one of my two favorite guys.”
He smiled then and it was so tender, so un-Terry like, that my heart warmed. Then he turned. “Hi, Ella, so nice to meet you. I love your hair. It’s wild! Curls are so hot.” He spotted the wine in her hand. “Oh, bubbly. Mind if I have some?” Before Ella could answer, he was already dragging her inside his apartment.
Shaking my head with a smile, I retrieved my purse, locked my apartment, and then joined them just in time to witness Ella fall in love with Bill as I had. Then Bill looked over at me and his smile turned soft. He looked down at my dress and simply uttered a gentle, “Stunning, sweetheart,” before taking my hand and kissing my knuckles. I could have sworn I heard Ella whimper.
