“Happy to do it. Now go get dressed. What time is he coming? I need to meet this guy.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” Maggie said. “I want to see if he’s as douchey in real life as he sounds. Judgment is coming!”
“Crap, he’s going to be here in a half hour,” Cora shouted and ran down the hall to her room.
She slipped the dress on carefully, smoothing her hands up the effortless zipper. Cora had managed to find the perfect pair of sparkly nude heels on a sale rack but had never considered that she might be forced to wear the delicate heels in a monsoon. She didn’t have an appropriate coat or wrap for the weather, either, and her lone umbrella was a giant moldering golf monstrosity her dad had forgotten in her car, which was now sitting in a repair shop awaiting a replacement part.
Fritz sat next to Cora and watched her in the mirror as she checked herself out. “Look at us,” she said to him. “Beauty and the Beast.” She knelt down and leaned her forehead against his. “You willalwaysbe my prince.” His tail thumped on the hardwood like he understood.
Her cell phone buzzed. Charlie. “I’m 2 min away. Rain just stopped. Can’t wait to c u.”
Cora’s fingers trembled as she responded. “Should I meet u downstairs?”
“Nope, coming up. Gotta meet the folks, right?” She wondered what kind of impression he was going to make on Maggie and Darnell. Few were immune to his charms. She paced through the apartment with Fritz at her heels.
She popped her head in Maggie’s room. “He’s almost here. Be nice!”
“Damn, you look hot.” Darnell sighed appreciatively. “Don’t worry, we’ll go easy on him.”
They heard a confident knock.
“Wait here!” Maggie ordered. “You need to make a grand entrance, like in the movies.” Maggie kissed Cora on the cheek and gave her shoulders a squeeze, as if begrudgingly giving her blessing for what was about to happen. Darnell and the dogs followed Maggie to the door, and Cora watched hidden around the corner.
Maggie swung the door open, obscuring Charlie on the other side of it. “Why hello, I’m Maggie,” she trilled, saccharin sweet. She reached a limp hand toward him, and Cora realized she was channeling her southern belle character with the faintest accent. “This is my friend Darnell.” Charlie stepped into view, and Cora’s heart stopped. His impeccably tailored tux fit like it had been made for him. She hoped she looked good enough to stand beside him.
“So nice to meet you both!” He shook their hands and then looked down at Fritz and Josie, expertly juggling both the humans and dogs to make sure they all got an equal share of his attention. “This must be Fritz, and you’re Josie, right?” He reached down to pet them, and Fritz sniffed his leg from a distance. Josie, ever the attention hound, spun in circles in front of him and eagerly accepted his affections.
“So what time will you be dropping our precious Cora off tonight?” Darnell asked, crossing his arms and adopting a square Dad’s tone, and Maggie threaded her hand around his bicep.
Charlie laughed and played along. “Well, sir, I’m not sure. Can I call you later?”
Cora didn’t know how far the duo would take their farce, so she took a deep breath and stepped into the room before it got out of hand. “Hey, Charlie, I see you’ve met the crew.”
He looked at her and his eyes widened. “Wow, Cora. You look—”
She interrupted him, not wanting to hear his candid assessment in front of Maggie and Darnell. “I take no credit—my glam squad did it.”
“Not all of it,” he replied quietly, his eyes quickly traveling up and down her body. He walked over to her and hugged her tightly, burying his face in her neck and crushing her chest into his for a moment longer than necessary. He smelled like summer, and the feeling of his light stubble tickling her neck gave her chills. She felt electricity pass between their bodies, and wondered if Maggie and Darnell noticed sparks leaping off of them.
She saw Maggie wrinkle her nose.
Cora started chattering, eager to change the temperature in the room and shift the focus away from the magnetic attraction between them. “Did it stop raining? I don’t have the right kind of coat and my umbrella isn’t here. Mags, do you have an umbrella I can borrow? Is it muggy out there?”
“Actually, the car has a few big umbrellas, so don’t worry about it. And I’ll put my jacket down on any puddles,” Charlie said with a smile. Darnell threw his head back and laughed, already under Charlie’s spell. Cora looked at Maggie, though, and she could see her friend cataloging every move that Charlie made so that she could dissect him later.
“Okay, then, we’re off!” She waved at Maggie and Darnell and placed lipstick kisses on top of Fritz’s and Josie’s heads.
“Have fun, be good,” Darnell replied playfully.
“We’re going to dinner so we’re right behind you,” Maggie called to them as they headed out the door. “Tell Alice Goodwin we send our regards.”
Charlie couldn’t keep his eyes off Cora as he escorted her to the limo idling in front of her building. They stepped outside into what felt like a solid wall of humidity. The sidewalk hissed iridescent smoke.
“At least it’s not raining,” he said with a shrug. “Although seeing you wet might be a good thing.”
Cora shook her head. “This is going to be a long night.”
“Hope so,” he replied. The driver jumped out of the car and opened the door for them.
