“I will go with you to the dinner and auction, if you would like, Mistress Elise,” I offered as I pushed James’ advice away.
Her response was prefaced by another face slap.
“How the fuck would that look if I showed up with some twenty-something?”
When she reached out to slap me again, I held my arm up to block her hand from making contact with my face. I stared at her and her stunned expression.
“Mistress Elise, I will accept slaps during play, and during your time of need. I have agreed to that. But I am not your punching bag.” She blinked rapidly, almost as if it was dawning on her. “My offer still stands to accompany you to the dinner, if you would like.”
Elise said nothing more and went back to her coffee and mail sorting. She was quiet the duration of the rest of the evening. I knew she was thinking about Jacob and their shared memories, and I knew her heart ached.
As she handcuffed me to my wooden pallet, she rubbed her thumb over my cut from her ring and then over my swollen lip.
“I suppose I need to be careful with your handsome face since I’ll be showing you off next weekend. We will need to find you a tux.”
“Thank you, Mistress Elise.”
When Elise turned the light off, I couldn’t help but smile. She was coming around, just like I knew that she would. Soon she would see me more than a plaything.
12
Elise
Our appointmentin the department store wasn’t until the late afternoon, and my stomach growled in protest. After this, I’d see if Andrew was interested in stopping for dinner on the way home. While I waited for Andrew to appear in the first tuxedo, I sent some texts back and forth with Liz and told her how even in jeans and a t-shirt that Andrew was the hottest man here.
I glanced around at the young women that were here with their boyfriends or husbands. Each of the women sized up the other women and checked out their competition. Most of the men just looked like they wanted to be out of the suits department as fast as possible.
A few men went into the changing rooms and then would return with suits crumpled over their arms. One man went in and resurfaced less than two minutes later. He told the woman with him that it fit perfectly. Mmhmm. Boy, won’t they be surprised when they discover he hadn’t actually tried it on.
I’d beat Andrew’s ass if he pulled that. I specifically scheduled a fitting appointment for us so Andrew didn’t end up with something off the rack that didn’t fit him. After decades of accompanying Jacob to the dinners, I wasn’t going to show up with some pound puppy.
“Darling, I don’t know how to tie one of these,” another man said to his wife.
Darling.
Jacob called me ‘darling.’ It was his term of endearment for me. I sat on the velvet couch, annoyed to hear another woman be called ‘darling.’
I watched as both of them fumbled with a bow tie for several minutes before the man said they’d figure it out at home. He said they’d watch a video on how to tie them.
“They have clip-on bow ties. We should get one of those just in case,” the woman suggested as they walked to the counter.
They bickered back and forth for a few minutes. It was beyond me why I was entertained and happy that they were arguing. Then he called her ‘darling’ again, and I realized that’s what had done it for me.
I looked up from my phone and dropped it into my purse when Andrew stepped out of the dressing room. The department store tailor motioned for him to step up onto a small platform so he could measure the inseam. Even in a tuxedo that needed tailoring, Andrew looked incredible.
I stood and walked within a few feet of the tailor, hoping all of the women saw what was mine. While their pathetic men couldn’t even handle trying on a suit, Andrew glowed and looked like a million bucks. Impressed, I watched him put cuff links into the cuffs with just one hand. Then he effortlessly tied the bow tie and caught me staring at him in the mirror. He flashed me a smile and looked over his shoulder at me.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“You look very handsome. You just might set off the smoke detectors at the dinner. You might even cause a few women to pass out, too.”
Andrew laughed at my silly comments, and I’m sure he thought they were silly. But they were true to an extent. He will catch the attention of many onlookers. The tailor got the measurements for Andrew and told us that we could pick it up in a few days.
“I’m starving,” I said as I wrapped my arm around his. “Would you like to stop for dinner on the way home?” I asked.
“Yes, Mistress Elise. I’d like that. I’m hungry too.”
We had dinner at an Italian place close to the house. While we ate, I listened to Andrew talk a little about his brothers and all the trouble the three of them would get into when they had been young.
