I pulled open the door for her and motioned for her to get in.
“We have a busy night ahead of us. Let's get going, shall we?”
She ducked into the car, and I gave her bodyguards one last lingering look before getting in on my side and taking off.
The first stop was a private, custom clothing and jewelry experience.
Pearl looked like a fish out of water, but I loved seeing her eyes light up at all the beautiful diamonds and gems in front of her. She had no idea what to pick, so I helped her choose a beautiful white and pink diamond set that would match her new floor-length pink gown.
Selfishly, I didn't really let her pick the clothes, but she didn't seem to mind, and I certainly didn’t when she pulled back the curtains and I was hit with the stunning image of her in the shimmery fabric.
It was a strapless gown with a hard corset that perfectly melded to her body. The bicep-length satin gloves with tiny pink crystals glittering around her wrists, the shimmery nude high-heeled shoes she picked herself after almost running to get them as soon as she saw them, and a shawl placed on her shoulders made up the rest of the set.
The final step had been hair and makeup, and by the end of it, Pearl was a vision. She would look good in anything, but smiling the way she was now? She was drop-dead gorgeous.
And mine.
It was a pity that we wouldn’t be going somewhere more extravagant, but inside I was happy that I was the only person that was going to be able to see her like this.
“This is crazy. I feel like a princess,” she said with a giggle as we pulled up to our destination. “Who knew you had it in you to be so romantic?”
“Careful. I’m not Prince Charming. I’m more like the big, bad wolf. Plus, it's money, not romance.” I grumbled the last part, suddenly feeling insecure about all of it.
She let out another giggle. I loved hearing it. I wished to hear it more often.
“I could make a joke about liking the wolf better because he’d eat me, but instead…” She looked straight at me as if she wanted me to pay attention. “It's definitely romance, Emerson, and you're pretty good at it if I do say so myself. I mean, look at this!”
Night had already fallen, and excitement was clear on her face when she realized we were at The Met.
“We're going inside?” she asked as her door was opened by the valet.
“Private tour.”
When I rounded the car, she took my arm, so excited she was practically bouncing as we walked up the steps.
“It's only going to be us in there?” she whispered as if she was afraid anyone would hear, but there was no one else there but the one security guard who let us in.
“Just us. There was an optional tour guide, but I thought you'd have a better time this way.”
Mostly, I was just being selfish again. I wanted to take credit for everything and spend some alone time with her.
“This is even crazier!” she exclaimed as she threaded her hand through mine and pulled me further into the museum.
To be honest, I did not care for art at all. I could appreciate the aesthetics of it, but I was never one of those who found a deeper meaning in all of it. All I saw were nice-looking images on canvas or a well-put-together statue of a naked person.
Throughout school, and even though there were always books around her at all times, her electives were all art-based. She had an appreciation for all of the things that I found old, dusty, and useless. I was just happy to look at her.
I took it in, relieved at just how normal it felt to be touched by her.
Pearl was a different person in the privacy of the museum. She lit up, bouncing from painting to statue and then back to the same painting. She took me from room to room, talking my ear off about what she liked.
The fabric looks so real.
The pinks and blues look so pretty together.
This one just feels so heartbreaking, doesn't it?
Gosh, I've always wanted to see this in person.
