I dragged him toward the door.
“Nope, you don’t.”
His feet stumbled as I continued shoving him, all while he resisted. “Really? You’re kicking me out? After I brought these here for you?”
It was probably cruel of me, but I could hear the tease in his voice, thankfully. I knew if I allowed him to stay, my thoughts would only focus on the potential outcome of later. I didn’t want that; it wouldn’t be good for either of us.
If I was going to make it through this day, he needed to leave.
I’d need the chaos of the party to get me through.
“You will be surprised,” I told him. “Besides, Tommy’s waiting for you.”
He turned toward me once I got him to the door and pulled me against him. “You’ll be the most stunning one there, even if you come dressed how you are now.”
Ugh, this guy’s words…he almost earned a spot on the couch to watch.
“I’ll see you later, and Chase…” I grabbed his hand to stop him before he walked out the door. “Thank you, this was very thoughtful of you. No one has ever done something like this for me.”
He kissed the back of my hand. “You deserve this, and more.”
He winked and walked out.
My mind wouldn’t stop obsessing about the fact that he may not feel that way by the end of the night.
Just because I thought tonight was going to be my undoing didn’t mean I didn’t want to look good while it went down. My hair was sleek and straight. My eye makeup was dark and smoky. And my lips and nails were a sexy red.
I think it all looked pretty good with the outfit I chose.
Regardless of how hot I thought I might look, I still needed reinforcements.
Me: Can you come over when you’re ready, I need you
Evie: Coming
“Oh my God, Maryellen, you look fucking amazing!”
Evie walked in wearing a brown velvet spaghetti strap dress with a contrasting belt. As always, she looked like she belonged on a runway.
“Thanks. So do you. Do you think wearing pants is OK?” I asked.
“You look hot. They’re fucking cream leather pants, Mare. And that matching halter. My God, it’s perfection on you. You look like a goddess.” She literally jumped up and down, clapping her hands, she was so excited. “Spin around for me!”
I did, as silly as it felt.
“Damn, girl, look at your ass in those pants. You will be turning heads tonight. Hope Chase is secure with himself.”
She walked to the rack of clothes he had brought over, looking at the other options.
“There’s some good shit here. Like some quality stuff.” She turned toward me. “He knows what he’s doing.”
“Well, him or his stylist. Either way, it was nice of him to do it.” I was still uncomfortable that it had happened. The differences between us, when they were pointed out like this, hit home hard. “I’d never be able to do anything like this for him.”
“You really think he’s looking for you to reciprocate? C’mon, Mare, he’s not like that, is he?”
He wasn’t, I knew that. Yet, it still highlighted such a fundamental difference between us.
“That’s the least of my worries at the moment,” I said. “I need to make it through tonight, Eve, and I’m not sure I’m going to. When he came over today, he wanted to stay. But I kicked him out. I was too nervous to be around him, knowing what could happen tonight.”
