Not yet.
Do it.
Don't.
When I have a plan.
It sounded reasonable. Strategic. Like something a good Dominant would do.
It sounded like an excuse.
I set the phone down and stared at the ceiling.
The clock on my desk ticked.
Once.
Twice.
Measuring the silence I'd chosen.
Chapter forty-four
Candace
I turned sideways in the mirror, sucking in my stomach. Rosie's dinner last Sunday—still showing on this Saturday.
At least, that's what I told myself.
The truth was uglier. Messier.
My shoulders climbed toward my ears as I cataloged every flaw. The jeans I'd bought last month—the ones that had slid on like butter in the dressing room—now dug into my hips like a passive-aggressive comment from an ex.
A protein shake here. A handful of almonds there.
Enough to keep the headaches away.
And yet.
Bloated. Puffy. Wrong.
The words scrolled through my mind like a comment section I couldn't close.
I yanked the jeans off and grabbed a flowy dress instead.
Better. Safer.
My phone buzzed on the dresser.
Sebastian: Still picking me up at 5?
I smiled.
The Riverside fair was today.
I'd been counting down all week.
Not a date. Not really.
