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“Ouch.”
Another reason I loved shopping in Emma’s closet was everything was nicely organized, so I could quickly find what I needed. While our lack of funds for frills growing up had made me a miser and penny-pincher, Emma had gone in the opposite direction, enjoying spending every available dime on little luxuries.
She leaned against the door jamb. “So if this isn’t a real date, why are you looking for dresses in my closet?”
“Well, we’re going to dinner first, and I don’t want to look like a slob.”
I skimmed past her more daring, strappy dresses in blood-red and animal print to the simple black ones. And by simple, I mean they were a solid color. I liked wearing black because it was a striking contrast against my fair skin and bright hair.
“Betty. Ifyouare actually putting on a dress, this isn’t a fake date.”
Speaking of fake, my brain hazed a moment, remembering that kiss he laid on me at rehearsal. Could you call something like that just a kiss? It felt more like a glorious invasion. A catalyst for something far bigger than I was prepared for.
The thing was, it wasn’t a fake kiss. Not at all. He’d let me have a small taste of the blazing wildfire burning between us. I was ready for him when his mouth melded to mine, but I just hadn’t realized he was going to realign my thoughts about what kissing was.
I’d kissed lots of guys over the years, and it was always a favorite part of the pre/post-sex regimen. But what Bennett did with his mouth and his hands gave me great cause for alarm. I was playing with fire here and was completely willing to get burned to a cinder.
“Hellooo, Betty.” She waved a hand in the air. “Come back to me.”
Blinking away those thoughts, I lifted three black dresses off the hanger and bypassed her to toss them onto the bed.
“Okay, here’s the deal, Em. At first, I really hated him. He’s cocky.”
“But you knew that.”
“Yeah, and that hasn’t really gone away. It’s just that… there’s more to him than I’d realized.”
“Like what?”
I stripped out of my jeans. “I was overly harsh, thinking he was just a rich boy with everything handed to him. He’s a really hard worker.” I sighed as I pulled off my t-shirt. “Harder than me. He goes back to the store after rehearsals and works heaven knows how many hours.”
“Doesn’t sound like a spoiled rich boy to me.”
“No,” I admitted softly as I shimmied into one of the dresses. “And he’s really kind. He gave my student’s mom a job after I mentioned she needed something more stable with a better salary and benefits.”
“Awesome. So Bennett’s a nice guy with a good work ethic. He's not an arrogant asshole. On top of that, he’ssuperhot.”
I laughed as I zipped up the dress. “He so is. I’m insanely attracted to him. Still…”
“Still what?”
“I think he really likes me. And for some reason, that makes me really nervous. Like push-him-away nervous, and we aren’t even dating.”
I stared at my reflection. The dress had long sleeves and a deep-vee bodice that hit my sternum. I had small breasts anyway, smaller than Emma’s, so I was always able to wear tighter, more revealing dresses without worrying about whether my boobs were going to fall out. I fiddled with the neckline, frowning at what I couldn’t put into words.
Em stepped up behind me, holding my gaze in the mirror. “I know why you’re nervous,” she said softly.
“Good. Then please tell me.” I dropped my arms to my sides in exasperation.
She cupped my upper arms and set her chin on my shoulder. “Because you really like him, too.”
I scoffed. “So what. I’ve liked tons of guys.”
She shook her head. “You’ve liked party guys and fun, fuckboys. You want to push Bennett away because you could have something real with him.”
“That makes no sense at all.”
“You’ve never had a boyfriend, Bea. Not a real one.”
