Page 50 of East

So there’s a silver lining.

It’s not too long before Thea steps out of her bedroom dressed in an elegant midnight-blue evening gown. It’s lined with sequins that perfectly catch the light of the setting sun. She’s styled her hair into a simple updo.

Fuck, she’s beautiful.

Not pretty, not cute.

Beautiful.

She lifts an eyebrow, the shadow of a grin dancing across her lips. “If you want to pick your jaw up off the floor, we’d better get moving.”

I open the door to her apartment and lead her back to my car. We stop in Uptown quickly and pick up a rental tux at Hathaway Haberdashery. Maddox isn’t there. I guess he’s in New Haven this week, working on a degree to fulfill some requirement to access a trust left to him by his father, but his fiancée, a charming young lady with a British accent, is there.

“Aus Waverly? Is that you?” she asks as we walk in.

“Hi, Alissa.” I gesture toward Thea. “This is Thea Storm.”

Alissa widens her eyes. “Thea Storm? From the news?”

Thea nods. “The one and only.”

“What a pleasure. I’m Alissa Maravilla. My boyfriend—sorry, fiancé—owns the shop. I hope this isn’t a tactless thing to say, but you’re even more beautiful in person than you are on the television.”

Thea blushes. “You’re very kind.”

“And that dress is exquisite.” Alissa looks back to me. “You must be on your way to a glamorous function.”

I nod. “Kind of a last-minute thing for me, at least. Thea’s bringing me to a charity gala as her plus-one.”

Alissa grins. “So you need a rental.”

“Yeah. And quickly, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Of course it isn’t. Not for you.” Alissa pulls out a tape and takes a few quick measurements, writing them down on a little pad. “You’re in luck. We have something that’ll fit you pretty well. We won’t even have to pin it. You and Maddox are about the same size, come to think of it.” She disappears into a backroom and returns with a sleek tuxedo along with a pleated shirt and a few options for ties. “I figured you’d like a dark-blue accent to match your date for the evening.”

I look over the neckwear options. One is solid, one is checked, and the other— “I’ll take this one,” I say, picking up a bow tie in a gingham pattern. “Do you have a vest or something that goes with it?”

“We do.” Alissa gestures toward the back of the shop. “You can change in one of our fitting rooms. I’ll bring the vest over to complete the look.”

I duck behind a dark curtain and strip my clothes off. I wish Thea would join me back here so I could plow her like a fucking field, but she won’t do that with Alissa and God knows who else in the shop.

Thea has me in a perpetual state of arousal.

It would annoy me if I didn’t find her so fascinating.

“It’s me!” Alissa squeaks from the other side of the curtain. “I’ll just hang the vest on a hook out here. Once you have your shirt on, you can grab it to complete the look.”

“Thanks,” I grunt as I stick my legs into the pants. I quickly put on the rest of the tux, including the vest, and look myself over in the mirror. I look pretty damned good, I won’t lie. Not nearly as attractive as Thea, but I’ll be presentable as her date.

I walk out of the fitting area and Thea drops her jaw. “Holy shit, Aus. You look fantastic.”

“Doesn’t he?” Alissa says.

“Thanks.” I walk over to the register. “How much to rent it for the night? I’ll bring it back tomorrow morning.”

Alissa shakes her head. “No charge at all, Aus. Not after all the help you gave me and Maddox.”

“The help?” Thea asks.