Hopefully the kind of man that Ellie is going to like.
Chapter Four
Ellie
"Holy shit," Carmen mutters as she paces around the dress that I’m holding up. She looks as stunned as I feel right now.
"So this guy really is a genuine movie star, huh? Sure you’re not being catfished?" she remarks, and I nod and can’t keep the grin off my face.
"Pretty sure, considering we already met," I say, laughing.
I hold out the dress in front of me and look it up and down. How can this be real? I am holding a floor-length designer gown, a pale pink number with heavy fabric that falls into a luxurious full skirt against the ground below me. The bodice glitters with crystals and I can already tell it is going to fit perfectly, the sweetheart neckline accentuating my breasts and the tuck at the waist drawing an eye to my curvy hips.
He texted me about an hour ago to let me know that the date we would be going on together was actually a premiere for his latest movie, and I had launched into full-blown panic mode. What the hell was I going to wear! I didn’t have anything that would pass for a particularly formal parent-teacher evening, let alone something for the red carpet. But then, a few moments after the text, the dress arrived, along with a pair of heels, and everything started to feel a little better.
"You’re going to look so beautiful in this," Carmen, my roommate, sighs to me. I told her all about my date with Ethan the first chance I got, and I wasn’t sure that she actually believed me when I told her that it was real until this gorgeous gown arrived at our apartment.
"I hope so," I reply. I’m still nervous as hell at the thought of actually being involved in this world of his. What if I make a fool of myself? I have no idea what I’m going to do at a party like the one he is going to take me to. My last major social event was the Valentine’s bash for the kids. Not exactly on the same level.
"He wouldn’t have asked you out if he didn’t like you," she points out. "You have to remember that. He’s not just doing this to be polite..."
"You sure about that?" I reply. I’m mostly joking. Mostly.
Honestly, it’s been hard for me to believe that anything truly good would ever happen to me. It’s not that I don’t like my job, I do, and I love living with Carmen – the two of us started off as just roommates out of necessity, but we’ve become good friends since then – but I came here because I was running from something.
And that something sometimes feels as though it is snapping just at my heels, and I am not sure that I will be able to get away from it until I turn around and face it for good.
But right now, there is only one thing that I have to worry about, and that is not making a total idiot of myself in the middle of this movie premiere. This man has gone out on a limb to take a chance on me, and frankly, I don’t want him to spend the evening wishing he hadn’t.
I spend the rest of the afternoon getting ready, trying on the dress, picking out the make-up to go with it – and I can’t stop staring at myself in the mirror. I know it is narcissistic, but I can’t remember the last time that I thought I looked this damn good.
I slick on some lipstick and fluff my hair up, then take it down again, and then put it up again before I decide that I like the way it looks when it’s up best.
"You ready to go?" Carmen asks once she is satisfied that I look my best. She’s a no-nonsense girl, but she’s always there for me when I need her, and I’m always going to love her for that.
"I think so," I agree, but before I can say anything else, there’s a buzz at the door. I go to the window to look outside and see who it is. And I gasp when I see what is waiting for me.
"Come look!" I tell her excitedly, and she joins me to see what has put me in such a good mood. She can’t help but grin when she sees it, too.
Ethan is leaning up against a limo in the parking lot of the apartment complex. There’s a smile on his face, and he’s wearing this classic black tux that makes him look like even more of a movie star than he already is. I drop Carmen a kiss on the cheek to say goodbye and thank her for her help, then rush down the stairs to join him.