My skin heats again. We need to talk about something else. Anything other than Rex thinking about me naked because now I’m thinking about him. My gaze drifts to his package, a large bulge clear as day shows through those thin shorts. Scarily it doesn’t look hard, just big.
“Like what you see?”
I look up, mortified, but ignore the question because I’m not ready to go there… yet. “What about the mess outside?”
Rex shrugs, a cocky grin glued to his face. “The maid will clean it. She comes every Saturday and Wednesday.”
Of course Rex has a maid. He doesn’t strike me as the clean up after himself type. He leans in, invading my personal space. My breath’s ragged and harsh from being this close. What is he doing? My heart hammers heavily in my chest with fear and anticipation. Is he gonna kiss me? Do I want Rex to kiss me? That’s a stupid question. Of course I want him to kiss me, but twice now I’ve been let down. What makes this time any different?
Rex whispers into my hair, “You smell nice.” He steps around me and up the stairs. “I know of a nude beach a few hours from here. Just saying.”
I roll my eyes, pretending not to be disappointed, and follow him. “You’re so funny, I forgot to laugh.”
Even though I work minutes from the beach, I can’t remember the last time I went to it. Monica might have brought me as a kid, but I doubt it. And with a pool in the Harris backyard, there was no reason to go. If there were clothes involved, a beach day might be nice. “Mirrors break when they see me naked. Trust me, no one wants to see this.”
“I do,” he mumbles.
I pretend not to hear because if I acknowledge that comment there’s no going back. I’m not ready to cross that bridge yet. Dance on it a little, sure. But not cross it. “You know we could just throw my clothes in the dryer.”
Rex leads me through even more rooms and then motions for me to follow him up the stairs. “But where’s the fun in that?”
I chew on my lip. Rex is such a tease. I’m sure he’s doing this on purpose. I need to work harder at not falling for his charm. It’s probably been perfected over the years to suck girls in with little to no effort. That won’t be me. I refuse to end up in the tabloids as the latest chick whose heart was crushed by this philanderer.
He stops at the top of the stairs and looks down at me. “You coming?”
It’s now or never.
I skip up the steps two at a time. Rex waits for me, then twists a brass handle, pushing a set of white doors open. I step inside, completely in awe, looking around. The room is vast, nearly the size of the kitchen downstairs. Bright morning light shines through open windows, painting the white carpet a pale yellow. Rex crosses in front of a king sized four poster bed and heads for the closet. My fingers trail across the silk comforter, making ripples along its pristine surface.
“Alright,” he says pulling two more doors open. “I think you and my mom are about the same size. Her bathing suits are there and sundresses are here. Pick whatever. We are going to the beach… clothing optional of course.”
I cross my arms and lean against one of the tall posts of the bed. “You’re not worried about me stealing something?”
Rex steps out of the closet, stopping inches away, the warmth of his breath tickling my cheek. He smells of coffee and mint and I’m reminded that I haven’t eaten yet today. My stomach rumbles.
He glances down at my hungry tummy and smirks. One hand curls around the wood over my head, the other settles on the footboard beside me. “Should I be worried?”
There’s no doubt in his question. He knows the answer but asks anyway, simply for curiosity’s sake. We both know I’m not what people make me out to be. Not a whore and certainly not a thief.
Walk away, Piper, before someone gets hurt.
Recognizing what I should do doesn’t stop the heat claiming my body. I tilt my head towards the jewelry on display on the vanity to my left. “That watch over there would get me a pretty penny if I pawned it.”
Rex’s hand moves from above me and settles on my hip. My breath hitches. I don’t know what to do with myself. Before Piper would have seized the moment and kissed Rex. After Piper would shove him in the chest and run away. But this Piper, this new evolving version of me, is torn between the two.
Rex leans into my hair, his chest flush against mine, and whispers, “You wouldn’t dare.”
Rex’s lips kiss my cheeks with a whisper of a touch. Chills run down my spine to my toes. I lean a fraction of an inch closer as he backs away and our eyes lock. My pulse is everywhere again. He’s close enough, I could easily reach up and pull his lips to mine. I want his lips on mine. But am I ready for what could happen next? My heart skips another beat. This is too many feelings too soon. I need a scapegoat. I poke him in the ribs. “You don’t know me.”
Rex clears his throat and steps into his mother’s closet. He runs his hand across a wall of dresses making a wave of fabric behind him. “You’re so much more than what everyone thinks you are, Piper.” He turns, walks past me, then closes me in his mother’s room. Alone.
I don’t dwell on his words. I can’t. Rex doesn’t know the first thing about me. We aren’t friends. Barely acquaintances. The instant we’re back at school and surrounded by everyone I’ll be forgotten because hanging out with me is the equivalent of committing social suicide.
But I’ll bask in the limelight for a day. Live my own Cinderella story until the magic runs out. And yes, I know who the princesses are, I’d be a poor excuse for a girl if I didn’t know at least one. I just like seeing Rex flustered. It’s cute when his cheeks flush.
I step into the closet and look around. There are hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of clothes and shoes inside. Dresses from stores I probably wouldn’t be allowed to enter. The clerks would take one look at my tattered school uniform and faded black hair and decide I was there to steal something. I wouldn’t be, but they’d still judge me, nonetheless.
I take a moment and walk to the back of the closet. Long ball gowns with sequins and feathers and decadent lace fight for space. A black one with a silver overlay catches my eye. I take it off the rack and walk ten steps to a full length mirror. I hold the dress in front of me, imagining what it would be like to wear such a thing of beauty. To have my hair washed and styled by a professional. The thought saddens me.