"Well," I called out from the dressing room, "that would be difficult since there are two of them."
"Oh, you sly thing. Walking in here like Miss Innocence and you're over here bagging two guys! Girl, I want to be you!" one of the girls exclaimed. Laughing at her exaggeration, I finished slipping on a black lace dress. I was momentarily speechless as I stared back into the mirror.
"So, tell us how you snagged two guys?"
"Well, one I met at a club, and the other is my neighbor."
"So who's better in bed?"
"I don't know that yet. I've only slept with one of them."
"Let me guess, the one you met at the club!"
"Not answering!" I laughed, a blush forming on my cheeks. "Okay, I'm coming out."
Stepping out, I took in all of their faces. Smiles, quickly followed by squeals, greeted me. Stacy ran over and started messing with the dress before deciding it was a perfect fit. Grabbing my hands, she started jumping up and down, squealing in glee. Her excitement was contagious, and I found myself joining her. I'd never had a friend do this before, so it was fun to join in, and I realized I was happy.
"Okay, okay. So yes?"
"Yes!" they all shouted out at me, causing me to laugh.
Stacy handed me some heels, and I knew they'd be perfect. Giving her all the items we'd agreed on, I dressed back into my clothes, which suddenly didn't feel as fun. Maybe I'd treat myself to a whole new wardrobe soon. It might be the thing I needed. It wasn't like I was reinventing myself, but more that I was discovering myself. It was hard to reinvent something you never invented in the first place. I'd been a copy of the person I was expected to be. In my case, my mother.
For once, I was discovering who I was outside of her wants and demands and not caring about the consequences. I was thirty-two years old, for fucks sake. If I didn't start living my life for me now, when would I? Never. It was now or never, and I, for one, chose now.
Leaving the store, I felt confident and excited that the social excursions hadn't drained me. I'd even made friends with strangers and plans to meet up with Stacy later this week for coffee. Headed back to my condo, I carried my purchases with a walk of stride. This dinner was going to be torture; there was no way around that, but when I bumped into a familiar face a second later, an idea to make it more exciting started to build in my mind.
"Sorry, I didn't see you there," he uttered distractedly before turning back, "Loren?"
"Hey!" I'd been just as shocked to see him on this side of town. Obliviousness to my surroundings had been worse than I'd known. Could it have been possible I was around these attractive men for over a year and never noticed?
"What are you doing over here?" Shaking my head, I restarted. "You know what, never mind. Better question, what are you doing tonight? Want to go to a dinner party with me?" I smiled wide, hoping my eyes conveyed my hope and mischievous intentions. His answering smirk had my panties melting and my heart racing, and now, I couldn't wait until dinner.
* * *
"This is where you grew up?"
"Yeah, it's not all rainbows and sunshine, though. Lots of shadows in this glitzy place."
My plan to spice up my mother's dinner party had sounded like a bit of fun hours ago. Now, as I stood on the doorstep waiting to ring the bell, I had doubts. She was going to kill me with her glare for this. I could already picture it. A spike of adrenaline for getting one over on my mother washed away the anxiety I felt and gave me the courage I needed.
"Are you going to press the button, or will we be served out here with the, what are these, rhododendrons?"
Turning, I smiled up at him. "Hydrangeas, actually. But I'm surprised you know your shrubs."
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, spitfire, and I look forward to showing you," he growled, his voice pitched low in my ear. Sax's breath fanned out over my neck, causing goosebumps to erupt over my skin. Sucking in a breath at the sensation, a slickness developed between my legs as he ran a finger up my palm. The simple touch had me on fire, and I suddenly had thoughts of turning around.
Which, of course, meant my mother had to ruin the moment.
Before I could utter a word, the door opened, and my mother gasped as she took us in.
"Loren! What on earth are you doing out here? Standing around like a vagabond. I swear. Come inside, now!"
My cheeks flamed, but for an entirely different reason this time. I started to follow my mother in, my head hanging, when Sax grabbed my hand and pulled me into him.
"We will finish this later, spitfire."
Sax sealed his lips to mine briefly, taking me by surprise. Pulling me along with him, I found my mother's disapproving glare down the corridor. Of course, she'd seen everything. Nothing got past my mother's judgmental eye. Jacqueline took in my attire as we entered the foyer. Arms crossed and nose upturned, I wasn't sure if it was my dress or date she disapproved of. Actually, it was probably both.