“You know, Phil,” she began, “not all men are like you. I’m going to do what I want, and that’s that, all right?”
Kate watched as Phil squeezed his fists together before spinning around, nearly running toward his car with frustration.
She made sure that he was actually gone before turning her back on him, feeling satisfied with her remark but still wary about someone like Phil being pissed off at her.
Kate was a woman, and as a woman, you had to constantly be on guard for men who desired your affection. When you worked with them, they were harder to avoid, especially when they didn’t understand social cues or take no for an answer.
She was able to get to her car safely, thinking about her night ahead. She drove on, thinking about Devlin and how great he looked in his dress pants and shirt, tight across the muscles, and she was curious about what was beneath that damn fabric.
However, Kate was still afraid of getting in too deep. She had been hurt and let down so many times that it was difficult to let herself go and just accept someone else’s affection. She even wondered for a moment if Phil was right about his use of wealth to get her attention.
She swatted that thought out of her mind like a buzzing fly. She arrived home and started to change, even showering to wash the day off. She looked down at herself, her naked form, and once again wondered what it would be like to have Devlin in there with her, touching her body, kissing her neck, making her lose track of anything and everything she had to do for that day.
The water started running cold, breaking Kate’s concentration on her fantasy. She got out and saw herself in the mirror, doing everything she could to remain positive about her own worthiness.
FIVE
KATE
Kate was tempted to get dolled up. She'd been staring at her closet, glancing over each outfit she had, wondering what she would wear. To be honest, she had tried on several outfits already.
She had on a long, skintight black dress that showed off her breasts for whoever wanted to look. She'd paired it with a nice necklace and earrings. After a few minutes, she stripped it off.
She'd tried on a short white dress she bought long ago, and when she'd bent over, her pussy hung out for anyone to see. So, she tossed the dress into the trash.
She'd tried on a jumpsuit, a one-piece, a tube top, and jeans, but everything she'd tried just didn't look how she wanted it to.
So, she stood naked, glancing once more over everything. She wanted to impress Devlin. Clearly, trying on eight different outfits was part of that. But she also didn't want to give him the wrong impression.
She didn't want him to think she was someone else and that her looks were important to her because they weren't. She couldn’t care less how she looked. She wanted him to like her for her mind and who she was as a person.
Devlin was hot, off the radar hot. He made her swoon, and she could only imagine how the man looked underneath all his clothes. She didn't want to look like trash next to Prince Charming.
She sighed, running her hands through her hair. She couldn't remember the last time she fretted this much over her looks. Of course, she'd second-guessed an outfit on a date, but nothing to this extreme.
But after a second, she remembered why she never allowed herself to get overly excited in the first place. She'd had so much heartache over the years, enough to last several lifetimes. She didn't need more, and getting excited about the possibility of a whirlwind romance was insane. It wasn't practical, and if she had learned anything over the years, it was that she needed to think logically about everything.
She wasn't a little girl waiting for her fairy tale life to begin. She was a grown-ass woman with bills and a heart that had been through too much already. She couldn't put everything out on the line just for her heart to be ripped apart.
So, she decided on a casual look. She grabbed a pair of ripped jeans and a green shirt. She walked into her bathroom to finish getting dressed.
She dressed in normal underwear, not planning on the date traveling farther than a simple goodnight kiss. That was all dependent on how the date went over, of course.
She pulled her clothes on and dried her hair. She left it straight and pinned some of her loose bangs back so they were out of the way. She slipped on some simple earrings before she opened her makeup.
She applied the same amount she would wear to work. She had on a little eye shadow and some mascara. She glided on lip balm and gave herself a look over.
It was the look you'd wear to go to a friend's house or to go out and grab groceries. It wasn't what you would wear on a date. She didn't care. It was her comfort level, and that was what mattered.
She headed out to her car, checking the address of where she was going to pick him up. She made sure to clear her front seat before she started driving.
She pulled up in front of his building, taking in the security guard at the door. She swallowed, glancing around. It was clear that Devlin lived in a different world than she did.
She almost didn't even see him stopping by her door and looking at her. He was dressed down as well. It made her feel a little better.
His hair was combed back, and his brown eyes stared straight at her. She swallowed as she unlocked her car, allowing him to slip inside. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt with an old band logo on the front of it. She wouldn't have picked him for someone with a lot of money if she hadn't already known.
She realized she hadn't said anything and needed to break the silence. "Nice shirt." She pointed at his shirt. "Great music."