The last time I was dressed up like this, my plans for the night were much different than they are now. I blink rapidly, warding off the inevitable onslaught of emotions. I won’t do this. I won’t give Bryce the power or opportunity to keep hurting me. I have an amazing life, with or without him.
“Wow!” I turn and see Jules standing by the door of the fancy-as-fuck locker room. When she called me the other day and said we were going to come to the spa with her mom to get ready, I was hesitant for multiple reasons. One being that this place is way out of price range. Yes, the store is doing really well and I’ve managed to be able to start paying myself a pretty solid salary. But since I refuse to skimp on my products and supplies, I’m still no rockafeller. Of course, I wasn’t all that surprised when she said that her mom was paying. This isn’t the first time I’ve come to a place like this with them, but I don’t love it when they pay for me. I’ve learned not to fight them on it, though.
The other reason I was hesitant to come is because I know myself. I know that seeing Bryce tonight, in the familiar setting is going to be hard. Especially since I’m well aware of who else is going to be at the party tonight. I had planned to spend most of the day mentally preparing myself to deal with everything I’m about to face. But Juliet wouldn’t let that happen. Even when I was completely honest about it all, she dismissed it with a wave of her hand and told me that I clearly don’t know what I need as much as she does. As annoyed as I wanted to be, she’s never actually been wrong about things like this. And I’ll admit, today has been pretty great. It was nice being pampered and taken care of and not having to worry about a single thing.
“Morg, you look amazing!”
“Thanks.” I give her a soft smile, but unease is still swirling in my gut.
“So,” she says hesitantly as she steps further into the room. “I don’t want you to be upset with me, but I got you this.” My eyes narrow slightly as I hone in on the garment bags in her hand. I didn’t realize until now that there’s two of them, so I assumed it was just her dress for the night. I brought one I had planned on wearing, though I doubt it’s as nice as anything she would have bought.
“Jules, I have a dress.” My best friend gives me a patient look with an underlying stubbornness that tells me I won’t be getting away with that excuse.
“Morg, I love you. But when was the last time you allowed yourself to really indulge in something nice for yourself?” Emotion begins to clog my throat as the truth hits me. I remember perfectly the last time I treated myself to something nice. I had been admiring the dress for weeks and I kept debating on whether or not I wanted to spend the money because it was much more than I normally would spend. When I finally gave in, Ireallygave in. Buying the right kind of lingerie to go under it and everything. I had the entire night planned out, and I was convinced that it was going to be one of the best nights of my life.But it wasn’t.
“A year ago.” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, a look of regret takes over her features and I know she realizes exactly what I mean.
“Shit, Morgan, I’m so sorry.” I try to wave her off, but I have to look away quickly to keep myself from letting the tears fall. As confident as I try to be, and as much as I say I’m over all of it, I’m not. All my life I’ve been confident and comfortable with who I am. But my confidence was really tested and is still tested daily because of what happened.
“It’s fine, Jules.” I finally get my emotions under control and she seems to realize it because she steps closer and shoves one of the bags into my hand.
“Well, this year, the reason for this dress is completely different.” I look at her with trepidation, but she doesn’t even waver as she continues on. “Not only are you going to make my idiot brother eat his heart out. But you’re going to find yourself a man who’s actually worthy of you and all your amazingness.”
A laugh bursts from my chest and I can’t help but shake my head. I’ve dated plenty in the past. But the men that attend these parties are far from the type that would be interested in me.
“How much hairspray did they use on you? Because I think you might be delusional.”
Jules gives me a stern look, but it still takes a minute for my laughter to settle down.
“You really don’t see it, do you?” she asks.
“See what?” At this point, I’m just humoring her and her delusional ideas.
“How incredible you are. Morgan, you’re a beautiful woman, independent. You own your own business. You’re sassy and funny, and sexy as hell.” It takes everything in me to hold in my eye roll because I know she’s being genuine and I’m not a total jerk. At least not usually.
“I appreciate that, I really do. But the men at these parties aren’t exactly the type I’m interested in.”
“Okay, that’s fair. But nothing says you can’t find someone just for the night. Don’t even try to deny that you could use a good fuck.” Her words resonate through me because she’s right. It’s been too damn long since I’ve had sex and the last time I did, he didn’t even know what he was doing to the point that I faked it just so I could get it over with. It’d be really nice to have an orgasm that I didn’t give to myself.
“Besides,” Jules breaks in again, sounding so damn proud of herself. “If anything can get you laid tonight, it’s going to be this dress.”
CHAPTERFOUR
Morgan
One Year Ago…
Ipull in a deep breath as I examine myself one last time in the mirror hanging on the elevator wall. The dress looks really good. It’s a deep red, a color I don’t normally wear. But it flatters my figure and compliments my dark blond hair really well. The best part is the way it accentuates my cleavage and since it flares out around my thighs, it works really well with my wide hips. I comb my fingers through my hair one more time, trying to show off its natural waviness.
When the elevator dings, it takes a quick internal pep-talk to get my legs moving and for me to step off.
This past month with Bryce has been a whirlwind. To say I was shocked when he confessed his feelings for me, would be an understatement. Having the man I’d been crushing on for years tell me that he was in love with me was a dream I never even imagined coming true. But it did. Every time he would kiss me or hold my hand so sweetly, my insecurities would melt away and my confidence would grow more and more. He hasn’t pushed me for more, and as much as I love and appreciate it, I’m so done waiting.
Which is why I finally bit the bullet and bought the dress I’ve been drooling over for weeks now. Along with it, I purchased some lingerie that I normally would never wear. Bryce is a millionaire. Millionaires like fancy lingerie and nice dresses.
I walk down the hall, my steps slow but steady as I make my way to Bryce’s apartment at the end of the hall. The hallway seems so much shorter than normal, probably because I’m trying to buy myself time but I can’t. Once I’m in front of Bryce’s door, I take a few more slow and steadying breaths before I pull out my keys, finding the one Bryce gave me last week but I’ve yet to use.
As soon as I open the door, the site in front of me has my entire body turning to ice.