“What’s so funny?” Charlotte asks, biting her lip. “Are my leggings ripped? It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Your leggings are fine.”
“Are you all ready or is there anything you need to go over?” Charlotte asks, glancing at the girls.
“No, we’re good.”
“See you all Monday and thank you for coming.”
“Thank you for helping us.”
“See you Saturday.”
“See you then,” I tell Charlotte, walking them all to the door. I let them out and lock up behind them.
Once they are gone, I head back into the main section of the gym to grab my stuff, only the cake on the bench distracts me.
What the hell, it isn’t like I won’t burn it off by tomorrow. I grab my pocket knife out of my bag, flip the blade out, and slice down the cake, cutting out a piece.
Fucking hell, it smells amazing.
I bring it up to my nose, taking in the rich vanilla sponge with jam and butter cream in the centre.
I take a bite, savouring the taste, before something turns sour in my mouth. It feels like acid is burning away my tastebuds.
I spit it out, reaching for my bottle of water as I try not to bring up my food from earlier.
“Fuck,” I groan when the taste doesn’t go. I grab my towel, wiping furiously at my tongue.
At least I know the girls weren’t wrong.
Fuck, that was terrible.
I eye the cake, wondering if she made it by mistake or if she really is trying to kill me.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
DREW
Rain pelts down on my window screen, the sound so loud I can’t even hear my own thoughts.
Of course it would rain on the night my sister is having a party. Luckily, she decided to book a room at the hotel, otherwise she’d be cursing the world for ruining her perfect hair and makeup.
Growing up with two sisters, I’m somewhat in tune to a woman’s way of thinking, which is why I decided to drive up the dirt lane that leads to Charlotte’s. I don’t want her to get soaked while rushing to the car.
They really need to work on getting this tarmacked.
I pull into her empty drive, honking my horn once before shutting the car off. I grab the umbrella I remembered to pick up before getting out.
Rain splatters soak through my jacket before I even manage to get the umbrella up. I’ve only taken a step when the door opens, and I come to a halt. I run my eyes over her black sparkling dress, with gold flowers embroidered onto it. The thin gold/beige belt showcases her hourglass figure.
Our gazes lock and once again, I’m struck by her beauty. She’s never worn makeup before. Her skin is smooth and silky, and apart from a few freckles over her nose, she has no blemishes. But tonight, she has gone all out. Her eyes are thick with eyeliner, and her eyeshadow has a smoky effect on her lids that makes the emerald-green pop out. Her lips are painted a nude colour, yet it emphasizes their bow shape. It makes me want to kiss them. Her hair is half up, half down. The volume and thickness of the curls only make her that much more stunning.
She’s beautiful without dressing up, but when she does… she could knock a man to his knees.
She turns and reveals the back of her dress, which is lower, showing the silky-smooth skin of her back.
I adjust my dick, unable to control my desire as she locks up behind her.
“Thank you for coming to the door,” she calls out, and I snap out of my lust-filled thoughts to rush around to the passenger door and pull it open for her.
After closing the door behind her, I slowly walk around the front of the car, needing to gather myself before getting inside. She’s taken my breath away.
Getting back inside, the first thing to hit me is her perfume. It has a vanilla aroma to it and it’s a struggle not to lean over, run my nose along the slender angle of her neck, and breathe her in.
Fuck, it’s going to be a struggle to keep my hands away from her tonight.
“Are you okay?” she asks, as my knuckles whiten from their grip on the steering wheel.
“Yeah,” I croak out. I clear my throat, paste on a smile, and turn to her. “You look really beautiful.”
She runs a hand down her dress as a pink tinge blossoms on her cheeks. “Thank you. You look handsome yourself.”
As I pull out, I catch sight of a soft pink and white gift bag at her feet. “What’s in the bag?”
“It’s a crystal stone for your sister and her husband.”
“A what now?”
She chuckles under her breath. “It’s Rose Quartz. It cultivates love. I wasn’t sure what gift to bring your sister as we don’t know each other, so I got something she could place in their home.”
She continues to surprise me. “Wait, we have to bring a gift?”
Her sharp intake of breath tells me that yes, we do in fact need to bring a gift. “You haven’t gotten her an engagement gift?”
I take my eyes off the road for a second. Shit, she really is serious about this. “No. I had planned on getting her some new appliances for when she moves in. She never mentioned anything about engagement gifts.”
“Well, you can’t go empty-handed.”
“I’ll stop off and get some flowers.”
“No,” she yells, nearly making me swerve the car.
“Why not?”
“Because it’s a party, and at a hotel no less. They’ll be crushed or dead by the time she can get them into a vase.”
“What the hell am I supposed to do?”
“Do you have a pen in the car?”
A pen?
“In the glove box, why?”
She opens it up and rummages through the mess I shoved in there. “Aha, got one.”
“Why a pen?”
“I’m going to add your name to this gift and to the card.”
“Charlotte, you don’t need to do that.”
“It’s fine. You don’t want to give your mum more ammunition to be upset, do you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, of course. In fact, I was feeling a little weird about giving her a present from myself when she doesn’t even know me.”
“Let me know how much it cost and I’ll repay you.”
“Nope. That’s not why I offered. Now pay attention to the road. One of my biggest fears is getting into a car crash while wearing a dress.”
What?
“Just wearing a dress?”
She finishes sealing the envelope before leaning back, shuddering. “Yes. There’s no telling how they’ll find you. Will your dress be up by your boobs? Will your vajayjay get less protection being in the open like that? I mean, it freaks me out.”
My shoulders shake with silent laughter. “What else freaks you out?”
“A house fire during the night. I’ve never met a fireman and I don’t want my first time to be in my pyjamas,” she admits, and I chuckle under my breath. “What about you? What’s your biggest fear?”
“Mine?” I muse, thinking about it. “I’d have to say being blind.”
“Are you scared of the dark?”
“No, not that, but for social reasons. A majority of the time you can read a person best by just looking at them, and I don’t mean appearance wise. I mean their expression. Not being able to read people like that… it scares the shit out of me.”