Hmm, maybe I can mix up the two. I have a new pale peach lace front dress that I can pair with adorable strappy Jimmy Choo wedges that have a flower at the ankle. The dress is sweet looking, plus it’s dressy enough to go almost anywhere, but still casual enough that I won’t look overdressed anywhere we might go.
I wrap the garter and stockings back in some tissue paper and stuff them into my overnight bag. I’ll put them on when we get to the good parts. I blow out my hair, curl it into easy waves, and pull my bangs back into a pouf with a big crystal barrette.
I’m throwing makeup into my bag when the doorbell rings. I quickly toss the book I’m supposed to be reading for English class in there, along with a cute dress and sandals to wear in case we go to brunch tomorrow.
I hear Ivery and Emery both screech, “I get the door!”
I come out of my room and see them tearing through the living room trying to beat each other to the door. Whenever we’re on an elevator, we have to stop on four different floors just so they can each press a button.
Emery pushes Ivery down and flings open the door. Ivery balls up her little fists and screams, “She pushed me! No fair, Em!”
I pick her up off the ground. “Why don’t you come in my room with me?” Then I whisper in her ear. “I forgot to put on perfume. If you help me, I’ll let you put some on too.”
Her tears stop instantly, and she nods her head. I wave at Cush, then step back into my bedroom.
I hold a few bottles of perfume up to her nose. “Which one do you think I should wear?”
“This one,” she says, grabbing a bottle of Vera Wang Princess for the sole reason that it’s purple, shaped like a heart, and has a golden crown lid. “It’s princess perfume.”
I spray some on my neck, dab the insides of my wrists, then spray it out into the air and walk through it. Then I do the same routine for her.
She gives me one of her neck crushing hugs. I love when they try to hug you so hard you can barely breathe. Hugs like that make me melt.
“I wuv you, Kiki,” she says sweetly. Then she scrunches up her nose, runs back out into the hall, and says to Emery, “Ha. Ha. I smell like a princess, and you don’t!”
I take one more look in the mirror, walk back out, and smile at Cush. He’s standing in the doorway with the girls, who are pulling flowers out of the bouquet he’s holding. It’s adorable.
He also looks very adorable—no, make that sexy—in a deep plum shirt and shiny black slacks that we found in the back of his closet.
“Why don’t you go show Nanny your flowers?” I tell the girls. They tear off toward their playroom.
Cush gives me a what-could-I-do grin and holds out what’s left of a tattered bouquet. “These are supposed to be for you.”
I throw my arms around his neck and press my lips hard against his, crushing what’s left of the poor flowers between us.
“Um,” he says, “you might just get flowers all the time if that’s the kind of response I get.” He leans back and takes in my dress. “You look beautiful.”
I smile and feel a little embarrassed. Probably because he said the word beautiful. That’s a word usually reserved for my mom. “Uh, thank you.”
He hands me the flowers. “Do you want to take them with us or leave them here?”
“The girls would love it if I left them here especially if they can put them in water.”
“More like drown them?” Cush laughs. I love when he laughs because I get to see those dimples.
He nods yes, so I yell for the girls.
We have a late dinner at a great restaurant overlooking the ocean, and then he drives to one of the most gorgeous hotels in Beverly Hills. The hotel I dreamed I’d lose my virginity in on prom night. Brooklyn would tell me that it’s stupid. That it doesn’t have to be expensive to be special. I think back to the night when he told me to take off my shirt. How I didn’t ever want to leave his room. How just having him kiss me felt special.
But then.
He ditched me. Hooked up with other girls. Got mad at me. Hasn’t spoken to me since.
I shake my head to rid it of Brooklyn and focus on Cush. I know things have moved kind of fast, but we’ve been friends for so long. He’s so handsome, and I’ve always known he has a sweet side. I was just blind, I guess. Blind to the fact that he was crushing on me. Just like Brooklyn was probably blind to the fact that I always crushed on him.
Obviously, I’m done caring what Brooklyn thinks, but there’s part of me that wishes I knew if it was really just a hookup. Maybe I was blinded by love and wasn’t thinking with a level head, but it just didn’t feel like a hookup. The way he kissed me in front of his friends on the beach. I just don’t understand.
And even though I’m not in love with Cush yet, at least I know where I stand with him. I just need a little time to get over Brooklyn. I need to forget about him and let myself fall head over heels in love with Cush.
“So what do think?” he says, nodding toward the hotel as a valet opens my door.
“It’s perfect. The exact place I dreamed of.”