With the hanger still on it, she pulls it over her head and lets the dress rest against her body. Walking to her full-length mirror, she looks herself over, then pulls her hair up with her fingers. “This will do.” She pulls the dress off of her neck and hangs it on a dress hook.
Turning towards the bathtub, she turns the shower on and removes her clothes. Glancing over at the mirror, she remembers the man she saw in the reflection and hesitates to take a shower. Memories of the movie Psycho come to mind, the man stabbing the woman through the shower curtain. “Stupid movie,” she mumbles to herself. “I’m not twelve.” She steps into the shower and closes the curtain. Closing her eyes, the water streams down her face and body, and she begins to wash her hair. Every sound causes Lisa to jump. She finishes up, turns off the faucet, opens her curtain, and grabs her towel. Wrapping it around her body, she feels the need to prove to herself that she’s overreacting. Looking over at the mirror, she’s half expecting to see something written in the steam…REDRUM or something. Seeing nothing, she lets out a long breath. Bringing the towel around her hair, she wrings the extra water out, then hangs it up.
After putting on her makeup, she sets her hair in a loose twist, leaving the ends hanging down to her neckline. Pulling on the fitted dress, she zips it up, the hemline touching just to her knees. Walking back into her closet, she pulls out a pair of black wedge heels, black lace across the outer side, accented with a green stone. She examines herself in the mirror.
Shifting a few pieces of hair around, she smiles to herself. Pulling out a necklace she bought especially to go with this dress, she places it around her neck and sets the clasp. The gold chain, with four princess cut emeralds set in a straight line with gold lining on either side, adds a classy touch. Placing diamond studs in her ears, she looks over to her clock and sees that it’s 5:45 PM.
She applies some gloss to her lips, then tucks it safely in her clutch. Making her way into her living room, she hears a knock on her front door. “Early, not bad.” Walking to her door, she looks out the peephole. Alex is wearing a button down white shirt with gray slacks and sports jacket, holding a bouquet of red and yellow tulips. She smiles, opening the door.
Alex’s eyes widen slightly when he sees her. “Wow, you look…wow.” His eyes move down Lisa’s body, then back up. When he reaches her eyes, she has a touch of deja vu, remembering when she did the same thing to him the day they met.
Looking him over, she smiles and steps aside so he could enter. “You look great yourself.” Looking down at the flowers, he hands them over to her, then leans in and brushes his lips across her cheek. “They’re beautiful.”
“No, you’re beautiful.” He looks into her eyes, and her knees feel weak at the intensity of his gaze.
“Let me get these in some water.” Taking the tulips, she breaks eye contact and heads towards the kitchen. Reaching into a cabinet, she pulls out a light pink glass vase.
Turning on the faucet, she fills the vase, unwraps the flowers, and sets them inside. She looks at Alex as he joins her in the kitchen. “You didn’t have any trouble finding the place, did you?” she teases him playfully.
“No, the directions were right on. No problems finding your home at all.” He winks at her and leans against the cabinet bar. She replaced the kitchen countertop last year with a light brown marble finish. The walls are painted in a light tan with modern pictures as accents.
“Can I get you a drink, or shall we go?”
Alex shakes his head. “No, I’m good. Let’s go ahead and head on out. I’ll drive if you like.”
“Okay, let’s go.” Setting the pink vase on the countertop, she starts to walk past Alex. He reaches out and takes her arm gently, then pulls her back to him. Looking up at him, her hands slide up his arms, up to his shoulders. She smiles softly as his fingers move over her cheek. Leaning in, he brushes his lips softly against hers.
After he pulls back, she notes the pained look on his face. “Is everything okay?” Tilting her head slightly, she says, “When you kiss me, it looks like it hurts you.”
He shakes his head. “No, I’m fine. I promise. My lips are just…sensitive.”
Lisa raises her brows. “Really?” She gives him a sly smile. “Out of curiosity, what else is sensitive, just so I’ll know?”
“Umm.” He appears baffled, not expecting this response from her. “Maybe…maybe one day you’ll find out.”
Lisa laughs and takes both of his hands in hers. “Come on, let’s go.” He nods. She notices his sigh of relief as the subject is dropped. She makes a mental note to bring it up again at some point.
Once they’re in the car, he reaches over and takes her hand, intertwining their fingers. She looks down at their hands, then looks over at him. “Alex, I don’t think I’ve ever asked you what type of work you do.”
He looks over at her with raised brows. “You could say that I help people invest in their future.”