I shake my head. “No, he actually picked it out himself.”
She stops me in my tracks and looks me dead in the eye. “So – he's gay?”
I slap her in the arm. “Believe me, he's definitely not gay,” I say. “Actually, I'm probably going to need a day or two to fully recover from how not gay he is.”
Gabby squeals with delight and jumps up and down, clapping her hands. “You did it,” she beams, pulling me into a tight embrace. “I'm so proud of you!”
I laugh and dance around for a minute with her, reveling in the moment. Feeling really happy. She pulls me over to the bed and sits me down on it, taking a seat on the bed across from mine. I grin and shake my head. All of the sudden, going from a two-bedroom suite, to a room with two queen-size beds seems like such a huge downgrade.
“So?” she asks. “Dish. Tell me everything.”
I shrug, not even knowing where to start. So much has happened in such a short period of time that I'm honestly still trying to process it all.
“Okay, well, Brayden’s obviously gorgeous,” she starts. “Filthy rich. I saw the Rolex he was sporting. He's got great fashion sense. And apparently, he fucks like a blue-ribbon champion. Those are only the basics though, so fill me in on the rest.”
I laugh, letting my mind drift back to everything that had happened. It's still such a whirlwind in my mind and I'm having trouble not only sorting through it all but believing that it really happened. It feels almost like a fairy tale. But with more sex.
So, I start at the beginning – meaning, the moment she left me alone at the club with him. I tell her everything, giving her all the juicy details – mainly because she was pressing for them. But, I tell her everything and when I'm finished with my story, she's grinning like a maniac.
“That is amazing,” she says. “Literally amazing. Unbelievable.”
“Yeah, tell me about it,” I say. “I'm still wondering if he drugged me and it was all just a hallucination.”
She reaches out and touches the dress. “That feels pretty real to me,” she says. “Seriously, this man sounds perfect. Absolutely perfect. Does he happen to have a brother?”
I cock my head and think for a moment. “You know, actually I don't know,” I say. “He was so busy pressing me for answers that he managed to avoid giving up any information about himself.”
“Sneaky bastard,” Gabby says.
“He's good,” I say and laugh. “Damn good.”
“Apparently,” she says. “So, are you going to see him again?”
“Honestly, I don't know.”
She looks at me, aghast. “You're kidding, right?”
“No, I'm really not.”
“Look, you either get with him again, or I will,” she says, giving me a devious smirk. “That one seems too good to be true.”
I let out a long breath. “Yeah, that's kind of what bothers me.”
She moves over to my bed and sits next to me, taking my hand in hers. I look up at her as she gives my hand a gentle squeeze.
“Talk to me,” she says. “What's going on in that brain of yours?”
“A lot,” I admit. “Too much.”
“That's always been your problem, honey,” she says softly. “You tend to overthink things. You always have.”
I flop backward, laying on my back and stare up at the ceiling. She's not wrong, I've always overthought things. That's not news. In this case, however, I think a step back, along with some careful consideration, is warranted.
“It's complicated, Gabs.”
“Well, let's uncomplicate it,” she says. “Talk to me.”
I sit back up again and look down at the dress, running my fingers over the soft, smooth fabric, a small smile forming at the corners of my mouth. I look over at her and Gabby is urging me with her eyes to speak, to confide to her.
Looking down at my hands, I try to get my thoughts in order. “I just feel like I'm getting too attached way too quickly,” I say. “I mean, this connection we shared – it's unlike anything I've ever felt before.”
“Honey, I could see that already,” she says. “The way you came bouncing in through the door, twirling around in that dress, all with that damn smile on your face – in all the years I've known you, I've never seen you look like that.”
“I don't recall ever feeling like this before, to be honest.”
“You look so happy,” she says. “Lighter of heart. Like somebody lifted a thousand-pound weight off your shoulders.”
I cock my head and think about what she is saying. She's right. I do feel lighter. A little freer, maybe. Something about being with Brayden seems to have unlocked something inside of me. I don't know what exactly that is yet, or what it means, but there is definitely something changing within me.
“It's been one day, and I can already see a positive difference in you, honey,” Gabby says. “How can that be a bad thing?”
“Because I don't know how he feels,” I say. “For all I know, this could all be in my head.”
She laughs and shakes her head. “Given everything you told me, I don't think it's just you,” she says. “I mean, he bought you a dress. A gorgeous one at that.”
I shrug. “Maybe he just likes picking out clothes and playing dress up.”
“Right,” she scoffs. “I'm sure that's it.”
“Could be,” I say. “Some guys really get off on dictating what a woman wears, what she eats, what she –”
“Did he order your food last night?” she asks. “At the restaurant? Did he tell you what to eat?”
I shake my head slowly. “Well, no, but –”
“And didn't you tell me that before that, while you two were still at the club, that he offered to bring you back to the hotel?” she pressed. “Or offered to call you a car if you weren't cool with that?”
“Well, yeah, but –”
“Yeah, the whole control thing doesn't quite fit then,” she says. “I can definitely see some alpha tendencies in him, I won't deny that. But when it comes to you, it looks like he might have a soft spot.”
As I look at the dress again, another idea strikes me. “It also could be that the dress and heels were just a parting gift,” I say. “Maybe a ‘Thanks for the screw, now leave,’ kind of deal. I mean, he didn't ask to see me again or anything. We didn't even exchange phone numbers.”
Gabby cocks her head and ponders something. She's just about to open her mouth to speak when there's a knock at the door.
“Hold that thought,” she says, jumping up.
I watch as Gabby sprints to the door and puts her eye to the peephole. Great, one of her Tinder boyfriends must be coming by. I wish she would have told me because I would have made plans to be elsewhere.
“Wow,” she says. “You're not going to believe this.”
“Believe what?”
Gabby opens the door wide and steps to the side. One of the hotel's bellboys pushes a cart into the room and my eyes grow wide. There are about a dozen different boxes from the Bellagio sitting on it. Maybe more. And on top of the boxes, is a vase filled with a dozen white roses.
“Well, given that I don't know anybody staying at the Bellagio,” she says, “I'm going to assume that these are for you.”
The bellboy smiles and turns to go.
“Oh, wait,” I say and reach for my purse, so I can tip him.
He holds his hand up, stopping me. “No worries, ma'am,” he says. “It's already been taken care of. Really nicely, I might add. So, thanks for that.”
I sit back for a moment, stunned. The bellboy leaves and Gabby grabs the vase of flowers. She sets them on the desk and pulls out the card, as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. She pulls the card out of the envelope and I watch her eyes grow wide and I swear, I can see her heart melt right then and there.
“Okay, seriously,” she says. “You really need to find out if he has a brother. I'm totally not joking anymore.”
She hands me the card and I read the words Brayden had written down.
You looked so beautiful in that dress, I decided that you needed more. I can't stop thinking about you. Dinner. Tonight. Lobby. Six o'clock sharp. Wear any one of these dresses, I know you'll look great in them all. See you tonight. B.