“Yes, but explain something to me?”
“Anything,” he replied immediately, and she noticed the hope in his open expression and had to smile.
“If you weren’t turned off by the immodesty of my dress, because I’ll admit it was pretty low-cut and snug around certain…key areas, then why did you pull back from me, as if you didn’t want anyone to think you enjoyed being close to me?” The hollowness she’d felt at his withdrawal echoed in her memory. “You’ve never been the type to do that…at least as far as I can recall.”
Samson chuckled and leaned down to whisper, “I am when I have an erection I don’t want to frighten you with. I wasn’t turned off by you, chiquita. I was turned on. Really turned on.” She blinked up at him, and he grinned and then arched an eyebrow at her. “What would you have done if you’d known? I could barely talk you onto the dance floor. I didn’t want to ruin everything with my show of horniness, but I managed to ruin everything anyway with my opinions. Untended horniness makes me cranky.”
His tender smile made her see the humor in the situation, and she chuckled as she drew him close and hugged him. “Wow, did I ever get my signals crossed.” She wanted to kick herself for becoming so depressed over a misinterpretation of his reactions.
“You’re very sexy, Cassandra. Although, I will say, in the nicest way possible, that your attire tonight is the exact opposite, which makes me feel even worse. This isn’t what you originally intended to wear tonight, is it?”
With a shake of her head, she said, “Too matronly?” She’d asked in the spirit of fun, but there was still a kernel of fear that she’d gotten it wrong again when she’d selected the black maxi-dress with three quarter sleeves and a modest V-neckline, with a lightweight shrug worn over it.
“No. You look very pretty. I feel guilty if I’m the reason you went to the other extreme. Your shoes are sexy as hell, though. When we were dating, did I ever tell you how much I loved your legs?”
Heat flooded her cheeks, and she gaped for a second. “I-I don’t remember. That was thirty years ago. My legs aren’t exactly those of an eighteen-year-old anymore.” She burst into giggles and then finally said, “You’re just speaking your mind tonight, aren’t you?”
“Clearing the air.”
“Good. Well, then, in all fairness I could tell you that, while the dress may be demure, what’s beneath it definitely isn’t…once you get past the Spanx.”
He didn’t seem surprised by the hint or put off by her admission to needing support garments. “It’s not true unless I see for myself.”
She pressed her lips flat, not sure what to say and succumbed to another fit of giggles. He smiled, looking rather pleased with himself, and they spent a few minutes catching their breaths and gathering their thoughts. “I could never stay mad at you for very long, Samson.”
“I’m relieved to hear it. Why do women torture themselves into those Spanx garments?” he asked. There was a sparkle in his eyes, as if he wanted to say more, but on the subject of torture or Spanx, she wasn’t quite sure.
“Well, since we’re shooting for complete transparency here, it’s because I need to flatten my dimples. Otherwise they’re visible. Yuck.”
He arched a dark eyebrow at her. “Are you calling my taste in beauty into question?”
Cassandra patted his lapel and smiled, determined to set the moron straight. “There’s fantasy and reality. The fantasy part is the lingerie I have on and how it would look on me under low lighting. Annnnd then there’s the harsh light of day that would make my ass look like a bag of puppies wrestling each other. I deal with the reality so you can have the fantasy.”
Samson had the audacity to roll his eyes before grinning down at her. “You’re trying to get away with insulting your body by giving me fantasy lingerie images and then talking about puppies wrestling. It’s all kind of adorable in my mind.”
“Again with the fantasy as opposed to reality. I wear them to make myself more comfortable in my clothes. How about that?”
He muttered something unintelligible but shook his head and smiled when she asked him to repeat himself. “Want to get a drink and take a breather? I have a surprise for you.”
Once back at the table, she discovered the surprise. Ivan was there as well, sitting at their table with the rest of her friends. He’d changed over the years, like they all had, but the sweetness in his eyes was exactly the same and so was the warmth in his open smile as he stood and held his arms wide.