“What other plans do you have tomorrow besides dinner with Josh?” she asked me.
I shrugged. “I don’t have any. I just said that to make me not sound so pathetic.”
Joy smiled. “Huh, okay I get it… so first, yes, of course I’ll cover for you. And second, I know just want needs to be done. Trust me, when Josh gets a look at you, he won’t be able to keep his hands off you… and you can kiss that V–card goodbye.”
It was a little after five, and I had hyperventilated like twice today. I’d been trying to figure out how to broach the subject about my past and who I really am to Josh, but I was afraid. I didn’t know how he would react, so by the end of the day I’d decided to just figure out how to keep him around. Then after that, like a few months after, I’d tell him who I really was.
My cell buzzed and when I saw it was Josh, I tried to bring my breathing down.
“Hello,” I said softly.
“Hey, I’m going to be late picking you up for dinner. Is that okay? Are you completely starving?”
“No, it’s fine. Um, what time would you be here?”
“I don’t know… maybe seven thirty or so. I’ve changed our reservations for eight to be on the safe side.”
“Oh okay. Well, I can meet you at the restaurant or something. That way you don’t have to make an extra trip across town to get me.” I held my breath hoping he wouldn’t cancel.
He was quiet for a long time then finally he sighed, “How about you meet me in my apartment.”
Oh Shit…
“Okay,” I replied.
“So that way if I’m a little later than seven thirty, we can still make our reservation.”
Whew…
“Okay, sounds like a plan.”
“And please take a cab over there. As a matter of fact, I can send a car for you, or call Ivan and he‒”
“Josh, it’s fine. I can take a cab,” I told him, rolling my eyes. Really, he had some nerve being bossy and trying to get rid of me at the same time.
Josh told me that he would leave instructions for the bellman in his building to let me in when I arrived. As soon as he hung up, I created a new plan. I lied before, telling him I would be fine about dinner. I was starving. So I decided to make a few stops before I got to his apartment.
I’d been there a few times, so I knew my way around his place and what kind of food he had there too. I called a cab and first stopped at the Whole Food store close to Southside Works, a shopping complex down the street from Finn’s, then called another cab to take me to Josh’s apartment.
Josh’s apartment was beautiful, and the scenery was spectacular. He lived at The Pennsylvanian, which was an historic landmark in the city from the 1900s. Back then it was considered the gateway to the west when traveling by railroad, which was considered the best way to travel. The Pennsylvanian union , as it was called, connected New York to Philadelphia and Chicago. Now the building had been transformed to corporate and residential homes, numbering about two hundred, bringing new life into age–old history.
When you walked inside his apartment, directly to the left of the door was the galley kitchen with a breakfast bar that gave way to the living room/dining room area. There were two fourteen–foot windows that displayed a beautiful view of downtown in the living room. If you took a right by the front door, you’d run into a restroom on the right, down the hall was one bedroom, then the master suite was toward the back of the apartment. There were beautiful oak hardwood floors in the living room hallways and bedrooms and Travertine tile and granite counter tops in the kitchen and bathrooms. The place was cozy and warm, and I really loved spending time here.
The bellman downstairs let me in his apartment with no problems, and I started with my plans instantly. It was hard to work around this dress I had on, but I made do in spite of my limitations.
I brought some fruit and cheese and started cutting them, creating a nice platter to nibble on. I wasn’t sure what kind of cheeses I got, but the counter clerk at the store said they were delicious. I popped one in my mouth and had to agree with her. I sat the platter on his dining room table then went in the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of Merlot he had chilled, probably for me since I’m weird and love my wine cold, popped it open and grabbed two glasses.
I poured me at least two in order to settle my nerves. I popped a few grapes and slices of cantaloupe in my mouth to try and put something on my stomach, so when I threw up from my nerves in a minute I’d have something to release.
I walked to one of my favorite views and stared out into the city lights, hoping and praying this dress and Joy’s plan would work. As I turned from the view, contemplating on getting another glass of wine, Josh walked in the door.
He stared at me for a few minutes, and I did the same to him. Damn, he was walking sex, not that I knew what that meant, but I had a very good idea because just the sheer sight of him made me weak. My mouth went dry, and I swear, my lower lips quivered, and yes, I said they quivered.
Josh, still looking at me, cleared his throat and finally said, “Great, you’re here… Just give me a few minutes to freshen up and change then we can go.”
I smiled and nodded watching and realizing he hadn’t really come into the apartment. He pretty much talked to me from across the room, not a good sign.
He loosened his tie, looked at me up and down then mumbled, “I’ll be back,” and walked back to his room.
Every ounce of strength and confidence left my body in that instance. I looked down at the dress Joy squeezed my boobs, thighs and ass into and sighed. The dress was green, and as she said, it contoured the color of my skin. It did more than that, but I didn’t elaborate. This dress with my true eye color was amazing.
Anyway… The dress was a sleeveless number with the back low, proving that a bra was out of the question. It didn’t matter really because it felt like my babies were going to jump out of the top if I inhaled too deeply.
The body of the dress fit like a glove, and it stopped mid–thigh. The dress bunched up slightly around my hips, allowing me to at least wear a thong and a garter belt and be unnoticeable.
What I loved was my eye makeup. Joy gave me a smoky eye look, bringing the attention straight to my eyes. I deep curled my hair and let it fall all over in different directions. It worked for me, and I had to say, I was looking stunning. I turned heads in the Whole Foods store, both cab drivers kept looking at me through the rear view mirror, even the bellman downstairs eyes stayed on my tits and ass. Hell, I even had one of Josh’s neighbors slip me his card.
But the one man I wanted to impress and get a rise out of was immune to me.
I walked over to the dining room table, picked up the wine bottle and took it to the head. I then grabbed a honeydew melon and brought it up to my lips.
“So much for ‘he won’t be able to keep his hands off you,’” I said, rolling my eyes mocking Joy’s expressions.
I bit into my melon and the juices squirted down my hand. “Shit…”
Yeah, I was starting to cuss… that’s how stressed I was. I looked around and found there was no napkin insight.
“Wonderful.”
There was a juice line running down my wrist, and I brought my wrist to my mouth and licked what was falling.
“My goodness, these are sweet,” I softly mumbled.
I closed my eyes and licked up my fingers then took the melon in between my deep maroon lipstick mouth.
“Fuck,” I heard coming from across the room, and I opened my eyes.
Josh was standing in the hallway from his bedroom with his shirt open, showing his t–shirt. His pants were hanging low on his hips, and he was bare foot.
My breath quickened as I could see the dark desire in his eyes from across the room. He looked at me up and down the same way he did in the door way and just stared at me. Okay, Summer, you can do this. I hyped myself up only to watch Josh leave the room once more.
Fighting back the tears, I went for the heavy stuff he had on his bar, located my soothing juice i.e., tequila, and poured some into my wine glass. This shit was fucked up, excuse my French.
I took a healthy gulp, and I realized I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t seduce this man. Hell, I couldn’t seduce any man… So it was settled, when he came back out I’d just tell him I had to go.
At that moment, after I was about to pour a second glass, someone knocked on his door. I looked at it, then in the direction of his bedroom.
He called out to me. “See who that is. I’ll be out in a minute.”
I didn’t reply, but I rolled my eyes.
Bossy bastard.
I did what I was told and came face to face with one of Josh’s co–workers. To refresh your memory, I met her at Finn’s when she was rude to me, and again the many times I went to see him in his office.
My eyes uncontrollably took in everything this woman has to offer, and I began to really feel self–conscious. Her black hair was pinned up, showing a beauty that was undeniable. It looked like she wore very little makeup, and as my eyes roamed her, I noticed she had a great body to boot. Again, she was in a very form fitting dress that accentuated every curve, every attribute she possessed and then some.
A smile placated her face as she said, “Well, I didn’t expect to still see you here. Where’s Josh?”