Plight(25)

"I didn't." He almost sounded convinced.

"Yeah, you did." 

"Are you sure?"

"Very."

Elliot was silent for a minute, and I think I even heard him whisper, 'shit'.

"Sorry. Look, Dudley will be fine at my place. I promise."

"I dunno, Lots," I whined.

"Danielle, please! Please don't bail on me. I've never wanted to take anybody anywhere, and for some strange reason, I've been really looking forward to taking you to this."

Anybody anywhere? My cheeks warmed with embarrassment. Damn it. This isn't going how I planned.

Guilt over trying to ditch him swirled in my stomach. "Fine."

"Fine?" he asked, his tone hopeful. Relieved.

"Yes. Fine," I groaned. "We'll see you at 5:30 p.m."





When Dudley and I pulled up to Elliot's building, I had to duck in order to see the top of it through my windscreen. My guess was that it was roughly thirty storeys high, given that Elliot was on the twenty-fifth floor. So I knew it was at least that high.

Scanning the street front of the building for the ramp to the underground car park, I made out the keypad post and headed that way, stopping and punching in the code Elliot had given me. The steel gate lifted, slowly, before I continued to basement number two and parked in a spot marked 'Guest.'

It was all very ritzy and lavish, something I wasn't used to, which made me both nervous and excited.

"Lots wasn't lying when he said he had lots of money," I said to Dudley, as I unhooked his harness from the seatbelt.

He launched himself onto the ground, narrowly missing my evening dress, the only one I've ever owned. The reason I owned it was because Chris took me as his plus-one to the Brownlow Medal count one year; easily one of the worst nights of my life. I'd been the barnacle-covered starfish in a sea of stunning legs belonging to women who looked as if they belonged on Victoria's Secret runway. A constant hush of jealous, competitive, snide remarks had blown over the ceremony like a whipping breeze. Oh, and it had also been the night Chris and I fucked.

I blamed it on the dress.

Oh NO!

"Dudley! Why did I wear this dress?" I screeched, digging my heels into the ground, which inevitably halted his eager steps toward the nearest concrete pylon.

I looked down the length of my body and froze, Lilac satin and chiffon swishing across the tops of my feet as I jerked the leash. It was a boobie dress. Gorgeous. But definitely a boobie dress, the lace décolletage dipping past my breasts. Heck, if I leaned forward any further, I could practically turn it into a vagina dress. Stupid, stupid idiot.

Frantically adjusting the wide-open space that displayed my puppies like Xmas tree baubles, I contemplated heading back to my car and locking the doors when Dudley dashed for the pylon he so desperately wanted to pee on.

"Shit, Dudley!" I stumbled in my sparkly silver heels I'd bought on sale at Myer and let him cock his leg and mark his territory. It was better here than inside.

You can do this, Danielle. This dress is not cursed. Just because it led to Chris-fuckery doesn't mean it will do the same with Elliot. You're wearing Spanx AND knickers. You can keep them on. If they stay on, no fuckery will happen, okay?

"Right. Spanx and knickers are staying on. They are not coming off. Ever," I rambled, as I marched toward the elevator.

They'd come off at some stage, of course, just not in the presence of Elliot. We were friends, once best friends, and I missed that. I'd felt safe, happy and secure with him. I'd had someone I could rely on, share with, and never be afraid of losing because of sex or love. And that was a special thing. Sharing a bond with another without the threat of sexual hurdles was the best thing I'd ever experienced, except I'd lost it. I'd lost him. And all because he moved and I didn't try hard enough to get him back. All because a green-eyed monster had clouded my vision, and by the time I was able to see through the verdant fog, it had been too late.



       
         
       
        

Blinking the tears that had formed in my eyes, the painful reminder of just how much I missed Elliot was a shock to my system, a tightening strain within my chest.

"Oh my God," I breathed out, staring wide-eyed at my reflection in the mirrored panelling of the elevator cart. "I've missed him so much. I miss him so much."

My heart began pounding ferociously, knocking on my ribcage like a madman trying to break down a door. Eyeliner and mascara had smudged under my damp eyes, far exceeding what could be passed off as a smoky eye look, so I wiped it and sucked in a deep breath, which was when it hit me.