Kay was helping me zip up the dress as I looked at myself in the mirror, almost not recognizing myself.
My hair had been braided and twirled up into a low bun with two loose, curled strands of hair to drape on either side of my face, my lips were left alone and only a gloss was put on, Isabella had done my eye shadow for me in shimmery gold and topped with cat-eye eyeliner.
My eyebrows were filled in gently, and I told Isabella to skip any blush because I was sure I would turn bright red whenever I saw Matthew or anyone from the office for that matter.
Kay had put a cherry red lipstick on that brought out more of the red in her hair and kept the natural curls she had, she went with a simple eyeliner and mascara look, wanting to focus mainly on her lips. The green dress hugged her perfectly, she was definitely red carpet ready.
There was a knock at the door as Kay and I were admiring ourselves in the mirror, Kay went to open it.
“The car is re
It was as if she had walked straight out of my dream - her hair, the dress, her little clutch, the way the wind picked up the loose strands of hair, her eyes looked like pools of honey as the camera flashed, even her skin was shimmering like a dream. A part of me was nervous that the second she touched me she would turn into dust like in my dream, and that I would wake up alone in my bed again, but she didn’t, and her palm felt warm and real as she placed it on my arm. I knew she was beautiful, but I should have known that she had modeled in her teens, she surprised me by knowing exactly how to pose in the dress. I figured either she’s practiced in her mirror or she has more experience in the industry than she originally let on. I couldn’t stop my smile, I was smiling like a fool and I didn’t even care, I couldn’t be happier at this moment – she’s here, she’s beautiful, she’s smiling at me and we are talking like nothing ever happened. Maybe things could work
Kay and I were walking around the venue before it became too crowded and were admiring the models when Isabella showed up and joined us with a smile. She exhaled as she stood next to Kay and said, “Well, that was interesting.” “Why does David keep getting invited if he’s obviously not wanted here?” “Oh, Matthew wants him here,” she chuckled, “no, it’s only me who despises the man, other than that, it’s just a regular manly rivalry between them,” she used a hand motion to dismiss it and took another sip of her martini. “Sure, but you’re his best friend, don’t you think he would make an exception for you? I mean he’s only one person.” “He’s valuable to the fashion community, people follow him. If David comes, more people show up, it’s just business,” she shrugged and looked away and towards the stage. Kay looked at me and we both frowned, feeling slightly sorry for her. “Are you okay?” Kay asked her. Isabella smiled, “Of course, I’ll be
I hurried back to where Kay was with their mutual friend Emmanuel that I contacted a couple of days ago, Kay caught my eye first and I wasted no time, “Emma is backstage and asking for you. And vodka, she wants a shot of vodka.” Kay looked at me confused, “Why is she backstage?” “Don’t ask, just go, she’s waiting for you,” I grinned. Kay looked at Emmanuel and shared a look with him before getting up and grabbing a shot glass from a server, making her way to where Emma was. The man named Emmanuel was looking at me and stood up, so I extended my hand to him, “We haven’t properly met, I’m Matthew Greene,” I smiled. “Emmanuel Perry,” he introduced himself, “Thank you for the gig, Mr. Greene, I really appreciate it.” “Don’t mention it,” I said to him before a woman touched my shoulder to get my attention. I turned back to Emmanuel and politely said, “Excuse me,” before beginning a conversation with the other person, walking a small distanc
My heart was still pounding when I got off the runway and descended the steps with the rest of the models. Once on the floor, I took a moment to breathe deeply and try to steady myself, I hope I did well, I hope I didn’t disappoint Matthew and make a complete fool of myself.I walked the same way that I entered and peeked out, seeing Kay and Emmanuel nearby, I decided to come out and say hi. Kay was bouncing with excitement and Emmanuel had a huge grin on his face, I’m not sure if he even knew about my modeling past or not.“Emma, you did so well!” Kay praised as she went in to hug me.I giggled with glee and looked over her shoulder to Emmanuel, he remained silent but joined in the hug, surrounding Kay with his entire body, we all laughed together.Once we all pulled away, Emmanuel asked me, “Is there anything that you don’t do?”I frowned for a second, “Fly?” We all laughed again together and
It was the weirdest thing I had ever done – making her drink through my lips, and I have no idea where it came from, but like I had explained to her, just like the kiss in my office, it just happened and it felt so natural.“You need to stop doing this, Matthew,” she whispered, I was still close to her against the wall and she had her face away from me to keep me from doing it again.“Doing what?”“Doing things just because you want to,” she shook her head and I could see the tension on her face from her profile, “you keep trapping me in places so that I have to answer you or… do what you want,” her voice was breaking and I thought she was about to cry, so I took a step back.Emma looked back at me then, her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes glassy, “I told you during my interview that I won’t put up with sexual harassment.”My lips tightened and I took a moment before aski
Once Matthew had left the room, I stood up and looked around for anything to change into so that I didn’t risk Isabella throwing up on the dress that I wore. I was lucky and found a couple of robes in the bathroom on a small hanger against the wall.I unzipped the dress and guided myself out of it, not letting it hit the floor at all and sliding on the robe before leaving the bathroom to get a hanger for the dress from the closet.Once on the hanger, I placed the dress inside the closet and noticed the few small wrinkles on the back of the dress where Matthew had gripped onto as we were kissing. I still can’t believe I did that, I took charge and did what I wanted for once, all thoughts of what’s right and wrong flown out the window, but it felt so right when I did it.Isabella was sound asleep now and I was able to tiptoe my way around the room without disturbing her. The carpet was clean and soft against my aching feet, it was almost glorious
The fundraiser was winding down and I left the party planner in charge of handling the take-down of everything and said thank you and goodbye to as many people as possible.I didn’t see David or Amy the rest of the night, but I did catch a glance of the teenager Tristan who I paid to keep an eye on David and to make sure he wasn’t given any drinks of color that could stain Emma’s gown, should he be in a vindictive place.Tristan’s mom came and bid me goodbye, “I’m afraid it’s a school night, so I got to get this guy home,” she put her hand on her son's shoulder, “but we’ve had an amazing night, Matthew, thank you.”“You’re very welcome, thank you so much for coming, and it was nice to meet you, Tristan,” I smiled at the young boy who grinned back.“You too, Mr. Greene. Looking forward to next year's fundraiser,” he responded and we all chuckled.Once eve
The things that Isabella said as she thought she was speaking to only Kay were shocking, saying that Matthew loves me unlike any woman before but he is too stubborn to admit it to himself. Matthew refused to keep listening to her as soon as she mentioned the name Nicole and had me take over for holding her hair back for him and he left the room quickly without another word. I stayed to listen to Isabella some more. “Isabella, who is Nicole?” I asked quietly so that Matthew wouldn’t hear. “She’s the reason he is who he is, the one who broke his heart in the first place, the one who made him believe all women are worthless whores.” “What happened?” “She cheated on him, like how David cheated on me. I think that’s why we’re friends - because we share that pain. Have you ever been cheated on, Emma?” “No,” any man who knows me that there would be hell to pay if he tried something like that. Anyone who dates me at all should know that I take