I rolled out of bed the morning of the fundraiser with a lot on my mind. Memories of Nicole swirling my mind, memories of Emma, fantasies of Emma, but the fantasies would have to wait, I have a fundraiser tonight to prepare for. In the office, I got a call from Isabella. *Ring Ring Ring* “Hello?” “Matthew it looks so amazing here I am so excited I can’t believe we put this together so fast everything is so beautiful I can’t wait for you to see it you’re going to be so proud!” She didn’t take a single breath as she spoke because she was going too fast. I chuckled at her, “Iz, breathe, okay? I’ll be there soon, I’m just finishing up some stuff in the office and then I’ll stop by to help out.” “You know, you really don’t need to. I mean we have tons of people here setting up everything, even I’m a little bit bored, honestly, I’m just thrilled to see it all come together,” I could tell she was smiling as she spoke, “So, you should take you

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

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

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

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