Prescott, Tatum, Yates, Connery, and Spencer
“I still can’t believe Tatum is taking me,” Daphne says. “It was really sweet of him.”
I smile, having asked Tatum myself if he might take Daphne to the ball. There is no chemistry between the two, and they are hardly friends, but I knew it would mean a lot for her. Tatum agreed with a smile, telling me he wasn’t seeing anyone and would be happy to take her.
The fact that he followed through - and is now doing this for us girls, with the Princeton Elite - tells me everything anyone needs to know about Tatum.
“This was so sweet,” Jill says. “I mean Connery is seriously winning points tonight.”
“You two keeping score?” Georgia asks.
Jill laughs. “I don’t know what we are, but every time we hang out, I laugh until I cry.”
“Has he kissed you?” Georgie presses and I realize she is very invested in this situation. She is with Yates, and Connery and he are two peas in a pod.
“Not yet,” Jill says. “But if he doesn’t make a move tonight I’ll make one for him.”
We all crack, and that is the Jill I know and love.
“All of this arrived this morning,” Ava explains. “I was planning on wearing that Vera dress from last year’s fashion week. Remember, the blue lace?” she asks Daphne who nods, hanging onto every word. “Anyway, then this all came right after I got out of the shower and I mean, look, it’s all this year’s pieces. The boys must have paid a fortune.”
“And we’re here to help,” one of the hairdressers says as they come over to us and introduce themselves. “My name is Gizel and we will help make all your dreams come true,” the stunning woman says with a smile. If she’s doing my makeup tonight, I trust her implicitly. Her skin is glowing, and her hair is shiny. She looks like magic. “Now, who is ready to try on some dresses?”
Our mimosas are topped off and we begin looking through the racks, holding up options, asking one another for opinions. My mother would have loved hearing about this. I remember how one of the last things we did together was put together my New Year’s Eve dress. We changed the hemline and took it in a bit. It was so sweet, her excitement for me to go with Spencer on a whirlwind date in Manhattan.
Tears prick my eyes thinking of how many things I wish I could share with her now. She would have never left my side when I was in the hospital after the accident. She would have sent me boxes of her famous peanut butter cookies congratulating me for taking down the blogger who turned out to be Winslow. She would have called, listened to me cry over the phone as I told her about Decan’s sister, about Ethan’s part in that loss.
“You okay?” Ava asks, resting a hand on my arm.
I blink back tears. “It’s been a big year,” I tell her. “But I’m really glad that you’ve been a part of it, Ava.” I pull her into a hug. I’m not really a touchy-feely person, but she feels like family. Like the sister I never had. And I hold her now, feeling so damn grateful to have her in my life.
“Sweetie, me too.” Ava pulls back, wiping her own eyes. “Remember when you found me in the grass? Drunk and such a mess? You saved my life.”
“Spencer was so mad,” I say, remembering that night. “I had no idea that your brother would be walking into the hospital and that months later we’d be in love.”
“You guys are so sweet it makes my teeth hurt,” she laughs. “Now tell, what dress did you choose?”
I twist my lips, looking around. Then I see it. The only one that I’d consider. Walking toward it, Ava is beside herself. Truthfully, so am I,
“I think he chose it for me himself, don’t you?” I ask, taking in the blue gown with the full skirt.
Ava looks at the inside. “Yeah, it was handmade, not a label in sight. Oh look, there is a tag.”
I pull out the card that is pinned to the inside. It reads, For my Cinderella. Love, your Princeton Charming.
“Oh my gosh, this dress was definitely made for you, Charlotte Hayes.”
I hold it up to myself. It will fit like a glove.
* * *
By the time we are dressed and ready to go it’s just after seven. Daphne chose a bright pink structured gown by Zac Posen. Ava went for an edgier, strapless Badgley Mischka in nude, covered with oversized rhinestones. Georgie, ever the classic beauty, opted for a plunging red Burberry dress. And Jill went for a vintage black Dior that hugs her curves so perfectly it even gets me a little hot and bothered. If that doesn’t get Connery to make a move, I don’t know what will.
Harriet has set out a spread of appetizers, but we are all too nervous to eat. Except Daphne. She’s suddenly got a crazy appetite.
“Slow down, chicka,” I say catching the cracker and brie as it almost lands on her exquisite dress. She’s eating so fast she dropped her food. “What’s up?”
“I just have a lot on my mind, Charlie. A lot.” Daphne is always dramatic and I’m assuming going with Tatum has her spun up.
“Like what?”
“I can’t really talk to you about it. I mean, not now.”
“Okay, later then?”
She nods, picking up a bacon covered date. “Later.”
I squeeze her arm, then go back to Ava’s bedroom to grab my handbag. Gizel, the elegant woman who did my makeup is putting her things away.
“Did you need a touch-up?” she asks.
I look at myself in the mirror. The dress Spencer had made for me is so dreamy, with layers upon layers of gossamer fabric, tiny crystals sewn into the bodice. It’s off the shoulder with delicate tulle.
“What do you think?”
Gizel assesses me. “Well you didn’t put on any jewelry,” she comments.
“I thought the crystals on the dress were enough.”
Gizel shakes her head, laughing. “No such thing as too much. Here, I know what you need.”
She pulls out a tiara from one of the cases.
“I think it might be over the top,” I say.
But she isn’t having any of it. “Just try, Princess.”
She places it on my head, and when she does, I have to admit, it finishes the look. I’m not usually the kind of girl who gets all fluttery over pretty things, but right now, I feel so beautiful.
Jill, Ava, Daphne, and Georgie come in the room, grabbing their bags, announcing that the guys are here.
They pause when they see me.
“Oh Charlie, it’s perfect,” Georgie says, her voice hushed and so sincere it makes my heart ache in a good way.
“You sure? Spencer won’t think I went overboard?”
Ava laughs. “He’s the one who bought you the dress.”
“And after the year you’ve had, sweetie,” Jill says. “You get anything you want.”
“Your dates have arrived, ladies,” Harriet says.
Everyone giggles with excitement and it’s like we’re all headed to our senior prom all over again.
I give Gizel a hug before I leave. “Thanks for being my Fairy Godmother tonight.”
15
Spencer
When Charlie and I walk into the ballroom, everyone turns. I know why. She looks so beautiful tonight. She always does - but this is different. This is magic. We didn’t arrive in a carriage, but damn, this woman is my fucking fairy tale.
“Everyone is staring,” she murmurs, holding onto my arm.
“Let them.” I chuckle. “It’s good for everyone to know you’re mine.”
“I am.” Her smile is bright with the truth of it.
The Princeton ballroom has been turned into a glittering, magical place. There are a thousand twinkling lights hung from the ceilings, live trees and flowers have been brought in, making it an indoor garden. There’s a band on stage and servers walk around with trays of champagne.
“Want one?” Charlie asks, taking a flute of bubbly.
“Yeah, so long as you don’t toss it in my face,” I tease.
The ball is for the senior class. I came two years ago, but it was nothing
like this. Mostly because Charlie wasn’t my date. With her by my side, everything is better. Even the fall-out with my parents seems inconsequential knowing I have her.
“I sent my dad some photos of us,” she says as we walk through the room with our champagne, taking a moment to talk alone.
“I bet he loved seeing you all dressed up.”
She nods. “I miss him. But he’ll be here in a few months for graduation.”
“We should have him come with us to Nantucket for a week or two.”
Charlie squeezes my arm, looking up at me and I know I made the right suggestion. “Really?”
“Of course, he deserves a vacation more than any man I know.” And he does. After the year he’s had, losing his business and much more importantly, his wife, Daniel deserves all the blessings in the world. “Do you think he’d ever consider moving to the East Coast?”
“I don’t know,” she says. “He’s living with family now, working at his brother’s shop. I’m not sure what he wants.”
“Ask him.”
She smiles, kissing my cheek. “I will.”
“Now,” I say, depositing our glasses on a passing tray. “Can I have the next dance?”
She presses a hand to her heart. “I was wondering when you’d ask.”
The music slows the moment we reach the dance floor, and I pull her to me, a hand on her waist, holding onto the woman I love.
She looks longingly into my eyes as we move around the dance floor. It feels like we are the only two people in the world, even though there are hundreds of people around us. When she is in my arms, everything else fades away.
I kiss her as the song ends, holding onto her, her lips pressed against mine. I feel her heat, her longing, her love.
We pull back from the kiss, and I ask, “What was it you said about me wearing a tux?”
She lifts her eyebrows. “You sure you can handle it?”
“You doubt me?”
She shakes her head. “Not for a second.” Then she takes my hand.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
At the coat check, she asks for Tanya. I frown, not knowing her. “Hey,” Charlie says. “The key?”
Tanya smiles. “Right.” She produces a keyring from her pocket. “Have fun.”
“What was that?” I ask, following Charlie down the hall, her beautiful blue dress swishing as she walks.
“You’re not the only one with connections, you know. Yours just happen to be in high places, mine in low ones.” She stops at a door labeled Storage. “I’ve been working on campus since freshman year, I’ve scouted out the good places to have a quickie.”
I laugh. “And the storage closet is one of them?”
She pushes open the door and drags me in. “Yes, Spencer Beckett, it is.” Her fingers spin the lock, and she pulls me to her. “Fuck me against the door, Prince Charming.”
My eyes widen and my cock grows stiff at her words. “Filthy Princess,” I say, a hand on her waist, my other on her face, tilting her chin up so she can look me in the eyes. More than ready to ravish her. “I think I need to clean you up.”
“I don’t want to be clean,” she teases, her hand on my belt, undoing it and tugging my cock free. “I want to be dirty.”
I pull up the skirt of her dress and raise a brow. “No panties?”
She shakes her head, grinning. “I had plans for this.”
“Good girl.” I cup her ass, my fingers finding her slit, she’s wet and ready, but I’m going to make my lover beg. I lift her leg, her back against the door, and I finger her gently. Teasing her clit with tight circles, showing her how capable I am of making all her dreams come true.
“Play nice,” she whimpers as I press a finger in and out, her pussy both excited and desperate.
“I’ll tell you when to come, understood?”
She nods as I move my hand faster, faster, taking her so close to the edge I know she’s ready to scream, to cry out my name. Good.
I pull back my hand, draw my finger to my mouth, and suck her creamy release off my finger. “Fuck, you taste good.”
She’s whimpering against the door, her hand moving toward her pussy. “I can’t wait,” she tells me. “I need to come.”
I lift my girl up, layers of organza and lace between us, and I set her down on my cock. “There you go, right where you belong.”
She closes her eyes as I take her, as I fill her tight little pussy up the way we both need.
“This is where you can come. On my cock, you understand?”
She opens her eyes, wrapping her hands around my neck. “I like it when you talk dirty too,” she pants as I thrust inside her needy warmth.
“And I like it when I get you off.”
“Oh Spencer,” she cries, so close to the edge. “Spencer, I love you, I love you, so much,” she whispers, her breath ragged and her need so damn clear. Need for me. For us.
“God, I love you too,” I say, thrusting again as my raging cock brings her where she is so damn desperate to go.
She comes, her walls tightening as my throbbing length fills her up with hot come. She clings to me as I kiss her. Inhaling her, holding on to the woman I love and refusing to let go. Ever. God, I need her now and forever.
“Spencer,” she gasps, our foreheads touching as we finish. As our bodies hum with life and passion and need for one another.
I hold her against me, not wanting to let go. Our eyes lock and I know this story won’t end at midnight. Charlie is going to be mine, for as long as we both shall live.
16
Charlie
Leaving the storage room and reentering the ballroom, Spencer and I are in a cocoon of love and lust and so much passion I don’t trust myself not to have my way with him right here on the dance floor.
“You okay?” he asks, our fingers laced together.
“I’m about thirty minutes from leaving this party and having round two back at our place.”
Spencer grins, kissing me again. I know he’s still hard for me, and God, my pussy is so wet for him.
“I need to go outside and get some air,” he says chuckling.
“I bet you do,” I say laughing, trying not to look at his groin. “I’ll go find the girls.”
He kisses me on the cheek, telling me he’ll be back soon and I go off, looking for the ladies I came here with.
I find Daphne as she is leaving the bar and I wave her down. She’s clearly stumbling in her heels and when she says hello, her words slur.
“You might want to slow down on those.” I frown at Daphne who is double fisting two glasses of champagne.
She was already acting off earlier today, and the alcohol isn’t making things any better.
“I’m fine,” she mumbles, draining one glass and handing it to a man who walks by with his date, clearly mistaking him for a server.
Across the room Spencer glances away from the conversation he’s having with Prescott and Yates and smiles at me, making me forget for a moment why I came over here - to rescue Daphne from herself.
When she sways, I take her elbow and lead her into another room, finding her a bench to sit down on.
“Just take a break, okay?” I try to take the glass of champagne from her, but she drinks it before I can.
“I’m having fun...I’m allowed to have fun.” Tears well in her eyes and her gaze goes distant, her words so slurred I wonder if she even knows what she’s saying. “I thought I’d feel better...”
I sigh. “You’ll feel better once you sleep this off. Let me call you an Uber.”
“No.” She lies down on the bench and pulls her gown around her like a blanket. “I just need a small rest.”
People walk by and I hear the whispers and giggles.
“What’s going on?” Jill says, coming up beside me and frowning at Daphne.
“Charlotte's being a party pooper,” Daphne mutters. “Oh God, I shouldn’t have eaten those hor d'oeuvres.”
Ji
ll helps her sit up. “Maybe we should take you to the restroom.”
Daphne shakes her head. “I just...need another drink...need to stop seeing it...always seeing her...”
“I’ll call her a ride,” I tell Jill. “I’ll take her home.”
“No.” Daphne stands, wobbling when she does and doing a poor job at fixing her updo that’s hanging haphazardly around her face. She points a finger at me, stumbling. “Perfect princess Charlotte. You can’t tell me what to do.”
“I’m just trying to help.”
She laughs. “I wanted to help you. I tried to warn you about Beckett...”
Jill has to catch her from falling forward. “Spencer’s a good guy. He’s proven himself.”
“Ethan was a bad, bad guy...” Daphne sits back down, her eyes closing. “I thought...thought he loved me...”
Both Jill and I look at each other and frown.
“You knew Ethan?” I ask, but Daphne seems to have passed out now.
“I don’t think she knows what she’s saying,” Jill says. “But you shouldn’t have to miss out on tonight. Go dance with your boyfriend, have your Cinderella moment, I’ll take care of her.”
“You’re sure?” I glance down at Daphne, her lipstick and mascara is smeared across her face now.
“I’m good. This isn’t really my scene anyway. And I already got what I came for.” She winks and I know that she and Connery must have finally kissed. “I was going to sneak out in a bit anyway.”
“Alone?” I raise my brows at her, and her cheeks turn a shade of red.
“Don’t make a big deal about it or I might chicken out.”
I make a motion like I’m zipping my lips, but I can’t help the smile that makes my face hurt.
Jill stays with Daphne as I go back into the ballroom, looking for Spencer and Connery to help us get Daphne in the car.
“Daphne looks wasted,” Prescott says when he sees me.
“Jill’s taking her home,” I tell him. “Would you mind helping her. I can’t find Spencer.”
“Yeah, sure.”
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