by Kari Wray
And at this, I felt another huge jolt of nerves.
“Okay then,” I said, grabbing the bra and panties too, and taking them, along with the dress, in the direction of the changing rooms.
§
I was just stepping out of the taxi cab home when I saw a familiar red Nissan parked outside my apartment building. Oh God, not tonight, I thought, feeling something sink in my stomach.
I lugged my shopping bags up the central staircase and sure enough, waiting outside the door to my apartment, sitting on her black wheeled suitcase, was my mother.
“Surprise!” she said, standing up and holding out her arms. Her big chestnut eyes shone with happiness and I noticed that her hair large puffy hair had been recently dyed, a lovely autumnal auburn red. I had to admit it, she looked good for her age.
We hugged tightly and I smelled that familiar old lavender perfume that she’d always worn, ever since pretty much forever.
I fumbled the key out of my purse, still in a state of shock about her unexpected visit, and then we both went inside.
“Oh my, Cassie!” she tutted, when she saw the extent of my messy apartment; all those dirt takeout food containers and rumpled clothes strewn everywhere. “This place is a pigsty!” she exclaimed. “This is worse than your room, back when you were a teenager!”
“Well, I wasn’t exactly given much of a warning that you were coming …”
I turned to frown at her, but she was smiling so kindly at me, I couldn’t stay mad for long.
“Oh dear, I just thought it would be a shame to leave you alone this weekend … That’s all …”
“Why?” I said. “What’s so special about this weekend?”
At first I honestly didn’t know what she was referring to.
And then, just like that, it hit me like a ton of bricks: this coming Saturday was the anniversary of my father’s death.
I felt my face crumple and it was like all the pain and shock of it came flooding back at me again, fresh as the day it first happened.
“Oh dear, I didn’t mean to upset you, my love,” Mom said, stepping in quickly and wrapping me up once more in her big warm arms.
“It’s fine,” I said, drying my eyes on her soft knitted sweater. “I’d just kind of forgotten, what with the new job and everything …”
“That’s okay, dear,” she said. “Now, let me put the kettle on and I’ll make us a nice cup of tea … If you have any teabags, that is? Tell me there’s still a bit of English girl left in you?”
I nodded and grinned, sniffing and wiping the last of the salty liquid from my face.
§
“So, what’s with all the shopping bags?” she asked me, nodding at all my shopping bags still over by the door, once we were settled down on the couch, sipping our hot cups of tea and milk. “Spending all your new wages already?”
“Kind of,” I said, rather quietly, feeling a pang of embarrassment. “I’ve got a date actually, if you must know. Tonight.”
“Oh my!” she said, her eyes lighting up with delight. “That’s fantastic news, Cassie! So? Who’s the lucky fella?!”
For a split second, I wondered whether to tell her the whole truth … But something told me to instead bend it, just a little.
“He’s just a regular guy at work,” I said. “His name’s Xander. He seems sweet. He works in the same office as me …”
“Xander?!” she cried, almost spitting out her mouthful of tea. “Who in their right mind is called Xander? He sounds like a bloody cartoon character!”
“He’s very nice, actually,” I countered, not quite seeing the funny side. I liked the name.
“Well, where’s this Xander taking you then?”
“Just … out,” I said. “Dinner and a movie, maybe a drink afterwards. I don’t know yet. But speaking of which …” I looked at the time on the wall clock. I only had thirty minutes before the car was due to arrive! “I’d better get ready.”
§
I quickly showed my mom how the couch folded out into a bed, and where the spare linen was kept, and then I left her to unpack and make herself at home while I got ready myself in the bedroom.
I quickly showered, making sure to shave (even ‘down there’, leaving just a thin dark stripe of hair, which is something I hardly ever d) and dried myself thoroughly, moisturizing my skin with the tub of super-expensive stuff I’d been given last Christmas and was saving for special occasions.
I put on perfume, then stepped into the tiny red g-string, feeling a flutter of nerves and a slutty little tingle in my pussy as I pulled it up around me. Then I clasped my bra, pulled on new dress, being careful not to mess up my new hair do — cut just above the shoulders — and then, finally, did my make up. I was applying a last dash of blusher when I heard my mom calling out to me from the living room.
“I think he’s here, honey! There’s a big stretch limo outside!”
I hurried through, kissed her on the cheek, then told her, “Don’t wait up.”
“Knock him dead, kid,” she replied, jokingly, giving me a cheeky wink, and right there and then, I felt suddenly glad that she’d come for a surprise visit after all.
Chapter Twelve
§
Fire Versus Ice
Xander wasn’t in the limo, instead the man that greeted me was the same smartly-attired chauffeur that had given me the package the other night. He politely held my door open for me, then drove me out through the city in a regal, stately silence. The engine of the limo purred softly as I looked out of the tinted window at the passing apartment buildings and storefronts, the ones I usually walked by on foot, now zipping past my tinted window, and I was still unable to believe that one week ago I was out of work, and now here I was in the back of a stretch limo, on my way to the most exclusive party in town.
We began our climb into the hills and here the buildings got bigger and more fantastical, often hidden away at the end of long meandering driveways, protected from view by large forbidding, wildly ornamental gates.
Eventually, after taking a few twists and turns, we pulled up outside the grand frontage of the Excelsior, and I could tell from the moment I stepped out of the limo that tonight was going to be a fun night.
The air was electric, and filled with excited chattering voices; everywhere you looked were people dressed up in their absolute finest — everyone there looked so incredibly expensive and as I caught a glimpse of myself in the large glass doors as I stepped into the red-carpeted lobby reception, I registered with a twinge of pride that I too looked just as expensive and exclusive: what with my new haircut, my new dress, and that beautiful silver necklace sparkling above my ample cleavage.
“Carrie!” an excited voice called from behind me.
I span on my heel and there was Xander, walking confidently towards me. My breath caught in my throat. He looked absolutely amazing: dressed in a perfectly-fitting tailored tuxedo, the pomade in his hair glittering in the low lighting of the lobby, and his eyes burning into me, radiating with a heady, sexual intensity. He was carrying two champagne flutes and he handed one to me casually, once he got near.
“Thanks,” I said.
“There’s plenty more where that came from,” he said with a wink, leaning in to kiss me, gently, on the cheek.
I could smell the delicious, expensive musk of his aftershave.
I took a sip of my ice-cold champagne, then shivered with pleasure as the taste filled my mouth.
“You look fantastic by the way,” Xander whispered gently.
“Thanks,” I said again, realizing I wasn’t exactly making the most intelligent conversation so far. “So …” I continued. “Do you come to many of these things?”
“God,” he laughed. “I feel like I spend half my life at events like this,” he said casually. “But this one’s different.”
“How come?” I said, actually puzzled.
“Because you’re here,” he replied.
At this, he leaned in and touched the small of
my back gently with his free hand.
“I’m so glad you agreed to come,” he murmured in my ear.
I could feel his warm breath against my neck and my nipples stiffened and tingled with excitement.
I opened my mouth, unsure if I was really about to say what I was planning … I took a deep breath, then decided to throw caution to the wind. This was perfect; this was what I’d been waiting for all my life.
“So just to double check …” I began.
He raised his eyebrow rakishly, waiting to see what I would say next.
“This is a date, right?”
“Of course it is!” he laughed, and I felt all the tension and worry inside me melt away.
I took another big gulp of my champagne, then took his arm and gave it a little squeeze.
“I’m really glad,” I whispered, my turn now to lean in close to him. “Because I’ve liked you ever since I first saw you.”
§
The ball itself was amazing. I couldn’t quite take it all in. When I first stepped into the large central hall, I let out an involuntary gasp of surprise. It was like something out of a fairy tale. The lights twinkled on the tables and there was a gigantic crystal chandelier dangling from the centre of the room. A real, twelve-piece swing band were playing upbeat, jaunty tunes to one side of the room, and beautiful young waiting staff floated around gracefully, offering loaded trays of delicious nibbles and the finest champagne.
The room was packed to the rafters with rich, expensively dressed older men and women too — “Investors,” according to Xander — and I began to get a little light headed as I polished off flute after flute of delicious bubbly.
“I love your necklace,” a tall, extremely slim brunette woman said, floating over to us from the general crowd.
“Thanks,” I smiled back.
There was something a little mean-looking about her face; it was her high, birdlike cheekbones perhaps, and her eyes were narrowed at me. I realized she was focussing on me with an uncomfortable intensity.
“Hi, Kelly,” Xander said, a possibly-false smile spreading across his face as he nodded at her. “Kelly, this is Cassie, Cassie, Kelly.”
“Hey,” I said, leaning in to kiss her cheek.
She was rake-thin and I realized there was something a little reptilian about her too; maybe her flickering tongue or her narrowed, green eyes.
“I’ve not seen you for months, sweetie,” she said, immediately turning her gaze once more to Xander. “I’m starting to think you don’t like me anymore …”
“Ha ha,” Xander laughed uncomfortably. “I’ve just been busy. You know how it is. And anyway …”
The awkwardness between them was so palpable that I decided to let them sort whatever it was out on their own. I nodded towards the main doors, which led out to the foyer and the bathrooms.
“I’m just going to go and powder my nose,” I explained, handing Xander my drink. “I’ll be back in a moment …”
I turned and left them to it, striding purposefully towards the door, feeling just how flimsy my dress was against my bare skin, knowing that my full, curvy figure was showed off completely beneath it.
My head was spinning a touch from the wine and I did need the bathroom, but I also felt a pang of something else too …
Was it possibly jealousy?
Did I detect some sort of chemistry between Xander and that nasty skeleton back there?
Just as I was pushing out of the doors to the hall, I looked directly into a set of burning blue eyes and my stomach flipped over on itself.
Shit. It was that guy again … The very same one from the bar … The one who’d been staring at me so intensely that night with Lauren. What the hell was up with that guy?
Tonight, he was dressed in a pure white tuxedo — dressing purely in white seemed to be his style — and his blonde hair was slicked back tightly against his head.
“Hey, you!” he said, loudly, and I looked over my shoulder before turning back to face him, realizing that it was me he was talking to.
I raised an eyebrow at him, assuming he’d mistook me for someone else.
“Don’t I know you from somewhere?” he continued, striding straight towards me across the lobby.
“I … I don’t think so …” I stammered, unsure whether or not I should mention the bar the other night. But I just couldn’t think of a way of phrasing it, without sounding like a complete weirdo. (Or making him sound like one: “Oh yeah, you were that stranger who was just outright staring at me all night!” )
“Really?” he continued. “I’m sure I know you from somewhere.”
“Afraid not …” I said, stepping backwards away from him.
And as I was almost out of reach, he did something I couldn’t quite believe: I felt his cold fingers grab my bare arm, just at the crook of my elbow.
I turned and raised my hand to slap him; no man had the right to handle me like that.
“Hey!” I hissed, yanking my arm out of his hot, firm grip.
“Whoa, sorry,” he smiled, his icy blue eyes burning into me like magnifying glasses. “I just wanted to give you my card before I left this stupid ball.”
At this, he pulled a bright white business card out of the trouser pocket of his suit and held it out to me.
“Thanks,” I said, snatching it violently from his fingers, making sure to use the same kind of force he’d used to grab my arm.
And then, very deliberately, I let go of the card, right there in front of him, letting it flutter dramatically to the floor, wiping that smug, icy smile off his stupid, chiseled face.
I span on my heel and made a line for the bathroom door, my heart pounding and hammering against my ribs and the breath shivering tightly in my throat.
Once I was safely locked inside a cubicle, I pulled up my dress and — before sitting down to pee — I slipped my fingers for a brief second into my silky red g-string, registering with a shudder of surprise that my clit was swollen hard and my pussy lips were soaking wet with my juices.
§
Back out in the lobby, I registered that Ice Man (that’s what I’d begun to call him in my head) had gone with a little sigh of relief. I made my way back towards the main doors, looking forward to seeing Xander again and hoping that that bitch, Kelly, was long gone. But as I almost reached the doors, my eye was drawn to something on the plush red carpet.
I stopped in my tracks.
There it was again: that bright white business card that I’d dropped, right in front of Ice Man’s smug, stupid face.
I decided to pick it up, just to find out what his real name was. So I plucked the card up from the carpet and raised it in curiosity to my face:
Caleb D. Marchand
CEO, Ignis Incorporated
I was about to let the card drop once more to the ground, when I looked up and saw that Xander was only a few feet away from me, heading straight towards me. For some reason, in that split-second moment, I just couldn’t face the idea of explaining that a strange man had given me his card (and all the related hoo-ha that went along with it; all that junk about him staring at me in the bar, etc., etc.) so instead, more out of instinct than considered thought, I turned away from him and quickly slipped the card the first place I could think of to get it out of sight: inside one of the flimsy satin cups of my bra.
Then I quickly turned back towards him, just as my fingers came back away from my breast, and I smiled, sheepishly and explained, “Just making a few minor adjustments!”
He laughed at this and thankfully that was the last of that.
“Sorry about Kelly back there,” Xander explained.
“What do you mean?” I said. “She was nice.”
“She was a bitch,” he replied. “As always. She's my brother's wife. Always loves making snarky little comments to me … But that’s a long and complicated story that I really don’t want to get into right now. Tonight’s supposed to be about fun, not complaining about family troubles …”
&nbs
p; It was odd that he’d talked about his brother, I thought. Didn’t he say that his brother was dead? But if so, then why didn’t he call Kelly his brothers widow instead of wife?
I shook the doubts from my head, wanting now to start enjoying the evening with him.
“Another flute of champagne, sir?” I asked in my best cut-glass English accent.
Xander grinned and nodded.
Chapter Thirteen
§
Tasting Velvet
By the end of the evening, we were both so drunk, we positively fell into the cab and it was only after a few moments that I realized that we were snuggling rather close together and also where we were heading: for Xander’s apartment. At this realization, I kind of sobered up.
Were things moving perhaps a little too fast? I mean, we still hadn’t kissed. The most we’d shared so far were a few flirtatious jokes and a few quick squeezes of the arm, often while Xander tried his best to charm prospective investors.
I could tell that he was glad to finally be out of there, and I leant in even closer to him, and whispered, “You were magnificent tonight.”
“Oh get away,” he slurred.
“It’s true!” I persisted. “The way you had everyone in the palm of your hand. They all admire you, and I can see why. It’s because you’re a kind man and you work so very hard …”
When I turned to face him fully, I realized that he was leaning in even closer towards me, his lips only inches from mine, and I knew in that instant that we were about to kiss.
I took a final breath, then felt his white hot lips against mine. His tongue urgently pushed its way into my mouth and I felt myself melting against him, throwing my arm feverishly around his neck, pressing myself, my whole yearning body, up against him, while his hand lightly grazed the inside of my thigh sending shockwaves of pleasure rocketing through my trembling body.