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Brandon:Yes, you could
John:yes u could
Damien:Mack’s right—he’s family. Let’s just have a good time regardless
John:u can afford to say that – its not your party’s vibe that will be fucked up ?? u didnt invite him to ur birthday party either!
Damien:I didn’t have a party ??
Mr. Payne opened the door, and I looked up, putting my phone away. “Come on in,” he grunted, shaking my hand. “Ciara will be ready in a minute.”
Mr. Payne and I sat down across from each other, me on the loveseat, him on the larger couch. He sat back with a sigh, placing his arms on the back of the couch and watching me steadily.
“I didn’t get to say it last time, but I’m sorry about your mom,” he said finally, eyes somber. “I always heard great things about her around town. How’s your family doing?”
I lifted one shoulder, dropping it back down awkwardly. “We’re managing,” I said. “My dad’s taking it the hardest. He and my mom were high school sweethearts; they’d been together for over fifty years.”
Mr. Payne nodded. “I know the feeling.” He sighed. “I was only with Phaedra in adulthood, but we had most of our firsts together. First big move; first job loss. Having a child, all that. It’s tough.”
“It is,” I agreed. “I can only hope to make Ciara as happy with me as my parents were with each other. They were in love until Mom’s last breath.”
I cleared my throat, emotion welling up in my throat and in the corners of my eyes. “This will be the first event since her passing. My sister, Mack—she’s one of the twins whose birthday is today—insisted we get dressed up. She wanted it to be a celebration of life, since we’ve all been mired in the aftermath of Mom’s death.”
Mr. Payne smiled. “Sounds like the perfect reason to get dressed up.”
“It is.” Ciara’s soft voice carried over the cozy living room space, and her dad and I stood up at the same time. When I saw her, I lost all ability to speak.
For the first time, Ciara had let her hair down—literally. Her reddish-brown curls fell around her shoulders in soft, pencil-width ringlets. She had done her makeup in bright, bold colors—red lips that matched her shoes, soft, shimmery eye shadow, dark eyeliner.
But what surprised me the most was her outfit. The heel of her shoes was thin but high, the shiny, red material contrasting with her light brown skin. And the powder-blue dress, while conservative, fit her perfectly. It just barely exposed her collarbones, fit her body through the hips, then flared out and hit her just below her knees. Seeing her exposed calves made sweat trickle down my back, anticipation and lust coursing through my veins at a dizzying pace.
On the heels of my immediate lust, though, was awe. With her hair down and her appropriately aged dress, it was almost as if I was meeting her for the first time. She was softer, somehow, more approachable. I was indescribably hooked.
I closed my mouth and smiled. “You look gorgeous, Cinderelly,” I murmured, coming closer to smooth my hands down her bare arms and press a kiss to her forehead. I was enveloped by her scent, feelings of joy and rejuvenation capturing me.
When I stepped back to see her face, she was blushing. “Thank you,” she whispered, looking at her shoes. “Are we ready to go?”
“Ready,” I said, then turning to her dad. “We’re headed to Hemingway Town Square, to the event hall. Meet you there?”
Mr. Payne nodded. “You two drive safe,” he said, kissing Ciara on the cheek. “You look great, baby.”
Ciara’s blush deepened, but she smiled at her dad. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll lock up.”
Mr. Payne made his way out the front door, and Ciara turned to me, her gaze hovering somewhere near my chin. “You look nice,” she said, turning her smile on me as she smoothed her hands over my lapels. I prayed she couldn’t hear my heart trying to beat out of my chest. I was nervous, and I didn’t know why. We were going to a family party; if anything, I thrived in party situations. Especially with my siblings, people I always had fun with.
But I couldn’t deny that seeing Ciara all dressed up was both a relief and a curse. Now that I knew what she was hiding under all her frumpy layers, it would be hard to go back to seeing her all buttoned-up and hidden from the world.
And that wasn’t the only thing that was hard. I tried counting to ten, thinking of cold things or end-of-quarter reports, or that one time Great Aunt Nancy pulled out her teeth at the dinner table when I was ten. Anything to stop myself from thinking about Ciara in her party dress and what lay beneath it.
When I was able to think clearly again, I smiled back at her. “Thanks,” I said. “But I’m just the picture frame on a work of art. Tonight’s the night to show you off. You ready to meet my crazy family?”
Her smile grew to a grin that lit up her whole face. She practically shimmered with energy. “Yes,” she said. “As you know, I don’t have any siblings. It’ll be nice to be a part of a big family.”
“Careful what you wish for,” I warned. I offered her my arm, and we made our way to the front door. “It can get chaotic and messy. Also, don’t mind John. He will hit on you at least twice, despite knowing that we’re together. It’s just his thing.”
“Noted,” Ciara said with a smile. “I won’t take it personally.”
We approached my Tesla Model S, and I opened her door to usher her in. When she was seated, I asked, “All in?”
