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So I dive deep into my closet and pick a black leather miniskirt and a shimmering, silver blouse that’s just flowy enough that I can tuck it into the skirt and it completely hides my belly. I go heavy on the eye makeup, but I keep it light on the rest of my face. Once my heels are on, I head to the foyer, hoping against hope that Dmitri won’t flake on me at the last minute and condemn me to another miserable night of solitary confinement.
He’s not in the foyer when I get there. Then again, he did say we’d leave at seven and it’s only 6:50 right now. The man is punctual to a fault, so I’m not worried.
Okay, maybe I’m a little bit worried. Ruining my night seems like something he’d do just for shits and giggles.
“Doors opening.”
The elevator doors slide apart and Bee enters the apartment. She’s wearing a gorgeous, color-blocked maxi dress with a deep neckline that only she could pull off.
“Damn, girl!” she whistles when she sees me. “You look sexy as hell.”
My cheeks flush with color. Stupid as it might seem, it’s only just now occurring to me that my escort has a fiancée who might not be so keen on him escorting me to a sweaty, frothy, bump-and-grindy concert venue.
“Thanks. The City Monkeys are playing at The Eclipse tonight.” I shuffle from side to side awkwardly. “Did, er… did Dmitri tell you that he was taking me?”
If it’s news to her, she does a good job of waving it off. “Oh, sure, sure. He might have mentioned it.”
“I’m sorry. I should have asked you if you wanted to come, too.”
She pshaws away my apology. “Nonsense. I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
“You wouldn’t be. At all. I mean, to be honest, I didn’t even want Dmitri coming with me. It’s just, he insisted and…” I cringe inwardly. Now, it sounds like I’m saying that her man was more interested in being with me than staying at home with her. “He’s just worried about the baby, I think. Otherwise, he’d probably much rather stay here with you.”
Bee fixes me with a strange, shifting smile. “I can assure you, he’d much rather be with you. And the baby, of course.” She adds the last bit almost as an afterthought.
Nothing she’s saying is really soothing my anxiety here. But before we can dig any deeper into the feelings at play, I sense footsteps.
Then Dmitri rounds the corner.
“Ready?” he asks as he strides into sight. He’s adjusting the cufflink on his shirt, but when he looks up and sees Bee, he gives her only a cursory nod—which is bizarre, because she looks like an ethereal, angelic, siren-slash-succubus creature designed to lure men to blissful demise.
As his gaze flickers to me, though, he does a double take.
And he gives me the reaction that Bee truly deserves.
His eyes rake up and down. It’d be stupid to say, “Time stands still,” so I won’t say that—but I will say that the second hand on the clock on the wall sure doesn’t seem to move anywhere for a while as Dmitri looks over every stitch of clothing I’m wearing like he can see straight through it all.
A fresh wave of anxiety peppers my skin with goosebumps. Does he have to look at me so hard? And so long? And does it have to make me feel so…
“What are you staring at?” I finally snap, shooting Bee a quick glance to remind him that he’s gawking at me in full view of his fiancée.
He clears his throat and just like that, the scouring heat vanishes from his eyes. Time resumes as per usual. “That’s a lot of eye makeup.”
I scowl. “Gee, thanks.”
Bee laughs pleasantly and resumes her sashay down the hallway. “What he meant to say is, you look hot. Have fun, guys!”
I look between the two of them. Something seems just a little bit off. Are they fighting? Are they fighting because of me?
I feel that prickly, uncomfortable onus settle over me again. It’s the same heavy feeling I had years ago. The one I promised myself I would never have to feel again. The William Feeling™, I used to call it.
“Bee, why don’t you come with us?” I have no idea if we can even get her in without a ticket, but I throw out the Hail Mary anyway because I’m sure Dmitri, rich as he is, can grease someone’s palm and make it happen.
“Oh.” She pauses and blinks, seeming shocked that I’d even ask. “Thanks for the invite, but I have plans tonight.”
Dmitri arches a brow. “Plans?”
Bee combs fingers through her long ponytail. “Big plans. Matter of fact, I need to go get ready now. So, like I said, have fun without me!” She walks off before I can insist any more.
