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“Oh, don’t be so childish,” she replied in a chiding tone. “Love has nothing to do with it. I don’t have time for this discussion. I’m late for work already and I have guests coming for dinner tonight so I expect you to be on your best behavior. It’s going to take a miracle to smooth out this fiasco you’re putting me through.”
Before I could protest, Mom was out the door, giving it a solid, final slam of fury. Then I was alone in a huge, empty house, ringing with my mother’s disappointment.
***
For the rest of the week, Mom kept my schedule packed with work. I had no chance to sneak away for any of the side gigs I usually did for cash under the table. In the few rare moments I got to myself, I texted Axel, soothed by his words and his presence.
The exhibition couldn’t come fast enough.
By the time Saturday rolled around, I was so jittery with excitement at seeing Axel again that I couldn’t stomach a single bite of food. Mom rattled on about the representatives she’d invited to the exhibition, her eyes bright as she talked about the dollar figures associated with sponsorships, agents, and brands. She rummaged through my closet, agonizing over each potential outfit and the message it would send to anyone who looked my way.
Sweet and innocent.
Elegant and chic.
Classy and expensive.
Diamonds, pearls, silk, velvet, satin.
Every time I tried to speak, Mom shushed me with a severe look.
“You’re going to clean up your act tonight, Bethany Marie,” she said. “Watch your tongue. Mind your manners. And beobedient. Is that clear?”
All it would take were a few words and my mother’s world would fall apart. Her perfectly crafted night, put together with painstaking precision, would be shattered once she realized Axel was my date instead of Lionel.
But I couldn’t give away my plan. Not yet.
So, I curled my hands into fists at my sides and I bit my tongue until I tasted blood.
Mom surveyed me in one of the dresses she’d chosen for the evening—a plain, gauzy sheath dress with spaghetti straps in snow-white silk.
Spotless. Pure. Virginal.
This was my mother’s way of telling the world that I was her perfect daughter. The good girl.
Not the girl who would wear tight black leather pants to a bar. Not the girl who dated a biker, groping each other in public. Not the girl who had sex on the kitchen table and loved every minute of it.
I clenched my teeth so hard that my jaw ached. All I wanted to do was rip the damn dress off my body.
One minute after another dragged by until it was finally time to make my escape. I muttered something about missing my appointment at the hair salon as I fled the room. Mom’s voice chased me down the stairs.
“I already called for a hairdresser, Bethany Marie. You don’t need to go anywhere!”
I yanked off my pinched shoes and put on a fresh burst of speed for the door. Then I raced down the sidewalk, practically diving into the car idling at the curb.
***
Axel emerged from his apartment building, tugging at his tie as if it had a chokehold on him. The suit fit him like a glove, accentuating every muscle threatening to burst at the seams. A few lines of tattoo ink peeked out from the cuffs of his sleeves, providing a tempting glimpse of the rebel underneath.
I let out a low whistle as he approached and he smiled, looping an arm around my waist.
“Don’t get used to this look,” he said. “My goddamn tie is strangling me and I hate it already.”
I laughed softly as I pressed my face into his neck. He smelled clean and sharp, wearing a cologne I didn’t recognize. He was really pulling out all the stops to transform himself for me tonight. That thought sent a pang through my chest. I didn’t want Axel to change a single thing about himself.
“I missed you so much,” I mumbled against his skin, closing my eyes.
With a fierce squeeze, he lifted me off the ground a few inches. Then he pulled back and tilted his head toward the car.
