Dare Me Forever (6 page)

Jamie opened her closet
and began to go push it like she was on a hunt. Watching her was like
watching a magic show. She was a whirlwind, going through her closet
on top speed. She threw something over to me. I struggled into what
at first I thought was a skirt, but as I slipped in on, I couldn’t
imagine I had it on right. My ass was hanging out the back—maybe
too much of a statement at a school fundraiser.

Jamie came around
behind me and tied the straps around my neck. “Not an apron, Ames.
It’s called a halter dress.”

I looked at myself in
the mirror. I felt like somebody I wasn’t, definitely sexy but like
I was pretending to be cooler than I actually was. I didn’t know
how Jamie had achieved it, but somehow she’d managed to make it
look like I had cleavage that didn’t make sense with my B-cups. The
black dress only just skimmed past my underwear and the soft fabric
was smooth against my skin. But there was no way in a million years
that I would ever wear something like that in public.

“No way, Jamie, no
way.” I quickly took it off, before she could fight me.

Jamie threw me another
one, this time a metallic silver dress. Not happening. Then a
polka-dotted girly one that made me feel like a candy striper, and
one after that that was a bit too good-school-girl-gone-bad. I think
Jamie was getting annoyed, but none of these were right. They worked
on Jamie—somehow making her look sexy and not cheap. On me, they
were all wrong, too short, too revealing, too much.

Jamie kept flicking
through her closet. Finally she found what she was looking for at the
back of the hanging clothes. She threw me a silk black dress. It
slipped right on, feeling almost like the perfect second skin. I
could tell this one would be just right. Excitement fluttered in my
chest, but I wanted to wait until the look was together to gaze in
the mirror. After zipping up the back, Jamie placed her hands on my
shoulders, grinning. “Check you out, lady,” she said as she
steered me towards the mirror.

It was perfect. The
dress went a little bit off my shoulders, showcasing my favorite
feature, my delicate neck, and fell down to just above my knees. It
had enough gathering in the skirt that the effect was more glamorous
business woman than the high class escort Jamie had dressed me as
over the past hour. I loved it. In this striking dress, I felt
confident, beautiful, and ready to show the world what I have. I just
hoped I could hold on to that feeling.

“Amy, you look
amazing. Ryan is going to die!” Jamie is an amazing friend and
really good for my self-esteem. “No seriously, you should let me
dress you more often. You got it, and you need to flaunt it.”

I hoped Ryan would
think the same thing. Only two days, and I couldn’t wait to see
him.

Amy

After Jamie dropped me
off, I had just enough time to prepare the dinner I’d promised
myself to make Luke. No frozen food for him--nothing but the best
home cooked goodness. I loved to cook, and although it wasn’t
gourmet, it always came out well. It was cheesy, but when I cooked
for the people I loved, I really think it made the food taste better.
By the time Luke got home, the table was nicely set, the meal still
in the oven, keeping warm.

“Ames!” Luke
bellowed as he walked in the door. “It smells delicious in here. I
feel like I haven’t had a good meal in years.” Luke looked
good—instead of his usual jeans and a tee shirt, he was wearing a
button down blue collared shirt and skinny jeans.

“And what about the
dinner I made you last week?” I teased.

“Oh yeah.” He
laughed as he plopped down at the dinner table, resting his elbows on
the table. “So I’m still into that economics class I told you
about. It’s crazy how so many people think, like, there shouldn’t
be any checks on banks and mortgages, and just a total free for all.
It blows my mind.”

I smiled. I’d never
heard my brother so engaged in school. He’d been a good kid in high
school, but not as passionate as he was now. I felt really proud.
“And how are your friends? How’s Matt?” Matt and Luke had been
best friends since they were kids, before things got messy. He was
like another little brother to me. And his parents had helped with
Luke so I could have some semblance of a teenage life.

“He’s good. Wants
to come over next week for dinner. That ok?” Luke asked.

“As if he needs to
ask. He’s always welcome.” We started to eat, and Luke shoveled
the food in his mouth like he hadn’t eaten in months. Gross. I
hoped he wasn’t eating like that in front of other people.

“Classy, Luke.” I
wondered if maybe he had somewhere to be.

He mumbled, “Sorry.”

“Trying to win a
competition? In a hurry? Or a hot date, Lukey?”

He blushed. I raised my
eyebrows. I wasn’t expecting to be right. Ever since he broke up
with his high school sweetheart, Lindsay, he hadn’t mentioned
dating anyone.

“Uh, yeah,” he
said, a sheepish smile playing at the corner of his lips. I was
actually really relieved. I’m glad he wasn’t wallowing in the
break-up, like I seemed to do, and wasn’t too afraid to get back
out there. I hated to admit it, but I could learn a thing or two from
my little bro. Not that I’d ever tell him.

We ate for another
forty minutes and I listened as Luke told me about all of his classes
and his new friends. We cleared the table together, putting the
leftovers in Tupperware for my lunch tomorrow.

“Well, you better get
going,” I said cheerfully. Even though I wanted to know about his
date, I’d learned over the years not to pry for details. Luke was
forthcoming when he wanted to be, and I also didn’t want to put
pressure on him. If she was worth talking about, Luke would tell me
about his new lady, when he was ready.

“You going out,
tonight Ames?” Luke asked.

“Nah, just finishing
some commissions for tomorrow. But don’t you worry about me. I
will
go out, just not tonight.” He drew his eyebrows together. I didn’t
want him to worry about me and I definitely didn’t want my kid
brother thinking that his big sister was a loser. I didn’t want him
to have to think about taking care of me at all. I wanted for him
what I never got, a carefree, fun, no responsibility few years in
college and I was determined to make sure that happened.

“I’ve actually got
a hot date with a new guy I met at the Morgan’s barbeque. A smexy
Brit.” He looked at me like I wasn’t telling the truth. I tousled
his hair, which he always hated. “Luke, seriously I got some stuff
going on—I just don’t want to jinx it,” I said, sliding my
bangs out of my eyes. I did have a date coming up, and it might even
be a good one.

Luke zipped up his
backpack and smoothed down the hair that I had messed up. I caught
him glancing in the mirror, giving himself the onceover to make sure
he looked okay for whoever he was meeting later tonight. As I walked
him to the door, I found myself regretting that he had to leave so
soon. It had been just the two of us for so long that saying goodbye
was always hard.

But seeing him always
put me in a great mood. I found myself humming a song our dad always
used to sing to us when we were young…
whenever I see your
smiling face I have to smile myself, because I love you.

I watched Luke walk to
his car. Our dad would be so proud to see him now.

Amy

The local paper was
going to do a short story about the new businesses on Ocean Avenue,
and they asked to feature
Sealed with a Kiss
and of course I
said yes. Everything was fitting into place, and I wished my dad
could see me now. He’d be proud and so supportive. I also wished I
could stop waiting for the other shoe to drop. I have this terrible
habit of tormenting myself right when everything is going well. Of
course it can’t last, Jamie always points out, so I should at least
enjoy it while it does. She’s right. I just need to keep reminding
myself.

As I walked through the
card section, looking to see what else I should order, I decided to
keep a positive attitude and not wait for something bad to happen.
Just then, my phone rang.

“Hello?” I said.

Ryan’s British accent
came over the line. Why are accents so sexy? I could hear his slow
breathing over the phone. “I was just calling about the
fundraiser.”

I got that icky sinking
feeling he was going to cancel, but then reprimanded myself. Where
was my positive attitude? I wasn’t usually so negative, but I guess
I was so excited about Ryan, it made me doubt that it could really be
happening.

Ryan continued, “I
just thought it might be nice if we did something just the two of us
first, you know so that our first date isn’t with a bunch of
wankers at a boring fundraiser.” I was so relieved it was hard to
hide my sharp intake of breath. While he was speaking, I’d
forgotten to breath.

“Um, hello, Amy?”

I also realized I’d
forgotten to speak. I laughed at myself. “Sorry, I just, yes that
would be lovely.”

We agreed to meet at
the beach, near the promenade, right after closing. Maybe we’d
wander over to a “pub” he said. I could get used to that accent,
but even better, I could get used to being pleasantly surprised by a
total babe.

Good thing I was
wearing the jeans that Cat said made my ass look bootylicious. I
wasn’t so sure about that, but I did feel good in them. I opened up
Pandora on my computer, and turned it to the ABBA station. A bit of
disco would make the afternoon fly by, which was good, since the
anticipation was making me crazy.

Just as I was starting
to dance to “Take a Chance on Me,” the phone rang again. Without
looking at it, I picked up, assuming it was Ryan. But what I heard
instead was Hunter’s husky voice.

“Amy, hi, just wanted
to see how you are doing.”

“Hunter, where are
you?” I asked. “It’s echoing.”

“In a conference room
at the office. Listen, can you do me a favor?” He paused. I made
encouraging noises for him to continue.

“I have a present for
my parents, but I’m in between places and crashing there for a
little while before I buy. I don’t want them to find it. Could I
drop it off at your place? Just to keep for a little while. It’s
for their anniversary.” He sounded a bit anxious.

It seemed a little
strange for him to ask me, as we’d just reconnected, but it wasn’t
as if it would take up a lot of room.

“Of course,” I
said. “How sweet of you to surprise your parents.” I looked at my
phone for the time. “I should be home, oh wait, um, actually
tonight isn’t good. Can you drop it by tomorrow morning on your way
to work?” I asked.

“Sure. Is 9 okay?”

I agreed and was about
to say goodbye when Hunter interrupted. “What are you doing
tonight?” Like it was any of his business. It reminded me of how
possessive he could be when we were younger, always asking who I’d
talked to that day, who I had been with. It had been flattering most
of the time, but that was when I was young and didn’t know what was
and wasn’t normal.

“A lady never tells,”
I chimed, trying to laugh it off.

“Sorry--I didn’t
mean to pry,” he said. Maybe he’d changed, grown up after all.
“Tomorrow then. Have a great night, Amy.”

I sure hoped I would.

Ryan

I was used to working
long hours, and I liked it, but I wasn’t used to the arrogance at
the weekly meeting. Every Wednesday morning, the development team met
at 9:00 sharp to discuss weekly goals. Of course I’d already been
there for a couple of hours, but I didn’t expect everyone to work
as hard as I did. What I did expect was that people would do their
job and that they’d do it well.

Hunter had been charged
with doing some due diligence research on the type of building
materials to use that wouldn’t erode quickly with the wet sea air
and sand. I wanted this complex to be lasting, top quality, and not
leak toxins into the neighboring ocean. I wasn’t a total
environmental dick, after all.

Hunter sat near the
middle of the oval table, leaning back lazily in his chair. He hadn’t
talked to the quality officer or the architect to discuss their
plans. Jim didn’t hide his disdain for his son’s work ethic and
the meeting had begun to turn into father against son. I knew when I
bought out the company, it was going to be hard on the original
owners, but I’d felt nothing but respect from Jim. Hunter on the
other hand, seemed to think that just because the buy-out contract
said I had to keep him on for two years, that it entitled him to do
nothing but play golf.

“Jenna,” Hunter
intoned, "are you going to fill in the gaps in the projection
report?” What audacity to question another member of the team, as
to why she didn’t have certain answers on the projection report. It
was neither his business nor place. And she had very good reasons,
for the delay, unlike himself.

Then on the way out of
the meeting, he immediately got on his cell, and wouldn’t stop
talking about some poker game that he was playing in the next night.
At least
pretend
you’re working, mate.

I wanted to give him
another chance. But I’d have to tell it to him straight. Enough
with the pussy footing around. I couldn’t have any underhandedness
on my team, this project was too important, and I didn’t suffer
fools. I’d have my secretary schedule a one on one with Hunter.
Maybe a firm chat was what he needed. I was much better than I used
to be, when I spoke with my fists instead of my words, but I’d
learned in business to keep my cool. Even if I was boiling inside.

As I left the meeting,
I asked Jenna to come speak to me privately in my office. When we got
there, I’d complimented her work, cleared up a few questions I had
about timing.