Chapter 12 #2
Jessie’s shoulders are no longer at her ears. She seems to have relaxed back to her normal posture. “Roxanne is amazing. She’s my new favorite person.”
Eli cries in the stroller. I stand up and wheel her closer to me, then pull her out. “I think she’s offended that she’s not your new favorite person.”
Jessie’s lips turn down. “Eli girl, you’re my most favorite. I’m so sorry.”
She takes her from my arms and gives her chubby cheek a big kiss. My heart flips over in my chest. It stirs something deep within me, equal parts warmth and ache. She fits so easily into this moment, into our lives, that it’s almost too easy to imagine a future that isn’t mine to hope for.
“She’s precious,” Roxanne gushes as she grabs Eli’s little hand and rubs her skin. “You two made one beautiful baby girl.”
It’s like pouring salt in the wound. I grab my champagne glass and take a large sip while Jessie smiles as she holds Eli in her arms.
“Oh, I’m not her mother. Walker and I are just … friends.”
“Really?” Roxanne asks, not even trying to hide her surprise. “Well, you could’ve fooled me.” She grabs two large handfuls of clothes. “Anyway, I’m going to hang these in your room behind this curtain. While you try some of these on, I’ll go find some more options.”
With Roxanne gone, Eli starts to wiggle and whine in Jessie’s arms.
I reach into the diaper bag and pull out a bottle. “Here. I’ll take her. She needs to eat. You go ahead and begin the fashion show.”
She hands her back to me. “Fashion show? You don’t seriously think I’m modeling this stuff for you?”
“Of course I do. I’m here to help you. Don’t you want my opinion?”
“Your opinion or your smart-ass remarks?” She crosses her arms across her chest.
I place the bottle in Eli’s mouth and lean back against the couch. “Can’t it be both?”
She rolls her eyes. “Ugh, you are so annoying.”
“I think you love it.” I smile confidently up at her.
She tries not to smile, but I see the hint of one tugging at the corner of her mouth.
“Get your cute butt in there and try some clothes on.”
Instead of fighting me on it, she actually spins around and walks into the changing room. The curtain closes, and I focus back on Eli, who is sucking down her bottle.
When she comes back out, she’s wearing a white sheath dress with a mandarin collar with a matching belt at the waist with a gold buckle. She looks like a high-powered attorney, ready for a day in court.
“Classy,” I tell her as she walks in front of the mirror.
“It’s nice. I’d be terrified to eat anything in it, but I do really like it.”
She cranes her neck as she continues to look at herself from different angles. Her curves are pure perfection. The mound of her ass is accentuated flawlessly in the dress.
“Looks like it’s going in the yes pile.”
“Maybe. I don’t want to go crazy here, Walker. Maybe a dress or two.”
I laugh loudly at the absurdity. “Babe, we aren’t leaving here until we have enough to fill your closet. Next one. Time is ticking.”
The next ten items are amazing. I say yes to all of them, but she’s a bit more critical, saying her hips look too wide in one.
She actually says she feels fat in another.
It takes everything in me not to lose my shit on her for ever uttering such words.
I love her curves, but I’m trying to be respectful and not force her to like something she just isn’t feeling.
Roxanne continues to bring in stacks of clothes. I’m on my second glass of champagne and finding that I’m actually having a good time. Who knew shopping could be fun?
Though it might not be the shopping I like as much as watching Jessie show off her killer body to me over and over. And there’s nothing better than watching her smile and laugh, enjoying my company as well.
Eli hung out for the first hour but is now conked out again in the stroller.
“This is a nice pantsuit, right?” she asks, once again in front of the mirror. “Would you be intimidated if I walked into the courtroom, wearing this?”
My eyes roam the length of her body in the fitted gray pantsuit. “Intimidated? Babe, the jury wouldn’t stand a chance with you in that suit—hell, I wouldn’t either.”
“Okay, I guess this can go in the maybe pile.”
Oh, and after all this time, she is still hanging on to this maybe pile, like she might win this battle of monitoring how much we spend. It’s sweet that she thinks I wouldn’t spend my entire life savings to make her happy.
“Okay, I thought we could switch to some evening wear.” Roxanne marches in animatedly. “Time to sex you up for a night out on the town.”
Fuck. Roxanne hangs her new choices in the changing room, then runs out to start picking shoes. Hopefully nothing too sexy. I don’t need to be sporting a hard-on in the store.
“Thank you.” Jessie smiles. “I don’t know when I’ll need sexy clothes, but I’ll give them a try.”
Roxanne walks away, leaving us alone again. Eli is still sleeping soundly in the corner.
“Here we go. Another round. Are you bored out of your mind yet?” she says as she reaches for the curtain.
“Miserable,” I joke, too afraid to tell her it’s the best Saturday I’ve ever had in my life.
She pulls the curtain closed. It takes a minute for me to notice, but she didn’t close it all the way.
There’s about six inches of open space at the end.
With her back to me, she unbuttons her jacket and discards it on the bench in front of her.
Her black lace bra holds up her breasts, revealing her creamy skin.
I should look away—I know I should. But instead, I watch.
The gap in the curtain gives me just enough of her, and when her eyes find mine in the mirror, the air shifts.
Surprise flashes across her face, yet she doesn’t turn or pull the curtain closed.
She simply holds my gaze, her expression softening into something else—a quiet curiosity that roots me to the spot.
Her hands work the button at the top of her pants, and then she slowly drags them down her legs inch by inch, her eyes not leaving mind for a second.
I break the contact. She’s wearing a thong, and each creamy cheek is now showcased in front of me like a forbidden temptation—one I have no business staring at.
Heat coils low in my stomach, my pulse pounding in my ears as I fight every instinct screaming at me to close the distance between us.
My dick strains in my pants. I adjust myself to make room for my growing erection. Her eyes watch me as she steps out of her pants on the floor. Standing now in nothing but her panties and bra.
Her hand reaches behind her back, working to unclasp her bra. I can’t breathe as I watch. Waiting like I might combust if she doesn’t let it drop. Her breath hitches as her bra slips away, but she doesn’t move to cover herself. Instead, she holds my gaze in the mirror, daring me to keep looking.
The sight of her soft curves and flushed skin, those hard peaks drawing me in—it’s enough to undo me. She’s flawless. I swallow down the desperation I feel to suck her nipple into my mouth and coax it with my tongue.
Roxanne breaks the spell I’m under when she comes rushing in with a high-pitched voice. “Okay, I’m back with some amazing shoes.” She places stacks of boxes outside of the curtain. “If you need to see some of those dresses in heels, I have a selection for you right out here.”
Jessie is fumbling around in the dressing room, reaching for a dress frantically. “Thanks, Roxanne,” she replies with a bit of guilt in her voice.
I shift around uncomfortably as I take a few subtle deep breaths, trying to gather myself.
Roxanne stands anxiously on the other side of the curtain. “Let’s see what you’ve got. I can’t wait to see you in these dresses.”
Jessie pulls back the curtain. She looks breathtaking in a shimmery gold dress that molds to her body, pushing her breasts up to peek over the top in a tantalizing way. It’s short, cutting off only a couple of inches below her bottom. Her silky white thighs are on display again.
Jessie stands in front of the mirror.
Roxanne clasps her hands together. “You look … stunning,” she gushes. “I knew this dress would be perfect. Your body was made for this dress.”
She’s got that right.
“What do you think?” Jessie eyes me in the mirror.
I clear my throat. “Trouble. That’s what I think.”
“It’s a keeper. We must put it in the yes pile. Let me see if I can find some jewelry that goes well with it.”
“Oh, no. I don’t need—”
“Perfect, Roxanne. We definitely need jewelry,” I cut in.
Roxanne walks out, winking at me as if she’s onto me. Jessie has already gone back into the dressing room. Just before I can take a seat, the curtain opens.
“Umm, I can’t seem to unzip the dress.”
“I think I can manage that,” I say coolly, though nothing inside of me feels that way.
I follow her back into the dressing room, not sure what makes me close the curtain behind me. She faces the mirror with a nervous energy radiating off of her.
“I don’t know how I managed to zip it up in the first place.” Her voice cracks.
“I don’t mind helping.” The mood has shifted, like we are right back to where we were five minutes ago, when she was undressing for me.
My dick hardens instantly. My fingers barely touch her skin when her body visibly shivers. If the faintest of touches gets a reaction, I can’t imagine how she would react to my tongue against her clit or my cock buried in her pussy.
The thoughts take me away to a place where I think maybe one touch is okay. We both clearly want it.
I drag the zipper down all the way to the bottom, where the top of her thong is exposed. That’s it. My job here is done. But instead of moving, we connect in the mirror again. Her chest is rising and falling rapidly.
She drags the straps off of her shoulders, but the dress doesn’t go anywhere, still molded to her. I grab the straps myself and pull them down, waiting for her to tell me to stop. When she doesn’t, I continue to move them down, and the top of the dress begins to descend around her breasts.
I watch in the mirror as her breasts pour out of her dress. I work it all the way down to her hips, just past her thighs, letting it fall to the ground.
The tension in the room could drown us both, heavy and undeniable. My hand rests on her stomach just above her belly button. I pull her back against my body so she can feel what she’s doing to me.
Her jaw falls open as my dick rests in between her ass cheeks. I growl with anger and resentment. I should be able to touch her. She was meant to be touched by me.
My hand slowly edges up her stomach until my fingers caress the bottom of her left breast. Before I can move any further, Roxanne’s voice echoes outside the curtain.
“Jessie, you just have to try this dress on.”
My hand freezes, then drops. Jessie steps forward and covers her chest, suddenly self-conscious about being naked in front of me. Roxanne reaches into the room and holds the dress out.
“Thanks, Roxanne. I’ll give it a try,” Jessie mumbles frantically.
I wait until it sounds like Roxanne is out of the room, then peek out to confirm she is gone. Before I take a seat, I check on Eli, who is still sound asleep. I have the traveling sound machine playing on top of the stroller, which must be drowning out our voices enough for her to sleep.
Jessie comes out in another tight dress that leaves little to the imagination. This one is a floor-length red, but the slit cuts all the way up to her hip. Her long, toned legs are on display every time she takes another step toward the mirror.
“Wow,” I breathe out.
“You like it?” she asks.
Roxanne walks in, ruining the moment again. I’m beginning to think she’s doing this on purpose. “Jessie … that dress.”
“I know.” Jessie smiles. “I’ve never owned something like this. It would be perfect for a fancy dinner. I just need to get myself a date.”
“I’m sure you’ll have no problem with that.”
They continue talking and laughing, but I can’t hear the words. The pulse of my anger is ringing in my ears. How did I not think about this? She’s going to wear the clothes that I pay for to go on a date … with another man.
I can’t shake my anger for the rest of the day. We spend another hour looking at shoes and jewelry, but my mind is elsewhere.
By the time we get to the counter, Eli is awake, and Jessie is holding her to keep her happy. As instructed, Roxanne has rung up everything in the maybe pile and more.
“This is too much, Walker. I don’t need all of this. You absolutely cannot buy it all.”
“Good thing it’s not about what you need,” I mutter, handing the associate my black card. My tone is sharper than I intended, but I don’t take it back.
She frowns, stepping closer, lowering her voice. “I mean it. The dresses, shoes, work clothes … it’s too expensive.”
“Then consider it my problem, not yours.”
Her lips part like she wants to argue, but the words die under the weight of my glare. She sighs and shakes her head, defeated while the associate bags everything up.
The anger still simmers in my chest, but beneath it all, there’s something else that I can’t shake—the gut-wrenching fear that she’ll walk out of here, wearing everything I bought … only to belong to someone else for the night.