Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Morgan
Looking at the clothes spread out over her bed, dresser, and hanging from the closet doors, Morgan rubbed her hands together in front of her before realizing what she was doing and dropped them to her sides.
“You okay?” Amy asked from where she was sitting on Morgan’s bed, several shirts heaped on her lap.
Noelle and Marissa were in Morgan’s closet, debating what else they might pull out for her to look at, Sam was sitting in Morgan’s computer chair, and Carolyn was sifting through the things she’d brought over for Morgan to try on since they were about the same size.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Morgan said automatically.
Even though she wasn’t.
Her palms were sweaty, and her heart was beating faster than normal, and she…
she was nervous. Even with her friends there to help her out, she felt like she was completely out of her depth.
The last time she’d felt like this had been when Naomi and Drew had handed her off to Patrick, explaining he was Drew’s cousin and he’d keep her safe while they dealt with Master Richard.
It had been a leap into the unknown, and part of her had been sure they’d just sold her, the same way Master Jason had. But Patrick had been just as kind and gentle as his cousin, then he’d introduced her to Lexie and Freddy and his friends, and everything had fallen into place from there.
This would, too.
At least, that’s what she tried to tell herself, but it didn’t seem to be doing anything to help settle her nerves.
She wanted to pace and flutter her hands, and she couldn’t.
Not with all her friends there, watching.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed down the emotions welling up inside her, the urge to move.
“It’s going to be okay,” Amy said soothingly, brushing the shirts off her lap and getting up to hug Morgan.
The secure weight of her arms around Morgan’s body made her feel a little better.
She hugged Amy back, releasing her breath and searching for the calm that had deserted her.
Amy was right. It was going to be okay. She could do this.
She had to do this. If she chickened out now, she could only imagine how everyone would react.
They’d be supportive, of course, but who knew when she would get another chance to get away from the protective cocoon she’d been wrapped in? She’d be doted on, sympathized with, and no one would really understand. Not even her friends.
So, she was going. It was going to be okay because it had to be.
“I’m just nervous. What if I wear the wrong thing?” That wasn’t all she was nervous about, but it helped to focus on one thing. One fixable thing. Hopefully fixable, with her friends’ help.
“You’re not going to wear the wrong thing. We’re going to send you with options for every event, whether it’s dressy or more casual,” Sam said sternly. “And you can ask Asad for help. I’m sure he’ll be more helpful when presented individual questions and options.”
For a moment, it seemed as though she was about to say something more, but instead she sat back in the chair, watching the others.
Amy let go of Morgan and stepped away, sliding her hand down so she could hold Morgan’s like a lifeline.
Sometimes, Morgan didn’t like to be touched, but right now, she wanted something to hold on to, and Amy was making herself available.
She also didn’t want to hurt Amy’s feelings by pushing her away.
“I don’t want to look out of place.”
“The key is to overdress rather than underdress if you’re unsure of the dress code, and do it with confidence,” Marissa said, emerging from the closet with another dress.
One that Morgan hadn’t picked out because she hadn’t been sure what she’d wear it to.
“That way, even if you stand out, it’s in a good way. ”
“She’s got a point. Plus, if you’re overdressed, you can always take off some jewelry or something to help tone it down.” Amy squeezed Morgan’s hand. “There’s not much you can do if you’re underdressed.”
“And you’re always going to look amazing no matter what you wear, so you have that going for you,” Sam added.
“Has anyone even seen Morgan without her makeup?” Noelle asked, teasing. Unlike Marissa, she came out of the closet empty handed.
“Nope, and if Morgan is smart, she’ll keep it that way for Asad.” Carolyn smirked. “Men don’t want the real thing, anyway. They like the fantasy.”
Asad and Morgan would be staying in the same hotel room to keep up appearances for his family. He had booked them one with a king-sized bed, which he’d said would be more than enough room for both of them, and Morgan agreed. She was used to sleeping on her full bed.
It would be interesting to sleep in a bed with someone else again.
Master Jason had done that with her, but not Master Richard.
She’d usually slept on the mattress he’d put in the corner for her or sometimes in the cage if she’d been bad.
Sometimes, she’d fallen asleep on the couch or the mat in the Dungeon and stayed there.
But never in his bed. He said it might give her ideas above her station.
Morgan had never really understood what that meant, but she’d understood the rules about where to sleep clearly enough.
“Has Brian ever seen you without your makeup?” Noelle asked.
“A few times.” But not often. The other women weren’t wrong when they talked about Morgan wearing her makeup and hair done all the time.
It had been a requirement of Master Richard’s.
She’d tried going without it while she recovered from having her appendix removed, but she’d found she preferred to wear makeup.
Putting it on soothed her, and seeing the results gave her a boost of confidence she often needed.
Mistress Julie said that as long as she was doing it for herself, that she was making the choice, there was nothing wrong with it.
She’d heard quite a few people saying she didn’t ‘have’ to wear makeup or that they thought she’d be even prettier without it, but she wasn’t wearing it for them.
She was wearing it for her and because she liked to do her makeup. Mistress Julie said there was nothing wrong with that. Since Mistress Julie was also Morgan’s therapist, she trusted the Dominatrix’s opinion more than most.
“Where is Brian today?” Noelle asked. “Is he going to be around?”
“He’s out with friends,” Morgan replied, standing still as Marissa held up the dress she’d found in front of her.
Marissa nodded. “You should definitely bring this one. You said there’s an after-wedding brunch, right?”
“Yes,” Morgan said, looking down at the bold green-and-white print. Made of flowy material, the waist cinched in, but otherwise, it was blousy, with a skirt that ruffled around her legs as she walked. “It’s not too bold?”
Her understanding was that she wasn’t supposed to take attention from the bride. Again, she didn’t really understand what that meant, but it seemed to mean muted colors that weren’t white and not dressing too sexy. This particular dress wasn’t sexy, but it was very bright.
“It’s perfect. Casual but classy, it’s a total brunch dress,” Marissa said definitively. “You’re taking it.”
Relief flooded Morgan. That was one more outfit decided. She had the Monday night family dinner, casual outfits for the week that could be dressed up with jewelry, a dress for the wedding, and a dress for the brunch.
“All we have left is the rehearsal dinner.”
Which seemed to be the hardest to pick out.
“Maybe you should take two dresses for that,” Sam suggested. “Then you can find out how dressy it’s going to be after you’re there.”
“I’m going to guess cocktail dress,” Carolyn mused, flipping through the clothes yet again, pulling out some of the more formal options. “The wedding is black tie, so the rehearsal will at least be cocktail.”
“Cocktail or formal… but… you said the bride’s family is throwing the rehearsal dinner?” Marissa frowned as she looked at the two dresses Carolyn held up in front of her, hands on her hips as she tried to decide.
“Yes. Asad said there was some back and forth about who was paying for what. Anna’s family is hosting the rehearsal dinner, ceremony, and brunch, but his parents are hosting the reception.” He’d sounded amused by it all, as if people arguing over who was going to pay for something was funny.
“Hmmm.” Marissa made a considering noise, tapping her finger against her lips.
“What?” Amy asked her, squeezing Morgan’s hand.
“I think it’s possible the rehearsal dinner might be as big a deal as the reception for this one,” Marissa said.
“With American customs, the bride’s family pays for the wedding and the groom’s family pays for the rehearsal dinner.
I’d be willing to bet money the rehearsal dinner is basically going to be another reception.
” She turned to look at Morgan. “Did Asad say how many people were invited to the rehearsal dinner.”
Morgan shook her head.
“All he told me was that I needed a dress. I’ll text him.”
“Men,” Carolyn muttered under her breath while Morgan sent the text. “They never understand how important the details are.”
Giving Morgan’s hand another squeeze, Amy let go, then started gathering up the more casual dresses and clothing that had been rejected. Realizing she was cleaning up, Morgan started helping.
“So… do you know when Brian is going to be back?” Noelle asked as she moved to pitch in, taking the dresses they were still looking at and moving them next to the headboard, so they didn’t get mixed up.
“No.” Morgan frowned. Was Noelle here to see her or Brian? “Did you need to talk to him?”
“Not need, no.” Noelle smoothed her hands over the sundress she was wearing.
She did look very pretty. No one else was wearing a dress.
Morgan had just assumed she’d wanted to dress up a little today or that she’d come from somewhere that necessitated a dress.
Now she wondered if Noelle had worn it for Brian. “But I was hoping to run into him.”
“She’s hoping to lock him down before he finds out that Master Damien and Rae broke up,” Carolyn smirked as Noelle shot her an outraged look.
“That has nothing to do with it.” Noelle lifted her chin, tossing her blonde hair as she did so. “I’ve always liked him and just thought it was time to make my move.”
She’d always liked him? Morgan hadn’t known that. She decided not to say anything, though. Picturing Noelle and Brian together… it didn’t fit. Though Noelle seemed to prefer indulgent Doms, Morgan couldn’t see Brian with her.
“I don’t know when he’ll be back, sorry. He told me it might be late.” Morgan was relieved when her phone chimed with a text to distract her from the conversation. It wasn’t Asad, though. “Oh, our food is here!”
“I’ll go get it.” Carolyn stepped away from the cleanup help and was already through the door before anyone else could say anything.
“I’ll help!” Noelle dropped the clothes she’d started picking up onto the bed, hurrying after Carolyn.
After Noelle had left the room, Sam let out a huge sigh, causing all of them left to turn and look at her. She blushed a bright pink when she realized they were all wondering what the sigh had been for.
“Sorry, it’s just… Noelle’s driving me a little nuts today.
The whole way over here she wouldn’t stop asking questions about my day with Iris yesterday.
She didn’t mention Brian once. I just… I don’t know what’s going on with her.
” Sam rubbed her hands over her face. “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have said any of that. ”
Marissa shrugged. “It’s okay. Carolyn drives me nuts sometimes, too, and we’ve been friends for years. It happens.”
“Noelle’s probably worried Iris is going to turn you against her. She seems very concerned about that,” Amy said, trying to comfort Sam. “I’m sure she’ll relax more when she sees that you’re not going anywhere.”
“I hope so. I keep trying to reassure her, and she says she totally understands, and she’s fine with it, but then she keeps trying to… I don’t know. I don’t even know how to describe it. Maybe I’m just hangry.”
“Good thing the food is here then,” Morgan said, thankful she was finally able to contribute to the conversation.
She didn’t really know what to say. Noelle was…
well, sometimes Morgan didn’t like Noelle very much, but everyone else did.
Noelle hadn’t actually done anything to her, so there wasn’t anything she could say about it.
“Yes. Let’s go get something to eat, then hopefully, by then Asad will have texted Morgan back and we can pick out something for the rehearsal dinner,” Amy said, going into the closet to hang up the clothes she was holding.
Everyone else did the same, which cleared the bed of everything but the rehearsal dinner options and the clothing Carolyn had brought over.
“Thank you,” Morgan said as they headed out into the hallway.
“Of course,” Amy replied, linking her arm through Morgan’s, a wide grin on her face. “This is exactly what friends are for. Plus… well, actually, let’s wait till we’re all downstairs.”
Curious.
Especially when Amy didn’t just wait until they were all downstairs. She waited until they were all gathered around the dining room table with their food. Then she got to her feet, holding a glass of wine in her hand.
“Since Morgan was kind enough to gather us all here today… well, I didn’t want to steal focus until we’d gotten her squared away, but since we’re basically done, I figured now would be a good time to ask—”
“Spit it out,” Noelle called out. The grin on her face indicated she was teasing, and everyone laughed. Morgan did, too.
“Right.” Amy cleared her throat. “I wanted to officially ask all of you to be my bridesmaids.”
The deafening sound of excited squeals filled the room, and this time, Morgan’s response was entirely genuine.
She’d wanted to be a bridesmaid ever since she saw the movie 27 Dresses, which definitely wasn’t the point of the movie, but it had looked like fun.
And she really wanted to help Amy have an amazing wedding.
“Who’s going to be your maid of honor?” Carolyn asked when they were all done hugging and telling Amy, ‘yes.’
“I’m not going to have one. You and Marissa have both been my friends for the same amount of time, and I could never choose between you,” Amy said immediately—and very firmly. Carolyn made a face but quickly changed her expression to a more neutral one.
Morgan was just happy to be included. She’d have to pay close attention to the wedding this week to see what might be expected of her as a bridesmaid.