Chapter 15 - Ivy #3
The words only make me more furious.
Because he attended the gala to be with her, and he's still there playing his part while asking me to rescue him.
"No."
"What?"
"I said no. You made your choice. You're at a fancy gala with a beautiful woman who fits in your world. I'm not coming."
"Ivy, listen to me..."
A throw pillow hits my arm. I look up to find Sloane standing in her bedroom doorway in shorts and a T-shirt.
She mouths, "Say yes!"
I shake my head.
She mouths more emphatically, whisper-shouting, "SAY YES."
"Fine," I hear myself say. "Where's the museum?"
Declan rattles off an address downtown. "Thank you. I owe you..."
I hang up before he can finish. Standing, I glare at Sloane.
“I don't know why you asked me to agree to this rubbish, but we're going to have a discussion when I'm back."
I start walking out of her apartment. She rushes over and holds my arm to stop me, then pulls me to her bedroom, grinning.
"What are you doing?" I protest.
"Saving you from yourself." She throws open her closet, surveying the contents with a critical eye. "You can't go to a museum gala looking like that."
I glance down at the oversized cardigan and boyfriend jeans I borrowed from Sloane after having a shower this morning.
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"
"Everything. You're going to rescue your man from another woman. You need to make him regret ever being in that situation." She pulls out a dress. It's dark with golden highlights. "This one."
"It's too big for me. You're taller and more shapely than I am, Sloane."
"It's too small for me, so it's the perfect fit for you. I wanted to gift it to you on a special occasion. There's no better time than now."
She holds it up, and my eyes widen. The neckline plunges. The fabric looks like it clings. It's the kind of dress that highlights every curve, including the ones I prefer to keep hidden.
"I can't wear that."
"You can and you will."
"Sloane..."
"It's classy and sexy. Trust me." She shoves it into my hands. "Now strip."
I drop the dress back into her wardrobe.
"This is insane. I'll look ridiculous."
"You'll look hot. You want him to see what he'll be missing if he keeps playing these games with Evangeline."
The thought sends a thrill through me despite my reservations.
"We haven't even... We're not..."
"Have you kissed?"
Heat floods my face.
"Oh my... You have!" she squeals. "How was it? Give me the details."
"We've kissed multiple times, and last night we..." I can't finish the sentence.
"Last night you what?"
"He gave me a massage," I mutter. "And it led to... other things."
Her eyes go impossibly wide. "Other things? What other things?"
"He used his hand on me thoroughly, and I..." My voice drops to a whisper. "I orgasmed multiple times."
The squeal that erupts from Sloane should shatter glass. She jumps up and down, grabbing my shoulders.
"Ivy Chandler! You had your first set of orgasms with Declan Hawthorne! This is amazing."
"Shh!" I whisper, glancing at the living room door.
"The neighbors..."
"Screw the neighbors. This is huge!" She composes herself though her grin doesn't fade. "And what happened next?"
"Nothing."
Her eyebrows furrow in confusion. "What about sex?"
"We didn't do anything else. He said last night was all about me."
Her grin widens. "Okay, this changes everything. You're definitely wearing the dress."
"How does this change anything?"
"Because he gave you multiple orgasms and hasn't gotten any action himself, right?"
I nod reluctantly.
"That means he's wound up and dying for you.
So, when you show up in this dress," she says, picking it back up and waving it triumphantly, "he's going to realize exactly what fresh, gorgeous territory he's missing out on if he thinks he can date you and parade around with Evangeline at the same time. "
"It's just a practice date..."
"Bullshit. After all you've described since you started this practice date of yours, that wasn't practice. That was a man staking his claim."
Placing the dress in my arm, she pushes me toward her bathroom.
"Now go. We have work to do."
Forty-five minutes later, I barely recognize myself.
The dress fits like a second skin, hugging curves I didn't know I had. The fabric makes my brown eyes look darker and more mysterious. The neckline reveals cleavage I've spent my entire adult life hiding under cardigans and labcoats.
Sloane rejected my usual lip gloss and eyeliner, working her magic with makeup. There's something smoky that makes my eyes look sultry. My lips are painted a deep red that makes me look powerful.
And my hair is so gorgeous.
She curled it, transforming the straight style into waves that cascade down my shoulders and end in soft curls. The kind of hair that begs to be touched, pulled, tangled in someone's fists while they...
Stop. Focus.
"You look incredible," Sloane breathes, stepping back to admire her work. "Like you can destroy a man with a flick of your fingers."
I stare at my reflection. The woman looking back is sophisticated and confident. She commands attention instead of shrinking from it. She's everything I usually try not to be.
Sloane turns to face me.
"Tonight, you go show Declan exactly what he's got. And if he's stupid enough to keep going out with Evangeline?" Her grin turns wicked, eyes becoming cold as she gestures at me. "You leave him to rot while missing all this."
I take a deep breath, smoothing my hands over the dress one more time.
She's right. Practice date or not, Declan made a choice when he kissed me, touched me, made me scream his name into the night. He doesn't get to have that and Evangeline too.
If he thinks he can date both of us simultaneously, he's about to learn otherwise.