Page 29 of Glitter

Why, oh why, had I not immediately messaged him back and told him I’d meet him at the restaurant? It wouldn’t have been difficult to do, but the idea of arguing with him left me feeling cold and empty. Plus, he hadn’t exactlyaskedme for my address. It was more of an order, and some part of me responded to that in a surprisingly positive way.

Not my cock.

Well, notjustmy cock.

So, I’d texted him my address and didn’t argue with him, telling myself that this would be a good thing. He’d see the hovel I’d been living in for far too long and run screaming for the nearest hill. Better to stop this rapidly growing affection for him now rather than later, right? That way, I could save myself the heartache that would inevitably come my way when everything fell apart.

But that was hours ago, and now I was sitting here, staring at his message so hard that the screen blurred and there was no way for me to read it anymore. Nervous dread had filled me at the thought of him showing up at my apartment an hour ago, and now I was in full on panic attack mode. It was one thing to hear things through a video call, and quite another todeliberately deliver yourself into the thick of it. Was it too late for me to message him back and tell him I’d meet him at the restaurant instead?

My mind whirred. If I let him pick me up, did that mean that I secretly wanted him to see the ramshackle building where I lived? Or was I thinking too much about all of this? I was almost definitely letting myself obsess over it all, but it didn’t make me wrong.

There was also the fact that if I stayed the night at Henry’s, I’d probably have to rely on him driving me home after work tomorrow. Was that so bad? My brain kept screaming at me that it was, while my heart just sighed happily and repeatedly told my brain to go fuck itself.

Dropping my phone on the coffee table, I let out a long sigh and ran my fingers through my hair. Fuck it. Let him pick me up. It was a date, and he was being a gentleman by offering to pick me up on the way to the restaurant. If nothing else, I was being a responsible adult by minimizing our carbon footprint by using only one car. That was a good thing, right?

My brain threw its hands up in the air, gave up all its arguments, and stomped away into the dark recesses of my mind, begrudgingly disgusted that I’d let myself be swayed about a simple date over something so involved as climate change issues. My heart danced a jig, threw its middle fingers up at my brain, and laughed maniacally.

If this was how crazed my mind was feeling now, God help Henry tonight at the restaurant.

There was still plenty of time before he was due here, so I took my time getting ready, making sure I put on the white lace panties I’d told him I’d wear, but matching it to a tight, open, lace bra top that looped around my torso just underneath my pecs and connected to a slim, snow-white band around my neck via a vertical strip of cotton.

It was something that I wore on the days when I wasn’t feeling as confident as I usually did and needed that little boost, usually when I was needed in some important funding meeting with rich benefactors. The neck band was narrow enough that it was easily hidden underneath my shirt collar and tie, so no-one was ever any the wiser as to what I was wearing, except for me whenever the lace edging teased my torso and lower back when I moved quickly or leaned to grab something.

With the way my emotions were currently jumping all over the place, I really,reallyneeded that extra lift of confidence for tonight.

Although, I really did hope that he would like the surprise when he unwrapped me later.

The makeup I put on was understated to allow my hair color to pop, keeping things to a basic black mascara, dark-gold blush eyeshadow, and subtle pink lipstick. Thinking of how Henry called meangelall the time made my earring choice simple: a small pair of silver angel wing stud earrings I’d purchased years prior.

Once I was happy with my makeup, I put on a thin black turtleneck shirt and my black slim fit jeans that had a slight flare to accommodate the heeled boots I’d be putting on soon enough, before laying my mid-thigh, dove-grey peacoat on the bed ready to wear once it was time for me to go. I tossed a thin black scarf with emerald highlights on top of the coat as an afterthought, thinking that I might be leaning too heavily into the black without something to break it up.

Packing my bag for the overnight stay and tomorrow’s work day was much simpler. For work, I typically rotated the same few outfits every fortnight or so, adding flair through my accessories and shoes. As I’d already ironed the shirt that I wanted to wear tomorrow, I placed that, along with everything else I needed, into a garment bag I could hang up as soon as I got to Henry’s.A smaller secondary bag took my makeup, toiletries, and a satin pajama set I assumed I wouldn’t be wearing. Hell, if I needed to wear something in bed tonight, one of Henry’s t-shirts would be more than sufficient, but it was always better to be prepared.

Just as I was pulling my boots on, my five-minute warning alarm went off to let me know to hightail it out to the curb to wait for him. Grabbing everything, I dashed out the door, making sure I’d snagged the lock as I went. It wouldn’t stop anyone truly determined to get into my apartment, but it would let my brain rest that I’d done everything I could to deter any burglaries.

I didn’t need to wait long. As soon as I stepped up to the curb, Henry’s car crawled to a stop in front of me. He stepped out, rounded the front, then stalled as he took my outfit in. His jaw opened and closed for a moment before he could say anything.

“Wow, Blue. You look incredible.” He leaned forward and gave me a quick peck on the cheek before taking my garment bag and hanging it from a hook above one of the rear windows.

It was my turn to look him over appreciatively. With my three-inch heels on, he was now about half a foot shorter than me, but it didn’t seem to bother him at all as he simply continued to stare at me with his eyes darkening in desire.

He’d dressed up for our date, now looking scrumptious in a dark navy shirt with the sleeves neatly rolled up to his elbows, showing off his gorgeous tattoos, and the first two buttons undone, giving a visual tease of his chest hair. His pleated trousers hung perfectly off his waist, coming to an inch-wide cuff at the hem, sitting comfortably on his shiny, but well-loved, dress shoes. “So do you, pocket bear. If we didn’t have reservations, I’d suggest going back to your place and letting me gobble you up for dinner instead.”

He chuckled, his hands gently gliding down my arms before reaching up with one hand and cupping my chin. He rubbed histhumb over my cheek as he continued to gaze at me like he was contemplating doing exactly that.

The noise of glass smashing broke the growing tension between us before whatever had crashed through what was presumably a window landed on the sidewalk a dozen feet from where we stood.

Henry turned his head to look, but I grabbed his elbow and steered him towards his car, saying bluntly, “Time for us to leave, pocket bear.”

“But, what if—”

“Nope. Time to go.”

He eyed me but let me open the driver’s door and get him situated before I darted around the car and dove into the passenger seat. Within moments, we were on our way.

Silence filled the car as Henry drove, his eyes constantly moving on the traffic that surrounded us. I sat mostly still, my fingers fidgeting with nervous energy. Any minute now, I was convinced that Henry was going to declare that it was too dangerous for him to date me and, if I was lucky, I’d be dumped at the nearest gas station to make my own way back to my apartment.

Sure, that sounded pessimistic, but when it’s happened to you once as an impressionable young adult just out of college, you kind of expect it to always happen. It was only a matter of when.

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