Page 78 of Whirlwind
It’s one more thing to be jealous of the guy for.
My entire body freezes in the doorway when Kit opens to my knocking. Dragging my eyes over her from head to toe, I start the climb back up even slower.
“I knew this dress was the wrong choice,” she says, her voice shaking with anxiety that’s already set in. “It’s not right, too much. I fell in love with it and convinced myself it was going to be okay. But it’s obviously not.”
“What?” I ask, trying to focus on the dress itself, rather than her as a whole. It’s all shimmery black, calf-length, and long-sleeved. It hugs her form and has boxy shoulders and hips that accentuate her already perfectly curved figure. Hardly any of her skin shows, other than under the sheer fabric covering her chest, but it’s sexier than anything I’ve ever seen her in.
“I’ll change. Willa said everyone is wearing pink and black. She brought me some options to borrow. But you said you’d pay meback if I wanted to shop for myself,” she rambles, her bare toes digging into the carpet, a nervous gesture I’ve noticed almost as often as her fist clenching. “I’m not going to fit in. They’ll all be in tiny, pink, sparkling dresses.”
“Kit.”
“I’m sorry I’m freaking out. I thought I had myself under control, and then, I got a text from a coworker that asked if I’d ever thought birds weren’t real. Like, instead, they’re little robots, and that’s why they sit on power lines—so they can recharge. Then, all I could think about was how far artificial intelligence has come and how bad our education system is, and I spiraled.”
“Kit,” I repeat, all while I try to wrap my head around robot birds.
“I’ll go change. I’ll be quick, so we won’t be late. You look handsome, by the way. I should have led with that.”
“Kit,” I say again, moving to her and grabbing her trembling hands in mine. “If you change that dress, I will put your bare ass over my knee until it’s red. Then, force the dress back on you.”
“What?” She blinks up at me. My goal was to get her out of her head—or at least steer it in a different direction. The redness on her cheeks tells me it worked.
“You heard me,” I say in a softer tone. “The dress is amazing. You’re gorgeous, and who gives a fuck if you fit in with what the other wags are wearing?”
“Be so for real with me, Tyson,” she says, her voice a little steadier. “If we show up there and all the other women are dressed in little pink party dresses, and I’m like a goth power boss bitch next to them, you’re not going to feel some kind of way about it?”
“Oh, I’ll feel some kind of way,” I say, dropping my head to the crook of her neck and peppering it with a few kisses. “I’ll feelproud that you walked into the room on my arm and that I’m the man you’ll be going home with.”
“Are you sure?” she asks breathlessly. “It was an expensive dress.”
“Worth every fucking penny.”
“You don’t know how much I spent,” she says, stilling my head between her hands and forcing me to look at her.
“How much?”
“Six hundred,” she says, scrunching her nose up the way she does whenever she’s feeling cringey. “The shoes were on clearance, but still cost almost three-fifty.”
“For less than a grand, I get to stare at you looking like this all night? That’s a steal,” I tell her, trying to hide my amusement.
“You’re crazy,” she accuses.
“My current contract is a four-year deal for twenty-one million. You could have spent more.”
“I’m already terrified I’m going to spill on it or rip it.” She’s looking at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“I had ties that I’ve thrown out that cost more than the shoes you bought. I promise, if anything happens to the dress, it’s going to be fine.”
“You throw your ties away?” she asks, aghast.
“I meant, donated,” I say, laughing. “I’m not a heathen.”
“Good, I was rethinking everything I know about you,” she says, then takes a couple calming breaths. “Thank you for talking me down.”
“Anytime, love. Go get your shoes; I’ll take Nightmare for a quick walk.”
“Okay,” she says, and starts walking toward the bedroom but pauses to look back at me. “Can we try that whole spanking thing sometime? Maybe not until I’m red, but…”
“I knew you had a bratty side,” I say with a grin and the beginnings of a hard-on.
