Page 63 of Green
15
Gemma
On the morning of our date, I answered the front door at Chloe and Ethan’s wearing the black dress. I thought maybe it would be Theo, surprising me with an early pick-up. So I fluffed up my hair and my boobs before opening the door. I think it’s safe to say that the florist’s delivery guy would have preferred to put his tip inside of me, rather than take the three dollars I gave him.
Theo had sent me two dozen lavender colored roses. Not yellow for friendship. Lavender purple. For me. I don’t know how he knew it was what I liked. Other than the fact that I was always buying that kind of roses at the flower market. The note card said:From the hardest-working guy you know. Still thinking about you. See you tonight.
I felt like a prima ballerina. Except that I could barely move my legs in that dress.
At almost six-thirty, I was standing in front of the mirror in Ethan and Chloe’s dining area, trying to confirm that there would be no nipple slips as I emerged from the car or bent down to pick something up. I heard the front door open, assuming it was Ethan or Chloe, and caught my breath when I saw Theo’s reflection behind mine. He was about ten feet away, watching me. We locked eyes in the mirror.
Every debilitating, dehumanizing second that it took to get me into this dress was completely worth it just to see that look on Theo’s face. At first he may not have realized it was me. But when he did, it was like the sight of me knocked the wind out of him. I had never felt so attractive in my life as I did in this moment. I turned to face him, fingers gripping the buffet table behind me.
“Shit,” he said under his breath, taking me in as he stood where he was.
My own eyes were so fixed on his, watching them scan me down and up again, that it took a minute for me to notice just how hot he looked in his jeans and blazer. Sonotlike Jerry Seinfeld. I very rarely saw Theo in a blazer. I have a thing for blazers. I was so used to seeing him shirtless around the house, but somehow he looked even sexier to me like this. I definitely wanted Business Theo to give me the business.
“Hi,” he said, finally approaching me.
“Hi.”
“You look…” He bit his lip and shook his head. “You’re stunning.”
“Thank you.”
He leaned in to kiss me on my cheekbone, his hands gently touching my waist. Before pulling away, he pressed his lips against my neck, just below my earlobe. He smelled different. He was probably wearing the cologne that he reserved for dates. It was intoxicating. I inhaled deeply and swayed a little. I was already lightheaded due to minimal food intake, but there was a high probability that his amped-up attractiveness was going to make me fall over at some point. For one second I completely understood how jealous he felt about Ben, because I felt jealous of all the faceless women he’d worn that cologne for before me, all those necks he’d pressed his lips against. But he was all mine for now, and I knew it.
“Not complaining, but you’re a tad over-dressed and over-exposed for this event,” he muttered, staring down at my cleavage.
I held my finger up in front of his face. “No I’m not.” I picked up the thin white blouse that was resting on the buffet table under the mirror. I put it on and did up a few buttons, tying the bottom of the blouse into a loose knot just above my waist. “See? Not too over-dressed, not too over-exposed.”
“Wow,” he said, perhaps a little disappointed that he could no longer see my boobs. “It’s like a fashion magic act. Now you see them, now you don’t.” He smiled. “You’re perfect. You ready to go?”
“Yeah. How was your day?” I picked up my purse and he gestured for me to walk towards the front door, ahead of him.
“Interesting. Attended some interesting talks, met some interesting people. Thought about what you looked like in a towel. I think I’ve decided to go with a Santa Monica-based venture capitalist for my next project. How about you? Did you work today?”
“No, we start breaking down the sets tomorrow. I spent most of the day getting into this dress, picking out which shoes to wear with it, scheduling my upcoming jobs, and trying to remember what you looked like naked the night we met.”
He grinned. “Any luck with that?”
“Not really. You’ll have to refresh my memory.”
“Not on the first date,” he whispered in my ear, as he opened the front door for me.
“Fair enough.”
He wasn’t very talkative on the drive to Burbank and that was fine with me, because I closed my eyes and replayed the banter we’d just had over and over in my head. I must have had a big dumb smile on my face because he said: “You’re thinking about our little exchange just now aren’t you?”
I huffed. “Get over yourself.“
“I just wish that blouse was as transparent as you are.” He kept his eyes on the road and he was frowning.
I smirked. “Would you like me to remove the blouse?”
“I’ll be doing the honors at the end of the night. Hope you took your sewing kit with you to Ethan and Chloe’s, because those buttons are gonna go flying.”
“Is that a threat or a promise?”
