Page 79 of Forget Me

I waited five minutes before I went to her door. “Do you need help with the zipper?”

“No. I’m fine. I just—” She opened the door and squinted one eye. “Does this look good on me?”

The tulle gathered at one shoulder, floating over her breasts, toga-style, before cinching at her waist. Then it flowed out again over her hips and puddled on the floor.

“We’ll have to get it taken up at the hem.” I cast a critical eye over the rest of it. “You look amazing in it.”

“I do, don’t I?” she murmured, twisting in front of the cheap mirror on her wall so the skirt swirled. “I never would’ve tried on something like this. But it…it’s gorgeous.”

I leaned over her bare shoulder to whisper in her ear, “You’re gorgeous. The dress is only a vehicle for your beauty.”

“Oh my God, stop.” Her cheeks went red.

“Where’s your phone? I’ll take a picture.”

“In my purse. You can take a picture with your phone and send it to me.”

“Really?” I slid my phone out of my back pocket.

“It’s fine.” She turned to the side and popped a knee.

I snapped the photo and texted it to Mimi. Sliding my phone back into my pocket, I said, “Turn. I’ll get the zipper and bring you the next one.”

When she turned her back to me, I lowered the zipper all the way to her black panties. I wanted to trace a finger over the waistband, but if I started that, she’d never see the other dresses. So with one last, longing glance, I turned away to fetch the second gown.

I passed it to her through the cracked door.

“Ooh, a black one,” she said.

“I knew that would appeal to you.”

Two minutes later, she opened the door and beckoned me in. This one was a heavy black brocade fabric with a V-neck bodice and an A-line skirt that flared out over her legs.

“It has pockets!” she squealed, tucking her hands into them.

“Thought you’d like that.”

She twirled again in front of the mirror. “This one is really more my style. I mean, the other one made me look like a…a fairy princess, but this dress means business.”

I held up my phone. “Give me thatget out of my way, you’re blocking my spotlight, Jay-Z,look.”

She gave the camera a fierce stare, and I snapped the picture. “Turn.”

After she turned her back, I lowered the zipper. This time, I ghosted my fingers over the silky skin of her lower back, and she shivered.

“One more,” I murmured.

“But this one is perfect.”

“One more.”

“Fine.”

I returned with the final dress, weighty with rose-gold sequins.

“Pink?” Her lip curled.

“Try it.”

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