Page 59 of Please Don't Leave Me

“Don’t worry about it. It’s all yours now.” He gestures down the hallway to the now unoccupied bathroom. She jumps up from the couch and sprints, slamming the door behind her.

He turns to me and drops my hand. I didn’t even realizehe was holding my hand when we left the bathroom. “Well, that did not go as planned.”

I lean against the wall, trying to act super casual. “You planned this?” I tease.

“No, I definitely didn’t. I mean, once I saw you, it was on my mind, but not the way it happened. I thought I’d have you spread out on my bed upstairs.”

A smile spreads across my face, and I can feel my cheeks heating up. I’m not sure why that makes me blush when he literally just had his dick in me. I shrug. “What can I say? When I see something I like, I’ve gotta have it.”

He laughs and shakes his head. “You Blake women and your jokes.” He reaches out and tucks my hair behind my ear. “Want to go out to the bonfire? I’m sure B is wondering where you ran off to.”

“I doubt it. But yeah, let’s go.”

He doesn’t grab my hand this time, and that’s fine because I don’t think I want to give anyone the wrong idea. After all, this was just for fun. I’ve learned to stop falling so fast because that only gets me hurt. So I’m just living my life in little moments and trying not to look too far into the future, but that's easier said than done.

Chapter Nineteen

LOUISA

It’s the end of spring, and I’ve been on a couple of dates with guys I met on the dating app, but none of them were all that interesting, and none went past a first date. Life has been pretty uneventful. I mostly work, walk Pepin, and work some more.

I’m sitting at my desk working when my phone buzzes. I try not to check my phone at work, but I’ve been bad about that recently. I reach over just to see who it’s from.

Matt's name pops up on the screen. I haven’t heard from him in a while, so I’m intrigued. I thought maybe he had moved on to the next girl and forgotten about me. I unlock my phone and go to messages.

Matt

Hello, gorgeous. How would you like to accompany me to a charity ball in a few weeks? It always looks better to investors when a gentleman has a beautiful woman on his arm.

Lou

What’s thedate? I’ll check my calendar.

I don’t have to check my calendar; I know I have nothing going on for months.

Matt

Second Saturday in June.

Lou

I’m available. What should I wear?

Matt

I’ll have a gown and shoes sent over to your apartment next week. Let me know if any alterations need to be made, and I’ll send someone.

Lou

That works for me. See you in a few weeks.

I throw my head back and my hands on my face. I let out a little scream, but not loud enough for my upstairs neighbor, Sarah, to feel the need to come check on me. I was really trying to play it cool, but I'm freaking out! A ball? A gown? My mind is running wild with ideas about what it’s going to be like. I never thought I’d be someone who goes to an event like that. I likely never will again, so I’m going to fully enjoy it while I have the opportunity.

It'sthe night of the charity ball, and I have to get ready by myself because B is traveling for work. I’m fully capable of doing it by myself, but I just enjoy having her around for stuff like this. She always hypes me up andmakes me feel sexy, though it would be really hard not to feel sexy in this dress.

True to his word, Matt had a dress sent to my apartment the week after he invited me. And he didn’t just send one; he sentthree. One is a deep red A-line sequence gown. The second is a plum-colored silk sheath gown. The third is a long black gown that hugs my top and midsection, then falls loosely on the floor with black straps tied in neat bows on both shoulders with a slit all the way up to my hip.

I tried them all on multiple times and finally chose the black one. He also sent over several pairs of shoes in my size. I bend over and lace up the red velvet strappy heels I picked out, wrapping the velvet ribbon twice around my ankle before tying it off in a bow in the back.

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