Page 9 of A Love So Sweet
She turned on some music and danced as she got ready for her big night. She went heavy on the makeup, which took some time since she hardly ever wore any, and stepped into one of the few lace thongs she owned, feeling naughty and a little uncomfortable. She wanted to feel sexy, and this would help. At least that’s what Kaylie always said.Sexiness is a state of mind and starts with what nobody else sees.She slithered into the skintight dress with the plunging neckline and spun around as the tunes escalated, slipping her bare feet into a pair of efficient black heels. She stood before the mirror, surveying herself from top to bottom. Her dark eyeliner said,Take me, her body screamed,Touch me, and her crimson lips whispered,I’m in control, but the total package, including the efficient heels, shouted,Faker!
She kicked off her heels and stared at her other footwear options with a frown.Efficient, efficient, efficient.No matter which dress she chose, she’d feel like a fake.How on earth did I make it this far?She snagged her phone from the bed and texted Kaylie.
Can I borrow your high black heels?
Her phone vibrated seconds later.High black heels? lol. You mean the take-me-now heels?
Max rolled her eyes and texted back.I guess.
Kaylie’s text came fast.Who’s the guy?
She responded,Festival after-party. Yes or no?
A minute later her answer arrived.Yup. Babies are sleeping. I’ll leave the heels on the porch.
Max squealed, immediately worrying that maybe she’d interrupted a private moment between Chaz and Kaylie since Kaylie said she’d leave the heels on theporch. Oh well, what was done was done. She couldn’t worry about that now. She spritzed on her sexiest perfume, put on her flip-flops, grabbed her purse and keys, and headed for Kaylie’s house.
Twenty minutes later she was walking up Kaylie’s front steps. As promised, the black stilettos were on the front porch.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about Treat!”
Max gasped. “Kaylie!You scared the daylights out of me!”
Kaylie came out of the dark garage and into the light of the porch. Her blond hair was tousled, and she wore a nighty that barely covered her underwear—at least Max hoped she was wearing underwear—and fuzzy slippers.
“Sorry, but if you’re borrowing my heels, I want details.”
Max wished she had some to share. “I’m not seeing Treat. I’m going to the after-party because your husband wanted to spend time with you.”
“Aw, he’s so romantic. Chaz said Treat showed up today. Did he call you? I knew there was something going on at the wedding.”
Max heard a faint ringing. “There was nothing going on at the wedding, and he didn’t come to see me. He’s in Weston visiting his dad, and it was just a coincidence that he was at the festival.”I wish he’d been there to see me. No. I wish he’d come to see me weeks ago.
“Danica would tell you that there are no coincidences in life,” Kaylie said. Her older sister was more like Max than Kaylie. “Hey, is that your phone ringing?”
“I thought it was the house phone,” Max answered.
Kaylie shook her head. “We turn off the ringers when the kids go to bed.”
Max ran for her car and tugged the door open, but her phone had already stopped ringing. She checked the missed call log and saw the restricted number had popped up again. She let out a breath and felt the confidence she’d bolstered begin to deflate.
“Sorry, Max. Were you expecting him to call?” Kaylie asked.
Max couldn’t hide her disappointment. “Not really. He asked for my number, but you know how that goes.”
“Sometimes men suck,” Kaylie said. “Oh, Max. Look at you. I didn’t even notice how gorgeous you look. Girl, if he is at that after-party, he won’t be able to keep his eyes—or his hands—off you.”
“Thanks. I’m sure he won’t be there.” Treat didn’t seem like the partying type, which was one of things that had attracted her to him. He was strong and confident, but not showy or arrogant.Until that look. The look he already apologized for.If anything, she needed to apologize to him for acting rude when she was flustered this afternoon.
With a sigh, she said, “I’m not like you, Kaylie. This would be so easy for you. I had to talk myself into dressing like this, and I still feel like I’m playing dress-up. All I wanted was to look sexy and flirt a little to get my mind off of…”
“Well, you sure fooled me into thinking you were confident about how you looked. Listen, this is all there is to it. Flirting, meeting guys, it’s all a game. It’s them against you, and usually you both have the same agenda—to get the sexiest one into bed.”
“Kay—”
“Save it, sister. And trust me, okay? I know what I’m talking about. The next time you see Treat, you act as if you’re the sex-starved man, like you can’t keep your eyes or hands off him. That’ll knock him off his game, and you’ll start to see therealhim.”
“I don’t know if I can do that.”A sex-starved man?
