Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Carl always kept the water temperature perfect, like in her flipping dream. She hurried back to her bedroom and put on one of her bathing suits. It was a black one piece, nothing like the hot bikini she’d been wearing in her dream.

Ignoring the teasing sensations rippling through her body as she thought of what Carl had done to her in the pool, she angrily snatched a towel and raced outside in bare feet.

The chilled air was a lot cooler than she expected. Her nipples poked through the thin lining of her nylon suit as she ran to the far end of the pool. She tried to ignore them and the ache of release they were begging for.

She tossed her towel on a chair and dove into the pool, only coming up for air when her lungs threatened to explode for lack of breath. She swam lap after lap, trying to exert away the desires her body wanted so badly. She had always enjoyed sex and her body responded easily to the touch of a man, but a dream? Really?

It had to be from the guilt of being around Carl. Her mind was on a merry-go-round of emotions but her body just wanted to be sated with hard sex... just enough to stop the craving for a bit. She laughed as she dunked her head underwater and turned to swim back to the other side of the pool again. She was like a drug addict, but with sex and going through withdrawal. Even masturbation couldn’t cure this affliction. She knew what she needed, but it wasn’t going to happen.

An hour later she finally pulled herself out of the pool and threw the towel around her shoulders as she squeezed the water from her hair. She glanced up at the rising sun and shivered from the cold on her skin. She spun around and swore she saw a flash by a window upstairs, but then figured it was someone just opening the blinds. Shivering from the cold, she hurried back to her apartment. Spring was in the air and soon summer would give way to warm mornings and hot days. It couldn’t come soon enough.

A hot shower and some breakfast later, she grabbed her cell and sent Nicholas a text to see if he wanted to do dinner one night this week. During her shower, she made the decision that she needed to move forward, and away from Carl. They were not going to have a relationship and the sooner she moved forward, the better she would feel... and the more sleep she would get without ridiculously hot dreams.

She stared at her closet. She had a fantastic new wardrobe but nothing to wear on a date. Carl had given her a work bonus and she decided it was time to spend it on herself. She was going to go shopping for some clothes she could actually fit into that were not work related. It’d been years since she had gone clothes shopping, but with her old clothes big, stretched and boring, she suddenly had the urge to shop. She would need something nice to wear when she went out with Nicholas. That was all the excuse she needed.

She hit the new outside mall Carl had taken her to and window shopped as she looked for something that struck her as pretty. She never owned pretty clothes, or sexy ones. She grinned, maybe she needed to hit a Victoria’s Secret and buy some other pretty things. She grinned. She’d do that first.

As she shopped through bra and pantie sets, she picked out a black set, a white one, an incredible sexy lace one she knew she’d never wear, and a soft silky pink set. When she tried them on, they made her feel pretty and even a little sexy in the reflection of the mirror. She had the feeling the shop set the mirrors to give her a skinny look. She wasn’t complaining, she didn’t mind at all.

She also bought a couple pairs of silk nighties and a robe to wear inside her apartment. Happy, she stepped back outside with her purchases and walked around the shops again.

Nicholas sent her a text to say he’d love to do dinner and whenever she was available, he’d make sure he was as well.

She smiled.

He seemed nearly perfect. He was charming and handsome, the money side of him was also slightly attractive. She tried to pretend it wasn’t, but the thought of never having to worry about paying a bill, or shopping whenever she felt like it, how could that not be tempting? There wasn’t anything fake about him, unlike her last boyfriend, Stephen, and he seemed to want a real relationship with her, unlike Carl. However, she couldn’t seem to rouse more than a slightly pleasant feeling every time she thought about him. That’s what Nicholas made her feel. Pleasant. Relaxed. Not all hot and fiery, full of passion. Like Carl does.

Mandy cursed at herself. There she was, thinking about Carl again, even after she swore not to. It had to stop right then and there. No Carl today. No more thinking about men in general. This was going to be a Mandy day. She rolled her eyes. She’d never had a personal day in her life. Then again, with her in the hot seat with her sister’s wedding, she might as well enjoy the day before everything hit the fan. Mandy was actually surprised she hadn’t heard again from her mother or sister. Maybe they were too angry to talk. She should probably call them.

She grinned, their ignoring her was kind of nice. Maybe she should let them stew a few days longer.

She browsed through some of her favorite stores and found a nice, flirty blouse to go along with black dress pants. The style of the clothes were flattering on her, and she almost looked thin in them. She started whistling when she left the shop. It was going to be a great day after all.

She continued to window shop as she walked. On a whim, she got in her car and drove downtown to walk the small boutique shops and grab a bite. With the sun shining, the concrete warmed and birds were busy building nests and chattering away in the trees above her. She paused outside a shop and stared at the fancy clothes inside.

An incredible red dress caught her attention. It was beyond gorgeous, beyond sexy. It hugged the mannequin’s shape perfectly, showing off all of the sculptured curves without squeezing them or giving too much away. The sweetheart neckline had a small amount of subtle beading that called attention to the breasts without being too obvious. Indirect hint that could be accented with a stunning necklace.

The only thing keeping the dress from falling off the mannequin was a pair of thin, red spaghetti straps. Even they were sexy on the shoulders. The dress danced the fine line between conservative and provocative perfectly. The wrong pair of shoes, too much make up, or something tactless, could set the dress all wrong. However, with the right accessories, it was beyond gorgeous. Drop-dead dream gorgeous.

Mandy was in love with it.

Unfortunately, there was no way in hell she would ever wear something like that, or have a place to wear it to. She thought of the maid of honor dress she was supposed to wear. It was red, but nothing near as beautiful as this one. This one could show up a bride’s dress.

She sighed as she continued to stare at the window display. Be realistic, Mandy. That dress looks like a size six. No way are you going to fit into something like that.

Even with her regular workouts at the gym, swimming and new strict diet, it wouldn’t happen. She was dropping weight fast, but was no size six. She smiled wistfully. If she could lose the weight, then she would be a knockout in that dress, she just knew it.

What would her mother or sister say if they saw her in that dress? They’d have heart attacks or their mouths would literally hit the floor. Even Stephen would hate himself for leaving her.

Mandy shook her head. If she was going to lose the weight, she had to do it because of her, not because of some petty issue she had with her sister, her soon-to-be-brother-in-law or trying to show off to her mother.

She should only do it for herself.

The dress would be ridiculously expensive. More than a paycheck at her old job. She grinned suddenly. What if she bought the dress and hung it in her closet to remind herself of where she wanted to be? It could be an incentive and if she set attainable goals, she would go out somewhere in that dress. It would probably be to a movie by herself, but what the hell? What was life if she didn’t try to live it a little?

She giggled as she reached for the door to the shop. This was crazy! She wasn’t a spur of the moment kind of person. She didn’t wear dresses. Especially one as sexy and
beautiful as this one.

Screw it! That dress was hers.