Secrets in Love

Chapter Three

I get dressed into the black dress and heels Madison picked out. The heels are higher than I'm used to wearing and I'm fretting I won't remember how to walk in them without resembling an ostrich learning how to use its legs for the first time. Madison swears that the dress just hugs my curves, but I think it's skin tight and might as well be a second skin. It goes down to mid-thigh and shows a hint of cleavage, but I guess it could always be worse. I left my hair down, as opposed to the overly complicated styles Madison and Candi opted for – way too many steps in order to try to impress someone I don't know. There's a pile of blow-dryers, straighteners, curling irons, bobby pins, make-up and brushes left on the bathroom counter as a result of their prep. It's girly chaos.

I'm feeling anxious about this whole ordeal and being a pawn in her game, but Madison says all I have to do is meet her brother tonight, flirt a little and not sleep with him. I can manage that. Not sleeping with people happens to be a specialty of mine. It doesn't take me long to get ready, so I spend another 25 minutes sitting on the couch playing on my phone while Candi changes outfits repeatedly, unable to decide what to wear. Plenty of time to let myself stress out about anything and everything that might happen tonight. Finally, the war paint is on and we're ready for battle. I was ready a half hour ago, but whatever.

We take a cab to the party, so that none of us have to worry about driving home if we want to have a few drinks. The whole ride over, Madison keeps repeating "don't have sex with my brother tonight" to me as if it were to be some weird mantra.

God, I feel like I'm crawling out of my skin already.

Madison arranged for a few of her other friends to meet us there, so we all join up outside before walking in together. I'm introduced to the others that I haven't previously met in a flurry of hugs and handshakes. My stomach is swimming with jitters. We get into the banquet room of the restaurant and I'm surprised how nice it is. I figured it would just be a casual thing, but the room has been redecorated specifically for the event. There are candles everywhere and the lighting is dim. It's really breathtaking. Some of the tense knots in my shoulders start to release. There are men in suits milling around and all the other women are in dresses and high heels. I have to admit, I am thankful that Madison picked this dress out, because otherwise I might feel underdressed and more out of place. Definitely not the place to wear scrubs.

Madison grabs my arm before whispering into my ear, "he's coming over. Remember – do not have sex with him tonight."

I roll my eyes. Candi licks her lips seductively, before coyly looking down at the floor. I see several of the other girls adjusting themselves in their dresses, pulling the tops down lower to expose more cleavage or putting on more lipstick. It all seems a little over the top to me, and comical. He's just a guy. There are a lot of people walking around, so I don't really get a good gauge on who Madison's brother is until he's almost right in front of us.

Once he's there with us, I can understand a little more why all the girls were preening and primping.

Pulchritudinous: someone of breathtaking, heartbreaking beauty.

He is gorgeous to the point that it's unreal. Okay, that's not exactly fair. He has golden brown hair that has a slight widow's peak in the front. It's short, but enough that it looks tousled, like the sexiest bedhead I've ever seen. Even though he's suited up, there's something about his stature that I can only imagine how perfect the rest of his body looks. He has a short beard, but it's very neatly trimmed - the perfect amount of scruff covering his strong jawline and cheeks. He has on a three-piece charcoal gray suit, pristinely white shirt and silver tie. His penetrating blue eyes stand out in contrast to the suit. Something that's been dormant inside of me starts to stir. He definitely seem to take his time to look his best and I get the feeling from the cocky grin on his face that he knows half the women in the room are ogling him. When I take a closer look, I realize that I'm about eye-level with his nose thanks to the heels, but his size feels intimidating, as if he towers above me. The way he carries himself does it – makes him seem larger than life. I exhale and repeat Madison's mantra in my head. He's just a guy. An arrangement of the same body parts that all men have, but in an aesthetically pleasing way. Madison reaches out and pulls him into a half-hug.