Love Has a Color

Buy Me Dinner First

Today has already been a roller coaster of events, but of course, it's not over yet. After what happened earlier, I acquired my hair brush and got ready as quickly and as Asher-less as possible. The walk downstairs was awful. I'm sure you can guess how awkward it was, but I also had to carry my heels for fear of twisting an ankle and knocking us both down a few flights.

Now, we're amongst the crowd of lawyers and already I want to be back in the room curled up in bed. I'm already bored just thinking about some of the conversations I'll have to live through. This is true, because I end up having the same ones every single time I come to something like this. That, or I sit alone at the bar. More recently I've been finding myself in some sort of altercation, so I guess the first two aren't too bad.

So far, Asher hasn't left my side the entire time we've been here. I don't know what he's feeling right now, but I know that my face turns cherry red every time he looks at me. How can he just act normal after that? I can't even find a word for what I'm feeling right now, beside utterly mortified.

I'm so wrapped up in my own thoughts and chagrin that I hardly notice we've made our way through the room. Another thing I've failed to recognize, is the arm around my waist. He really knows what buttons to push, doesn't he. I feel the tips of my ears begin to heat up and thank God I left my hair down tonight. I look around to find someone carrying a drink and settle on the man closest to us with a glass of champagne. Honestly, I should not be drinking alcohol tonight. Or, at all this weekend. I need to be at the top of my game around Asher, because clearly when I'm not things go awry.

After pulling away from his arm I sip on my drink slowly, barely paying attention to the people talking right next to me. I need to stop thinking about him, stop letting this all get to my head. This may be surprising, but I think I'm actually physically incapable of thinking about anything else right now.

Eventually I start to get hungry. What kind of dinner party makes you wait this long for the actual dinner? I pull my phone from my purse to check the time, and see that we have about twenty more minutes of standing around before the appetizers. "Hey, Ash?"

My interruption was perfectly timed, because as soon as I said something he exchanged good byes with the men in front of him and looked down to me. "What?" He asks.

"Can we go to our table? My stomach is about to eat itself, and I need to sit." I try not to sound too demanding, but seriously, I haven't eaten all day. I was a little too preoccupied to notice my empty belly.
Asher places his hand on the small of my back and guides me towards the table. No one else is seated here yet, so I choose the seats at the back. I take a step to move away from him, but almost instantly his free hand pulls me back. "I just want to sit," I tell him.

"Scar, don't move," he warns.

I try to pull away from him, but to no avail. "Asher, let me go."

"I can't," he whispers, smiling at a man staring at us as he passes.

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I mean, I'm stuck."

"Stuck?" What does he mean, stuck?

"Scarlett, my watch is caught on the lace of your dress," he explains.

Didn't I just say this was a new dress? "Well get un-caught!"

He gives me a look that reads 'what does it look like I'm doing?' then continues fiddling with the watch. "It's really stuck. I don't think I can get it off with one hand."

"Then take the watch off," I advise.

"I've tried that, Scarlett. It's stuck right at the clasp, I can't get it off."

"Well I don't think we can go the rest of the night with your hand stuck to my back, so, what are we going to do?"

He lets out a frustrated breath and pauses for a moment. "I think you'll have to take the dress off."

"Is this a ploy to see me in my underwear? Because if it is, you'll have to buy me dinner first buddy and this doesn't count." You also don't really have to try this hard.

"Scarlett, I'm serious, I can't-"

"Oh, look who it is, Miss Scarlett Indigo! Looks like we have the pleasure of dining together," a shrill voice interrupts.

Without moving my compromised body too much, I spin my head around at the comment. Of course. I immediately recognize that evil face and those awful red lips. "Why are you here?" I blurt, not even thinking before the words leave my mouth.

"This is a law conference, yes? Of course you know my Father, Mr. Thomas Elliot? Obviously, I followed in his footsteps."

She's a lawyer? And for one of the largest law firms in the country? Why am I asking, of course she is, my life is one huge practical joke. "Good for you, Cruella," I seethe.

"My name is Millicent." Of course she actually has a villain-y name. "I don't know how you didn't know that." She rolls her eyes and smacks her stupid ruby lips before sitting at the table.

Is she seriously this dense? I'm so distracted by her, I forget about Asher trying to discreetly detach his arm from my dress. Just as I'm about to pull away and sit down, I feel him grip my waist a little tighter and I hear a tiny ripping sound. I shoot him a worried glance and he returns it, adding a loud gulp. "Scarlett," he whispers, "we need to go upstairs."

This time, I agree. Did I not just say this was a new dress? I just ignore that devil and allow Asher to lead me back to the room. Not that I really had a choice in the matter, we're a little caught up at the moment.

We make it to the room and I soon realize what needs to happen. "How am I going to get this dress off without you seeing me do it?"

"I can close my eyes," he offers.

"Are you sure I can't, I don't know, reach around and help untangle it?" I know Asher has seen me without clothes on before, but this is different. We both know what's happening and we're both going to remember it the next morning. Needless to say, neither that moment nor this moment is exactly how I imagined the first time being undressed in front of him. You know, if I had imagined it. Because I totally haven't.

"Maybe if you were double jointed."

"Maybe I am, who knows what other fuckery this night will bring," I say.

I'm not turned enough to see his face, but I feel his warm breath fan my neck as he laughs. "Fuckery?"

"Just shut up and unzip me," I demand.

"Yes ma'am," he laughs again. Slowly, he begins to unzip the back of my dress, the cool air from the room hitting my bare back sending a shiver down my spine. "Okay, it's undone. I'll look away and you can just step into the bathroom."

If only it were that easy. Hi, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Scarlett Biggest-klutz-in-the-world Indigo, and you are? I try to shimmy out of the dress, reaching back to awkwardly lower Asher's watch adorned arm with it. It gets low enough to where I'm sure I can just step out and hop skip and jump to the bathroom. Wishful thinking.

I step out, and miss the floor. My heel gets caught in the sleeve and I face plant, flying forward and yanking Asher and the dress with me. Too bad when we hit the ground, I'm not in the dress. I'm pretty sure that according to gravity and Newton's Law or something scientific, this should not have happened like this. Now, I'm laying on the ground with my bra and panties on show with a flustered Asher on top of me.

We both freeze for a moment, and I'm getting a bit of deja vu. Eventually we jump up, trying to separate, and I realize that somehow my foot is still caught to the dress, so I fall right back down. I look up to catch him staring at me, wide-eyed. "Stop looking!" I yell. Except, unlike me, he just keeps staring. Silently. I can tell his heart, like mine, is racing, threatening to pop out of his chest. I gather myself the best I can, and run to the bathroom. At least I was wearing a bra, right?