Stripped

Chapter 6

    Weeks went by and Jake never came back to the club. For the first few days after our farewell I looked for him there, hoping that maybe he left his fiance and came to sweep me off my feet. But he didn't, which was enough for me to let it go. Everyday without him became easier and sometimes I didn't even think about him at all. I felt...free. Maybe moving on would be easier than I originally thought. I even agreed to go on a date with someone.

"Kara!" I called from my room. I heard her shuffling quickly from the living room and she poked her head into my room. "How does this look?" I gave her a quick twirl showing off the pale pink dress that I had chosen for my date. "Do you think that Mark will like it?" It was a halter top with a deep v-neck and a flippy skirt that reached my knees. I paired the dress with white heels and Kara's navy wrap. It was silk and her most prized possession, she threatened me with bodily injury if I ruined it.

"Whooooa!" Kara said fanning at me with her hands, "You look HOT!"

I blushed, "Thanks." I looked better than I felt, it seemed like the butterflies in my stomach were performing Swan Lake and I couldn't help but feel jittery. After all I had never really been on a proper date before.

Kara tugged on one of my loose curls making it bounce like a spring, "I'm so proud of you."

"What for?" I asked batting her hands away from me.

"You know. For not letting this whole thing with Jake destroy you and FINALLY going on a date!"

"It's definitely been easier than I thought it would be," I confessed, glancing over to my dresser where a framed photo of my mother sat was now accompanied by the ring and chain Jake had given me that night. After Jake told me he was engaged I took it off. I couldn't look at it anymore. Especially now that I'm officially dating. It felt so strange to be going out with someone I barely knew, Kara's jaw hit the floor when I told her I had accepted a date from someone I met at Cherry's. She even took me shopping and helped me pick out the dress and shoes that I was wearing.

My heart skipped a beat when the doorbell rang. The clock on my wall read seven o'clock on the dot. At least he was punctual. Bonus point for Mark. Kara scurried out of the room with a mischievous grin on her face. There was no doubt in my mind that she would give Mark some kind of "best friend" talk. Kara always managed to embarrass me. She enjoyed it so much I didn't have the heart to stop her. So, to give her a chance to say what she had to say, I double checked my reflection. I regarded myself in the mirror. It could have been my mother looking back at me, we shared the same nose, hair, and ice blue eyes. I even copied her half up hairdo that she wore in the picture on my dresser. I wasn't sure why I had done it that way, I think I just wanted to feel close to her tonight. I smoothed the small frizzy strands that poked out by my ears and headed out to the living room. 

Mark was standing by the door holding a bouquet of beautiful red roses. He was wearing all black except for the pale pink tie around his neck. Kara must have told him what I was wearing. It was definitely sweet that he thought to match with me. His dark hair was tousled sexily and his eyes locked right onto mine. He handed me the roses and kissed me on the cheek, I felt my face blaze beneath his lips. "You look beautiful," he said into my ear.

"Thank you," I said timidly, "and thank you for the flowers."

"You are most welcome, are you ready to go?"

I nodded and handed the roses to Kara who was on the couch sitting quietly. She didn't say a word but I felt her eyes on me, watching the two of us intently, not unlike a mom sending her daughter on her first date. As we closed the door behind us we heard Kara holler, "Don't keep her out too late!"

Mark chuckled and lead me out of the apartment building, to a waiting limousine. My mouth fell open with surprise, "This is for us?" I had suspected when I met Mark at Cherry's that he had money judging by the Armani tag on his suit jacket. But I hadn't expected him to spend this kind of money on a first date.