“That’s so romantic. How did you tame him?”
“We started out as friends. And our friendship slowly grew into something romantic over time. I admit I was scared when I knew we could possibly cross that fine line. I was scared that I’d ruin the friendship we already have. But I think that relationships grow from friendships. Dating after a friendship is established is key. Now I’m dating my best friend and those levels of respect have already been established, before the passionate part comes into play. I think it really worked for us.”
“And what if you would’ve jumped straight into intimacy the first few months of meeting Nick?”
I laughed. “Then obviously I wouldn’t be sitting up here today with you. I’d still be in his little black book.”
The audience laughed.
“It’s the best foundation ever for an awesome relationship,” I continued. “I can’t think of a better person to face the adventures of life with...other than Nick. Our relationship is built on trust and understanding. He’s my world and I couldn’t live without him. I love him with all my heart, and I know he loves me too.”
“That’s beautiful. And I agree. There is nothing wrong with taking the time to know one another before you jump into a relationship.”
She thanked me for joining the show and finally it was over.
***
I went back to my place and hung out. Stacy and the crew came back around five pm to help me get ready for my dinner date with Nick.
Now it was time to get out the gorgeous dress.
I hadn’t touched it since the day that Nick and I went to Dior. I’d extracted my work purse, and nothing more. The rest was left to haunt the empty space beneath my mattress. Filling me with frustrations, curiosities, and questions to which I would never have the answer.
And so, it was with a sense of gravity that I pulled it out that night.
Only Stacy was with me. The rest of them had either been banished, or had left of their own free will—having discovered that there were no surfaces of my body left to preen. She and I peered down together, as if we were about to unlock some sort of ancient treasure chest or mystical door. Then, when she could take the anticipation no longer, she gave me a hard shove.
“Do it,” she coaxed. “Before we age into next season.”
I lifted out the tissue paper, and slowly extracted the items—one by one. The shoes, the necklace, the lingerie (oh gosh—I’d forgotten about the lingerie), and then finally—the dress.
There was a soft gasp from beside me, but I froze completely still. To be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was looking at. We’d found it in the dress section—so that had to be what it was—and yet...I had never seen anything like it.
Let me start by saying this: it looked like something a gladiator would wear. If the gladiator had a penchant for silks, gems, ribbons, and happened to be a princess.
It was every shade of iridescent silver I could imagine—darkening to shimmering charcoal hues when I twisted it in the light. The entire thing was about as light as a feather, and covered just about as much—with a jagged crystal strap that laced around my thin shoulders before widening into a bodice that plunged all the way to my stomach.
But there’s a reason for that...
With a little smile, I reached into the jewelry box, and pulled out the necklace—ignoring the way Stacy swooned again beside me. It was a testament to how hard I was trying to put that day and its string of unanswered questions behind me, that I hadn’t taken the thing out before to gawk at it in the privacy of my own room.
It was beautiful.
An eighteen inch chain of pure diamonds that hung all the way down to my navel, a length that happened to fit perfectly with the dress. At the end, dangling there like a little drop of heaven, was a diamond pendant. Shaped like a half-moon teardrop. Glistening in my open palm.
“Abigail,” Stacy murmured, taking a deep breath to steady herself, “I’m going to ask you a question, and I want you to give me an honest answer, okay?”
I looked up in surprise, wondering what she was thinking.
“When did you start sleeping with Nicholas Hunter?”
When did I start...what?!
“Excuse me?!” I cried, leaping to my feet. “What the hell are you talking about?!”
She stood up slowly beside me, completely immune to my indignant rage.
“This stuff...” her eyes swept each item laying out on my bed, “...all of it. It’s worth about as much as this apartment building.”