I can do this.
I almost look like a sort of gothic fairytale princess in this outfit. I wonder if he bought this dress specifically for us to use tonight. It’s my size and fits me perfectly. It smells new. I don’t even think it’s ever been washed before. It must be new. The dress is low-cut enough to be seductive and it’s very short. The stockings come up to my thighs and I’m not wearing any undergarments.
Still, it feels…special.
It really does feel like something a princess would wear.
It feels like something his princess would wear, and so I wear it.
I pick up the tray and take my time walking to the dining room where Peter is waiting at the head of the table. I move to him and set the tray down on the table. Very carefully, I lower it and make sure that the teacups don’t jostle too much.
“It looks perfect,” he says.
“Thank you.”
“Will you pour us tea?”
This is it.
This is the moment of truth.
I’ve never done this before, and I’m nervous. I want tonight to be so very perfect. I want everything about this moment to be something he’ll remember forever and always. I lift the teapot and I begin to pour. The first cup is perfect. I manage to fill the teacup and set it down without spilling a drop.
But when I begin to pour for the second cup, my hands begin to shake, and the tea spills all over Peter’s beautiful tablecloth.
Instantly, I set the teapot down and look at what I’ve done.
I’ve messed up this beautiful moment between us.
I’ve completely destroyed it.
I look at him, devastated.
He isn’t mad at all.
“It’s no problem,” he says. “We can clean it up,” but I don’t wait to hear what he says next. Instead, I turn and run away. I run out of the dining room and back upstairs. I run into the bedroom and I throw myself under the bed. It’s completely empty and there’s plenty of space under here to hide and…
And I can be alone for a minute to think about what I’ve done.
I spilled the tea.
I completely destroyed the beautiful moment we were having together.
I shouldn’t have spilled it.
Peter worked so hard to make sure that tonight was an evening we could both totally enjoy. He did everything in his power to make sure we both really and truly we able to get the most out of this night.
And I threw it away.
Just like I throw away everything else in my life.
I hear him enter the room. Footsteps against the hardwood floors. I hold perfectly still and suck in a breath. I won’t let him find me. There’s no way he knows I’m under here. His house is way too big for him to know where I am. He’s got too much space here.
He’ll never find me because I’m being perfectly silent.
“Heather, come out from under the bed so we can talk.”
Okay, so maybe he knows where I am.