Stalk Me

Emery pushes Ivery down and flings open the door. Ivery balls up her little fists and screams, “She pushed me! No fair, Em!”

I pick her up off the ground. “Why don’t you come in my room with me?” Then I whisper in her ear. “I forgot to put on perfume. If you help me, I’ll let you put some on too.”

Her tears stop instantly, and she nods her head. I wave at Cush, then step back into my bedroom.

I hold a few bottles of perfume up to her nose. “Which one do you think I should wear?”

“This one,” she says, grabbing a bottle of Vera Wang Princess for the sole reason that it’s purple, shaped like a heart, and has a golden crown lid. “It’s princess perfume.”

I spray some on my neck, dab the insides of my wrists, then spray it out into the air and walk through it. Then I do the same routine for her.

She gives me one of her neck crushing hugs. I love when they try to hug you so hard you can barely breathe. Hugs like that make me melt.

“I wuv you, Kiki,” she says sweetly. Then she scrunches up her nose, runs back out into the hall, and says to Emery, “Ha. Ha. I smell like a princess, and you don’t!”

I take one more look in the mirror, walk back out, and smile at Cush. He’s standing in the doorway with the girls, who are pulling flowers out of the bouquet he’s holding. It’s adorable.

He also looks very adorable—no, make that sexy—in a deep plum shirt and shiny black slacks that we found in the back of his closet.

“Why don’t you go show Na

Cush gives me a what-could-I-do grin and holds out what’s left of a tattered bouquet. “These are supposed to be for you.”

I throw my arms around his neck and press my lips hard against his, crushing what’s left of the poor flowers between us.

“Um,” he says, “you might just get flowers all the time if that’s the kind of response I get.” He leans back and takes in my dress. “You look beautiful.”

I smile and feel a little embarrassed. Probably because he said the word beautiful. That’s a word usually reserved for my mom. “Uh, thank you.”

He hands me the flowers. “Do you want to take them with us or leave them here?”

“The girls would love it if I left them here especially if they can put them in water.”

“More like drown them?” Cush laughs. I love when he laughs because I get to see those dimples.

He nods yes, so I yell for the girls.

We have a late di

But then.

He ditched me. Hooked up with other girls. Got mad at me. Hasn’t spoken to me since.

I shake my head to rid it of Brooklyn and focus on Cush. I know things have moved kind of fast, but we’ve been friends for so long. He’s so handsome, and I’ve always known he has a sweet side. I was just blind, I guess. Blind to the fact that he was crushing on me. Just like Brooklyn was probably blind to the fact that I always crushed on him.

Obviously, I’m done caring what Brooklyn thinks, but there’s part of me that wishes I knew if it was really just a hookup. Maybe I was blinded by love and wasn’t thinking with a level head, but it just didn’t feel like a hookup. The way he kissed me in front of his friends on the beach. I just don’t understand.

And even though I’m not in love with Cush yet, at least I know where I stand with him. I just need a little time to get over Brooklyn. I need to forget about him and let myself fall head over heels in love with Cush.

“So what do think?” he says, nodding toward the hotel as a valet opens my door.

“It’s perfect. The exact place I dreamed of.”

He gives me a huge, white-toothed smile and leads me to our room.

The room is exactly—and I mean, down to the tiniest detail—as I scripted. Plush duvet on the bed. Rose petals sprinkled across the floor. Champagne chilling in a silver ice bucket. Chocolate-covered strawberries on a glass platter, arranged in the shape of a heart.

“It’s perfect, Cush. It’s exactly how I always imagined it. How did you know?”

“It’s how I always pictured it too,” he says sweetly.

I wrap my arms around his neck and give him a proper thank you kiss.

He unzips the back of my dress while we’re kissing.

“Wait!” I say.

“Why?” he says, looking confused.

I smile big. “Cuz I have something on under the dress that I want you to see all at once. Did you ever imagine what I might be wearing?”

He laughs and gives me his naughty Cushman grin. “I’m pretty sure I pictured you naked.”

I roll my eyes at him and laugh. I’m not feeling the least bit nervous, and I’m so glad we did it last night. What the heck, I’m even going to use the line I scripted for this night.

“Why don’t you pour us some champagne while I slip into something more comfortable?”

I run into the bathroom, strip off my dress, put on the garter, and glide the stockings over my legs, being careful not to run them. Then I throw one of the hotel robes on. I hear the champagne pop, check my hair in the mirror, and make my grand entrance.

He looks a little disappointed. “I gotta be honest. Can’t say I ever pictured you in a white bathrobe.”

I give him my most seductive smile and slowly untie the robe. Let it fall open. His frown turns into a grin as I let the robe slide off my arms.

“That’s fucking hot.” He takes two steps closer to me, hands me a glass of champagne, then sits back on the bed. “Can I just sit here and stare?”

“It’s not naked. Do you still like it?” I’m feeling bold, so I don’t wait for his answer. I put my heel up on the bed next to him.

He glides his hand down the silky hose.

“Undo it,” I boss.

He unclips the hose from the garter and slowly rolls the stocking down my leg. Then he kisses his way back up, sending shivers of excitement up my spine.

“The other one.” I put my other foot on the bed.

“This is so hot. No girl has ever dressed up for me before.”

“They’ve never had the chance,” I laugh. “But I’m glad you like it.”

“I’ll show you how much I like it.”

He sets his champagne on the desk, grabs me, and dives onto the bed.

Sunday, May 22nd

Body shots!

11:30pm

“I still keep thinking about last night,” Cush tells me.

I snuggle up closer to him on the couch. “What do you think about tonight?”

He looks around the party taking place at his house. “We did good. Everyone we invited tonight is pretty cool. It’s a good mix of people, I think.”

“And there’s no drama.”

“That’s because Vanessa isn’t here causing any. No one is trying to hookup with anyone’s boyfriend. No one is crying because Vanessa made fun of them. RiA

“Yeah, that probably is why.” I grab the front of his shirt and pull him straight to my lips. After I give him a juicy kiss, I say, “Speaking of a mess. I think it’s time we get messy. Really get this party started.”

I pull him up off the couch, drag him over to the long bar, and yell out, “Body shots!”

He picks me up and sets me on the bar, pours himself a shot of Patron, then grabs a lime and some salt.