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In her bedroom, she shortened the skirt to just above the knee,
then made a last tour of the house to make sure everything was in
place. Finally, she began to undress.
As she slipped into the shower, she thought about Alex. She
visualized his easy smile and the graceful way he moved, and the
memory started a slow burn in her belly. Despite herself, she
wondered whether he was taking a shower at the same time she
was. There was something erotic in the idea, the promise of
something exciting and new. It was just dinner, she reminded
herself again, but even then, she knew she wasn’t being
completely honest with herself.
There was another force at work here, something she’d been
trying to deny. She was attracted to him more than she wanted to
admit, and as she stepped out of the shower she knew she had to
be careful. He was the kind of man she knew she could fall for,
and the notion frightened her. She wasn’t ready for that. Not yet,
anyway.
Then again, she heard a voice inside her whisper, maybe she was.
After toweling off, she moisturized her skin with a sweet-smelling
body lotion, then put on her new outfit, including the sandals,
before reaching for the makeup she’d purchased from the
drugstore. She didn’t need much, just some lipstick, mascara, and
a trace of eye shadow. She brushed her hair and then put on a pair
of dangly earrings she’d bought on a whim. When she was
finished, she stepped back from the mirror.
That’s it, she thought to herself, that’s all I’ve got. She turned one
way, then the other, tugging at the blouse before finally smiling.
She hadn’t looked this good in a long time.
Though the sun had finally moved toward the western sky, the
house was still warm and she opened the kitchen window. The
breeze was enough to keep her cool as she set the table. Earlier in
the week, as she’d been leaving the store, Alex had asked her if he