Sophie
"I heard from Chase," I practically shouted into the phone. "He said yes." My stomach flopped at the thought. I lay in bed staring up at the ceiling, twirling a strand of my hair around my finger as I waited for a response from Jenna.
"EEEK! All right, girl, this calls for a day of shopping. We need to get your primped and primed and ready. We need to shop. We need to go to the spa and get things waxed. Oh, I am so excited. When is he coming? No pun intended." She laughed.
"Tomorrow, for one week."
"You guys live two blocks away from one another and you’re taking him hostage?"
I was giddy with excitement and began laughing. "No. It's part of my plan. I have to maximize my time."
"Maximize your time?"
"Yes, that way we can get in as many sessions as possible."
“You make it sound as if this is a therapy appointment.”
I let out a laugh. “I guess you are right.”
"Okay, if you say so. Well, this calls for a girls’ day, so get dressed. We are going out."
"What? I can't. I have so much to do," I said, looking around my already spotless apartment.
"Yeah, sure, I know you. You are laying there thinking your apartment is such a disaster when in fact you could eat right off your floor because you can't even find a piece of lint. So whatever you need to do, we will do it together. Get ready. I'm coming to pick you up."
Before I could say anything, Jenna was gone, and I threw my phone down on the bed and let out a breath. Twenty minutes had gone by before I had gotten up and showered, and now I sat beside Jenna at Kings Cove's only day spa, Pampered Soul, with my feet propped up on the footrest while some woman went to town filing the soul of my foot.
"What color polish would you like?" she asked me, handing me a color selection to choose from.
I looked over at Jenna, who was rooting through her purse for something and let out a breath. I had just begun flipping through the colors when Jenna suddenly ripped them from my hand.
"Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, you don't. I will choose. You need something hot and sexy. She needs something hot and sexy for her date," she said, smiling at the girl.
"I'm capable of choosing hot and sexy," I said, trying to reach for the color selection and failing as Jenna pulled them farther away from my reach.
"Oh no, the last time you needed to select hot and sexy, you ended up choosing clear coat. No, no, we need something more like this." She held out a deep, dark-red color.
I looked at her as if she had lost her mind. There was no way I could wear a color like that. "Jenna, no way. Bogota Blackberry is not going on my toes."
"Oh yes, it is. She will take this one please," Jenna said, handing the colors back to the pedicurist. "Actually, make it two please. You'll see, clear coat is something my grandmother wears, and she hasn't had a date in years," Jenna said, smiling and looking immensely proud of herself.
"Jenna," I bit out, trying hard not to laugh at the face she was making.
"Girl, you need to chill out. Now sit back, relax, and don't worry. Just trust me." Jenna sat back and closed her eyes, urging me to do the same.
I finally sat back and did my best to enjoy my time with Jenna. It took an hour, and now we finally sat waiting while our toes dried. Jenna had just put her phone back into her purse and looked to me. "Okay, so what is next?"
"Well, I need to shop for food, wine, flowers, and candles."
She glanced down at her phone and then over at me. "That's all? What about lingerie? Sheets? Perhaps a scented bubble bath? Give me your list." She held out her hand, and I reluctantly placed my folded list in it. She opened the paper and read over what I had written, and without a word, she pulled a pen from her purse.
"What are you doing?" I frowned as she circled some things, crossed others out, and chewed on the end of her pen, lost in thought.
"I'm making some...ah...shall we say, minor adjustments. Do you trust me?"
"Ha, yeah, look at my toes. Do I trust you. Clear coat would have been more...me."
"Yeah, and the next thing I know, you will be going to the old-age residence over on Madison and partaking in bingo night. All right, girl, let’s go, we have lots to do." Jenna said, dropping my list and the pen into her purse.
Twenty minutes later, we walked through Bed Bath and Beyond, making our way to the bedding department. I stopped at the first sheet display I came to, the one I always purchased from, while Jenna continued to make her way deeper into the department. I had decided on my usual sheets in a different color and was about to make my way over to the candles when I heard Jenna call my name. I turned around to see her walking towards me holding a package of sheets over her head. I wandered over to meet her, afraid of what she was going to present me with.
"These. These are the best sheets in the world. These are what you need." She shoved the package into my hands and took the sheets I had chosen and threw them on top of the nearest display.
"But I like what I had."
"Sophie, my love, trust me. Matt loves these sheets. They were the sheets I had on my bed the first time we...you know."
I held my hand up to stop her from divulging anything else. I knew I wasn't going to get away with anything different, so I succumbed. "Fine, but I'm taking these too," I said, grabbing the other package.
"But those ones are not going on your bed. These ones are," she said, grinning at me while she shook the package.
"I don't see what it matters, honestly. Sheets are sheets."
"Girl, trust me, it matters!"
"I'm not trying to seduce him. We are having sex for one purpose, that is all."
Jenna burst out laughing. "Girl, there is nothing wrong with a little seduction. This is Chase Malone! You need to have some fun. I’m sure he’d appreciate a little seduction! Plus, the remaining women in this town that have yet to sleep with him would kill for this opportunity. Are you blind? Do you not see them looking at him everywhere we go?"
"To be honest, I've never really paid attention. Besides, I wouldn’t know how to seduce him anyways." I shrugged and continue following Jenna through the store. Just as we approached the cash register, she stopped and turned to me, grabbing me by the shoulders. "You need to have fun with this, Sophie. Relax and have fun. I know it’s a new concept for you."
I ignored her words, made my way to the checkout, and paid for my purchase. As soon as we were out of the store, Jenna was pulling me over to Forever His, a small lingerie store. I walked over to my usual table—cotton bras and panties—and glanced over to where Jenna stood. I could feel my face heating at the items she was sifting through. I stood there blushing just from watching her. It wasn't a wonder I had never made my way over to that table, those things totally intimidated me. Ignoring Jenna, I turned back to the table I was looking at and picked up a couple of pairs of panties when I heard her call my name.
"Oh, Sophie, this would great on you!" She held up a black lacy bra.
I swallowed hard and nodded. I guessed I could pull it off, until she held up the matching panties. "Are they....are they crotchless?" I whispered, ripping them out of her hand before anyone saw what she was holding up.
Jenna let out a loud laugh. "Yes! You need these."
"Jenna, no. There is no way I am going to wear those," I said, turning my back on her and sifting through the pile of cotton panties that were way more my speed.
"Come on, Soph. Come on, lighten up. These are fun!" She giggled, “Matt loves…”
I held up my hand to stop her, "SHHH…I don't even know who I am shopping with right now," I said, throwing down the panties I had picked out and went to walk away.
"It's your best friend, who is making sure you are going to have the time of your life this week." She shoved the bra and panties into my hand, looking me in the eyes. "Trust me. One week, Sophie. One short week, and then you are going to have a bun in the oven, and your sex life will be over."
I burst out laughing. That was the funniest thing I'd ever heard—my sex life. My sex life in the last five years had consisted of two men. That was it. One who never made me orgasm, and one who kissed like a lizard and had never gotten past third base. So if it was my sex life she was truly worried about, I hated to tell her it was already non-existent.
"What's so funny?"
"My sex life, that is what is funny. It's been so long since I've had sex, I'm pretty sure I almost forget how to do it."
"Well, girl, you better figure it out fast because you have picked the one man in this city who hasn't forgotten how to. You'll be in good hands," she said, raising her eyebrows. "Very, very good hands. Now relax. Come on, let’s go over there and look some more, but you are getting these." She closed my hand around the black bra and panties and smiled at me, pulling me with her.
I ended up walking out of Forever His with a bag full of lingerie I'd probably never wear, a much lighter pocketbook, but a very happy Jenna. The rest of the afternoon was spent shopping for food, flowers, and candles. Once I had everything that had been on my list, we headed back to my condo.
Jenna stopped the car outside of my condo and put the car into park. "So you're good? You have everything you need?"
"I think so," I said, grabbing the two bags that sat at my feet. "Can you pop the trunk so I can grab the rest of the bags?"
"Sure thing. Remember, if you need me, call."
I nodded, hugged my best friend, and then climbed out of her car, grabbing the rest of my bags. I smiled and waved and watched as she pulled away from the curb.
It was almost eleven by the time I finally sat down on the couch with my glass of wine. I had spent the rest of the afternoon making sure that everything had been washed, dried, and put away. I even had the new sheets washed, and they were already on the bed. Jenna was right, they were wonderful, I’d thought as I ran my hands over the high thread count sheets.
I flipped the TV on, pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and over my legs, and sipped on my wine. Tomorrow, Chase would be here, and hopefully by this time, we would be deep in one another. I just prayed that I was truly ready for this…and that I wasn't making a huge mistake.