Suzy was surprised to see that it was almost lunch time by the time they had finished. “Did you ask Ella if she wanted to go to the mall with us?”
“Yeah, she’s on board. I told her we would meet her at the elevators. Are you ready now?”
“Oh crap, I forgot to ask Nick if we could borrow his van. Hang on while I call him.” As Suzy started to pick up the telephone, Beth pulled a key ring from her pocket and dangled it in the air. “I’ve got it covered.”
Suzy gave her a high-five asking, “When did you get it? I didn’t see Nick come through.”
“Oh, I just thought of it earlier and buzzed up to his floor to ask. I knew it would be easier for you and Claire to travel in.”
“Well that’s good. Why in the world is she blushing? Does she think I’m going to be pissed because she dared to leave her office and go to another floor without asking? Geez, I’m not that bad am I? “Let’s see if we can head Claire off at the elevator so she won’t have to walk all the way down here.”
Suzy positioned her crutches and followed Beth down the hallway. Claire had just walked up to Ella’s desk when they got there. Soon they were all settled in the van and on their way to the mall. Beth and Ella were indeed nice enough to drop them at the entrance and they walked inside the door to wait for them to park the van.
When they were all together again, they started browsing in the stores. Beth and Ella had picked out a few items, but Suzy had yet to find ‘the dress.’ By the fifth store she was starting to wonder if she ever would. Claire had split up to go into the Baby Gap, a store that gave her cold chills. Why couldn’t they at least put heads on their mannequins? Seeing those little bodies without them kind of freaked her out.
Surprisingly enough, she found exactly what she was looking for in the store next to the Gap. Now I see how it goes. You buy a sexy dress and a pair of ‘do me’ shoes and then in nine months you end up shopping in the Baby Gap. Note to self, buy a case of condoms and double bag that sucker!
Beth and Ella stood outside the dressing room as she went inside to try it on. She hoped it looked as good as it did on the hanger. The dress looked simple from the front. It was an emerald green in a slinky, jersey material with boat neckline. It almost looked demure until you got a look at the back. The dress draped very low and exposed her back almost to the curve of her hips. It was both elegant and sexy, exactly the combination she’d been searching for.
Even though she knew it was crazy since she could only wear one, Suzy found a beautiful pair of sandals with mile high heels in a tan color. The sandals were simple with thin leather straps over her toes and ankle. Surely she could wear one heel along with her cast. If it was too uncomfortable, she’d make do with a flat shoe. She couldn’t wait until she finally got the cast removed in a few more weeks.
Finally everyone had their purchases and they grabbed a quick sandwich in the food court before heading back to work. There must be something to retail therapy because she did feel better when she got back to the office. Hopefully if she just stayed busy, the rest of the week would fly by.
Chapter Twenty One
When Thursday evening rolled around, Suzy had to admit that she’d done pretty well even though there were moments when she wanted to pick up the phone and call Gray. As she was lying in bed that night, her cell phone chimed with a new text message. She smiled when she saw that it was from Gray. ‘I know I’m not supposed to call or text, but I wanted to make sure that we were still on for tomorrow night. I’ll pick you up at seven for your birthday extravaganza. I love you baby. PS, I guess asking what you’re wearing is out of the question?’
Suzy threw back her head and laughed. He had no idea how much she needed this tonight. Just being able to go to sleep knowing that things were still ok between them was such a relief. She clicked on the reply to the text and typed, ‘seven is fine slick. Of course you can ask what I’m wearing. I’m already in bed so I have on my best granny panties, flannel pajamas and knee socks. See ya Friday.’
Her phone almost immediately dinged back with another message from Gray saying, ‘you’re a cruel woman, but I love you anyway. Sleep well.’
Suzy slept the best that she had in days and woke tingling in anticipation of the evening ahead. She literally floated through the day at work. Even when an order was messed up from one of her suppliers, she simply told them that ‘these things happen.’ The poor guy had actually just stood looking at her in shock. Normally she’d have ripped him a new one, but she just didn’t have it in her to be pissed off.
Beth was going back to her apartment for the weekend and Nick had mentioned something about having plans. She certainly had plans of her own. She’d asked Beth to stop on their way home to pick up some whipped cream. Beth had literally thrown it at her when she got back into the car saying, “Ugh, I don’t even want to know. FYI though, you’re washing your own sheets.”
With an exaggerated wiggle of her eyebrows Suzy said, “Loosen up, sis, we can get you your own can of whipped cream and I’ll let you borrow my handcuffs. I saw the way Greg was chatting you up at work earlier.”
“Oh please, he’s like five feet tall which means his eyes are right on level with my boobs. He stared at them the entire time while I was forced to look down at his shiny, bald head. I’m glad you have such high hopes for me though.”
“Hey don’t worry; we’ll get you laid yet. It’s next on my to-do list right after Gray and I..”
“Ok, stop! I don’t want to hear what’s on your list for Gray. I’d like to be able to look him in the eyes again without imagining where his mouth or your mouth has been.”
Suzy laughed as they pulled in the driveway. Beth followed her in to pick up some clothing that she’d left, and within a few minutes, she had the house to herself. She flipped the television on in the bedroom and put on a music video channel. Soon she was dancing around the room. It wasn’t exactly graceful since she had to work with her cast, but hey, at least no one was around to witness the train wreck.
~~~
With fifteen minutes to spare, Suzy walked in the living room to wait for Gray. She had to admit that she looked and felt great. She was freshly washed, shaved and groomed. She thought Gray would really get a kick out of the design she’d managed to make in her downstairs area with her bikini shaver. She’d applied her favorite lotion to every inch of her body and the new green dress looked even better than it had in the store. She was wearing her one high heel, but had tucked a flat shoe in her purse in case she needed to change.