Real Challenge (Atlanta #2) (29 page)

She spent her week taking good care of the area, but her skin was still too scabbed to show Scott. She covered her tattoo with a bandage for their weekend so Scott wouldn’t see it until the picture was clear and ready. He asked about the spot and she explained away the bandage, saying that she cut herself on a scrap of metal sticking out in a storage closet at work. He kissed her hip and she smiled. She couldn’t wait to show him the real reason for the gauze and tape.
 

They spent that weekend like they had so many others. This time, though, they got to eat at her new table. The only time they were apart was when Scott left to swim. She always spent that time in her yoga room, bringing herself the peaceful mindset she loved.
 

She needed that peace even more since her dad called. He hadn’t tried to make contact again, but Cassie couldn’t help but think about him and his three years of sobriety. She wondered more than once if she should talk to him, even if only to hear his apology.
 

Thinking through that puzzle brought up too many past hurts to consider, but three years of sobriety was a big deal. Maybe her dad was looking for the same kind of joy she had. Maybe they could connect that way. As much as Cassie was terrified of her drunk father, a sober one made her want her family back.

The following two weeks were about the same. She thought more and more about her dad, both hating him for her childhood and wondering if he really had changed. She didn’t mention this to Scott or Marcus for the simple reason of their obvious reactions. She didn’t want the drama. So instead, she tried to focus on her new body art and the relationship that inspired it.
 

Finally her tattoo was healed nicely and completely clear. She couldn’t wait to show Scott. But after she heard his plans, she decided to wait one more week. The following weekend was going to be something special according to Scott. He told her to go thrifting this week with a challenge to find the classiest, most beautiful outfit she could put together for as little as she could. He handed her a $20 bill and grinned wickedly at her. “You think you can handle it?”

“Please,” she sassed. “I’ll bring you change. Just tell me why I need this classy, beautiful outfit.”

“Because I’m taking you to a ridiculously expensive restaurant…don’t give me that look. I’m not doing it to impress you. It’s an excuse to be impressed
by
you. I want to see what you come up with to wear.”

“That’s a sneaky way around it, Scott Merchant, but you know I can’t back down. Am I allowed to wear my own shoes and under-things, or do those come out of the twenty?”

“Hmm…I hadn’t thought about that. Here’s the deal. Shoes are part of the twenty, and you wear no under-things.”

Cassie laughed out loud and grinned at him broadly. “Game on.”

After every shift at the clinic that week Cassie went to all of her favorite thrift shops. After completely striking out at the first two, she finally found a pair of silver multi-buckled stilettos. They were only four dollars and she squealed triumphantly when she saw they were in her size. A few people looked at her like she was crazy, but all she did was show them the shoes and grin even bigger. “Perfect, right?”

Three more stores offered no luck before she found a wine-colored cocktail dress at the fourth. The bodice was form-fitting and the hem rested just above her knee. An off-center slit showed off her left leg up to mid-thigh. The dress was perfect: she would be able to open that area to pull up and show Scott her tattoo. The dress was custom-made for the evening.
 

The only problem was a small bleach stain up by the shoulder, but that could easily be covered by a piece of jewelry or something. She would solve that issue without a problem, she was sure. The dress was twelve dollars, giving her four to spare. Maybe she could find something to add to the ensemble, maybe something silver to match her shoes.
 

The very next shop had a silver clutch purse for two dollars. YES! She could make a show of opening the clasp in front of him and give him his two dollars in change. Oh, the whole evening was going to be sweet. Plus, as much as she hated to admit, she was looking forward to an elegant night out.
 

She spent Thursday night working on the bleach stain. She ran out to an office supply store and picked up a dark maroon Sharpie in almost the same color as the dress. The minute she got home she carefully dotted the marker around the whitish spot. Now the discoloration was barely noticeable. She would still cover the spot with something, but the little marker dye-job wouldn’t be glaringly obvious either way.
 

She went through her vast collection of costume jewelry and flea market finds, looking for just the right thing. She found the silver dragonfly hairpin she wore on her first fancy night out with Scott. The pretty little bug was the perfect size to rest in the center of the shoulder strap and still hide the spot with the filigree wings.
 

She cut the tiniest of holes in the fabric of the dress and tucked the pin down in just the right spot to cover the ex-stain. She used her sewing kit to stitch the hole back up tight around the dragonfly and then criss-crossed the thread over the bobby-pin to hold the back flat against the fabric. Voila. She tried on the entire ensemble before she went to bed that night, and checked her tattoo the way she planned to show Scott. She couldn’t wait for the next night.
 

Scott was looking forward to Friday night so much. He had spent his week in strategy meetings with the partners, trying hard to knock their socks off at every turn. Senior Managers usually weren’t included in those meetings and Scott was feeling triumphant at the invitation. Working under that kind of scrutiny was high-pressure, but he thrived like he always did. Even so, he still couldn’t describe the success as “playing” and the dissatisfaction both surprised and bothered him.
 

He was starting to feel like two different people completely. With Cassie, he was free and fun, living life with no pretense at all. He was happy. By Monday morning he still was living in her world. He walked into work smiling and actually starting to form relationships with people in the office who couldn’t affect his chances of a promotion at all. By Friday, though, he was all “strut and charm” again. Falling back into his well-established routine was too easy. That had been his world for years.

But every Friday night was a breath of fresh air. His work hours aside, Cassie had gotten completely under his skin and changed the way he thought about most things. The snob he had been about his successes gave way to a deeper perspective on how others live. The player in him was lost completely, and he never had to be anything with Cassie but honest. She grinned at his loving moments as much as she did at his occasional irritation with her.
 

Most of that irritation still centered around that single question: “Do you know who you are yet?” He was fairly certain he did, but she obviously didn’t agree. She kept telling him she would be patient, but she wouldn’t clue him in. She only offered more “coaching” which didn’t lead to much change in his actions. All these months later and he still didn’t know how to answer that question, so he usually tried to avoid the subject if he could.
 

This Friday, however, would be a night to remember. He wanted to give her the princess treatment for the evening. His goal wasn’t to impress her, though. He wanted her to have a night of perfection with him that she would always remember. There was no reason other than her deserving to experience elegance. Plus, he had dangled that challenge out there for her, and he knew she would love the game.
 

In a sharp black suit, Scott came to pick her up at six o’clock and was stunned into silence again by the beauty in front of him. Her impossibly long legs were adorned with silver and wine, and his eyes lingered at the slit showing him more of her sexy thigh. Her narrow waist was hugged by the fabric and she had her hair up in a graceful sweep. In her hand was a silver purse and at her shoulder was the delicate wire dragonfly she wore in her hair on their first date. She was the picture of class and beauty.

“Cassie, you look absolutely amazing. You are so beautiful,” he said before kissing her. He leaned away with an ornery grin, though. “So where’s my change?”

Cassie pulled out two dollars from that little purse and handed them to him triumphantly. He smiled at her and asked for the breakdown.
 

“Shoes were four, dress was twelve, purse was two,” she said smugly, still grinning at him. “The dragonfly was only fifty cents, but I bought it a long time ago. I figured it would still count.”

Cassie truly was amazing. “And are you wearing anything underneath?”

She shook her head with a playful glint in her eye and Scott groaned. He pulled her in and ran his hand up under that sexy slit in her dress to confirm. His hand ran all the way along her leg and up to the top curve of her ass, bringing her dress most of the way up in the process. Cassie leaned in and kissed him while he explored. She broke the kiss and asked him, “Do you believe me now?”

“Nope, still not sure.” He moved his lips to her neck and continued with his hands. Cassie giggled at him.

“I didn’t put all this work into my outfit just to stay in, player,” she said. “Shall we?”

Scott pulled her dress back into place and offered her his arm to walk her out to his car. He drove her out to one of the higher-end suburbs of the city and pulled up to very expensive-looking restaurant. He tipped the valet and then escorted Cassie in.
 

Everything inside was done in deep forest green and antique brass. The table linens were a soft cream color and nearly all of the lighting came from individual candles at the tables. The hostess walked them to a corner table he requested on the phone with the promise of an over-sized tip. He held her chair right at a window overlooking a small lake. The crystal-blue water was surrounded by unbelievably large and ornate houses. In the evening light, the view was almost as beautiful as Cassie.

He looked up to see the look of awe on her face. Her upbringing never offered her experiences like this, and he loved being the one to give her a chance to have this kind of evening. She had broadened his perspective. He hoped to do the same for her.
 

“This is amazing,” she said. “I don’t even know what to say. What’s the occasion?”

“None. I just wanted to bring you here. I wanted to see your face and I wanted to see you dressed that way. You’re stunning.”

Cassie blushed and looked shy for a moment. “Thank you. I mean it. I never was one to play princess, but I feel like one now.”

Scott saw that soft, gentle look in her eye that was his alone. He reached across the table and held her hand, feeling quite emotional. He felt like his true self again and was relieved to be away from the office and back with Cassie.
 

He realized in that exact moment corporate life wasn’t what he wanted. Not at all. He still didn’t know what to do about it, though. She was warping everything he understood. No, that wasn’t really right. Maybe his understanding had been warped before, and she was straightening his view for him. No wonder he loved her like this.

“Cass,” Scott said, still holding her hand across the table. “I love seeing you here tonight. I love how beautiful you are. I love being the one sitting here with you when every other guy in the place has eyed you at least once.”

“Scott…” she breathed sweetly. “This is so amazing. What a perfect night.”

They spent the rest of the evening in quiet conversation, smiling at each other the entire time. He ordered wine for her and only allowed himself one glass early in the evening so he wouldn’t have trouble driving home. She fit right into the place, allowing herself to be a part of the beautiful, romantic atmosphere.
 

But no matter how beautiful she was in this place, he still wanted desperately to take her home and make love to her. He was moved by her this evening and he just wanted to extend the romance in every way he could. Plus, he couldn’t help remembering she was bare under that dress, so close to being ready to accept him.
 

When dinner was over he went around to hold her chair for her again. She stood and he kissed her cheek so softly and lingered there. He whispered his love and kept her hand in his as he walked her through the maze of tables toward the door.
 

On the way home, Cassie noticed that he turned his SUV toward his apartment complex rather than her house. She looked at him questioningly.
 

“Cass, I just want you home with me again tonight. Is that ok?”

She smiled warmly, still loving his honesty. He loved that he could tell her what he wanted with no games. She nearly always gave him what he asked, and offered no drama when she wouldn’t. Again he got a sense of her definition of
real
.
 

“Of course it’s ok. But I don’t have any other clothes here.”

He walked her up to his place. He leaned in sweetly and kissed her for a long moment before going in. He said quietly, “You won’t need them anyway. Just come and be with me.”

Cassie was blown away by the way Scott was with her that evening. He wasn’t being playful or seductive. He was completely in a moment of loving her. She was right there with him. This had been the most perfect evening of her life and she wanted nothing more than to be in his arms.
 

He walked her inside and stood in the doorway, kissing her for an eternity. He held her softly against his body with no lust in his touch. He found their connection on an entirely different level. She felt the love as wholly as he did as their lips rested together while their tongues slowly danced within. Their connection made this the perfect time to show off her tattoo. She let him go and smiled at him as sweetly as she could while he pulled off his suit jacket.
 

“I sort of have a present for you,” she said with so much love in her voice. She pulled him over to the couch and sat him down on the arm. He didn’t say a word, but rather dropped his coat on the back of the couch and watched her with curiosity in his still love-struck eyes.