Crimson and Clover by Juli Page Morgan Page B

in the sink, her mind whirling with all she had to do before Jay’s arrival. She’d showered, shaved and washed her hair that morning, so that part was covered. Just to be sure, she ran her hand up her legs checking for stray stubble. Nope, still smooth. Breathing a sigh of relief, she dashed into the bathroom where she twisted the hot water tap all the way on.
    A flock of not butterflies, but pterodactyls, had set up residence in her stomach, but she managed to brush her teeth and give herself a sponge bath in record time. She checked her face in the mirror and was relieved to see her makeup was still intact for the most part. A few minor repairs and a brush dragged through her hair completed her ablutions and she hurried into her closet to dress.
    She skidded to a halt in front of the rack of dresses and began pulling garments off the hangers, then tossing them aside as unworthy. How in the hell could she own so many clothes and still not have anything to wear? The rack was almost denuded when she caught sight of the black lace dress she and Maureen had designed together. It was what she had been wearing when she met Jay and she could still remember the appreciative look in his eyes as his gaze ran up and down her body. A little part of her mind spoke up, informing her that the long zipper in the back also made the dress easy to remove. The thought made her teeter on her feet for a moment, but she didn’t have time to waste on excessive excitement. The pounding of her heart was like the ticking of a clock, reminding her that Jay was getting closer with each passing minute.
    She turned to the bureau for underwear and cursed under her breath at the realization that she’d again forgotten to buy black lace panties to wear with the dress. Handfuls of undergarments flew through the air as Katie scrounged through the drawer in search of panties that weren’t pink, flowered, or cotton. Her grasping hand finally closed over a pair made from a white material so sheer she could probably read the fine print of a loan agreement through them from fifty paces. She yanked them up over her hips before squirming into the dress.
    As she twisted and contorted to pull the zipper up her back, she considered the shelf of footwear. Her hand automatically reached for her black boots, but stopped in midair. There was no good way to remove knee-high boots without looking as if she was in a fight to the death with an eel attached to her leg and that was not the picture she wished to present. She settled for a pair of black high-heeled fuck-me sandals, despite how cold it was. She was going to freeze to death in that dress anyway; why shouldn’t her toes join in on the fun?
    By the time she’d thrown her toothbrush and a few makeup items into her purse twenty-five minutes had passed. She ran into the living room, turning off lights as she went. A quick look out the window showed no cars and no Jay, so she slowed a bit in order to double check that all the heaters in the flat were off. The stereo had gone silent long before, having played all the records she’d stacked on the turntable, and she switched off the power to the receiver. Too nervous to remain in the silent flat another second, she yanked on her coat, grabbed her purse and rushed out to the sidewalk.
    After about twenty seconds outside, Katie began to fear frostbite. She glanced down at her toes to see if they were still attached since she couldn’t feel them anymore. The sound of an approaching motor made her look up in anticipation to see a shiny, sage-green Bentley making its way toward her.
    “Wow,” she breathed, the word turning to vapor in the cold air. She should have known not to expect anything less of Jay. The big car came to a halt in front of her building and Jay climbed out.
    “Hi, there,” she said, walking toward him.
    He smiled and leaned against the car. “Hello, love.”
    “Nice wheels.” She admired the Bentley up close and couldn’t resist running her