Seduction by Justine Elvira

"Nothing I can't handle." He leans in and
gives Molly another kiss before asking, "What's for dinner?"
    "Just some chicken with herbs, rice pilaf,
and asparagus. Cassie and Alyssa are making a salad to go with it.”
He looks over at me and I realize he didn't even know I was in the
room.
    Wow, he must have had a rough day.
    "I just got off the phone with Theo and he
said he'd be here shortly to pick you up. You two are getting
rather chummy."
    If people watched our interaction I doubt
they'd classify it as chummy. We're like the unpredictable weather
in Chicago. Hot one moment and ice cold the next.
    "Uh, yeah. We’re getting dinner and watching
a movie or something. It's no big deal."
    I try to busy myself with the salad in front
of me, but I don't miss the look Chris gives his wife or the smile
she shoots back at him.
    "That explains the nails," Molly mumbles
underneath her breath, but I catch every word.
    I spent the day yesterday pampering myself.
Something I've never done before in my life. I used every last
penny I had to get a massage, pedicure and facial, before getting a
full bikini wax and screaming in agony all the way home.
    I will never let a woman pour hot wax and rip
it from my skin again. I'll just have to resort to shaving.
    I finish with the salad and then excuse
myself to get ready for my night with Theo. He may be the one
holding back from me all of a sudden, but I won’t give up so
easily. He probably thinks I haven't caught onto the not so sudden
hints of "friendship" he's been trying to push since I poured my
soul out to him on Saturday night. I'm not sure if he's backing off
because I revealed I'm poor, or was in the foster system my whole
life, or because I became a street-kid. It could be any of these
reasons but deep down inside I know all of that doesn’t matter.
Only one thing I told him Saturday night freaked him out. I should
have never told him I was a virgin. I should have lied, but if I
would have lied he'd have found out eventually anyway and I want to
be completely honest with him.
    I need to make it clear that I want him. I
want him to be my first. I would have let him Saturday night. I was
practically begging for it, but Theo was a complete gentleman and I
like that side of him, too.
    But I don’t want to see that side of him
tonight.
    I put on the bravest face I can as I look
down at the bag I have on the floor of my room. It's filled with
the lingerie I just bought and I pull out a red set. I strip out of
the clothes I wore all day and slip on the satin red panties
followed by the sheer push-up bra. They hug my body perfectly and
when I look in the mirror, I see someone different staring back at
me.
    This isn't the Cassie who let foster family
after foster family walk all over her. This isn’t the Cassie who
was almost raped when she was sixteen or the Cassie who ate her
feelings until she was overweight and unhealthy. This isn’t even
the Cassie who has been swimming laps and working her butt off for
almost two years. This is a brand new Cassie.
    She's confident, feels sexy in her size ten
curves, and is ready to finally lose her virginity.
    Digging through my dresser I go through the
few items of clothes I have. I'm about to slip into a pair of
jeans, but I change my mind at the last minute. If I'm going to get
Theo to agree to sleep with me, I need to wear something he can't
resist.
    I go into my closest and pull out the little
black dress I bought while shopping yesterday. It shows off
entirely too much skin and after getting a restless sleep last
night debating whether or not I'd wear it tonight, I decided this
morning to return it. It is too revealing, too forward–it's like
handing my virginity to him in a sexy black package.
    But now I've changed my mind. It's exactly
what I need to seduce Theo into his bed. Tonight I'm going to have
to make the first move and show Theo that I'm ready. And as I'm
ripping off the price tag of the dress I'm going to wear, I'm
imagining Theo