Chapter 2 HER FEARS STARED HER RIGHT IN THE FACE

Emma dragged her feet into the bathroom and spent so much time in the bathtub, long enough to make sure Scarlett had left for work by the time she was out. She planned on sitting in with the excuse that she didn't have a dress to wear.

"Check this out. I think it's perfect," Scarlett announced once Emma got out of the bathroom.

"You're still here? Won't you be late for work?" Emma jumped with a start.

"Oh no way you'd expect me to leave you here without first kicking your ass into a cab headed to the bubu place," Scarlett slapped the air.

"It's.., never mind," Emma rolled her eyes and chuckled.

She picked up the red velvet dress lying on the bed. It looked so beautiful on the bed she wondered if putting it on would disturb its perfect beauty. Emma knew she wasn't among the generous number of girls who were applauded mostly for their internal beauty for lack of the outward appearance to appeal to the judging eyes of people around them. She was constantly being told that she could easily turn heads if she stepped into a room, but her confidence had dropped over the years and since the compliments came in mostly from friends and family, she concluded they were only being nice. Besides, her dad's notorious British nose did nothing to allay her insecurities as it sat proudly on her face, as a proud reminder that she just couldn't be perfect. She had him to thank for her pretty green eyes though.

"Come on, get dressed already," Scarlett beckoned with a wave of her hand, as she rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Alright alright."

Emma stepped into the sleeveless dress. It hung low from her neck, dipping down to show some of her ample cleavage. The short dress flared out from her waist down, just a few inches above her knees. She picked up the pearl earrings and necklace lined up on the dresser before her and put them on, brushing her hair out so it cascaded down in waves to her lower back.

"You're fucking gorgeous!" Scarlett cried out in delight, winking at her reflection in the mirror.

"Thank you," Emma blushed and looked away.

She turned around to step into her three-inch high cream wedges, which had a crisscross strap traveling up her legs, gladiator style. She wasn't a fan of high heels as she was already tall. Standing at 5'9", she could easily look an average guy straight in the eye. But she was wearing them because Scarlett thought they made her look sexy.

"Do I even need these?" she protested looking down at her feet.

"Don't be dramatic, you look hot in those," Scarlett complimented the shoes. "Just one more thing," she squinted her eyes at Emma in thought and snapped her fingers as if she'd just discovered the cure for cancer.

"Smack your lips," she instructed Emma after applying a generous dose of pink lip gloss to her lips. Emma did as she was told and looked at her reflection in the dressing mirror.

"Do you think it's necessary?" she protested lightly.

"You're gonna kill 'em, baby!" Scarlett punched the air and blew Emma a kiss.

Emma dribbled some milk into a saucer for Snowball and rubbed her fur before heading out into the night with Scarlett. They got into two different cabs after a goodbye kiss and as she watched the streetlights shining above roll past the moving vehicle, Emma took in deep breaths to untie the growing knots in her stomach.

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As she walked through the fancy glass doors held open by a smiling security guard, Emma's initial hesitation started creeping back into her mind. She could just easily turn around and go back home, then probably text her date saying she came down with the bug and couldn't make it. Scarlett wasn't here to prod her forward as usual. Emma could easily imagine her saying something as funny as "Put on your big girl panties girl!". But Emma was tired of being strong, she was tired of being fierce and independent. She'd been those all through her childhood, and all she wanted was a man who would be strong for her instead. So far, she'd not been lucky in her search for one.

Tonight, her fears stared her right in the face, the looming possibility of disappointment bearing down on her shoulders. No one put a gun to her head to be here anyway, she thought to herself as she contemplated turning around. Her phone buzzed in her purse and she took it out, her eyes looking this way and that expecting to be disappointed. What could go wrong? she admonished herself as she took the call.

Hello?

Hi beautiful. Over here.

She almost dropped her phone from the sheer shock that hit her as she looked at her date sitting in the far corner of the large restaurant. Her intuition wasn't wrong. He didn't look half as terrible as her previous dates, but he was a far cry from his pictures.

For starters, he looked shorter and fatter than the pictures said. His beard looked untrimmed and rough, flying about the place like his sandy brown coloured hair. His eyes were shifty, darting back and forth across her body, as he licked his lips like a crazed dog. He didn't even bother to help her take out the chair. She smiled her gratitude to the kind waiter who took the initiative to do so for her.

"Tony?"

"In the flesh. You're as sexy as in the pictures," he licked his fat lips lewdly as he eyed her cleavage.

Emma wished she could pull out his eyes and serve it to him on a saucer. "Well at least some of us care to look like our pictures!" she screamed internally.

Emma looked around the restaurant, at the fine-looking couple enjoying each other's company on the other side of the room. Why couldn't she be that lucky?

After an eternity, Tony cleared his voice and signaled a waiter.

"We'll have a beer. Just one bottle please," he smiled craftily, revealing a set of crooked teeth.

Emma's jaw dropped to the table in shock, as she contemplated the possibility of the words she'd just heard. So not only was Tony a lying asshole, he was also a broke dumbass. She could imagine him still sleeping in a camping bag in his mother's basement. Emma mentally facepalmed herself, wondering why she still sat at the same table with this scam of a man.

The waiter returned with the drink and two glasses. Tony waved for him to leave, shared the drinks equally in the two glasses, and held them up to admire his work of art.

He didn't try to offer her the drink, but she took the cue when he lifted his glass to his lips and halved the beer in it.

"Do we get back to my place now? Can't wait to see you without that dress," Tony winked and placed the glass down on the table.