I had been studying at the university for some time, but I had never met the rector up close. Everything was new to me, and I didn't know what to expect from a party of this magnitude. It was always our class representative, Liliana, who went to the classrooms or the auditorium and spoke on behalf of the rector. I knew who he was and his name because of the articles that were published about the university and the student handbook they gave us at the beginning of the course. His name was Alexander. While I was choosing a dress, I daydreamed about it. The store was magnificent inside, and I must confess that I had never been in such an environment before. It felt like I was in a movie, where I met my perfect match, a wealthy man who liked me and we started dating, even though I was poor. Yep, I had to pinch myself to snap back to reality.
— Ouch! That hurt, I said after pinching myself.
I looked around and realized that no one was watching me because Dante was talking to the saleswomen about the style of dress he wanted me to try on. I took a moment to admire the store's interior and its decoration. The store had two floors. On the first floor, there were suits, designer pants, shirts, belts, and skirts. On the second floor, there were dresses, shoes, bags, and coats. The entire store was decorated in black and white, with black and white artwork on the first floor and white and black on the second. Not to mention the modern clothing racks that showcased the garments without wrinkles or more than one piece per space. All the items were separated by size and labeled. The saleswomen wore matching uniforms (black with white stripes on the collar, sleeves, and pockets of their pants), they were beautiful. Seriously, I even wanted one of those uniforms to present my thesis. The environment was well-lit with white lights on the drywall, chandeliers that resembled crystals, and fitting rooms at the back of each floor.
— Kyra? I heard someone calling me, and I snapped out of my daydreams.
— Hi? I responded, turning to see who was calling me.
— Kyra, planet Earth calling Kyra, over and out! Dante said.
— Understood, Captain! I said, bowing and laughing. Have you chosen the style you like the most?
— Yes, I've chosen 3 styles, and I want you to try them on to see which one looks best.
— What if I don't like any of them?
— Doubtful, I have good taste! Don't worry.
— Now I feel much more relieved, I said sarcastically.
— Seriously, you will like them. This is Leila, Dante said, introducing the saleswoman.
— Hello, Leila! I said, smiling at her.
— Hi, Kyra. I hope to help you find the perfect dress! Dante has already told me what he thinks will suit you, and I have already selected the models. Shall we try them on?
— I'm up for it.
The saleswoman approached with three long black dresses. I went to the fitting room, and she accompanied me to assist. I tried on the first dress and didn't feel comfortable in it. It was very low-cut, had thin straps, a deep back cut, and the fabric was very thin. I didn't even step out of the fitting room for Dante to see it; I just took it off and handed it to Leila.
— What's wrong? Dante asked Leila.
— She didn't like this one, Leila said. But there's one of them, the one with lace, that will look so beautiful on her that I'm sure she'll like it.
"Hopefully," I thought. I started trying on the second one, but I already knew I wouldn't like it. It had too many ruffles and a huge neckline. Seriously, Dante must be kidding me. Nothing against those who like these styles, but I didn't feel comfortable because the dress was transparent at the bottom, it looked like a bodysuit with a lace overlay skirt. I just took it off and handed it to Leila.
— Kyra, that's not fair! Dante said.
— Not fair? You must be kidding me.
— But I wanted to see how the dresses looked on you.
— You pervert.
— How could I miss an opportunity like this?
I ignored Dante's perverted comments and picked up the third dress. It caught my attention because it was long, with delicate lace throughout, thick straps that covered a large portion of my shoulders, and a V-neckline that accentuated my curves. I looked at myself in the mirror, unable to believe what I saw. Seriously, for the first time, I felt beautiful. This is it! I thought. I stepped out of the fitting room, and when Leila and Dante saw me, their jaws dropped.
— I told you! The dress I chose looks gorgeous on her, Leila said, smiling and proud of her choice.
— Don't brag, my choices weren't bad either.
— Yeah, right... Leila said, coming towards me. I already know the shoes and purse that will match your dress. I'll separate them while you change.
— Thank you so much, Leila. You saved me! I said, returning to the fitting room to change.
It was only when Leila left that I realized I couldn't take off the dress by myself. "Damn it! I'll have to ask Dante for help," I thought. I blushed with embarrassment, but there was nothing I could do because if I waited for Leila to come back, it would take quite a while. "Kyra, be brave. It's just opening the zipper of the dress, you won't do anything wrong." I tried to encourage myself, but I was still nervous.
— Dante? I called.
— You called, Kyra. Do you need something?
— Yes, could you help me with the dress?
— Sure. he said, approaching the fitting room. I'm here.
— Could you open the zipper of the dress? I forgot to ask Leila before she left.
— Yes, you don't need to be embarrassed, Kyra. It's just a zipper. Dante said, realizing my embarrassment.
I tried to calm down, but it was in vain. However, I decided to be brave. I opened the fitting room and turned my back to him so he could unzip it. He brushed my hair aside, held the top of the dress (I shivered at his touch), and slowly pulled the zipper to avoid damaging the lace. When he finished, I thanked him, closed the fitting room again, and tried to compose myself. I sat in the fitting room and took a deep breath because I was feeling very hot.
Dante couldn't understand Kyra's behavior. He knew the situation was embarrassing, that she was getting to him, and when he touched her hair, her skin, his blood boiled. Kyra was beautiful! He had never thought he would find another woman attractive besides Lola, but he was completely mistaken. Was it just attraction, or was he at risk of falling in love?
"Definitely just attraction," he thought. But would he let himself be carried away by the attraction and get involved with her? "Good point of view, but I don't know what to do." It was better not to let himself be carried away by this attraction, especially since attraction is temporary.
Dante was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't even see Kyra leave the fitting room and follow Leila to try on the shoes and see the purse options. Kyra made her choices in 10 minutes.
— Dante? I said.
— Yes, what is it? he said, sounding distant.
— Are you going to choose anything else, or can we go?
— I've already bought my suit. We can go. I'll finalize the details with Leila. Feel free to look around, okay?
— Alright.
Dante accompanied Leila, and I continued looking at the dresses. A flashback crossed my mind: "Finalize the details"... Wait! Was he just talking about paying for what I chose and leaving? "Kyra, that's just in your head. He's definitely just talking about paying the bill," I told myself.
I waited about 20 minutes until Dante came to me with the shopping bags, and we left the store. I was surprised by the number of bags, but I didn't dare to question it.
We got into the car, and the rest of the journey to his apartment was silent. We arrived at the apartment where he was staying. It was huge, with shiny glass windows, and to my surprise, he was staying in the penthouse. At this point, I no longer doubted anything. He entered the garage, parked the car, and got out to retrieve the items from the trunk. I did the same, but for some reason, he didn't let me carry the bags.
— Let me at least help you.
— No way! Just come with me so we won't be late.
I nodded, looked at the clock, and it was already past 6 p.m. We took the elevator up to the penthouse, everything was so modern and sophisticated, mirrored elevator with air conditioning, music, and a camera. The corridors were wide and had armchairs. The entire environment was in wood tones with white walls, and there were beautiful landscape paintings with frames that matched the wood tone. Finally, we arrived at the apartment, which had an electronic lock that could only be opened with a password and card. Dante entered the password, opened the door, turned on the lights, and immediately took off his tie. Suddenly, he stopped in the hallway, turned around, and looked at me with a furrowed brow.
— Are you waiting for an invitation to come in? he asked me.
— Okay, okay, I'm coming in, I said, entering and closing the door.
— There are three bathrooms here, so you can use the one in the guest room comfortably. It has everything you need, like towels, a hairdryer, and a bathrobe. Oh, about lingerie, I noticed that you didn't pick any, so I chose some for you.
— You did what? I asked, not believing what I had heard.
— Just get ready, okay? With that said, Dante headed towards his room, the master suite.
"I don't even want to see what he chose, but what can I do? I really forgot to grab some. I'll have to use what he bought," I thought.
The apartment had 3 bedrooms, all of them suites, 1 guest bathroom, a combined living room and kitchen, and 1 office. The entire decoration was in gray and white, with almost no paintings on the walls. I passed by the office on my way to the guest room and saw that there was only 1 painting in the whole apartment, and incredibly, it was of a white coffee cup with golden details against a sky-blue background. It gave a sense of inner peace. I don't know why, but I really like coffee-themed paintings.
I arrived at the guest room, which had the same color scheme as the rest of the apartment, with a king-size bed covered with a gray quilt and fluffy pillows of the same color. There were bedside tables on both sides of the bed, with delicate cream and gold-colored lamps. There was also a 72-inch smart TV on the wall, and a plush gray rug complemented the room along with a divan sofa in the right corner near the huge window. I can't say that I didn't like the room; it was comfortable, but for some reason, I missed my apartment. I know it's very simple, but it's quite cozy.
I placed the shopping bags on the bed, closed the door to the room, and started to go through the things Dante had bought for me. I separated the dress, the purse, and the shoes on the bed and checked the rest of the bags.
— Ahhhhh! I let out a little scream.
— Kyra, is everything okay? Did you hurt yourself? Dante rushed into the room, looking very serious, not understanding anything.
— Dante, I'm going to kill you! I said angrily.
— What did I do? he asked, sounding innocent.
— The lingerie you bought is completely see-through lace, a thong. Haven't you ever heard of cotton panties?
Dante started laughing, and I didn't understand anything anymore. I clenched my fist and tried to calm down. I had no other choice, and at this point, I would have to use what he bought, which was also black.
— I'll finish getting ready, I said as Dante left the room, still laughing at me.
— I hate you, I said, but I'm not sure if he heard me.
I went to the bathroom, took a shower, dried my hair, and returned to the room in a bathrobe. I put on the lingerie and noticed that it made my breasts stand out even more. I looked at myself in the mirror in disbelief. I decided not to waste too much time and put on the dress, shoes, and makeup. "Wait, Kyra, you didn't bring any makeup! What am I going to do?" It was only then, when I finished looking at the bags, that I realized Dante was really prepared and had bought makeup (foundation, concealer, powder, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick, application brushes, sponge, and eyeshadow). I hugged the makeup and finished the look with something simple yet sophisticated. I decided to do a subtle eyeliner on top of a light brown eyeshadow to enhance my eyes, along with mascara, and completed the look with a nude brown lipstick.
Finally ready, I left the room, and Dante was already waiting for me in the living room. When I saw him, my jaw dropped. He looked extremely handsome in a turquoise blue suit, white shirt, and rose-colored tie, with his hair flowing down to his shoulders. "Compose yourself, Kyra!" I thought. I closed my mouth and walked towards him, as he was sitting on the couch with his phone in hand.
Dante noticed that I was approaching, so he stopped typing and looked in my direction. He widened his eyes, looked me up and down, as if I had affected him in some way. For a moment, he let his guard down, but he took a deep breath and composed himself.
— Shall we? he said.
— Let's go.