Not Quite Dating(13)

“I don’t know, maybe the girlfriend dumped him.”
“Then why wouldn’t he ask for his money back?”
Jack shrugged. “Maybe he was embarrassed. Rich people spend money as if it grows on trees. Don’t shoot your own foot.” Jack’s constant use of clichés made her smile. It must be a Texas thing. “Aren’t you even curious about what’s in the box?”
Curious? Heck, her palms were all sweaty.
Jack waved the box under her nose and said in a singsong voice, “Come on, Jessie…open the box.”
“Oh, give that to me.” She grasped the package out of his hands and sat it on the table in the middle of the room. She tugged on the lid until it pulled free, and gasped.
There, in the delicate gold tissue paper, sat a beautiful black dress that must have cost a fortune. “Oh. My. God. I can’t wear this. It’s too much.” Even as the words left her mouth, her greedy fingers grasped the dress as she lifted it for a better look.
The material slid in her hands. Silk, she mused. Only nothing like anything she owned or had ever worn. Her heart skipped in her chest with the thought of slipping it over her body.
“It’s beautiful, Jack. Why would anyone leave this at the store?”
“You like it?”
“Like it? I love it.” She pushed past him to look in the full-length mirror that hung outside the door to the employee lockers. She pictured her hair up, or maybe down…a little more shadow on her eyes. This wasn’t a little black dress, this was the little black dress that every woman wanted but seldom had. The dress would require a strapless bra, but she had one of those. What was she thinking? She couldn’t wear a dress meant for someone else.
Or could she?
She couldn’t stop smiling at her reflection…at the dress. “Are you sure you’re not going to get into any trouble with this?”
He leaned one shoulder against the frame of the doorway and offered her a sexy grin. “I’m sure.”
Like he’d say otherwise. She watched him through the mirror and questioned him with her stare.
“Did you see the shoes?” He nodded toward the box.
Jessie glanced over her shoulder and saw two strappy heels with tiny rhinestones adorning the edges, perfect for the dress.
“Are they my size?”
“You said seven, right?”
“Yeah.”
She moved back over to the box and gently laid the dress inside. “I don’t know, Jack. This is pricey stuff. I’d hate for you to get caught borrowing it and find yourself canned all on my account.”
“I’m telling you, no one will be the wiser. This dress has been sitting there for months. I’m surprised it hasn’t collected dust. Seems a shame to let it sit in the box instead of being worn by a beautiful lady.”
Jessie passed him a frown. “You’re incorrigible.”
“Been called worse.”
“Still.”
Jack helped her put the lid back on the box. “The party starts at eight this Saturday night.” He fished out a piece of paper from his pocket. “Here’s your ticket.”
She glanced at the embossed paper with the time, date, and place stamped on it. A tiny bit of holly took up a corner. Elegant.
Pam, another of the night servers, poked her head through the break room door. “Getting busy out here,” she said.
“I’ll leave you so you can get to work,” Jack said. “I’ll see you Saturday.”
“As long as you’re sure you won’t get in any trouble.”
Jack rolled his eyes. “I won’t. Promise.”
Jessie slid the box on the top of the lockers and turned for the door.
“Hey, Jack,” she called out to him before he could leave.
He turned and gave her his signature smile, dimples and all. “Yeah.”
“Thanks.”
“Eight o’clock,” he said with a wink.
“Got it.”
He gave her a little salute with the brim of his hat and sauntered his Levi’s-clad butt right out the door.
“Who was that?” Pam asked.
“A-A friend.”
“Right. Is that what we’re calling them these days?”
Jessie turned away from her. “Oh, stop. Not you, too.”
“If he needs more friends, you can give him my number.”
“You have a boyfriend,” Jessie reminded her.
“Ha! Exactly.” Pam shuffled around her and mumbled to herself. “Friend…yeah, right.”


Chapter Four


“You’re stalling,” Monica said with laughter in her voice.
“Am not.”
“Are too.”
Jessie wrinkled her nose at her sister and turned to the mirror one last time. The dress fit perfectly. The cut of the dress accentuated her slim waist and the shoes showed off her calves.
Her hair sat piled on her head with plenty of whimsy strips falling to her shoulders. Jack had even tucked a pair of earrings into the box. Or maybe the man who originally bought the dress had tossed them in and Jack had no idea they were in there.
“You look gorgeous.” Monica was sprawled on the bed, gazing at Jessie while tossing popcorn in her mouth.
Jessie ran her hands over her nervous stomach and turned to the side. “It’s not bad, huh?”
“So tell me more about this guy…Jack.”
Maybe it is time to get going? “I’ve already told you. He’s just a guy I met at the restaurant who wants to help me find a nice, well-off man who can help dig me out of this hole I’m in. And then I can finish my degree, too.”