Ellis walked into her small apartment and looked around to keep from focusing on her. “I wasn’t expecting you to find something on such short notice that fit tonight’s theme.”
“Yeah, me too. I’ve been running around ever since you asked me to this shindig. I hadn't had a moment to catch my breath and was literally just putting on my shoes when you knocked. I’m not complaining. I figured I owed you one for helping me with my car and all.” Haven was rambling, and she knew it. She didn’t want to examine it too much, but she was both nervous and excited.
Ellis frowned. “How did you get your hair like that? Did you cut it?” He hoped not. He thought it would be a shame that someone wouldn’t have an opportunity to run their fingers through it.
She touched her soft curls. Her coarse but long and wavy hair had been pinned up in such a way to look like an exact replica of the shorter-length hairstyle Dorothy Dandridge wore in the movie, Carmen. Only Haven’s hair was adorned with a white silk ribbon and feather that wrapped around her head like a crown. Somehow, her stylist was able to intertwine it with a rose and pearls the exact same color. “No. But, I do think about cutting my hair off all the time. Unfortunately, I haven’t been brave enough to do it. This style is purely the magic of my stylist.”
“It’s nice.” It was nice, but Ellis was glad it was only a hairstyle.
At least Haven knew he thought her hair was okay. She had to admit to herself; she was a bit disappointed in his reaction. “Well . . . I hope you remember that when I tell you how much I racked up on your credit card. This dress alone was almost four hundred dollars and the shoes . . . I won’t even say!” She twirled around in a circle.
Ellis didn’t want to burst her bubble, but he had shoes that cost more than that. However, the three-tiered, beaded and fringed, black mini-dress looked incredible on her. It more than showcased her toned legs and curvy hips. In all honesty, Ellis was more of a breast kind of man, and Haven more than satisfied that part for him, but damn those legs. He would buy her an entire closet of those shoes the way they looked on her. He wondered how they would feel wrapped around him. No. No. No. She’s just a friend. He needed to continue to repeat that to himself over and over again until he believed it.
His eyes traveled up Haven’s body just in time to see her smirk and a dimple Ellis hadn’t ever noticed appeared. “But, these . . .” She twirled the long strings of pearls. “were dirt cheap. I found them at a vintage store.”
He nodded. “Good to know.”
At his sarcastic tone, Haven tilted her head and put her hands on her hips. “Believe it or not, I did at least try to be economical.” She then giggled like a child. “But, it’s not every day a girl is told to hit the stores and buy whatever she wants.”
“I suppose not.” Ellis didn’t realize it, but his tone was rather dry.
Haven walked over and took her faux-fur wrap from off the hook on the wall behind the door and glanced back over her shoulder at Ellis. “It’s not like I’m fishing for compliments or anything, but you do at least like my outfit right?”
Her ass was on full display. The dress hitched up just a little higher as she reached for her wrap. God was punishing him. As soon as they made it back to the limo, Ellis was going to need a stiff drink. He cleared his throat. Fortunately for him, his voice never betrayed anything he was thinking. He kept his tone even. “I’m sorry. I thought I told you that. Yes, you look stunning.”
Haven’s face lit up with a smile that stretched a mile wide. “You don’t look so bad ya’self, Mista!” Haven not only liked his look, she loved it. Ellis wore a black, pinstripe, three-piece suit just like the gangstas in the movies. “I love that Al Capone look on you. It’s perfect.” Her stomach was doing little flips as if this was a real date or something. It wasn’t, and she had to remember that.
For the first time since Ellis walked through the door, he relaxed and genuinely smiled. Her words shouldn’t have had that effect on him, but they did. He helped her with her wrap then opened the door. As Haven walked through it, he held his arm out for her. “If I’m old Al, then you’re my Mae Capone, and you’d better be careful. Now . . . C’mon, lady, let’s go and have fun.”
The excitement in Haven’s voice was unmistakable as she spoke and looped her arm through his. “I haven’t been out in a while. I hope I remember how.”
“Then we definitely are going to let loose and turn all the way up!”
*****
Ellis hadn’t had as good a time as he was having at a charity event in years. He thought Haven might feel a little uncomfortable being around people in his world, but she fit right in. Not only did she fit in, but she also shined. Everyone he introduced her to seemed enchanted by her. She was witty, funny, and knowledgeable about current events unlike many of his dates.
Ellis was beyond impressed. Even more so, considering they’d done nothing but stand around talking and
