on the bed I wrenched as far back as I could. My fingertips couldn't get a good enough grip on the impossibly tiny bit of metal. Why had I bought this stupid outfit again?
Rolling on my side I breathed in, grit my teeth, and pushed my shoulders to the absolute limit no human should ever have to endure. I was so close, my muscles creaking, my breath expelling from my exhausted lungs.
Almost there. Keep going. Keep... keep...
A knock came at my door. "Brenda?"
Oh fuck. That was Sean. Corkscrewing around to look, I lost my balance and went over the edge of the bed. "Shit!" I groaned, hitting the ground hard enough to rattle my teeth.
"Brenda! You okay in there?"
"Yeah, fine!" Standing quickly, I ran on bare feet to open the door. He was waiting there in the hall, one hand deep in his sweatpants' pocket. Unlike me, he'd managed to change out of his wedding clothes.
When his eyes ran over my body, I imagined they were his nimble fingers. "What was that noise?"
"Rats," I said quickly. "Hotel rats. Big ones." Leaning on the door, I tried to look casual. "You uh, need something?"
Glancing down the hall, he said, "Could I sleep in here tonight?"
My heart popped.
Everything narrowed to a pinprick. I could see nothing but Sean and his curious eyes. "Sleep?" I stated, "In here?" What is happening? Holy hell, what do I do? What? What? What? This is... This was too good to be true. And terrifying.
Sheepishly, he cupped his own neck. "My room shares a wall with Lola's. If you get my drift."
Aaaaand my joy was the next thing to pop. "Oh. Right." That made sense; who wanted to hear their own sibling banging on their wedding night? Standing aside, I motioned for him to come in.
"Thanks," he said, studying my room as he turned in place. His eyes tracked to my suitcase, to my bed, then back to me. His frown stretched outwards. "Why are you still in your dress?"
I tugged at the hem. "Oh. I just hadn't finished changing yet."
"Sorry for interrupting. Go ahead and use the bathroom, I'll wait." He perched on the edge of my mattress.
"Sure, sure. Just a minute." I slid into the bathroom with my big, fat, fake grin. Finally alone, I sucked in air through my nose and grabbed the edge of the sink so hard my fingertips went white.
Sean Cooper was going to sleep in my room.
Tonight.
With me.
Staring at myself in the mirror, I smoothed a palm over my damp forehead. Get it together, Brenda. I always had it together. Why was this one guy so great at making me fall apart?
Furious, I ripped at the zipper and seethed. "Come... off!" My balance went out, I fell backwards against the glass shower door. White fire exploded from my elbow. "Fuck!"
"Brenda?" he shouted, shoving into the bathroom. "Are you okay?"
Whirring, I faced him with my chest thrusting out, hands on my spine. "I'm—fine."
He squinted at me. "Are you stuck in that dress?"
Giving up, I slumped over limply. "Yes. I am. Can you help me?"
He came my way, his sneakers scuffing over the shiny tiles. “Why didn't you say so earlier?"
The small room suddenly became so much smaller. It took all of my bravery to face away from him. Knowing he was about to touch me was hard, but seeing it happening was killing my confidence. "It doesn't matter."
"Were you embarrassed?"
I bit the inside of my cheek. Too clever. Or I'm too obvious. I was going to say something—create some lie that explained away my decision to fight with the busted zipper all alone. Before I could, Sean brushed his fingers over the nape of my neck.
My inhale was so loud it echoed on the white porcelain walls.
Freezing, Sean asked, "You okay?"
I was glowing red; I could see it in the mirror. "Just hurry up. This thing is choking me."
Eager to obey, Sean yanked the zipper straight down. It split open, freeing my upper body to the cool air. All of my upper body. He'd pulled so hard that the entire dress had split open and fallen to the floor.
Both of us gawked at my exposed breasts. “Oh shit!” Sean exclaimed, his hands held high as if he wanted to help, but had no clue how to. What the shit was with today? Had someone cursed me—was it the woman at the dress shop I'd been rude to?
Wrapping my arms around my chest, I crouched, lifting the dress enough to hide my