CHAPTER 13
MOMMY'S LITTLE BLACK DRESS
PERCY had finally come to the conclusion that while most people enjoyed the warmth of a heated blanket, he much preferred the chill of winter. Hadley was almost like the human embodiment of an iceberg, and he never felt more comfortable than he did with his arms around her. Percy liked sleeping with her back to him as he hung one arm across her waist, and she held it there with her small hands. She adjusted to his sleeping schedule completely, which he was thankful for. Now that he got a taste of pure bliss with her snoring in his arms, he didn't want to go back to sleeping alone.
They hadn't kissed since their first. They hadn't touched each other. Hadley could practically hear his suggestive thoughts as he slept next to her, but she couldn't deny that she felt the same too. She yearned to feel his mouth on hers, to have his hands burning the cold off her skin. She wanted to feel his leg in between hers again, to experience the friction – or maybe something more carnal.
But she kept her thoughts to herself, afraid to voice them out loud. Or maybe she was simply afraid of hurting him if anything got too physical.
As Percy stirred from his sleep, he noticed Hadley standing by the window. She had the shade pulled off to the side just slightest bit. With a free hand, she placed it in the light, immediately forming her fingers into a fist. He watched her jaw clench, as if she could feel her power already draining when her skin hit the light.
Before he could stop himself, he blurted, "What are you doing?"
He had startled her. Hadley jumped away, shutting the curtains with a swoop of her hand. She sent him a soft smile. "What are you doing up so early?" Hadley pointed to the old alarm clock on the bedside table. "It's eight AM."
"Early bird catches the worm," he grinned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
It was a lie. She knew it was, and so did he. Percy simply wanted to spend more time with her. There wasn't enough in a day, at least not for him.
She sat on the edge of the mattress, and he found himself instinctively scooting closer. They were both magnets to each other – restless and static, unable to be torn apart. Hadley was sending him the warmest of smiles, allowing her dimples to crack through. Percy played with his fingers, debating on what he wanted to ask her. The question hung off the edge of his tongue, but he was almost too scared to ask it. He had never been scared of her thus far, and somehow, this one inquiry caused a tremor to run up his spine.
"Do you ..."
Hadley arched a brow. "Do I ... what?"
He swallowed hard and met her grey stare. "Do you want to go on, like, a date?"
She hadn't been expecting that. Hadley looked away and jerked her head back. "Oh," she replied, "like what couples do? An actual date?"
"Have you never been on one?"
"Of course, I've been on a fucking date, Percy," she scoffed. "I just ..." She paused, clamping her teeth down on her lip, busting a crack. "What would we do?"
Percy's eyes darted away from hers. "Uh ... we could just have it here. It doesn't have to be anything fancy." His hand ghosted over one of hers, and she didn't move an inch. "Is that weird?"
Hadley frowned and fell back on the bed, allowing her head to bounce against the springy mattress. "Aren't there better things to do?" She asked, turning her head to glance at him. "Like ... reading Dracula. We keep forgetting to and you promised me."
His brow furrowed. "Is this you rejecting me?"
"No!" She exclaimed, sitting up quickly. Hadley immediately grabbed his hands, as if on instinct. Percy trembled at the skin contact, but he'd never let go. "I just don't like first dates. They're all the same."
"I can change it up."
Hadley's brow shot upward. "You're going to change it up." She almost snorted, but she didn't want to come off as insulting. "Percy, I've been around a lifetime longer than you. I'm not one of your college girlfriends that you can give an ounce of weed to and hope that they'll want to call you the next day."
Percy laughed loudly. "You really think I'm like that?"
"That's beside the point."
"Listen, I can be suave," Percy assured with a wicked glint in his blue irises.
Hadley narrowed her eyes.
"Okay, what's with the hesitation?" He chewed on his bottom lip, hoping he wouldn't have to ask the next couple of words to fall from his mouth. "Do you just ... not like me? In that way?" He then pointed a finger in her direction. "Because that kiss gave me conflicting reports."
"It's not that. I guess, I'm just scared that ..." Her voice trailed off, and she looked off to the sunlight invading the room from the small crack in the curtain. Hadley turned back to him, and to his surprise, smiled. She squeezed his hands. "Okay, sure. Why not. I'll go on a date with you, Percy."
He was ready to jump off the bed and do a happy dance, but before he could embarrass himself, she was yanking on his hands, pulling him closer with a wide smirk. "And make it a good one."
•••
Hadley distinctly remembered Percy telling her that their first date didn't have to be anything fancy, and she had been grateful for that. But now he was barging in and out of the room with Liz and Iris as his assistants, requesting that she dress nice for tonight. Hadley arched a brow as he stared at her with a big grin on his face, and she asked, "I thought this was supposed to be simple."
Percy looked off to the side and shrugged. "But you also said to make this first date a good one, so I'm doing just that." He spun on his heel, meeting Liz and Iris by the doorframe, before looking over his shoulder and pointing in Hadley's direction. "Dress nice, cool?"
Hadley nodded. She'd be a good sport – for once – but that just meant she needed to somehow steal one of Elizabeth's nice dresses without being noticed.
She took the elevator up to the penthouse when she knew the Countess would be visiting her other siblings in the playroom. Although she knew Elizabeth wouldn't be in the suite, Hadley still found herself tiptoeing through, opening the doors to her bedroom without making a sound. She quickly went to work, sifting through Elizabeth's hoard of dresses that she refused to wear anymore, before finally finding one that wasn't too much. It might be a little tight on her – she was a bit bigger than Elizabeth, and bustier – but she'd make do.
She was caught by Tristan in the midst of her search. He appeared by the door as she was exiting, smirking down at her. He picked at the thin fabric with his hand slung over the door frame and said, "Borrowing mommy's little black dress?"
All she had to do was threaten to cut his tongue off if he told Elizabeth what she was doing to make him go away. It was so easy to scare him, seeing as he was the Countess' most recent creation.
Tristan was right about one thing, though: she had grabbed mommy's little black dress. Hadley supposed it wasn't little on Elizabeth, but on her, it came to just above the knee. The dress was simple, made out of real velvet with the neckline designed as in halter way. It clung to each and every one of Hadley's curves, and she carefully admired herself in the mirror as she curled her hair. She had never felt this pretty before.
Hadley was rushing to get ready. Percy had asked her to arrive by the bar at seven, and she only had fifteen minutes to finish curling her hair, as well as try to put on a fresh coat of lipstick. Her breathing was uneven as she burnt her fingertips for the third time.
"A little dressed up, are we?"
Hadley sighed. She didn't need to turn around to know the male voice speaking behind her. He never came in her room unannounced, or even made the effort to see her – not that she minded all that much. He only came around when he wanted to know something, and she really wasn't in the mood tonight to play his games.
"Thanks for knocking," Hadley scoffed, meeting James' dark eyes in the mirror.
His stare raked down her form, glaring at her behind for just a bit too long. He was sitting on her bed, leaning back on his elbows and watching her shake out her fresh curls. James lifted a brow. "Did you take that dress from the Countess?" His smile reached his ears. "Like mother like daughter."
Hadley rolled her eyes. "That's none of your business, March."
"Everything that goes on in this hotel is my business, child," he snickered, standing up on the heels of his vintage shoes. James walked close to the mirror, smiling as she painted her lips a dark pink. "Word around the hall is that you're going on a date tonight. Is that little blondie going to be the new boyfriend? He must have the sweetest blood rushing through his veins for you to keep him as a pet."
"Again," she hissed, spinning around to face him, "none of your business. Can you please leave so I can finish getting ready?"
James narrowed his eyes, but a wickedness still remained. His lips remained in a pointed sneer. "Well, every dad wants to meet the boyfriend before the first date, my dear. You should know that by now."
"You're not my dad!" She replied, raising her hands in the air. "You know you aren't. The only person that was ever a father figure to me was Donovan."
"And just where is he now?"
Hadley went silent. Grumbling under her breath, she turned back to the mirror and plucked a silver locket from her jewelry collection. She fumbled with the clasp for a while, until James approached her from behind and took her hands in his. He locked the clasp just fine and laid the necklace delicately on her collar.
"I see everything around the Cortez, Hadley," he whispered, placing both hands on her shoulders. Their eyes locked in the mirror. "I may not act like a father, but I'm always here, prowling around this hotel. I'm aware of everything. Quite frankly, I'm the best father you have at the moment."
She swallowed hard, pursing her lips before asking, "Are you going to tell Elizabeth about my date tonight?"
James hesitated. He smoothed his hands over her bare shoulders before fixing the clip in her hair. "No," he finally answered, and Hadley released a quiet exhale of relief. "But you of all people know that a relationship with a human can't last for long. There will come a day when you'll want a taste, and the desire will be so overwhelming that once you have it ... you'll never be able to stop."
Hadley nodded slowly, and James allowed a sneer to grace his pale lips. "Or he could be sacrificed to the savages of the Cortez," he continued. "Take your pick."
She opened her mouth, but was unable to form words. Hadley turned after a quick moment, ready to fire back a threat, one that would leave him quaking in his boots. But when finally faced him, he had disappeared. Hadley's eyes darted around the room until she eventually realized that he had actually left.
She grabbed her purse with an annoyed huff, "Fucking ghosts."
•••
Hadley didn't know what she was expecting when she arrived at the bar, but it was certainly not this.
Fairy lights were strung everywhere. No inch of space wasn't lit up by the tiny bulbs, allowing Hadley to see the beautiful spectacle. A single, white rose was placed on every table, and she found her eyes widening as she passed by each one. Iris and Liz stood by the back, waiting for Hadley in the prettiest of dresses with a pristine bottle of red wine in their hands. As she walked forward, her stare landed on Percy, who was waiting for her by a dimly lit booth, a candle placed in the middle of the table. He wore a vintage suit, which she could only guess belonged to someone in the hotel. The suit fit him well, clinging to his toned arms in a way that made Hadley's mouth water. His hair was still in his signature messy waves, but some were more contained, and it matched the childish look in his eyes.
"Miss Monroe," Liz beamed, gesturing to the table, "please, have a seat. We'll be your servers for the evening."
Hadley managed to stifle her giggles as she slid into the circular booth. Her butt sunk into the old, leather cushions, and she still ended up bumping her shoulder into Percy's. He blushed at the skin-to-skin contact, which Hadley found odd, considering it wasn't too long ago that she was grinding on his bare leg. She blinked, trying to keep herself focused on the date.
It hit her finally. Shit, she thought, I'm a date with a human.
Iris presented the bottle in her hands. "May I interest you in some red wine?"
"Um," Hadley licked her lips, "yeah, sure."
With a bright smile, Iris placed two shiny wine glasses on the table and filled them both to the middle. It was a dark merlot – her favorite. How could he have known that? The two women nodded curtly before Liz said, "We'll give you a moment."
Percy sipped at the wine in his cup pleasantly, despite almost gagging at the taste once it reached his tongue. Hadley slowly turned in her seat to meet his eyes, and she noticed just how small the booth really was. She was inches from him, invading his space – not that he minded.
"You did all of this?" She asked, pointing to the scene with her finger. "The lights? The merlot?"
He shrugged. "Tried my best."
Hadley placed a curl behind her ear, and when it didn't hold in place, Percy reached over and did it for her. She froze when his hands brushed against her ear – when his heat punctured her right in the gut – but she recovered quickly. Hadley cleared her throat and said, "Here I was thinking that I couldn't be surprised anymore."
Percy smiled, raising his glass of Merlot just slightly in the air. "To new beginnings," he muttered, almost losing his ability to breathe when her grey irises bore into his, "and maybe, not hating first dates as much."
She flashed him a grin. "Maybe," she repeated, clinking their glasses together.
•••
A/N: ALMOST FORGOT TO POST THIS LMAOOOOO
Thx bubbIesgum 🤝