My cab pulls up as I walk out of the building.

We’re loading my bag into the trunk, when a car comes flying toward us. I recognize Dawson’s BMW.

It screeches to a halt behind the cab. All four doors open as Dawson and Jake jump out of the back seat. Dallas gets out of the front passenger side, and Riley slowly stretches his long body out of the driver’s side.

I'm trying to process how Jake and Dawson are with Riley and Dallas when they are on the amazing weekend trip with Whitney and crew.

My heart is in my stomach again.

Dawson marches up to me, grabs my waist, and says, “Keatie, what the hell?”

“What the hell?” I say back. I have no idea what the hell he means. I also pull myself out of his grip. I don’t want him to touch me.

“Why didn’t you tell me Whitney told you not to come? I only went because I thought it would be fun for us to spend the weekend together with our friends.”

“They’re your friends, Dawson. They aren’t really mine.”

“Bullshit. Jake loves you. He told Whitney off and came back with me. Bryce thinks you’re cool—”

I interrupt him. “It doesn’t matter. Whitney hates me. And I don’t want any part of a group that she’s in. She’s not a nice person, Dawson. She’s really not.”

“We all know she can be a bitch, Keatie. We just never expected her to do something like this.”

“I saw the photos of you and Rachel. Whitney told me you have been texting her all week long and that you were going to hook up with her this weekend. Obviously, she was right.”

Dawson shakes his head at me. “Whitney said put your heads together and smile. I’ve known Rachel since middle school. I probably have a million pictures of us doing stuff together. We’re just friends and the only thing I have been texting her about is this weekend. I don’t like her. And Whitney led me to believe that you were in the other limo. That it would be good for you to get to know everyone. When we got to the resort, I couldn’t find you.”

I speak to Jake. “You really told Whitney off? And left her?”

“I did. I told her that royalty has to treat everyone with respect and since she did that to you, I was leaving.”

“OMG! Jake. That’s awesome. But you know it’s just going to make her hate me more.”

“I don’t care,” he says and gives me a hug.

Dawson says, “Do I get a hug too? I tried to call you. I texted you. You didn’t reply and your phone went straight to voicemail. Then Riley called me and told me what Whitney said to you. He drove four hours to come get us last night and drove us four hours back here.” He runs his hand down my arm and looks at me so sweetly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

I’m ashamed I didn’t tell him. I’m ashamed I hid in the bushes and watched him leave. Was I testing him? Was I playing games with him? I don’t even know. Little tears spring into my eyes.

“I was embarrassed, Dawson. And you seemed excited to go. I didn’t want to keep you from something that all your friends were part of. She also told me that I’m just your flavor of the week. Part of me was afraid she was right.”

“What a bitch.”

“And you were mad at me. You didn’t flip my skirt at the game.”

“I was upset about you hanging out with Aiden. I was so pissed at him at halftime. I was ready to . . .”

“Yeah, I saw. So anyway, I’m heading out. Going shopping in New York. I’ll see you all when I get back.”

“Where are you staying? We could stay with my parents.”

“We?”

“I like to shop.”

“Really?”

“No, not really. But I want to hang out with you. I only said yes to Whitney because I thought we’d go together.”

“Don’t worry about me, okay. I have a place to stay.”

“Where?”

“I have a place there, okay?”

“I was excited to go on the trip with you.”

“You never once asked me to go.”

“I just assumed we were.”

Jake says, “I’ll never forget: that’s how our teacher taught us to remember how to spell assume. When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me.”

“I’m sorry, Keatie.”

Dawson pushes me gently against the car and says to me privately, “But I have to admit, I like this plan even better. You. Me. Alone all weekend. It’s gonna be so hot, we might burn the place down.”

“You’re cute. Before you didn’t think you were good in bed, now look at you. Burning the place down? And I didn’t invite you.”

“I bet I can get you to invite me,” he says adorably. Then he gives me a sweet kiss. Which turns into a deep, hot kiss.

My body gives into Dawson much faster than my brain does.

I smile at him and sigh. “Fine. But we have to shop.”

“I can live with that.”

While he grabs his bag out of the car, I walk over and give Riley a hug. “Eight hours of driving just for me?”

“For my brother too. No way was I gonna let the bitch win, but what surprises me even more is that you let him go. Here I thought you were tough.”

“I maybe used to be, Riley. But I don’t want to fight her.”

“You care about my brother?”

Do I? I keep telling myself that I don’t. I keep telling myself to listen to my head. To just enjoy the sex. To not get attached. But, the truth is, when he jumped out of his car and pulled me into his arms, my heart felt very happy.

“I do care about your brother. It just made me feel really alone. And I told you. I don’t want to be part of a group like that.”

“Then we’ll make our own group. You, me, and Dallas. You know we’ll always have your back.” He looks at his brother. “No matter who you decide to date, okay?”

I smile at him. “How did you know what Whitney said to me? No one heard.”

“Aiden told me.”

I blink my eyes a few times trying to wrap my head around that. Aiden told Riley so that Dawson would know? He really is trying to be nice to me. “Wow,” is all I can say. But then I give Riley another big hug and say, “Thanks for being my hero again.”

Which way to the bedroom?

11am

I lead Dawson into my new loft. It’s beautiful. Everything I wanted and more. And it’s all mine.

“Wow, this place is amazing,” Dawson says. “This room is so cool. The curved beams on the ceiling. The bar. The pool table. This is a party room. We could have some killer parties here.”

“And it’s all mine,” I whisper out before I think better of it.

Dawson hears me and says, “What do you mean?”

I probably shouldn’t tell him it’s actually mine. That would probably be difficult to explain. Gosh, I hate this. Hate lying to everyone.

“Um, I mean when they moved, um, they sold our house in California. And since I can’t go to France every time we have a break or something, I needed a place. So they bought me this. You know, so I’d have a place to keep my stuff.”

He walks over to the big, comfortable-looking couches. “This is a nice couch,” he says with a sexy grin.

“Don’t look at me like that. We have shopping to do. We have a plan for today.”

But it doesn’t go down as planned.

He grabs me and pins me on the couch, kissing me, and pulling off my dress. And there’s something so hot about the way he wants me. The way he can’t seem to wait. How his kisses are so urgent. How his hands are everywhere. How I can’t get him close enough to me. How I want him closer. How I’m guiding him towards me. How he’s like the train we were just on, running quickly down the track, with one single destination.

He told me on the train how he was going to go slow today. Kiss every part of my body. Touch every square inch of me. But that all seems forgotten now.

This is fast and furious. A lot like the first time we did it. Hard. Fast. Primal.

Now he’s kissing me sweetly, grazing his lips across my cheeks, and up by my hairline.

“So much for our plan,” I say.

“I’m sorry, I just, I don’t know what you do to me. No one has ever made me like this. I just want you so badly I can hardly stand it. It’s like I’m an animal.” He laughs, then gets serious. “We’re, like, amazing together.”

“Can we tour the rest of the loft now?”

“As long as you stay dressed like that.”

“Uh, I’m not dressed.”

“Exactly.”

“Dawson, we have to go shopping today. I’m going to find a dress for Homecoming.”

“You got a date I don’t know about?”

“No, I don’t have a date yet. But I’m going, and I’m gonna need a dress.”

“And I get to watch you try them on?”

“You get to see me in them but, no, you don’t get to be in the dressing room with me. But I would like your opinion. I want to look good.”

“Dang. And I was just thinking how good you look naked.”

“I’m not naked. I still have on my boots.”

I grab a cashmere throw off the chair and try to wrap it around me as he picks me up and says, “Which way to the bedroom?”

I giggle and point in the direction that I think it’s in. I thought I had memorized the floor plan.

He manages to find the master bedroom and throws me on the bed.

Then he proceeds to do all the things he threatened to do to me.

Slowly kissing me, rubbing me, torturing me, really, until I can’t wait anymore.

Then it is slow. Amazing. Almost tender.

The real you.

12:30pm

I’m almost asleep when I remember and jump up out of bed.

“Ohmigawd!”

“What?”

“My closet.”

“What about your closet?”

“You’re going to think I’m crazy, Dawson, but I want to close my eyes. Will you open the door and turn on the lights for me?”

He looks at me like I am crazy, but pulls on his boxers and walks to my closet door. I close my eyes and hear a door open. A light switched on.

He grabs my hand and leads me. “Open your eyes.”

I look around. The black and white brocade wallpaper. The black lacquered chandelier. The hot pink Louis VIII chair. The soft flokati rug.

“You decorated your closet?” Dawson asks. He doesn’t get it.

“It’s my closet.” I tell him, but I tell myself, You did this on your own, Keatyn. You’re doing it. You’re starting over. Living a new life. And you’re going to be okay.

“What’s this?” Dawson says, pointing at a shoebox with a bow wrapped around it.

I open the box and nestled inside pale champagne tissue paper are my shoes. The shoes from my birthday party. The shoes that are still the most beautiful shoes I have ever seen. I remember the joy I felt when I found them. I remember telling Kym we had to find a dress to do them justice.

Then I remember one of the shoes falling off when Vincent was dragging me to the door. I look at the right shoe. See the little scuff across the toe from when I tried to dig my toes into the carpet. I pick up the left shoe. The heel dangles, broken.

These shoes aren’t just beautiful, graceful, and unique. They are also survivors.

Just like me.

I open the card.

I thought you needed to be reunited with footwear that is the real you. -G

I hold the card to my chest and smile.

Just like my shoes, I’m still here.

Cush and I are over. Finished.

Brooklyn and I over. Finished.

I’m starting a new life.

I look at my closet and smile at all the empty racks.

“Dawson, you better get dressed. We have some serious shopping to do.”

I drag Dawson to all my favorite stores and most of the ones on Kym’s list. It doesn’t matter that I didn’t get to them all. I found a gorgeous dress.

All the dresses she picked out were really pretty, but only one had Dawson all hot and bothered. It’s a Valentino dress made of black lace. It has a banded waist with a macramé style, almost sunflower patterned skirt. It’s fitted and short. The top of the dress is asymmetrical, off one shoulder, tied at the top with a small bow. It has a nude colored backing behind the lace, so there is the slight illusion that you are naked and the lace is just there to cover certain body parts.

It’s gorgeous, classy, but still very sexy.

I also really love the Louboutin double platform sandals she picked out to go with it. The heels are so tall, and combined with the short dress, they make my legs look miles long.

“Hey, do you have some more shopping you need to do?” Dawson asks me as I’m paying for the dress.

“I wouldn’t mind shopping a little more before we leave.”

“Okay, good. I thought maybe I’d run and get something. I’ll meet you back here in, say, an hour?”

“Uh, sure. Where are you going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Um, okay. So, I guess I’ll head to the shoe department.”

“I should have known that.”

He gives me a kiss and rushes off.

As I walk to the shoe department, I wonder why Dawson hasn’t asked me to go to Homecoming with him yet. One of the seniors on the dance team got asked this week. Her boyfriend put a bunch of helium balloons in her dance locker along with a rose and a note. When she opened her locker all the balloons floated out. It was really cute and she was screeching with excitement, which I thought was sort of odd since they’ve been dating for a year. Another girl got a bunch of cupcakes at lunch. And one of the cheerleaders got asked by a football player over the loudspeaker at the game last night.