Follow Me Darkly (Follow Me 1)

What would Braden do?

Hell, I have no idea. Two grand is nothing to him. To me, it’s nearly a month of expenses paid. The day I have Braden’s money is the day I can turn down an offer.

Unfortunately, that’s not today.

“All right, Tammy. I’ll take two thousand. Email me the contract.” I provide her with my email address.

“Wonderful! We’ll see you tomorrow. Eleven sharp.”

“I’ll be there, and thank you again for this opportunity.”

Yeah.

I just agreed to go up in a balloon tomorrow for two thousand dollars.

I’m officially out of my element.

Before I contemplate my folly further, someone knocks.

Chapter Fifty-One

I open the door. No one is there, but a package lies on the floor. I pick it up and take it inside.

It’s wrapped in plain brown paper with a note attached. I open the envelope.

This will go beautifully with your black dress. Wear your hair up and paint your lips red. Bloodred. I’ll pick you up at six.

No signature, but it’s clearly from Braden.

I open the package. Inside, nestled on white cotton, lies a black pearl choker. I suck in a breath. The pearls are perfectly round, not knobby like cheap freshwater pearls. It’s gorgeous.

I pull the pearls from the cotton cloud and hold them up to my face.

I’m wearing the Cherry Russet lip stain, and it looks good, but bloodred will really pop against all the black, especially if I do a smoky eye.

How does Braden know that?

And underneath my dress…the nipple clamps joined by the silver chain.

Do I wear a bra? Will the clamps show through?

And why am I worrying about any of this when I may fall out of a balloon tomorrow?

Before I think further about that, though, I grab my purse and leave my apartment, heading to the mall. I make my way to the Susanne Cosmetics counter. They just paid me ten grand, so I should throw them some business.

“May I help you?” a salesgirl asks.

“Yes, please. I need a bloodred lipstick.”

“What you have on is very flattering,” she says.

“This is the Cherry Russet lip stain. It’s my go-to. But I’m attending a gala this weekend and my boyfriend wants me to paint my lips bloodred.”

“Oooh!” she nearly shrieks. “Sounds exciting! Let me see what we have.” She pulls out a tray of samples and picks one up. “This is the vamp lip stain.”

I take the sample and try it on the back of my hand. “It’s a little more blackish red. He said bloodred.”

“Try this.” She hands me another.

I rub a little next to the vamp. It’s less black but still too dark. I read the label. New York Heat. Interesting. I’m about ready to open a vein to show her what color blood actually is, but she hands me another.

“This one is called Hotshot. It’s probably not dark enough, but give it a try.”

I spread a line of Hotshot on the back of my hand next to the other two. We have a winner. “This is perfect.”

“You think?”

“Yeah. Blood is red. A piercing red with a slight tinge of blue.”

“Hmm. You’re right. How do you know so much about color?”

“I’m a photographer. Color is my business.”

“Interesting. Do you want to take one of these, then?”

“This is lipstick. Do you have a similar color in the lip stain? I’d rather not have to constantly reapply.”

“Let me see.” She pulls out some lip stain samples and hands me one. “This is probably the closest.”

The sample is called Night on the Town. At first glance, it looks bloodred, but the real test is what it looks like on me. “Do you have some lip stain remover? I’ll try this one on my lips.”

“Sure. Here you go.” She hands me a sample and a cotton ball.

I quickly remove the Cherry Russet and apply the Night on the Town.

Oh yeah. Bloodred at its finest. I can see why Braden requested it. On my fair skin and against the black dress and pearls, my lips will be a focal point.

“I’ll take a tube of this one,” I say.

“Absolutely. Anything else?”

“I’m good for now. Thanks.”

She rings me up, and I leave the mall, bloodred lips and all. I get more than a few glances as I make my way home. Suddenly, I’m fearless. Who knew bloodred lips were so potent? I’ll definitely be wearing this lip stain on my balloon ride.

When I return home, the contract is waiting in my inbox. I read through it quickly. Braden’s not here to consult, and I don’t want him berating me for doing a post for so little money, so I read through it myself. Pretty straightforward. I sign it electronically and send it back to Tammy.

Only to get an email almost instantaneously.

Hi, Skye,

Seems we need to cancel your balloon flight tomorrow. I misspoke when I said we had availability. I’ve penciled you in for Monday, same time. Let me know if this doesn’t work.