Strip Me Bare Read Online Free PDF

color of our eyes; a light
chestnut brown with black specs around the pupils.
    Judge Remington shakes out his newspaper,
then folds it and throws it down onto the table, “What are your
plans today Alana?”
    I look up at him, “I’m going into the city to
meet Jill.”
    She’s the perfect alibi since she lives
there.
    “Ummm hmmm,” he tinkers with his watch.
“Good. Be careful,” he says the words but there’s no interest or
care, just obligation. “Have you decided if you want campus housing
or an apartment yet?”
    He’s talking about law school, Columbia.
    I’ll never forget the day I told him I was
applying; it was like being branded with a hot poker. His eyes lit
up, and not because I was following in his collegiate footsteps,
but because he keenly caught on to the quiet excitement in my voice
and the enthusiasm on my face. He knew it was something I really
wanted, which meant it was something to hold over my head. I knew
it too, but I didn’t care. Because being a lawyer is all I’ve ever
wanted to do. So if I have to play good little rich girl to get
what I want, I will.
    But trust me when I say, I don’t plan to star
in this role forever.
    “I haven’t decided yet,” I say, looking
down.
    “Well, you have until Wednesday. I’ve set up
an appointment with a realtor. 9 AM sharp.” He clears his throat,
“On the West Side.”
    “Okay, daddy.”
    He gets up out of his chair; he’s dressed in
white shorts and a light green polo shirt, which means he’s
probably going to play tennis at the club.
    “Have a nice day,” he tells me in a detached
tone, then walks out of the room.
    All business, all the time.
    Bye dad, love you too .
     

     
    I step off the train at 11:38 AM and head up
the stairs of Penn Station. The city, like always, is alive. It’s a
clear spring day as I walk down West 33rd with the sun reflecting
off the high rises. I slip on a pair of mirrored aviator sunglasses
and trek towards Broadway. It’s about a ten minute walk to Dean and
DeLuca. Which is good. I need the time to assemble my thoughts.
Actually, I need the time to devise a geometric defense strategy to
protect my heart, because I know today, my emotions are going to
engage in war. For five years I’ve wondered what happened to him.
Wondered what happened to us, and now, almost seamlessly, I’m going
to get the answers. But answers aren’t the only thing I think I
want. Seeing Ryan last night, feeling his body, smelling his skin
recharged the feelings I’ve so desperately tried to repress. I’m so
torn. I’m angry and hurt, and yet, at the same time, all I want is
him.
    I’m delusional.
    He’s a stripper.
    How in the hell would that ever work?
    I check out my outfit in the window of the
coffee shop. Skinny blue jeans and a white, short sleeve, eye
hooked top, a slight tease of my midriff showing. My long blonde
hair falling down my back and over my shoulders, it’s a little
windblown, but it gives it an oomph of sexiness.
    I pull my sunglasses off as I look around the
room. No sign of Ryan. My heart flutters a little.
    I order a cup of coffee and take a seat next
to the window, if nothing else, I can people watch.
    I glance at the clock, 12:03.
    Then back out the window.
    Then back at the clock, 12:05.
    This is frustrating. Then I hear his voice
before I see his face, “Punctual as ever.” I turn around as he
glides past the table and sits in the chair opposite me. He puts a
single flower in front of me. An orange stargazer lily. My throat
closes.
    “For you.”
    I pick up the hefty flower. It’s fully
bloomed and smells sweet. I think about that night in the cabana.
There was a fresh vase of these exact flowers on one of the end
tables.
    “You remembered.”
    “I remember everything.”
    I swallow hard.
    Me too.
    This is so awkward. All I keep thinking about
is five years ago and Jack the Stripper.
    “Nice to see you came fully clothed,” I
quip.
    “Are you disappointed?”
    “No.”
    Yeah, maybe