chapter 3

Finally alone, she collapses on the bed, her new bed and has a chance to think about the day, the first day of her new life.

That had went well. Had that went well? She has to be brave. She had to stay focused. She was so over being the good girl, the straight A student, the gifted dancer who her teachers praised for always working the hardest at rehearsals. It was time stop doing what everyone else wanted, what society expected of her. It was time to take what she wanted, what she had always wanted, what she had craved since that night in Mykonos.

Her mother's parting words kept playing in her mind, filling her with steel; "I'll come up soon to visit darling, and to check in on Shep too. He seems to be doing rather well for himself these days. He wasn't all bad you know. You never know sweetie, you staying with him might just be thing that brings us back together."

Not after everything you've done you won't you old slut. Dragging me across the country away from him, walking out on him and smashing up my life when I was happiest. You had your chance bitch. Now it's my time.

Sitting in what used to be her mother's boudoir, now hers, she looked at herself in the mirror. Light makeup, enough of a smudge of mascara to give a subtle, smoky look without looking too obvious. Dark hair tousled, again, carefully done to look glamorous without looking like it was deliberate. Lip-gloss, a splash of perfume. Even with her default self-criticism picking out her flaws she knew overall she looked good. And her outfit, well she hadn't exactly lied when she told Shep she was getting in her PJs, but that didn't quite do this little set justice.

Shep

She walked into the room with all her dancers grace and poise, unhurried and with a self-possession women decades older would kill for. Her long dark hair tumbled to her breasts (why was I looking at my daughter's breasts?) and when Shep agreed to her getting into PJs he hadn't anything like this outfit in mind. Technically it was a set of PJs but even in low light he could tell the material was satin, black with a lace trim on the shorts and the sleeves. The shorts were long enough to be decent, short enough to show off her lean, toned legs.

He opened his mouth to tell her to go get changed but stopped himself. She was in PJs, beautiful glamorous PJs but nothing slutty, not even lingerie. What was he going to say to her, that she looked too hot? That he couldn't tear his eyes off her petite, lithe body wrapped in silky satin that he was desperate to touch? That just said more about him than her dress sense.

So Shep gulped hard and just said, barely thinking as the words came out "you look stunning Olivia, but I'll confess that wasn't what I expected when you said PJs".