They had gotten into another argument again, he said she said and whatnot. He was tainting her reputation without observing his hypocrisy. “Look at you calling ME spineless behind my back.” Is what she’d said. Now she was going to dinner with him, and not willingly.

The process of getting ready had many steps. Rose was convinced it was easy to get lost in them. Especially when preparing for a big event, such as this one. She contemplated the potential outcomes to her night while slipping into her dress. It was black, with a plunging neckline and a slit running up the length of her leg. She didn’t pick this dress. She hated it. It exposed everything from the curve of her hips all the way down to her secrets. She went to do her hair, wishing she could pull it up. Then remembered that he preferred it down. He had his hands all over her even now, just by picking everything out. It made her skin crawl. She walked out of the bathroom and clicked down the hallway in matte black heels. Something he had also chosen, something he found “sexy”.

The word flashed against her brain and left a mark. It slashed her vision and made her nauseous. Rose reached the living room where he sat. Perfectly, properly, and poised. A completely unassuming gentleman. He wore a black tuxedo and black dress pants. It looked ordinary but the way he was dressed was meticulously done. His coat and slacks were pressed to perfection, his hair had few silvery strands and fell evenly around his forehead. Honestly, he was a handsome man and caught eyes almost everywhere he went. But his outward appearance was simply that and did not seep into his personality. Just like his polite mannerisms, everything was a facade for the public stage. People say you can tell a lot about a person just by examining their eyes. It’s true. When speaking to others he rarely drops his smile, yet the skin by his eyes is smooth. Real smiles left lines and tell tale crows feet, of which he had none. This was unapparent to everyone but Rose. She was all too familiar with that face and all of its intricacies.