Stuck with Him by Ellen Dominick Read Free Book Online Page A

he know that black people use regular soap too? Not everything had to have shea butter in it.
    Still, I smiled. At least he was trying.
    It took my time, enjoying the experience of using products I could never afford. Then there were only two more steps: Get dressed and do my hair. There was a dress in the basket, and I pulled it on. It wasn't exactly the sort of thing I would have ever chosen. The dress hugged all of my curves while somehow managing to be modest. It came down to my knees.
    The last step was my hair. I looked in the mirror and sighed. After getting wet and then going to sleep without my satin scarf, it looked like a mess. What was I going to do?
    I went back to the magical basket. Maybe there was something that could save me in there. I almost jumped for joy when I found it. The perfect flat iron! Now all I had to do was get to work.
    It took a little time, but finally I was done. I was almost embarrassed to go back outside, but my stomach was growling. I needed to eat.
    "Your food was going to get cold," Matt said. "I was just about to get –"
    He stopped in the middle of a sentence when he saw me. My ears burned, but he didn't seem to notice my embarrassment.
    " What ?" I said. "Why'd you give me this dress? I feel like I'm going to poke somebody's eye out with my butt."
    Matt came close, pulled me into a kiss, and grabbed my ass. Then he tugged at the zipper.
    "Then why don't we get you out of it?"
    He picked me up and brought me over to the couch. Matt laid me down, and was about to pull at my zipper again when his phone buzzed. He picked it up and his face dropped.
    "No, not now…"
    I jumped up. "What's wrong?"
    The elevator dinged. We both froze, looking in the direction of the door. Slowly, the doors slid open.
    " Maman ?"

Chapter 11
    There were two women in the elevator. If it wasn't for the difference in ages, they would have looked like twins. They shared the same long, curling brown hair. Neither of them wore much makeup, but they both had clear skin to go with their green eyes and pink lips. It almost seemed unfair how good-looking this family was.
    "Maman," Matt said again. "What are you doing here?"
    The older woman seemed to ignore him for a while as she walked inside and made herself comfortable on one of the couches. Behind them, Hastings came out of the elevator with a look of regret on his face. Had he tried to warn us?
    "Mathieu, aren't you pleased to see your mother?" She asked.
    "Yes but-"
    "I wanted to see how you were feeling after the whole ordeal. You know, I was very worried about you," she said. "That's why I came with your sister."
    I pursed my lips together. For some reason, I just couldn't believe this lady.
    Then, she acted as if she had only just noticed me.
    "Oh, and who is this?" She said. "Oh of course! Enchanté. I'm so excited to meet the beautiful young lady who was saved alongside my son."
    She came up to me and kissed me on both cheeks.
    "N-Nice to meet you, Mrs. DuFour," I said.
    I had hoped that maybe sometime in the future I'd meet his parents, but not so soon! And certainly not when we were right about to… I pushed the thought away from my mind.
    "But what are you doing here?" She asked. My heart jumped. "Have you become friends? Did we just happen to visit at the same time?"
    I didn't know what to say. I opened my lips, but nothing came out. I looked at Matt.
    Without a moment's hesitation, he strode over to me and wrapped me in his arms.
    "Penny is my girlfriend," he said while staring her in the eyes.
    The smile on her face dropped, but only for a second. Then it came back, stiffer than before.
    "Oh, well isn't that… lovely ," she said.
    For the first time, Matt's sister spoke. "Then that will make us sisters," she said. She also kissed me on the cheeks. "I'm Philippine, but you can call me Pippi."
    "Sure...Pippi."
    I wasn't sure if I would call her a sister, but I was grateful for the break from talking with Matt's mom. Thank goodness I'd changed already!