I stepped back inside Louis' apartment. "Are you serious?" I asked, my eyes wide.

"Yes. What do you think, you're too good for my little hometown?" He teased.

"No, that's not what I meant at all. I just can't believe you invited me! I would absolutely love to go, but there's one small problem: I'm engaged to another man!"

"It won't be like that. I just think you really need to get away to clear your head. You want to get away, don't you?" I nodded. "I think you'll like my home, too. It's relaxing, enjoyable. Well, and I need a date for the wedding."

"Louis!" I said, smacking his arm.

"It can be a friend date, okay? I know you're engaged, and I don't plan on getting in Richard's way. I'm pretty sure he could pummel me any day. And I'll make sure my family knows you're going incognito so they don't slip and post it all over the internet that Ashten Norwood is in Ypsilanti."

"Ypsi...what?"

"Ypsilanti, my home town. It's just outside of Ann Arbor, and it's not far from Detroit, so it's not Hicksville or anything."

"That sounds like a lot of fun, Louis, but what exactly would I tell Richard? Hey, I know you just proposed, but the pool boy and I are going away for a weekend. See you later!"

"Hmm," Louis thought for a moment. "What if you go away with Veronica for the weekend? Tell Richard that you two already had something planned."

"Huh? Oh! I get what you're saying. That will totally work. Veronica will cover for me, no problem. She knows I have a cr...I mean, she knows we're good friends."

Shit, I slipped and almost said crush. He figured it out. I could tell by the way he looked down at the floor and blushed a little.

"So, how are we getting there?" I asked, trying to recover. "We could use my family's jet."

Louis faked a disappointed look and shook his head. "Ashten, Ashten, Ashten. Don't you think your parents will figure it out if you use the jet to fly to Michigan for four days?"

Ugh, he was right. I wasn't used to sneaking around like this.

"I was thinking we could do a road trip," he suggested. "Borrow Preston's car, have you practice driving while I sleep. It should work out perfectly." I could tell by his eyes that he was holding back a little smile.

"I don't think so. We're flying, and that's final. How does First Class sound?"

"Expensive."

"Well, don't you worry your pretty little head about it. I'm paying and I have my own private account so my parents will never know."

Louis agreed, so we shook on it. Then he pulled me into a hug. I didn't want him to stop, but he started coughing again.

"Go drink your tea and get some sleep!" I commanded.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, closing the door quietly behind me.

As soon as I got to my room, I bought tickets online, First Class, Round Trip from JFK to Detroit Metro, Thursday, July 2 through Monday, July 6. We would fly out early Thursday and return late on Monday to maximize our time.

I couldn't believe I was doing this, making reservations to go off on a trip with Louis. I was so excited and so nervous at the same time.

I dialed Veronica's number. "I need you!"

"I was just there for like four hours!" She teased, but she lived nearby, so she agreed to come back. As soon as she got there, I yanked her into my room and locked the door. "You and I are going on a trip over the fourth of July weekend!"

"What? I just made plans with Liam. He's actually going to be in New York this weekend instead of next, so we planned to spend the whole time together."

"Great, that settles it then!" I cheered.

"Ashten, honey, are you okay? You're acting very strange...."

"I'm totally fine, perfectly wonderful, never been happier!"

Veronica looked genuinely concerned. "Are you having a psychotic break or something like that? Because when I was here this morning, you couldn't stand the idea of marrying Richard, and now you're way too happy."

"That's because I'm going away with Louis for the weekend and I need you to cover for me," I said in a loud, squeaky whisper. "I'm going to tell Richard and my parents I'm going somewhere with you. It works out even better if you're gone for the weekend as well."

Her jaw dropped dramatically, and she just stared at me like she was waiting for the punchline. Finally she hissed,  "NO. WAY. You're kidding me, right? There's no way you'd ever do anything like this!"

"Well, then it must be a new me. I'm completely serious. I've already made the flight reservations. Louis and I were talking and he thought I could use some time away to clear my head. And voila! We're going to Michigan in a few days." I clenched my fists together and bounced on my heels in excitement.

"Holy shit, I've never seen you this excited, Ashten. You must really like this guy!"

"No. Well, yes I do. I mean, it's not like I'm going as his date or anything, well he said it would be a friend date, whatever that means."

"Date?"

"Yes, we're going to his friend's wedding."

Veronica started at me. "Let me get this straight: Louis is taking you home to meet his family and then attend a wedding with him. And you're telling me this is all friendly, buddy-buddy, and not romantic in any way?"

"Well, I didn't exactly say that..."

"Ashten! This is dangerous ground!" She huffed. But then she smirked, saying, "And I couldn't be more proud of you! Just remember one thing, okay?"

"What's that?"

"Make sure he brings condoms."

I whipped a pillow at her and yelled, "You're sick!" But then I grabbed her in a fierce hug and said, "Thank you so much!"

We talked a little more and figured out our story. I would tell Richard and my family that Veronica and I were going to some small town in Maine for the weekend of the Fourth, for some "girl bonding time." She would corroborate if the need arose, which it most likely wouldn't because our parents barely knew each other.

Before Veronica left, I asked her, feeling a little overwhelmed with my new rebellious streak, "Do you think there's something wrong with me? I mean, a month ago, I was taking great pleasure in ordering people around, and now I just don't want to treat people that way anymore. I thought that was part of who I was. And sneaking around behind Richard's back. I just have this nagging fear that I'm losing myself."

Veronica furrowed her eyebrows. She placed her hands firmly on my shoulders and said, "Ashten, you're not losing yourself. You're finding yourself."

Yeah, maybe I was.

I fell into bed that night, happier than I'd felt in a long time. I was going away with Louis. The sassy pool boy who always made me laugh and made me feel safe, too. He was my friend, and I was glad I had opened up to him instead of holding him at arm's length like I did with the other servants.

When I reflected on how I'd treated him at first, I couldn't imagine I was very attractive to him at all, ordering him around, demanding that he treat me with respect.

Maybe I was reading too much into his friendship. I knew I was falling for him, but maybe he was just being friendly and maybe he treated all the girls like this. He seemed very popular with his friends at the Underground, and he was well-liked by everyone on our staff. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Louis was just being himself with me, the same Louis that everyone else was fond of. He had even made it clear that this trip wouldn't be romantic and he'd make sure his family knew we were just friends.

I warned myself not to get too emotionally involved, even though I was already so attached to him. The fact that he invited me to his home was likely a genuine act of thoughtfulness, knowing I needed some time away from home to think about my life. 

I finally talked myself into thinking that I'd be okay with having Louis as a good friend. He seemed very loyal, and I doubted that he would disappear from my life after I was married. Richard had female friends, so I could have male friends. No big deal.

But a small part of my heart refused to believe that I would ever be okay without Louis.

The following morning, I'm sure I shocked the hell out of Danielle when I asked if she'd come shopping with me.

The look on her face was one of terror.

"Are you okay, Danielle?" I asked.

"Y...yes, I'm fine. I'm just surprised, that's all. I mean, really?"

"Yes, I'm serious. I would like to find some more casual-type clothes for the fourth of July weekend. I'm going away with Veronica."

"Won't you want your normal clothes?" She asked with suspicion in her voice.

"Um, no, we're actually just going to hang out in a small town up in Maine, you know, crab shacks and beaches. We thought we'd dress down a little."

"That doesn't sound like your usual vacation," she said.

"I know, crazy, right? So, will you come with me? I want your fashion advice for down-dressing."

Danielle laughed and said, "Oh, so you want to dress like the common folk, do you? I'm sure I can find something in a nice polyester, or even better, burlap!" 

I wondered if she'd always been so snarky and I just never noticed, or if she'd been hanging around Louis a lot. "I didn't mean to offend you. I mean, it's just that I don't...I mean, you might have-"

Danielle laughed at me bumbling over my words. "It's fine. I know what you mean. Yes, I'd love to go. There's a mall I really like in Newark."

"Great," I smiled. "Do you have a car that we could take?"

She gave me an odd look.

"Or, maybe we should just take the limo."

A devilish smile crossed her face. "The limo would be fun!"

I got ready quickly while Danielle went to change out of her servant's uniform. When she returned to my room, my eyes almost popped out of my head. She looked like a different person in her everyday clothes, with her hair hanging loose. Her long legs were on full display with her short jean shorts and gladiator sandals. Her long reddish-blonde hair was held back with a thick headband. And she topped it with a lightweight summery orange shirt, which surprisingly didn't clash with her orange-ish hair.

"You look amazing!" I said.

She smiled proudly and said, "Thanks."

We got downstairs and buzzed for Preston. "We're going shopping. Meet us out front," I instructed.

When we got into the limo, Danielle breathed out, "Wow."

I laughed. "First time in a limo?"

She shook her head. "No, my friends and I rented one for Prom. But it was just a rental, so it wasn't decked out like this!"

I smiled and directed Preston to take us to the mall in Jersey. It turned out it was the one where Louis had taught me to drive. I glanced at Danielle and then back at Preston. "Please."

They both gave me very confused looks, and I'm sure they were wondering if I'd been brainwashed by aliens or something. There was no way I could define what was happening to me, except to say that the real me was coming out, like Veronica had said. And I knew that a certain pool boy had a lot to do with that. A satisfied smile crossed my face as I leaned back against the car seat.

"What are you thinking about? Or should I ask whom?" Danielle asked in a teasing voice. "I bet it's Mr. Banning."

My face fell. I looked at her and said, "No, unfortunately."

She pouted. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"No problem. Just some personal stuff going on."

We chatted during the entire drive. I found out that Danielle was from Las Vegas, originally, but she came to New York to try to get into fashion design. She came from a family of five kids, which I could hardly imagine. I found it was kind of interesting to listen to her talk about her life. How sad that she'd been my personal servant for two years now, and I never really asked her about herself.

When we got to the mall, Preston dropped us off at the front door. As I got out, I turned and said, "Hey, if you want to come in, you can just park and hang out in the mall."

He looked over his shoulder as if he thought I was talking to someone else. Then he looked back at me and nervously said, "Uh, no, I'll just stay with the car and keep it cool for you."

I was surprised at the size of the place. It definitely seemed convenient to have all of these stores in one location, if a bit overcrowded.

The only stores I recognized were Swarovski, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Victoria's Secret. I spotted a Coach store, too, but I didn't really like their style.

"Take me to your favorite store," I directed Danielle. She walked away at top speed, yanking me along behind her. We arrived at a store called Charlotte Russe. I guess I'd heard of that before, too, but I'd never set foot in one. Danielle immediately began browsing through racks and racks of clothing, handing me the occasional item.

She threw me a pair of denim shorts with an American flag design across the legs. "Perfect since you'll be there for the Fourth of July!" They were slightly gaudy and more casual than anything I'd ever worn, but they seemed right for some reason. Then she tossed a sleeveless blouse to me; it was white and billowy and had sophisticated red flowers printed across the front. I tried several things on once my arms could hold no more. Danielle tried to talk me into all of them, but I walked away with the American flag shorts and the pretty white blouse.

When we got to the shoes, I was floored. I wanted to buy every single pair! They were so cute that I couldn't quite believe they were designer. And every single pair was under $100! Insane. I bought so many, I lost count. 

Danielle laughed at me, going crazy in the shoe section. "You know your shoe closet is bursting at the seams, right?"

"Yes," I laughed along with her. "But shoes are my weakness! Can't you tell?"

"So, it doesn't bother you to buy cheap stuff like this?" She asked.

"I never knew there were cute shoes that cost so little. I figured everything under $500 was going to be ugly and outdated."

Danielle led me to several more stores, throwing the occasional clothing item at me. I realized that I should pick out a dress for the wedding, but I couldn't tell Danielle that's where I was going.

"Danielle, can you help me pick out something kind of dressy, but not over the top. Like, in case Veronica and I decide to eat at a nicer restaurant. So like, summery and pretty, like maybe something you might wear to a wedding. You know, like for common folk," I said with a teasing look on my face.

She snapped her fingers. "I know just the store!" Again, she was squeezing my hand and dragging me through the crowds. I found it a little annoying, but that was overshadowed by her excitement about shopping with me.

We stopped in a dress shop, a little more upscale than most of the other stores, but not quite like Rodeo Drive. She went to work, flipping through the racks, tossing potential dresses to me. On the way to the dressing room, she stopped in front of one rack in particular and pulled out a rather old-fashioned looking dress, but it was actually an adorable style, with a halter-style bodice and a full skirt, it looked like something out of the 1950's.

"You like that one?" I asked her.

"I'm in love with this dress. I've been saving up forever, but it seems there's always something else that comes along, demanding my money." She sighed, but then she quickly turned to me and said, "Okay, let's go and try those on!"

"Why don't you put that dress on for me?" I said, pulling her favorite dress back off the rack. "It's such a unique style, I'm curious to see how it looks."

She smiled, clearly excited to put it on.

I went in to the small dressing room and hung my choices up on a long hook. It was so different than when I went to the boutiques on the Upper East Side. But surprisingly, it hardly bothered me. I felt like I was making a new friend as well as finding some cute clothes for an absolute steal.

I put on a pale seafoam green dress. It was quite pretty, but it was strapless. That was usually a deal breaker, but I really like the way it looked on me. Danielle announced that she had her dress on, so I decided to show off the one I was wearing. Danielle saw my body every day anyway.

We both gasped at the same time at the sight of each other's dresses, and then we burst out laughing.

She recovered quickly and said, "Don't try anything else on; that one is perfect!"

"But it's strapless. I don't like showing my shoulders this much."

She put her hand on her hip and gave me a disappointed look. "You have a body most girls would die for, so why not show it off a little? Besides, you're just going to be with Veronica, so what's the big deal?"

"Well, you look pretty hot in that dress, too. I think you should get it."

She gave me a weak smile. "It's too much."

I reached over and grabbed the price tag. $150? That was it? I couldn't believe that was too much for her to spend. "Well, you are getting this today because I'm going to buy it for you."

"Oh, no, Ashten, I couldn't ask you to do that," she said.

"You're not asking me, and I'm not taking no for an answer," I said in my usual authoritative voice. "Now get dressed and we'll go and pick out shoes to match our dresses."

She seemed unsure as I shooed her back into the dressing room. "Go, times a-wasting!"

We both found the perfect heels for our dresses, and then Danielle helped me pick out some soft peach-colored jewelry to accent the seafoam dress.

On the way out of the mall, Danielle stopped by a Starbucks. "I'm buying!" She insisted with a grin. I shrugged and gave her my order. We carried our steaming drinks out into the heavy heat outside, but Preston pulled up soon after, so were bathed in coolness once again.

Danielle sipped her drink for a bit and then said, "Thank you so much for the dress and the shoes. I didn't expect that at all. But it was very generous of you."

"You're welcome. Thanks for helping me pick out some more normal clothes," I laughed.

As soon as I got home, I went to tell my parents about my plans with Veronica for the weekend.

"Oh, that sounds nice, Dearest," my mother cooed without evening looking up from her computer.

My dad was sitting in her office, too, going over some stack of papers. He looked up at me and said, "By the way, Richard called to tell you he's going out of town again. He's leaving tomorrow night, so he said he'd stop by to see you before then."

Yes! I cheered in my mind. Richard would be out of town so I didn't have to worry about sneaking out behind his back. I just hoped that my parents would have no way of knowing that I was going away with Louis.

This was going to be perfect.

* * * * *

Is anyone excited to read about Ashten's trip with Louis? :D

Also, in case any of you are wondering, I don't usually change POV's when I'm writing in first person. I like to have the story told from one person's perspective because much of other people's motivations and thoughts remain a mystery until they act. I find it to be kind of a spoiler if the female character is wondering if the guy likes her, and then the story switches to his POV and he admits he likes her.  I like to be held in suspense the way the main character is. Besides, the practice of switching POV's is quite new, so call me old-fashioned. ;)