"Shit," giggled Ella as her shoe slipped off again. The strap had busted somewhere around halfway through the night, and she'd been walking lopsidedly ever since, trying to keep it on her foot. The fact that they were four inch heels made it very noticeable if she was only wearing one. She'd had a couple glasses of champagne though, and the more she drank, the less she cared about her shoe. She attempted to reattach it as Charlie rubbed her leg through her flowy black dress. He was looking extra handsome in his formal military attire and Ella almost reconsidered going back to his place instead of home. The military ball was a special night, right?
"Babe, are you alright? Do you need me to carry you inside?" Charlie teased her as she struggled with the shoe.
"I'm fine, fine," Ella reassured him. "I only have another 10 feet to go, I think I can make it." Charlie kissed her goodnight and Ella was sorry that he didn't try to persuade her to come home with him again, but she knew that it was probably for the best. Her volunteer shift at the animal shelter would come bright and early tomorrow. She exited the car and staggered her way up the steps to her parents' house. Well, her mom and stepdad's house. Her mother had married Ryan when Ella was 15 and she'd lived with the two of them ever since, while her father wandered the country doing who knows what. She was lucky to get a call on her birthday.
Ella fumbled with her keys and unlocked the door. She wondered if Ryan was home; she knew her mother was away at a conference all weekend. She slipped off her shoes with a sigh of relief and dropped them on the floor, wincing as the heels clattered on the wooden floor. She couldn't wait to have her own place. If she didn't need to save money for veterinary school she'd be in her own apartment now, but her mother and Ryan gave her free room and board in exchange for her helping around the house when she wasn't working at the local café. It wasn't too bad of a deal, if you didn't mind dishpan hands every night. As Ella headed up the stairs she heard Ryan's voice.
"Ella? Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me," she said, hoping he wasn't coming to confront her about the dishes she'd left undone before the ball. She'd needed the time to fix her hair properly. Ryan appeared in the hallway, wearing only his boxers. He had a nice body for an older man, Ella supposed, but she wished he could wear normal pajamas like her friends dads. He crossed his arms over his chest.
"You look lovely, Ella. Very pretty. Did you forget anything, maybe, before you left? Hmm? You know your mother and I ask very little of you, you could at least make an effort."
Ella sighed. This conversation again, great. "I'm sorry, Ryan, I was just so excited about the ball. I'll do them first thing in the morning, promise." She smiled her most winning smile at him. Please let him just go back to bed. To her surprise, Ryan reached out and grabbed her arm.
"I'm getting tired of your excuses Ella. You're 22, you're not a child anymore. We shouldn't have to have these conversations now that you've....grown." His gaze dropped down to her well exposed cleavage. Ella felt a strong urge to cover up and became aware of the smell of whisky on Ryan's breath. Was he drunk? "Let's go downstairs, Ella, and you can take care of those right now. Come on." Still holding her arm, he led her down the steps to the kitchen.
"Ryan, I can't really wash dishes in this," she said, indicating her dress."Look, let me just run change, and I'll be right back to do these, ok? And you can just go back to bed. I'll take care of it."
