Free Escape by Francine Pascal

swung her head back up, and rubbed a towel through her hair.
    Yes, as she looked at herself in the mirror, she could think of only one word. Ugly. The whole evening was all so very ugly. And tomorrow was only going to get uglier. She flipped off the light and slammed the bathroom door shut.
    She felt painfully nauseous as she passed Sam’s door in the hallway on her way out. She nearly tripped on her own shoes stepping into the elevator. Why are you doing this to me, Ed? Why?
    She clomped slowly out of her lobby, ignoring the ghoulish stare of her doorman, and then leaned back against the stone wall of her building. She wondered whether or not she looked like a French hooker. She’dhave given a thousand dollars to be in jeans and a sweatshirt right now. There was only one explanation for the invention of the dress: public humiliation. That made sense, she supposed. This whole fiasco was just a massive punishment for agreeing to the date.
    It was five minutes after eight and still no sign of Ed.
    A date. What on earth did Gaia know about a date? What was supposed to be so romantic about putting on clothes and spending a bunch of money on all sorts of elaborate nonsense? Gaia’s idea of romance was. . . well, Gaia really had no idea of romance. Love, she knew something about. But what did love have to do with all this dating crap? No, this was ridiculous. This was an unfathomable waste of time that she desperately needed for planning. Whenever Ed showed up, not only would she have to call it off, but she would have to tell him a thing or two about her opinions on dating. She would have to tell him that this kind of crap was for mindless idiots with nothing better to—
    â€œGaia!” Ed called from the end of the block.
    Gaia turned angrily to follow Ed’s voice. And then she saw him. She saw him stand up out of an old-fashioned carriage, which was being pulled slowly down Seventy-second Street by a majestic white horse.
    He was wearing a suit. A slim black suit, a white shirt, and a gray silk tie. He had a huge bouquet of red roses in one hand, a huge heart-shaped box of chocolates in the other, and between both hands. . . a hugewheel of cheese. And he was grinning from ear to ear.
    For reasons beyond her understanding, Gaia was immediately compelled to cover her face in shame. Because a smile had spread across her lips in spite of everything she believed about dating. In spite of everything she’d just been through in the last hour. . . her heart was suddenly melting.
    Her boyfriend was a genius. His portrait of cheap clichéd romance had instantly dismantled her defenses. And whatever she might have been feeling exactly one and a half seconds ago, she had already forgotten it.
    Gaia quickly adjusted her embarrassingly gleeful smile and greeted Ed with a straight face. “Making an entrance, I see,” she mumbled.
    Never in her life had she seen Ed in a suit. She wondered if he’d ever even worn a suit before. But the contrast of his wild, crunched-up black hair and the slim, tailored suit made him look awfully charming. . . . All right, he looked beautiful. Gaia’s boyfriend was beautiful.
    Ed still hadn’t said a word as he stood there, staring at her.
    â€œWhat?” she snapped defensively.
    Ed stepped back from Gaia and stared at her, wide-eyed. “You look absolutely—”
    â€œLet’s not even go there,” Gaia interrupted.
    â€œYou’re right,” Ed said. “I’d never shut up. Well, incase you haven’t noticed, tonight is a night for romance.” Ed raised his right eyebrow and rolled his r.
    Gaia’s hand jumped to her mouth to try and cover her chuckle. She was still trying to hide how helplessly enchanted she was by this whole ludicrous production.
    â€œYes,” Ed continued, “as I’m sure you can see, there are red roses, a huge box of chocolates, and a hansom cab driven by a crusty