Free On 4/19 (On 4/19 and Beyond 4/20) by Lisa Heaton

the clasp, she felt dizzy. No matter how she argued, he was insistent that she accept it.
    “We have an entire year ahead of us. Are you really going to fight me every step of the way?”
    Chelsea looked at the clerk, noticing he was puzzled by John’s comment. It embarrassed her a great deal. “I don’t mean to fight you. But you have to stop doing such extravagant things for me,” she whispered as quietly as she could and John still hear her.
    He lowered his head and spoke softly in her ear, “Allow me to do this. Please, Chels.”
    A shiver ran up her spine at the feel of his warm breath on her neck. Unable to say no, unable to say anything at all, she watched in astonishment as he so casually paid thousands of dollars for the necklace. For a minute, the room seemed to spin as she tried to calculate how much he had already spent on her: school, the car, clothes, and now this necklace. The term sugar daddy began to reverberate in her head. As he was finishing up, she reached for his arm and whispered, “Don’t.”
    John turned to face her, and feeling very satisfied with his purchase, reached for the necklace to move it more properly into place. “Already done.” Seeing the look on her face, though, realizing she was truly upset, he took her face in his hands and for just a few seconds, simply looked into her big sad eyes. Finally, he admitted, “I feel alive again for the first time in a very long time. You make me feel this way. Do this for me.”
    No longer aware of the store clerk watching them, Chelsea sighed in resignation. His words caused all her doubts to fade dimly into the background of her mind. He seemed so vulnerable that she would easily agree to most anything. Nodding, she whispered, “Thank you for the necklace. Thank you for everything.”
    Leaning in closer, he kissed her on the forehead. “That’s my girl.”
    At dinner, John complimented her several times more, and each time, Chelsea felt the blood rush to her cheeks in embarrassment. The room was filled with beautiful women, many of whom watched John and her curiously, as if wondering if they were on a date or related. But what Chelsea quickly realized was that John seemed only to have eyes for her. Often, he gazed so deeply into her eyes, listening to each and every word she said, that she found herself struck silent at times. Many times, her heart fluttered merely at the sight of him sitting across from her. He had put on a dinner jacket, and she considered him the most handsome man in the world. But there was something distinctly different about him this night. She felt she encountered a softer side of him. It began while they sat together on the sofa sharing a turkey sandwich. While he’d always been kind and considerate toward her, there was something new. He seemed gentler somehow.
    Dressed so formally and dining at such an upscale restaurant, she felt grown up for the first time. At the gallery opening, she felt like such a kid standing beside him, but this night, she felt almost as good as he promised she looked. Many times, she reached up and touched the diamonds encircling her neck. In all honestly, she was not exactly sure what the necklace looked like. She was so busy arguing with him that she never really saw which one he chose. Curiosity getting the better of her, she excused herself to the ladies’ room in order to see it. Standing in front of the mirror, she traced her fingers along the large diamonds. It was the most extravagant thing she’d ever seen close up, something she would have never worn had he not bought it for her; something she would never wear again once they parted. Standing there, staring at herself dressed up as some other woman entirely, a trace of sadness fell upon her. The feeling was a toss-up between being such a pretender and the idea of parting from him. Both seemed to be equally troubling. Shaking off the passing feeling, she trained her mind instead on what was near rather than what was