“You were going to tell me what’s wrong.”
The club had opened. Alex could hear a distant thumping from the music. She felt protected by it somehow, the distant rhythms shutting out the outside world, making it easier to open herself up to him. She didn’t know why, but she felt such a strong kinship with him at this moment. His presence was soothing and she wanted to tell him everything, and it all came spilling out at once. “Well, things aren’t going too well with me and Matt lately, and now there’s this thing with Ryan and Lauren that’s going from strength to strength. It’s like the universe is out of whack, but I feel guilty feeling that way, because I’ve had one great guy for three years and Lauren has had…well, countless over that time. I am happy for her finally having someone, but at the same time I think why is it that mine has to be so hard when hers is so easy? They fight, they screw and everyone’s happy. Whereas Matt and I…well…” Alex paused, not sure how to finish the rather touchy subject.
“Well?”
“I’m sorry, I’m babbling.” She tried to sit up but Dante’s rather large arms were draped across her legs and it was so comfortable.
“Please, keep going.”
Alex took another bottle of beer before continuing. “Let’s just say there hasn’t been a whole lot of love in the Hensley house of late. It’s mostly fighting.”
“These are things that can be worked out,” Dante said, continuing his work, softly pinching and running his fingers along her heels and Achilles tendons.
“How can I if we don’t talk?”
“You are both adults. You will find a way.”
“Normally I would agree with you, but the worst thing is he isn’t an adult. He acts like a kid with a tantrum. He says and does stupid things that he knows pisses me off. It’s not even all his fault. I’m not any better when I dream of another guy going down on me.”
“Another guy in your life?” Dante asked, seeming interested, using his knuckles to slowly press along the length of her soles.
“Not exactly. It was just one dream I had. But it was awesome.”
“Sounds like a harmless fantasy.”
“It was, but it felt so real.”
“Do I know his name, this guy?”
Alex flicked her eyes to his, pausing before answering. “Yeah, you’ve probably seen him around.” Alex couldn’t explain why she felt so bold now. Could it be the beer?
“May I ask who he is?”
“You.” The words were out of Alex’s mouth so fast she covered her face with both her hands. “Oh, this is so embarrassing,” she moaned, thankful she was obscured.
She peeked out to see Dante softly smiling to himself. Alex sat up and playfully punched him on his shoulders. “Don’t you dare make fun of me!” she laughed.
Dante let go of her legs and grabbed her wrists with one hand and grazing her chin with the other. “It was a dream, that’s all. Why should you get embarrassed over a dream?” he asked, still touching her face. “Did you mean it when you said it felt good?”
The alcohol in her system was starting to sing in her head. She found herself staring at Dante’s lips. The lips he’d used so effectively in her mind. The same lips he used to kiss each of her hands right then. He was so touchy feely. “It felt incredible,” Alex mumbled.
“I’m not making fun of you. It’s flattering that you think I could pleasure you in such a way.”
“You probably get lots of chicks telling you they think about you, huh?”
“No, I don’t. But strange as it may seem to you, I don’t have these types of conversations with every woman I meet.”
Alex sunk back down and placed a hand on her forehead. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said…you know…anything.”
Dante gently took her hand again and held it until she looked at him. “I don’t have these conversations with anyone else, because there are only a select few I can stand to be around.”
“So you…like hanging with me?”
Dante gave her a simultaneous nod and quick close of his eyes.
“So…you don’t think I’m weird, telling you?”
Dante gave a soft shake of the head. “And you shouldn’t feel guilty. Your boyfriend gets you in the flesh. Once he sees how lucky he is, things will get better. If you love each other, nothing else matters.”
It was so hard yet so easy to talk to Dante. She felt welcome and completely at ease. Yet she also had the unnerving feeling that she was perhaps too comfortable around him, and in this she had to be careful. Who else would she have let touch her so tenderly, so often? Only Matt. Massage her feet? No one, really. Matt had never even attempted, but she knew in her heart of hearts she would have probably been fidgety with his clumsy, poking and twisting efforts, as compared to Dante.
She also knew that the thought of straddling him and pulling him in to kiss her was wrong. The fact the fantasy didn’t make her feel guilty, made her feel guilty.
Alex let herself free of his grasp gently and placed her feet on the floor. No more drinking.
“I really better be getting home. Can you call me a cab please?”
“We’ll get to that. But there is one last thing I need to talk to you about.”
“Hmm?” Alex said, raising her head to look at him.
“What do you know about Ryan?”
Alex snorted. “Except for the fact that he is a douchebag? Nothing, why? Has this got something to do with the way you were yesterday? Coz I kinda wanted to talk to you about that.”
Dante’s answer to her question
