The Monster In Us

12- it's game Over

He looks surprised. Probably that I stood up to him because people probably never do that. He is a pretty scary looking dude.

"And another thing," I add once he doesn't respond immediately. "I know that people probably don't argue with you a lot because you're a pretty tough guy but that's not going to work with me because I'm a pretty tough girl. So when you want to beg me for another date, I'll be over here. Drawing, which is what I came up here to do."

And like a badass, I turn back to my paper and I continue drawing. Dante remains speechless for a good thirty seconds maybe but I can see in my peripheral vision that he's not leaving. He's probably trying to process what just happened because he was so confident in his jumping to conclusions that he never even entertained the possibility that he could be wrong. He probably never thinks that he's wrong because even if he is, people are probably too afraid to tell him.

Eventually, he speaks up. "I'm not begging."

A smile starts to tweak the corners of my lips. "I won't accept anything less."

"So Saturday?" He asks me, returning to my side to lean against the ledge.

I know that he won't beg me to go on a date with him but I can't help but say, "That's not begging."

"It's all you're going to get. Take it or leave it," He promises me.

I pretend to think about it but like I said, I know that he would never do that. His pride would be damaged too badly. And so eventually, I answer him. "Alright, fine. Do I get to choose where we go this time?"

"No," He decides easily.

"I want to go to the zoo," I choose randomly, ignoring his rejection.

Dante gives me a weird look, seemingly surprised that I just said that. "Fuck no."

"Why not?"

"For a date? No. We did things your way last time. I'll tell you what though. I'll really show you how to have fun in Vegas and then when you're begging for a third date, I guess we can go to the zoo. Why do you want to go to the zoo?"

I shrug. "I've never been."

"It's just a zoo, there are animals just like every other zoo."

"Not just to the zoo here. To any zoo," I say honestly. "And I want to go."

"And I have to be the one to go with you?"

"Well, considering you are really into me, I figured that you'd be jumping at the chance," I respond easily.

"You are not making this easy at all," Dante realizes and I also realize that he's moving closer to me. I close my sketchpad and put it back in my bag because I'm guessing that my lunch time won't be for sketching anymore.

"I'm not an easy girl," I explain to him with an unapologetic shrug. "Which is clearly something you're not used to."

"Clearly?" He asks for an explanation.

I turn farther toward him. "Clearly. You don't seem like the type of person who is used to people standing up to them. People just do whatever you tell them to do because you scare the shit out of people."

"Are you saying that I don't scare you?"

"Oh, you scare the living shit out of me," I tell him and I absolutely hate that that's true. I'm not easily scared but the way that he draws me to him just by the look in his eye and the backstory that we share, it really is starting to freak me out. Just by talking to him, continuing to see him out of work, I know that it's technically putting this operation in jeopardy and I know that the Berardis are our enemies and every bone in my body is telling me that this is stupid and wrong but it's not stopping me from flirting with him because I just can't help it. And it's fucking terrifying. "But I find strength in my fear and I don't let it control me."

"That's the best way to survive around here," Dante leans against the ledge again, his shoulder nearly brushing against mine now.

"Guess I fit right in then," I mutter. "Anyway, for Saturday, we should probably talk dress code since that's apparently a big deal to you. What should I wear?"

"Something fancy," He assures me.

"I don't have anything fancy," I negate with a shake of my head. "What I was wearing at Allegro was Denise's."

"Okay. Then wear whatever you want and I'll take care of the rest."

"Are you going to buy me clothes?" I raise my eyebrows at him in disbelief.

"Throwing around my father's money to impress you is really the only thing that I have going for me so yeah, why not?"

"You're money doesn't impress me," I correct him.

"Then what does?"

"Who said that you impress me at all?" I challenge, crossing my arms over my chest which, in my low-cut shirt, kind of pushes my boobs out a little bit which I did not mean to do and I don't even realize what I've done until I notice Dante glancing down at my chest. I drop my arms to my side again and pull my blazer tighter to my body.

"Something made an impression or you wouldn't have asked me out in the first place," He makes a good point.

"Oh, I'm purely in this just for your looks," I say but I say it with a teasing smile so that he knows that I'm kidding. "But definitely not your money. The Aston Martin is pretty cool but I'm not a gold digger."

He laughs a little bit, which kind of makes me smile, and then he says, "Yeah, the Aston Martin is pretty cool. How much longer do you have on your lunch?"

"Not very long." I don't know why he's asking but I think back to our heated kiss at the restaurant and I wonder if that's what he has in mind. I know that I shouldn't go along with that but let's be honest... I shouldn't be going along with any of this. I should have never started flirting with Dante, I should have never even looked into his eyes. But I've done a lot of wrong things in my life so if I were to make a list of the worst things that I've done ever, kissing a boy that I should not kiss would not even be in the top fifty. And so I am just going to go for it. "I have some time though."

"Do you ever eat lunch?" He asks me, probably noticing that I don't actually have any food with me and whenever we run into each other during lunch, I never really have lunch with me.

"No," I shake my head at him. "I don't really get hungry during the day, I just have a big dinner. I like to spend my hour a day getting things done."

"You like to draw?"

"It's calming," I confirm. I hope that he doesn't ask to see my drawings because I will not show them to him. They are a look into my soul and he does not need that much knowledge of me. "And I need something to keep me busy around here. If I was just staring at a computer and then my empty apartment walls all of the time, I'd go crazy."

He opens his mouth to say something else but his phone interrupts his thought. He picks up his phone from his pocket and reads what I assume to be a text and his ever present frown deepens.

"Is something wrong?" I ask him, sounding concerned even though I'm sure that it's probably just mob business and most likely not really a big deal.

"No, it's fine. I do have to go though. I'll see you tomorrow for dinner? So that we can go to the zoo this weekend. Because I'm apparently dating a twelve year old," Dante suggests and he says that last part with a hint of a smile which makes me believe that he's joking.

"I can do tomorrow," I confirm, offering him an eye roll and a smile. He starts to leave with his uneaten lunch but he only takes a few steps away before he returns to the ledge where we've been standing and he leans down and presses his lips to mine. The kiss is over before I can really register that it's even happening and then he's walking away, leaving me speechless and a little stunned.

But I'm definitely going to be thinking about his lips for the rest of the day.