It's finally Friday and I'd be lying if I said I didn't spend the entire week thinking of reasons in which Dante wanted to see me. I racked my brain for hours a day, and all I could come up with is that he had found out about Matt.
I am just finishing up work for the day and heading into Mr Kennedy's office to say goodnight. On Wednesday I had missed Dante's program because Mr Kennedy had kept me late on a project. He had congratulated me on all my hard work these past couple weeks both in the office and in Dante's program. So I haven't seen Dante since Monday before the meeting with Mari.
"Goodnight Mr Kennedy, see you Monday." I said with a smile. He waved back saying have a good night and I turned to leave the building.
I glanced at my phone at the text Dante had sent earlier today.
Dante: Meet at my house after work.
I've officially changed his name from Unknown to Dante. Let's hope I don't regret it by the end of the night.
I waved down the nearest cab and slid in the open back seat. I rattled off Dante's address and couldn't help but let my mind wander off in thought. Never did I expect three weeks ago, or even one week ago that I'd be driving over to Dante's penthouse willingly. I admit that I'm afraid of the feelings I have for him. I know that I should hate him for his actions, but I don't.
"Here you are Miss." The driver said politely and I flashed him a smile before exiting the cab. With shaky hands I entered Dante's building and set for the direction of the elevators.
Stepping into the elevator I pressed the button for the top floor and let out a breath of nerves. The elevator ride seemed to go by too fast and before I knew it I was standing in front of Dante's door waiting to knock.
There was no reason for me to be so nervous. I had done nothing wrong and if he had found out about Matt, it was my past. I had the right to protect it and at the end of the day he had no real entitlement to knowing it. So with that I raised my fists and knocked on the door.
It took him all of three seconds to open the door as if he had been waiting.
I raised my eyes to him immediately after he opened the door wide enough for me to see his face. He looked tense and almost nervous which was a weird combination to see on Dante Brown's face.
"Amelia," he smiled softly and opened the door wider. "Come in, I ordered takeout. It's in the kitchen."
I followed him through the door and let my eyes run along his fit body. He must've just recently gotten home seeing as how he still wore his dress pants as-well as his button up shirt. There were a few buttons undone and my wandering eyes didn't miss the sight of his chest when he opened the door.
"Got some Chinese takeout, hope you don't mind." He said briefly as he opened a cabinet to grab plates. I watched him extend his long muscular arm and reach for two shiny white plates. I gulped. He was so attractive.
"No, don't mind." I said and proceeded to take off my jacket and place it along with my purse on a spare chair in the kitchen.
"Great." He handed me the plate without looking at me. It was clear there was tension on his end but I didn't know what for. I just wanted him to fucking speak already.
"We can sit in the living room at the coffee table." He said and with that grabbed his now full plate and proceeded to make his way into the living room.
Shaking my head I made my plate in silence and once I was finished I made sure to grab my phone and follow him into the living room. Mari and I had been texting all week keeping each other updated as well as just catching up. I wanted to have my phone on me.
I took a seat next to him on his large fancy couch and noticed how he kept his eyes focused on his food. We ate awkwardly and once I took my last bite, I was pushed to my limit with the silence.
"Why am I here." I said, looking over to him and watched as he stilled.
He placed his fork down and swallowed the food in his mouth turning to me.
"I wanted to talk," he said quietly. His eyes finally scanned my face and his jaw clenched.
"Well, what about? About the deal?" I asked. Not forgetting the fact Tatum now knows about the deal. Could he be mad about that? Could he have found out about here knowing?
"Fuck," he swore and dropped his head into his hands quickly. I was shocked at his response. He jerked his head back to me, jaw still clenched and face in pain.
"Amelia. I need you to know how sorry I am for how we first met." I gasped at his words completely shocked. He took a deep breath and faced away from me as if he couldn't bear to look at me while he said the next words.
"I convinced myself at the beginning I was doing the right thing. But I wasn't. I was protecting myself and my business, which I still am. But that didn't give me any right to suck you in." He shook his head turning back to me. "I want you to know that I feel awful about using your past against you. It clearly hurts you and for that I fucking hate myself."
He scooted closer to my body and I furrowed my brows holding my breath.
"I think I've known for awhile now that whatever the fuck is going on here is no longer a deal. You drive me insane with want and need. But you also consume my every thought. I thought about you constantly, I still do. I'm not good at feelings or being anything less than an asshole and for that I owe you an apology." He finished with a contorted face and the brush of his thumb along my cheekbone.
I couldn't think. This wasn't the type of confession I was expecting. My heart was beating so fast and I swore this was too. I sat there looking into his eyes, seeing the truth behind his words.
He was sorry. And from what I could gather had no idea about Matt. No, this was a night of confessions. Confessions about us.
"Say something," he whispered, keeping his one hand on my cheek. I closed my eyes for a brief second, taking a breath.
I was falling for Dante Brown and he was falling for me.
"I'm not even sure what to say." I said quickly. Opening my eyes I met his concerned green ones.
"How about we start with whether or not you accept my apology." He questioned with a slight smile.
"I'm not going to sit here and say having you dictate my life for a moment and dig up something personal of mine was okay," I started watching his face fall. "But it's clear you regret it. And in some weird twisted way my heart wants to try and forgive you." I finished watching his face light up again.
"Amelia you don't know how fucking happy those words make me." He smiled.
I stared at him for a moment and he leaned in, successfully taking my breath away. His lips brush mine in a gentle kiss.
"I like you Amelia." He whispered leaning in and placing his soft lips on mine for a kiss. It was slow and passionate. I matched his pace feeling his every emotion in the language of our kiss. I gripped his shirt and leaned into him. His arms circled around me, successfully pulling me into his lap.
I broke the kiss with a smile.
"We still have so much to talk about." I whispered.
He just nodded and dove in for another kiss. I laughed into his mouth and he just moved my legs to straddle his own.
He pulled back.
"Whatever this is Amelia. I want it. And I want it with you." He whispered into my face and grabbed my wrist in his hand. He guided my own hand up to his chest and placed it over his heart.
"You feel that?" He asked me to study my face. I smiled at the fast paced beats of Dante Brown's heart.
"That's what you do to me." He smiled. "You Miss Rhodes, successfully made my heart race like a lovesick teenage boy. And I'm not mad about it."
I tried to hide my smile, my own heart beating faster at his words. This man was going to be the death of me.
"What about the deal." I whispered with a smirk. Leaning into his lips I said "do I still get those weekly visits unannounced?" I teased feeling all high on the emotions coursing through my veins.
His jaw clenched and he reached for my face tugging it to his.
"Actually there has to be an amendment made. We're going to have to meet several more times a week seeing as your behavior is less than appropriate lately." He teased with a smirk and placed a kiss to the corner of my mouth. I laughed at his comment and swatted his chest. Pulling back I rolled over next to him so I could rest my head on his shoulder.
He took my hand in his and I curled up next to him.
I had never been so comfortable in my entire life. Running for years had meant no sense of comfort or home. Which reminded me of the second part of the deal. My past.
"How much did you dig about me Dante." I asked.
I felt him tense beside me and the fingers that were dancing along my leg stopped.
"Just what I've told you. No more. When you're ready to talk about it we can. Just know I'd never go public with any of that shit. Not anymore." He said softly.
I didn't answer. Just nodded and sat there for a moment. Was it finally time to just fucking let go? With Mari back in my life, Tatum and now Dante. Was it finally time to move on?
Before I could give it much thought my phone dinged from my back pocket and I reached for it bringing my head up from Dante's shoulder.
"Tell Tatum she can share for a day." He teased peaking over my shoulder.
But when he did I felt my world quickly stop. Because it wasn't from Tatum no, it was from Mari.
Mari: AMELIA. Answer your phone! They found him! They found Matt and Dante's mom just released a statement about the trial! PLEASE CALL ME.
I froze and I felt Dante still as well. My nerves spiked at the message. They found him? Oh my god they found him.
"Amelia," Dante whispered.
I looked over my shoulder at his face, already holding back tears at the news and the look on his face gave everything away. He knew.
"Why is she texting you about my mom's case? Isn't that the foster family predator? Why would-" He stilled. His whole body stilled.
I saw it in his eyes as he made the connection. All the missing pieces falling into place. And I knew from this moment on there was no going back.