“Are you threatening me?” Her eyes narrowed to slits.
I rolled my eyes. “No. You idiot. I’m not threatening to steal a city bus and run you over with it. I’m trying to warn you. You’re young and smart and beautiful, and you are wasting it all on being a raging asshole. Do you really want to be on the receiving end of an alimony check from someone like Paul Russo? A man who used you and saw you as nothing more than an accessory? Or do you want to live and love and find some scrap of happiness or whatever your vampire equivalent is?”
I didn’t have the energy to dodge the slap. Plus I’d just caught a glimpse of a cheese danish that was calling my name and kind of missed the diva-worthy wind-up. The shithead caught me on my pre-existing bruises.
“That’s the only shot you get at me or anyone else I care about, Malina. So take your flat ass and your bony elbows home and think long and hard about what you want in this life,” I hissed.
She looked like she was thinking about hitting me again, and I looked for a nearby chair to hit her in the face with if necessary. But then the beautiful, soulless blonde whirled away from me and stormed toward the lobby.
I felt sorry for her. I mean, I totally hated her guts also. But somehow, me dating Dominic Russo had cracked this woman’s fragile sense of purpose. It wasn’t love she had for him. It was designs of a grander life. And, in her twisted, malnourished mind, I’d taken that opportunity away from her.
“Damn, girl. That looked like it hurt,” the cashier called to me. “You want a free ice cream?”
“I really do.”
“Take your pick, honey. That one is a rattlesnake.”
“How do you feel about being my witness if she tries to sue me or get me fired?”
“Happy to.” The woman nodded. “Take two ice creams,” she insisted. “You can put one on your face.”
57
Ally
Dance class passed in a sweaty blur of thumping beats, high heart rates, and good spirits. My little class seemed to expand every week. The windows were steamed, faces glowed, and dancers of all ages and sizes high-fived on their way out the door.
“That was amazing,” Gola announced, patting her face with a towel.
“Yeah. Uh-huh. Tell us everything,” Ruth said, grabbing me by the front of my sweaty tank.
“Motion seconded,” Missie said between swigs of water.
“There isn’t much to tell,” I lied.
“Bullshit,” Ruth coughed into her hand.
“Have you had sex?” Missie wanted to know.
“I’m not answering that.”
“Question: Does naked Dominic Russo have the same brain-melting potency or a higher dosage than fully clothed Dominic Russo?” Ruth asked.
“Definitely not answering that.”
“How did he ask you out? Was it super romantic?” Gola wondered.
“That one I’ll answer. I believe he told me that we were officially dating and that if I had any concerns, too bad because we were seeing this through.”
“That’s totally romantic!” Missie crooned.
We shrugged into coats and scarves and headed the two blocks north to the designated bar. On the walk, I deflected questions like a ninja.
“Did you guys hear that Malina got into a fight with someone in the cafeteria this afternoon?” Ruth asked, staring at her phone.
I decided to keep my mouth shut.
“I heard she came back to the admin pool crying and just walked out,” Gola said.
“I heard someone hit her in the face with a cafeteria tray and called her a stupid asshole.”
“I don’t think that’s what happened,” I interjected.
My friends continued to entertain themselves by asking more ridiculous questions and ignoring my even more ridiculous answers.
Is he a tiger in the sheets?
Who puts a tiger in their sheets?
How did it happen?
I went to a voodoo priestess and cast a love spell on him.
Are you in love?
How about we figure out if we like each other first?
Do you just run around yelling at each other all the time?
Okay. That one I could answer honestly. Yes.
I got my revenge when I opened the door to the bar, a cool speakeasy kind of vibe with an entire wall dedicated to just bourbons. Warmth and laughter spilled out, and Gola rushed in. But she stopped short just inside the door, and Ruth walked into her back. It was a three-body pileup when they all realized Dominic Russo was waiting at the bar.
It looked like Dominic had brought along a few extra friends too. In addition to Harry and Delaney, there were three other suited stock-broker types each vying to tell a better punchline.
“You Sneaky McSneakerson,” Gola hissed in my ear. “I survived a whole day with the man as my boss, and now you expect me to have a drink with him?”
“Yup,” I answered. But my attention was on Dominic.
He abandoned the conversation he was having with Delaney and a guy with a Garfield the cat tie and crossed to me. It was a magnetic force that drew us together. One that I thought should have dulled a little since we’d finally given in to temptation.
His gaze traveled the length of my body, pausing in what I now knew were his favorite places. The curve of my hips, the hint of skin between my pants and cropped sweatshirt. My breasts, even though they were secured and smushed by a sports bra.
I returned the survey. Slate gray slacks that were just loose enough to fall short of the adjective “indecent.” A navy tie that I intended to wrap around my fist at my earliest convenience. His sleeves were rolled up, and his hair, that lovely brownish-blond mess of it, was effortlessly styled. I wanted to mess it up while reminding myself that this man was mine.
We met in the middle. Our posses at our backs, eyeing each other with interest.
“Looks like you brought backup,” I said softly. But it came out kind of breathlessly because all I could do was think about how much I wanted his mouth on mine. He’d given me one hell of a kiss when he’d dropped me off for class. Hands roaming, teeth nipping. Dark, delicious promises of things to come.
And I wanted more promises out of him.
He leaned in, and my heart rate returned to post-“Uptown Funk” choreography levels. But he merely grazed his lips over my temple. I heard one or two of the girls let out a swoony sigh behind me.
“Five minutes, and then we abandon these people so I can fuck you in the car,” he whispered in my ear.
“An hour,” I countered.
Those blue eyes narrowed on me. “Thirty minutes, and you take your underwear off in the restroom so we don’t waste any time later.”
I licked my lips, and he followed the motion. “Deal.”
His expression softened, lips lifted. “Look at us negotiating.”
“And they say relationships are hard,” I joked.
“Five minutes to lose the underwear,” he reminded me. “Now, let’s make a horrible mistake and introduce our friends.”
It took a few minutes of everyone staring at Dom and me like we were alien overlords sent to enslave the human race before they all lightened up. Dominic included.
He was lighter, happier around his friends. There was an easy camaraderie between him and his old coworkers. I liked seeing him like this, and from the telltale glances Gola, Ruth, and Missie were exchanging, they did too.