Dante

I have taken everyone else home and given Diana a pain pill along with water and. It's been about three hours since she fell asleep on my bed and now I was sitting on my chair on the balcony at three in the morning.

There was a mixture of anger and jealousy racing through my body as I stared at the railing, and I didn't like it at all.

All of those desperate dudes that had probably been staring at her all night waiting to make their move on her had my blood boiling.

I'm glad her friend, Lilah or Lily, whichever her name was, had called me before that fuckface could do anything to her.

I hear footsteps approach and assume it is Diana finally waking up.

Wearing one of my dress shirts, she sits in a chair next to me. Even though I was irritated with her, she still looked gorgeous. Especially wearing my shirt. If not better.

"Thank you." She says after a while of silence.

When I brought her in, she woke up and had started to throw up. Thankfully, she was able to make it to the bathroom but got most of it on the shirt I was wearing and bathroom rug.

"You owe me a new shirt and rug." I say, getting up.

I hear her follow behind me. "Looks like my vomit had a little field trip, huh?" She jokes as she shuts the balcony door.

I turn around. "You think this shit is funny?"

"A little." She admits

I scoff and begin walking back to the kitchen.

"Look, I'll buy you some more shirts and rugs. It's not that serious."

"It's not about the fucking rug or the shirt, Diana."

"Then what is it? Why are you getting so upset?"

"Do you know how reckless you were tonight? You almost died, Diana! Does that not matter to you at all?"

"Oh please, he was a measly fifteen-year-old at the most. What could he have done?" She replies, rolling her eyes as she leaned on the kitchen counter.

I stand in front of the fridge and fold my arms. "And what if he had done something? What if he had? Would it have been funny then?"

"It wouldn't happen because I would have defended myself. Which is exactly why I didn't need your help in the first place. I can handle myself."

"You didn't need my help? Diana, you were nearly blackout drunk and had a small taser. How could you have defended yourself? I had to protect you."

"No. I could have handled myself perfectly fine. You act as if I'm some helpless little puppet. "

I can tell she is starting to get mad. She had stood up and was tapping the side of her leg like crazy.

"Cut the bullshit, Diana. You are so fucking stubborn you will sit here and tell me you could have defended yourself in that situation just to be right. You're so damn childish sometimes."

Her mouth flies open, and she steps closer. "Me childish? Me childish, Dante? Says the guy that literally acts like a sixteen-year-old half the time."

"That's not true." I reply, growing more angry.

"And let's not forget; every time you get frustrated or sad, instead of talking to someone and actually telling them, you know what you do? You distance yourself. "

I clench my jaw and decide not to reply. I didn't want to say something I would regret later on.

"Well, you know what, Dante? In the real world, with the real adults, we communicate with each other and actually try to work things out. But you wouldn't know about that now, would you? No, no, that's for the big kids, little Dante."

I keep my mouth shut and choose not to react.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue, Mr. Stone?"

Having had enough, I still don't reply. I turn off the kitchen light and walk over to the couch in the living room. As I lay on the sofa in the dark, I see Diana stand in front of me. She opens her mouth as if she is about to say something, but closes it. After a while, I hear her sigh and walk away.

I think she is going to leave, but am relieved when she begins walking upstairs to my room. I couldn't live with myself if she went out at this time in the morning all alone like that.

Around thirty minutes pass and I finally doze off, but a few hours later I wake up. The couch is very uncomfortable compared to my bed, but I would have to deal with it.

I try to go back to sleep after checking the time and seeing it is only five, but I am not successful. I decided to go check on Diana. Tip toeing up the stairs to prevent waking her.

Tip toeing in my own house. Never thought I would be doing that, but here I am.

When I reach my room, she is peacefully sleeping. Her curly long red hair pushed around messily and long legs revealed. How could someone still look so beautiful sleeping? It was unreal. Diana's beauty was unreal. I hadn't seen anything like her.

Maybe that was the reason I was so attracted to her. The women I had been with or seen before were decent enough to get me going a little. But Diana. I had gotten turned on when she slapped me. Fucking slapped me.

I move the blanket over her body before leaving the room. Going back downstairs and to the couch, I take one of my sleep pills. Thankfully, I doze off shortly after.

Diana

I bury my face in my pillow after ending the call with Val and Audrey.

All of that? I really did all of that?

They had reminded me of everything I had done Tuesday. Which was now three days ago, and I was still feeling the aftermath of it. I couldn't remember much about that night except waking up in Dante's house and the argument we had shortly after.

I still felt bad about that argument, and I hated it. I loved arguing. It was one of the few things I was good at. I like to see their faces turn red and the anger evident in their body language. It filled me with odd happiness.

But now, I didn't feel that odd happiness and I didn't like it at all.

Dante and I hadn't spoken to each other since that night and all I was waiting for was that 'You're fired' call from him. I had crossed the line with having him interfere with my life because I couldn't hold my alcohol.

Ah, Diana, you idiot!

After Slamming my head against the pillow multiple times, I sit up. It was three in the afternoon and I was still in bed. I had called in sick for the second day in a row and I was dreading to go back to work tomorrow, knowing Edward would pile tons of work on me for taking this long off. In fact the only reason he had let me stay off today was my because it was my birthday.

I didn't like celebrating it. To me it was just a normal day. My friends had wished me happy birthday and a few coworkers. They knew I didn't want anything so I wasn't like sad or anything.

Fiona would walk in the door soon since she didn't have volleyball practice, so I got off the bed and made my way to the kitchen. I take my phone off the counter to turn on music while I clean, but there is a call.

I pick it up and my heart drops when I see it is Dante.

It's time.

I answer and take a deep breath before speaking. "Hello?"

"Come outside."

I shake my head, not wanting to hear the words come out of his mouth. "Look, before you say it, I need this money Dante. I promise I'll play my part with ace. I won't complain." I grit my teeth, hating the words that are about to come out of my mouth. "And I'll even apologize and say thank you to you."

"What?" Is all he says.

I refine my ways, pour my heart out like this and all he has to say is what!

I grow irritated. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Come outside."

"Wait, so you're not firing me?"

"What? No. I want you to come outside."

I blow a breath in relief. "Oh thank God." I say and quickly grow curious at what he had said. "Wait, why? Is it a bomb? Look, I apologize for that night. It doesn't have to come down to th-"

"Shit Diana, would you just come outside?"

Maybe he's hurt.

"Fine." I end the call and rush to the door. When I reach downstairs, I see Dante's car and jog to it. The car is unlocked, so I sit in the passenger seat and stare at him with concern.

"What happened?" I immediately ask.

Wearing a black tank top and grey sweatpants, my eyes run over him as I check if he's hurt.

"Aw, you care about me, Diana?" He asks, holding his heart dramatically.

When I see he is fine, I roll my eyes and look away.

"I do not." I deny

His face falls, and he grabs my arm. Putting it over his chest, he pretends to be sad. "You feel my heart, Diana?"

"Yeah." I reply, feeling his heartbeat.

"Well, you just shattered it."

I laugh and snatch my hand off of his chest. When he is about to take it back, I accidentally flinch. Realizing what I have done, I look over at him and see the playful smile he had has vanished.

I sit up awkwardly and laugh nervously at the unreadable expression he is giving me. "So, did you know birds have t-"

"Who the fuck hit you?" He asks, angrily.

"Birds have this thing. They just make me want to stare all d-"

"Diana, who fucking hit you?" He asks again, his voice rising.

I wave a dismissive hand and laugh, "Nobody."

His jaw clenches. "Then why did you flinch?"

"Oh, it's nothing. My friends hit me all the time, so I guess I just have an instant reaction to flinch in those situations. It's nothing, really." I lie.

He stares at me for a moment and I panic inside, thinking he can see right through me. But thankfully after a minute or so, he speaks.

Scratching the back of his neck, he says, "Look, I know I'm not exactly your favorite person, but I want you to know I would never lay a hand on you. "

I nod, wanting to drop the subject as soon as possible. He notices I am trying to end the conversation and leans forward. Cupping my face in his hand, "Ever, Diana. " He says softly.

I look for a hint of sarcasm or amusement, but nothing. Staring into his light grey eyes, I see nothing but sincere and honesty and it fills me with all kinds of emotions.

A rush of warmth goes down my spine. I felt safe and secure as Dante held my face in his hand. I felt like no one would be able to hurt me again with him holding me.

Which is exactly why I needed for him to let go. Clearing my throat, I pull away from his hold and sit back in my seat. "So what did you come here for?" I ask, trying to change the subject.

He looks at me for a second before sighing and sitting back in his seat. A smile spread across his face. "No reason."

As I stare at him in confusion, he takes a black card out of his pocket and hands it to me.

"Go shopping. My treat. "

"What?"

"You heard me. Go shopping."

I shake my head, shocked. "What? No, I can't do that." I reply, staring at the card.

"Yes you can."

"I can't accept that, Dante. Besides, what about Fiona?"

"You don't see me right here, woman?" He gets out of the car and closes the door. Dante walks to my side and gestures for me to roll the window down. I do so and he leans over the door, handing the car keys to me. "Happy birthday, beautiful." He kisses the top of my head and before I am able to register what is going on, he is gone.

He remembered my birthday?

I was more than shocked at this. Dante practically had the memory of a goldfish.

I stare at the car keys in my hand, dumbfounded. About three minutes pass by and I am still staring at them. A phone suddenly begins to ring and I look around and see it is Dante's still in the cup holder. I curiously look at the contact name and see 'Chucky's twin sister' as the person's name.

Whoever that is must be a pain.

When they continue to call, I decide to answer it for him. "Hello?"

"You know, in order to go shopping, you actually have to leave the apartment complex, Diana."

I am surprised to hear Dante's voice, and I instantly remember the contact name. I responded, "You can kiss my ass."

"When and where, baby?" He replied, and I can almost see that stupid grin through the phone.

"I saw my contact name and I'll have you know Chucky would be honored to have me as his twin sister."

He laughs before responding, "Diana, I didn't give you that card for nothing."

I put his phone in the cupholder and moved to the driver's seat. It is a bit too high so I lower it. After putting the keys in and starting the car, I picked up the phone again. "I'm driving to the mall right now. What are you talking about?"

"Really? Are you sure that's not my car still sitting there or am I just tripping?"

I gasp, "How do you know?"

"Look at the window, dingbat."

I look over at the building and search for my apartment at the top. When I finally find it, I look at the window and see Dante standing at it, holding my phone to his ear. He waves and I bite back my smile.

Turning away, I put the phone back to my ear, "Shut up, I'm leaving right now, anyway. "

"Oh and Diana. " His says, his tone getting lower.

I look back at the window and watch as he stares at me from it.

"Get some more jeans. They'll look real nice on those pretty legs of yours. " I see him lick his lip slowly and I shudder at the image, "I like the way your ass looks in em too, baby."

My breath hitches at his comment, and I turn away from the window. "Bye, Dante." I say and hang up before he has a chance to affect me even more.

I begin driving and start off slow. The last time I drove was about five months ago when I had to drive Val home after she got wasted.

His car was definitely more advanced than Val's car, so it took me a minute to get the hang of it, but soon I was able to. It's not long before I arrive at the mall.

I didn't like being given things, especially a credit card. I spot a cheap perfume in a store and pay for it. My eyes grow wide when I see how much was on the card. It was more money than I had made all year.

How was I supposed to act with that much in my hand? I glance around at everyone else walking around. Some are already holding tons of bags and sashying confidently.

I'm going to be a rich gal for a few hours. Happy birthday to me.

And that's what I do. For the next three hours, I shopped around in many shops and sashay confidently. Holding a pinky out as I held my bags. At one point, I even bought a smoothie that cost a whopping fifteen dollars. Normal Diana wouldn't even think of buying such an expensive drink. But I wasn't normal Diana, I was Bougie Diana. And she was amazing.

When I am finally done and tired, I decide to be bougie Diana for just this last time.

"May you take my bags to the car?" I asked a security guard on my way out.

He stares at me for a moment before nodding. I hand him my bags and he follows me to Dante's car. Arriving at the car, I unlock it and watch as he loads the bags in the car.

This is freaking awesome!

As he loads the last bag, I stare in awe at how much I had gotten. The man taps my shoulder, "Will that be all, Ma'am?"

I nod happily, "Yes, thank you!" I quickly get inside the car, eager to show Dante and Fiona everything I had gotten.

It takes about ten minutes for traffic to clear up on one street and soon I am home. Since Dante doesn't have a password, I am able to get to his contacts hastily and I click, 'Chuckys twin sister.' He answers on the fourth ring.

"What?"

"I'm here. Do you want me t-"

"Nu- uh, stay right there. I'll be there in like two minutes." He hangs up after this and I grow suspicious at his tone. He seemed nervous and anxious in some way, but I don't take the thought any further.

Shortly after, Dante comes jogging down the steps. I get out of the car and go to the trunk. When I am about to pick up a bag, he stands in front of me.

"I got it." He says and starts to pick them up.

"I can carry them, though."

"It's cool, I got it."

"No, I don't need your help, I c-"

He smiles and turns to me. "I know you can carry the bags. I know you want to carry the bags. I know you don't need my help. You're independent and can take care of yourself, no doubt. But I want to hold them because I'm not going to let a woman hold something while I'm standing right here. So let me hold the bags, beautiful." He says, holding all the bags in his hands and kissing my cheek before walking away.

I blush and when he glances back at me, I turn away. Wiping my check, I roll my eyes and try to play it off, "Don't call me that."

After I catch up to him and we are halfway up the stairs, he stops and smiles again and I get distracted by his dimple.

I can never get enough of that stupid smile.

"What?" I ask, smiling with him.

"Close your eyes." He replies.

"What?"

"I need you to close your eyes." He takes my hands and places them over my eyes before I can protest. "And no peeking."

I follow his instructions and he holds my hand to help me up the steps.

"What did you do?" I ask, starting to become anxious.

"It's a surprise." He responds as we walk.

I nudge his shoulder and grin, "Oh come on, tell me, Dante. I'll act surprised, don't worry."

He laughs and replies, "Nope. We're here anyway."

I hear the door open and Dante guides me inside. He counts to three before telling me to open my eyes. When I open them, my mouth goes agape and I stare at the living room in shock.

Everything is cleaned and the smell of cake fills the air. Fiona is dressed in black and white, holding a tray and smiling widely. On the table is a nail set. Dozens of nail polish, nail polish remover, and nail tools. And infront of the couch is an at home pedicure set.

"Happy birthday!" They shout in sync

I turn to Dante, smiling unbelievably, "You did all of this?"

He shrugs, "Come on, Diana. You're my girl."

He stares at me with a grin and I smile harder and try to keep the tears that were trying to escape out of my eyes, "I hate you." I say and his grin grows wider.

"You have such a way with words." He replies sarcastically and wipes a fake tear away.

I only laugh and Fiona talks, "Well, sit down, Mama. I've got some food to serve."

I listen and take a seat on the couch. Fiona goes into the kitchen and Dante takes the bags to my room. Shortly after, Fiona returns with a plate of food.

"Thank you, pretty girl." I say and accept the plate.

On the plate is spicy fettuccine with a slice of cake. I lick my lips as I get ready to devour my food. At the first bite, I groan in delight.

Before I know it, I am scraping the last bits. I get up to put the plate away, but Dante appears and takes it from me. He tells me to sit back down and I do so. After he is done putting the plate up, he kneels in front of my feet. He takes my shoes off and places them in the water. My head falls back at how good it feels.

This is by far one of the best days of my life.

He lets the water soak my feet and after about five minutes, take them out and dry them with a towel nearby. Then Dante holds one and begins messaging them.

"With this kind of skill how has some chick not pinned you down already?" I ask. His hands were practically made of pillows. They were so soft against my feet and managed to get all the right areas so smoothly.

He chuckles as he starts the other foot. shakes his head, "Diana, that's the bare minimum."

I moan and throw my head back again, "Well, the bare minimum never felt so good."

Another moan escapes my mouth as he continues. He stops and stares at me seriously.

"You make that sound again and I'll do a lot more than a fucking foot massage."

I swallow hard at that and for the remainder of the message, I cover my mouth. After Dante is done, Fiona paints my nails beautifully with a white nail polish.

My feelings were becoming more and more confusing. One minute Dante was cold and made it seem like he couldn't possibly be with someone like me and the next he was crying on my leg and doing sweet things like this. It was frustrating as hell.

An hour and thirty minutes later, Fiona is in the shower and Dante had just finished helping me with the dishes.

"I enjoyed today, like a lot. You really out did yourself, Stone." I compliment, drying my hands.

"It was nothing. Even Chucky's sister deserves a little something."

I hit his arm, "You're an asshole."

His mouth goes agape, "No! You're not so nice yourself, Ambrose. I saw my contact name. 'A roaches birth giver' Real nice."

I laugh. It had taken me ten minutes to come up with that name, and I was proud of it. "Hey, at least mine is funny. Yours is just plain cruel."

"Mine is funny, what are you talking about? In fact, it's top tier comedy."

I move closer to him and grin, whispering, "If It was funny, I would have laughed bud." I pinch his cheek the same way he did me before backing away.

He holds my arm and I smile, "What?" I ask after he continues not to reply, only staring at me.

"Come to my ma's birthday party on Sunday, yeah? Not just because you're my fake fiance, but because you want to. "

•••

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