☽Ⓛ❈Ⓒ☾

At the weekend, Dante invites me round to his and asks me to stay over. My parents are really unsure at first and I'm worried that they won't let me go. Mum makes me sit down and have a 'serious' talk with her about not making silly decisions or rushing into things.

Little does she know that I'm not a virgin.

But she trusts me not to be stupid. I promise her that I'll look after myself and keep my phone on me at all times. I think it helps now that she and Dad have met Dante.

I spend the whole day with Dante. We hang out at his house, go for a walk through town and window-shop. We get lunch at the burger joint and meet up with Killian and Dani afterwards.

The four of us go to the park and sit on the empty swings, talking about random shit. Dani sits on Killian's lap, his arms around her waist. Dante and I are on separate swings but, on the walk home, he reaches for my hand and holds it. I'm embarrassed by how happy that makes me.

"I want to take you to meet some of my extended family tonight," Dante says later in the evening.

"I'd love that!"

Dressed in casual clothes, Dante drives us about five minutes out of town and deeper into the suburbs. He pulls up outside a cute house with a picket fence. There's a BBQ going on the garden and everyone is crowded around the buffet tables.

We get off the bike and remove our helmets. Our arrival attracts the attention of the crowd. As they turn around and start to greet us, I realise they're all Spanish or Spanish-looking.

"I'm not really related to any of them, but a lot of them used to be friends with my mum and they're like family," Dante tells me as we walk up the drive.

I'm embraced by everyone in the group. I'm passed from person to person and get my cheeks kissed more times than I can count. They're all so warm and welcoming. They're pleased to see Dante, too. I get the feeling that it has been a while since he last saw them.

A giant paella sits on two tables put together and the host, Carmen, shoves an over-spilling plate in my hands.

"Eat, guapa, you're too skinny," she demands.

I sit with Dante at one of the tables and dutifully eat the paella, it's incredible. Carmen's face lights up when I come back for seconds. Dessert comes in the form of tres leches and turrón.

When the sun sets and everyone has finished eating, the party is moved into the back garden. Music is blasted and a makeshift dance-floor is brought together on the grass. I watch the couples dance bachata and salsa. It's beautiful and I find myself tapping my feet on the ground.

I look over at Dante and he's watching them with a blank expression. Typical.

"Dance with me?" I ask him.

He scoffs. "Not a chance."

I give him my best puppy-dog eyes. "Please? I want to dance."

He shakes his head. "Nunca, guapa."

Fuck.

He's so sexy when he speaks Spanish but he's still saying no.

Luckily, one of Dante's 'cousins' has overheard our exchange and swaggers over to the table. He holds out his hand to me.

"Want to dance?"

I send Dante a sideways smirk. "I'd love to."

Dante glares as Manuel takes me over to the cleared space and spins me. He pulls me back against his body and we start moving in time with the beat.

We work surprisingly well together. I'm not a particularly good dancer, but Manuel is. He reads my body well and synchronises himself with my movements.

"Mi primo is not happy," Manuel comments with a laugh. "His face is funny."

"He doesn't like to dance," I reply, smirking.

"No, nunca, never. Carmen made him before, he was in mood for hours."

Dante watches us from his seat, arms crossed over his chest and jaw set. Carmen goes over to talk to him and I can see her ushering him out of the chair. Moments later, Dante taps on Manuel's shoulder.

"Me toca a mí," Dante tells his cousin. It's my turn.

"Pero no bailas," Manuel says teasingly. But you don't dance.

"Pues ahora si," Dante replies firmly. "Quita tus manos de mi chica." Well, now I do. Get your hands off of my girl.

"¿tu chica?" Manuel asks, raising his eyebrows and grinning. Your girl?

"Si, mi chica," Dante says through gritted teeth. Yes, my girl.

Manuel puts his hands up in surrender. He grabs my hand, kisses the back of it, winks and saunters off. Dante scowls and takes up Manuel's position. He matches my movements and we dance in perfect sync with one another.

"Tu chica, huh?" I try to resist smiling.

Dante gives me a serious look. "Yeah, you are."

"Do I get a say or...?" I trail off but there's a smile on my face.

"Nope," he replies lightly. "You don't, sorry."

I shrug. "Okay."

Dancing with Dante is different to dancing with Manuel. My heart is racing and I'm all in my head, desperately trying not to mess up my steps. He smells so incredible and it's wrecking havoc on my body having him pressed against me.

When the song ends, I let out a breath of relief. I feel so turned on right now.

We thank Carmen for a lovely evening and Dante drives us back to his house. I get ready for bed and then climb in next to him for a cuddle.

"Thank you for tonight, I loved meeting your family."

"Carmen loved you, she was annoyed that I haven't been around in a while but luckily, your presence took some of the heat off."

"Oh, I see, use me to get out of trouble," I tease him and he chuckles.

"Yeah, pretty much."

I playfully hit his arm. He catches my wrist and pulls me on top of him, making me gasp in shock. He uses the opportunity to kiss me and push his tongue past my lips. I kiss him deeply, our tongue rubbing against one another.

Without realising it, I start to grind on him. Dante's fingers dig into my hips and he groans. I still immediately, embarrassed that I've done that without noticing. He thrusts his hips up in a silent request for me to carry on. I hesitate for a moment and then grind on him again, making circles with my hips.

I can feel how hard he is beneath me, he is rubbing right on my clit and it feels so fucking good. I move my tongue in time with my hips. Dante grips me tightly and rocks his hips back and forth against mine.

My phone buzzes and lights up, illuminating the room and killing the buzz. We both look at it. I groan and reach over to check the message.

"It's from my mum," I mumble and climb off of him, Dante groans in disappointment.

Really? It's like she knew!

I send the text and roll back over to Dante. He puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me against his bare chest. I run my hands up and down his muscles. Feeling bad for cutting our kiss short, I slide my hand lower and graze my fingers over his hard-on.

He's still rock hard. His cock is pressing against his shorts and I stroke him through the material. He grunts and pushes his hips forwards, pushing his cock into my hand.

"Fuck," he whispers and grabs my hand. "Stop, we should stop."

I'm disappointed as he moves my hand away, but also happy that he's not pushing to take things further. He kisses me softly and tells me that we should get some sleep. Dante Romano is a softie under this emotionless exterior, I know it.

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Dante is late to school again on Monday morning, but he comes into Art on time having arrived at the end of break. I didn't see him much on Sunday, I left before lunch and we texted a bit.

I am already sat at our desk, ready for the lesson to start, when he walks in. He looks the same as usual, except he has a black eye. It's not too bad, like the person didn't get a clear shot at him, but it's definitely there.

He gives me a small smile and sits down.

"Nice shiner," I comment and my eyes drop to his bruised knuckles.

"Got into a fight," he replies casually and gets his books out.

"No shit."

He gives me a 'don't start' look and I let it go. At lunch though, I ask him what happened.

"Someone was somewhere they shouldn't have been," he replies vaguely, obviously wanting me to drop the subject.

"Someone was on your gang's turf?" I ask him.

For a moment, I don't think he's going to reply, but then he nods. "Yeah. Trying to sell."

"And that meant you had to beat them up?"

Dante shrugs. "Or else they might do it again."

We have two completely different lives.

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