Bent not Broken

by Lisa De Jong

  Turning on my side to face him, I held my head up with my hand. He spread his arms over his head to stretch then brought his hands behind his head. I wasn’t uncomfortable with Jeremy beside me in bed. Jeremy spent many nights here, not just for sex. Before our relationship became more than just friends, he would lay beside me in bed to comfort me.

  On days when I thought I would cry alone the entire night, he was there. He was a really good friend. Our relationship may have seemed awkward to an outsider, but he was my Jeremy. I didn’t see us going any further than we had. We were just comfortable with one another. I knew more about him than any female, and he knew more about me than…well more than anyone.

  “So how was your night last night? I mean with being driven home by Marcus and all.” He yawned and closed his eyes.

  Shit! I snapped back to reality. I’d totally forgotten DeLuca drove me home. I began to gather my thoughts of the night. I remembered bits and pieces: getting into his car … his waking me up when we were in front of the building. What else, oh yeah I knew he came in and guided me to my bedroom. Then I undressed. Oh no! I could feel the blood drain from my face. I undressed in front of him. What the hell!

  What else happened? What else happened! My head hurt from straining to remember. I remembered being mad, but for what reason? Ugh, I walked over to my drawer and pulled out my vibrator. OH MY GOD! Did I pull out my vibrator in front of him? I think I’m going to be sick! I don’t know what happened next! Wait, I think I was too upset and tossed it. I didn’t use it, but did he see it? The blood rushed back to my head, and I quickly felt nauseated.

  “So are you going to tell me, or am I going to have to ask him myself?” Jeremy teased with his eyes still closed. Good, he couldn’t see the red-faced, nauseous expression I was wearing.

  “Uh, nothing happened: he drove me home, led me to the door, and then he left. I locked the door and went to bed.” Hopefully that would keep him from asking any questions about what I did or did not do with DeLuca. He nodded, and before I finally came up with another topic to discuss, he was fast asleep snoring.

  I adjusted my pillow and shifted to lay on my right side, giving Jeremy my back. My stomach was in knots trying to recollect last night’s events. How could I have been so stupid and childish? The one thing I didn’t want to happen had happened! I made a complete fool of myself in front of not only a striking man but in front of a powerful, intelligent and way-out-of-my-league man.

  Should I even show my face at this interview Friday? Ugh, I buried my face into the pillow. Hopefully he won’t be there to interview me, and if for some God-only-knows- reason I get this externship, hopefully I’ll work in a department far away from DeLuca so I won’t have to see him again.

  ****

  I woke to the sound of the doorbell ringing. Forcing myself out of bed, I stumbled across the hardwood surface and opened the door. I froze when I saw him. His eyes were tense, his stance so masculine, his jaw line tight and strong, his full edible lips slightly parted, and his broad shoulders overpowering my energy. I took all of him in, studying every inch of this perfect man in awe before speaking.

  “What are you doing here?” I breathed.

  Seductively biting his bottom lip, he dragged his teeth across it. I melted. I wanted to drag my teeth across those lips too. “I’m here for you, Mia. I want you, and I want you now,” he growled. I gasped in air, aroused by his demand. Before I could respond, he wrapped me in his arms and crushed his lips on mine.

  His kiss was so fierce and hard; his tongue overpowered mine, soft and moist. I felt the blood heat through my skin. My knees weakened, and I would have fainted to the ground if it hadn’t been for his strong arms holding me in place. His fingers were tangled in my hair, and he gently tugged at it. Pulling my head back to look into my eyes, he aggressively said, “Bed, now!” I nodded in response.

  “Mia, Mia, wake up, Mia.” Jeremy nudged my leg, waking me from my sleep.

  “Hmm, leave me alone; I was having a good dream,” I whined, throwing a pillow over my head.

  “Mia, Marcus is here for you.” I yanked the pillow off.

  “What?” I wasn’t sure if I’d heard him correctly.

  “He says you left your purse and phone in his car last night; he’s dropping it off to you. I told him you were sleeping, but he wanted to hand it to you himself.” Jeremy stood over my bed, biting into an apple.

  I turned to look at the time. It was 5:30P.M. I’d slept all day! “Okay, um, I’ll be out in five minutes.” Jeremy shrugged and walked out, closing the door behind him. I jumped out of bed and ran to the mirror standing by the corner of my room. Oh my God! I looked terrible: black eyeliner and mascara were smeared all over my eyes, and my hair was a wild mess.

  Thankfully my bedroom had a private entrance to our main bathroom. I rushed in and quickly took a shower.

  Fifteen minutes later, I was bathed, had my teeth brushed, and managed to put an outfit together with skinny jeans, black flats, and a fitted white t-shirt. I brushed my hair into a ponytail and threw on a pair of silver hoop earrings. On my way out I noticed a grey summer scarf on top of my dresser, and I quickly wrapped it around my neck.

  Taking a deep breath, I headed out. At first I didn’t see anyone in the living room. When I heard Jeremy laughing, I knew they were in the kitchen. Marcus was sitting on a stool by the island with his back facing me. Jeremy looked up at me. “Five minutes, huh?” I grimaced at him, and he responded with a crooked smile. Marcus turned his head. Oh he was even more gorgeous while sober. I couldn’t believe I’d just had a dream about him!

  He stood up from the stool and reached for something on the counter. Then he made his way towards me. He was wearing a black, fitted, very expensive suit; his shirt was a crisp light blue; his black silk tie was loosened, and the top two buttons of his shirt were undone.

  When he finally reached me, he extended his hand. My clutch was lying on his palm. I reached for it, and my fingertips lightly brushed against his skin. Remembering his hands touching me in my dream made my insides tighten, and my face warmed at the thought. I looked up at him, and he seemed amused. “Thank you. I appreciate your going out of your way to bring me my belongings.” I nervously smiled.

  He flashed that dimple again, and my smile widened. “Have you eaten Mia?” The question puzzled me, eaten?

  When I thought about it, I realized that I hadn’t eaten since yesterday, and my stomach was aching with the realization. “No.”

  “Well, will you join me for dinner? I haven’t eaten since noon and would love for you to accompany me. There’s a little Italian restaurant a block or so away from here that we could walk to. It’s a very nice evening.” I didn’t know what to say. I was still confused about what happened last night and in my dream.

  Oh God…well maybe I can get some answers. Looking past his shoulders, I tried to catch Jeremy’s attention for guidance. He wasn’t paying attention, though. Marcus followed my eyes and turned to face Jeremy who was busy texting away. “Jae, I’m going to take Mia out to feed her real Italian food. You want to come?”

  Jeremy looked up from his phone and smiled, “Nah man, if this text goes well, I think I’m going to have a visitor tonight.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

  “Very well then, see you soon, if not Friday.” Marcus grabbed my elbow and dragged me out the front door.

  Before leaving, I snapped my head around to Jeremy; he waved at me then returned to his text. What the hell just happened!

  I breathed for the first time since leaving my apartment when we stepped outside. It was still light out, and the cool air was perfect. There was no need for a jacket, but if I were wearing one, I wouldn’t have felt uncomfortable either. I relaxed once the light breeze swiftly blew by. Marcus was beside me near the curb, but he kept his distance from me. Looking down as we walked, I managed to speak. “So where are we going?” I asked, trying to avoid the uneasiness I was feeling. He, on the other hand, seemed calm.

  “It’s calle
d Romano’s. It’s a small mom and pop shop, nothing fancy, but the food is amazing. Everything is homemade, even the pasta.”

  “Mmmh, that sounds good. I don’t remember seeing it around here, is it new?” I asked, since I was brave enough to finally look at him. Even his side profile was gorgeous. Tracing his features with my eyes, I noticed the perfect line of his nose, his plump lips, and the perfect structure of his jaw line. I could have stared at him for hours and not gotten tired of that face. He licked his lips before responding, causing the muscles between my legs to tighten. Looking away, I proceeded in a faster pace, trying to distract my thoughts.

  “No, it’s been there for almost twenty years. It’s a very small place. You’ve probably passed it a few times on your way to school but never noticed it.”

  Nodding, I remained silent for the rest of the walk.

  We approached a small brick corner building. On the door handle hung a small blackboard sign with Romano’s written on it with white chalk in cursive. He opened the door and let me in. It was a very tiny place; it held about twenty small round tables, maybe fewer. The place was empty, but each table was draped in white linen and decorated with a few lit tea lights. The dark wood floors matched the chairs, and the exposed brick wall gave the place a warm feeling. The lights were dim, and if I hadn’t just walked in from outside, I would’ve thought it was at least ten o’clock at night. It was a very lovely place.

  A small bell rang when the door closed behind Marcus. My eyes searched for a hostess or waiter. A moment later, a short overweight man appeared through a double swinging door from a room in the back, which I guessed was the kitchen. Marcus swiftly passed me and headed towards the man. The older man’s face brightened at the sight of DeLuca. He raised his arms to greet him with a huge hug.

  “Ciao, come stai?” The older man’s voice was loud and enthusiastic.

  “Bene, e voi?” To my surprise, Marcus spoke clear Italian. I didn’t understand a word he was saying, but it sounded sexy.

  “Mi sveglio ogni giorno ... chi è questa bella donna” The man looked at me with a huge grin while motioning his hand in my direction.

  Marcus looked over his shoulder at me and smiled before returning to the man and replying, “Un mio buon amica.”

  The man nodded and waved his hand for me to come over. “Oh, ben venuto su ho a sedere alcune speciali”

  The man turned and began to walk away. Marcus waited till I met up with him; he placed the palm of his hand on my lower back. The very small gesture felt intimate, and I was sure he didn’t mean anything by it, but the touch sent a burning ache through my veins. I concentrated on anything else but that touch as we followed the man. We were led up a flight of stairs and into another small room full of tables and chairs set similarly to downstairs. We walked across the room till we were in front of glass doors. The man slid the door open and led us onto the balcony that overlooked the park across the street.

  There was a small table with two chairs on the tiny balcony. He motioned for us to sit down, and with a strong Italian accent and broken English, he struggled to speak to me, “Friend of Marky, friend of mine. Please, enjoy.” He was such a cute man, short, with full grey hair that was neatly brushed back. He wore a black t-shirt tucked into his black pants with his belly overlapping his belt. He also wore a gold chain necklace.

  I smiled at his friendliness. “Thank you.” He nodded with a huge grin and headed out the door.

  “He’s a very nice man.” I turned my attention to Marcus whose stare was gentle and passionate.

  “He was good friends with my grandfather. My dad used to bring me and my brother here all the time as kids. I haven’t been here in a long time, and since I was in the area, I figured it would be nice to visit.”

  The older man returned with laminated menus and a pitcher of water. He poured water into our empty glasses. He asked a question, and Marcus looked at me, “Would you like some wine?” I shook my head rather too quickly. It made him laugh knowing that I consumed enough alcohol last night to last me an entire week. He responded to the man who then left.

  I glanced down at the menu. Thankfully everything was printed in English.

  My stomach growled. I looked up at Marcus, wondering if he noticed. Surprisingly he wasn’t staring at the menu; he was staring at me. It felt strange. “Do you know what you want?”

  Licking his lips seductively just like in my dream, he answered, but something told me he wanted something more than his meal. “I always order the Pesto italiano pasta.”

  Looking down at the menu and back at him, I tried to pretend his stare didn’t faze me. “Oh, do you recommend anything for me?”

  He slightly tilted his head. “I recommend the lasagna or the eggplant parmesan.” He licked his lips. Oh God, he did it again; suddenly I was hungry for him and not food.

  What was wrong with me!

  Bless the older man’s soul when he interrupted my sensual thoughts. He placed before us two plates of salad, a basket of bread with a side dish of olive oil, and some type of seasoning. The man ran off again. I grabbed my fork and dug into the salad, not waiting for Marcus to go first. I was too hungry to be polite and not dig in.

  We sat in silence as we ate our salads. Halfway through, I looked up at him, and he was staring at me again. “Is there something wrong? Every time I look at you, it feels like you’ve been staring at me the entire time.”

  “I have.” He grabbed his glass and sipped his water, not taking his eyes off me.

  “Why? Is there something on my face?” I picked up a napkin to wipe my lips.

  “No.” He chuckled. “I like staring at you. You’re a beautiful woman, so it’s hard not to stare.” My stomach fluttered. Underneath the table, I pinched my hand to see if this were real or a dream. Nope, I felt the sting against my flesh; this was definitely real.

  “Thank you,” I whispered. To distract myself, I grabbed a piece of warm bread and dipped it into the olive oil. I took a bite; oh it was good. I took another bite. When I looked up, he was smiling at me. “What?”

  “Do you want to talk about what happened last night? Maybe you can relax after we do.” I stopped chewing. What? Oh no, something bad happened, I must have slept with him and don’t even remember. What a waste!

  Looking away nervously, I whispered, “What happened last night?” Turning my head, I tried to distract myself by admiring the trees in the park.

  I could hear him adjust his body in the seat. “Well, for starters, we didn’t sleep with each other.” My eyes snapped to his.

  “Oh thank God!” I cried in relief.

  “But you wanted to; you asked me too.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  His all-white, perfect-toothed grin engulfed his face. “No, you were completely hammered last night. I helped you up the stairs and into your room. When we entered your room, you asked me to help you out of your dress. You were complaining about how tight it was, so I unzipped it for you. You sat down on the edge of the bed, so I could take your shoes off. After I did, you ran your fingers through my hair, saying how soft it was. You also mentioned how much you thought my lips were sexy.” He smiled, remembering my foolishness. I wished I could fly away, maybe even make a clear escape by throwing myself off of the balcony, but I was too stunned to move, to even speak.

  He continued, “You tried to kiss me, but I didn’t want to kiss you like that. So I pulled away. You were very angry at the rejection. I remember a few curses, and then you stomped over to your drawer, pulled something out, and tossed it to the side of your bed. I’m not sure what it was. You then you threw yourself in bed. You lay there and fell asleep. I covered you with the blanket, and then I left.”

  Embarrassed by his brutally honest account of last night’s events, I couldn’t look at him. I also had the feeling he was just being polite and pretended not to know what I took out of my drawer. Lowering my head, I focused on my fidgeting fingers.

  I could feel the heat of his stare, but I d
idn’t dare to look up. "I apologize for my behavior last night. Please know that’s not me. I don’t even drink liquor.” Nervously laughing once, I continued to mumble. “I'm more of a wine person. Last night was just a celebration of the start of summer break. I assure you it will never happen again.” My voice was so low I'm not sure it was audible.

  Bravely I peeked up through my long lashes, catching when his smile faded.

  “I hope that’s not true. See I wanted to kiss you last night, very badly, but not while you were incapable of remembering it.” He bit his lip and then continued, “I want to get to know you better, if that’s okay with you? I want to know about you, where you’re from, your family, everything.” He paused for a mere second. “For some unexplained reason I'm drawn to you, and I can't stop thinking about you. All day at work today during a conference call during my deposition, you were the only thing on my mind.” His lips curled into a crooked smile.

  Speechless I opened my mouth to say something but couldn’t find the right words, so I closed it. I thought he wasn’t interested, especially the way he acted last night. “So what are you saying exactly?”

  Chapter Four

  “I want to date,” Marcus said, “see where it goes. I’ve never dated before, and I don’t know how it works, but you’re the kind of girl that a man should treat like a woman, not as a one-night stand.”

  Baffled by this entire conversation, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “You’ve never been in a relationship before?”

  His eyes grew serious. “I never had time for a serious relationship.”

  Glaring at him, I leaned in on the table. “But you have time to date me?”

  His expression relaxed. “I'll make the time for you, to get to know you better.”

  I said everything in one quick breath as I always do when I’m mad or nervous, “And what if I'm not the woman you think I am? What if one of us takes this more seriously than the other? One of us could end up hurt. What if I get the externship position at your firm? How will people look at us, at me? How will it interfere with my position if it doesn’t work out with us? I don't know if I can deal with all of that.” I was extremely nervous.