Breaking Down (The Breaking Series)

by Smith, Calista

  “What’s going on, you two?” Nat’s suspicion is at a high

  “Raquel and I need to talk; we’re going to head to my house. She wanted to let you know.” Dante quickly gives an explanation. Nat’s still looking at me, searching for answers.

  “Rock? You going to spill?” She finally says to me. I grab her hand and walk away from the warm connection of Dante’s. I give her the quickest explanation I can, then swear to bears I will explain the rest later.

  CHAPTER 14

  We walk to his car, our pinkies linked. I’m nervous and excited but I can’t shake the betrayal and anger I feel inside. Halfway through the parking lot, I stop. “Dante, I need to talk to Shaun.”

  “Now?” His voice cracks a little.

  “I don’t know. I don’t understand how he could do this.”

  “He thinks he’s in love with you. People act crazy when they’re in love.” He says.

  “But we’re friends. Friends don’t hurt each other. They don’t betray each other’s trust. He knows everything, everything! He knows how I feel about you.” I no longer hide the pain in my voice.

  “I get it. I’m confused and pissed off too, but don’t you think I deserve to know? I want to know how you feel about me, Raquel, and I want you to know how I feel about you. We’ll deal with Mel and Shaun later. Right now, I need you. Everyone else can wait.” The serious tone his voice has taken on is different than the Dante I’m used to. There’s an authoritative nature to it and I feel the need to comply. I’m torn between my need to confront Shaun and my need for Dante.

  “You’re right, we’ve waited long enough.” He opens the car door to let me in. While he walks to the driver side, I pull out my cell.

  We need to talk. ASAP! Don’t bother avoiding me Shaun. If I’ve ever meant anything to you, you’ll come over tonight. I’ll be home by 5. ~R

  Dante starts the car and looks at me. “Stubborn.” He shakes his head.

  “Excuse me?” I pretend I have no idea what he is referring to.

  He drives off, arching his eyebrow at me. “Mm-hmm.”

  I put my cell away and neatly fold my hands into my lap. I feel his gaze drift over to me occasionally and I keep my eyes focused on the road ahead. He unravels me every time I’m near him. A simple look or touch and I feel tingles rise from deep within. A wizard indeed.

  “Where do you live?” I realize we’ve driven further than I expected.

  “Huh? Oh. Well, I thought we could go somewhere else. Have you ever been up here?” I remember the talk I had with Nat, how Dante rarely goes home. I wonder what it’s all about, but I don’t dare ask right now.

  “No, why, what’s up here?” I realize he’s driven us to the very top of a street called Haven. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard rumors of this spot before, so I’m a little nervous.

  “You’ll see. Actually it’s not as nice to look at in the daylight. At night, it’s kind of neat with all the lights and everything.” His eyes twinkle as he explains.

  “You come up here a lot?”

  “Not a lot, but sometimes. When I need to get away.” He looks at me quickly and turns his attention back to the road. I wonder instantly if that’s another hint at his home life.

  “What do you need to get away from?” I watch him closely.

  “Everything. Every one.” His expression is unreadable.

  “Like?” He isn’t making this easy.

  “Like, I don’t know. Stuff.” He smiles and pats my leg. I squirm, excited at his touch.

  “Here you go with that stuff again,” I gesture quotations.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” His mouth drops open.

  “Last time when you disappeared and I asked why, you and Aiden said it was because of stuff.” I gesture again.

  “Oh, that.” He says quietly.

  “Yea that. What was that all about anyway?”

  “We’re here. You wanna get out?” He parks and undoes our seatbelts. I wait a second, staring at him, but he indicates nothing.

  “Are you going to answer me?” I press.

  “We have a lot to talk about, Raquel. Why don’t we get out?” He rolls his shoulders and exits the car. I hesitate to move and then I do. I’m really nervous, but my curiosity has gotten the best of me. I grab my bag and start to get out of the car.

  “You can leave your stuff inside. We aren’t going anywhere.” He smirks at me.

  “Oh, sorry. I didn’t know.” I say sheepishly putting my stuff back into the car. He goes around to the front of his car and hops onto the hood, wiping the spot beside him. I can only assume he wants me to join him up there. I awkwardly began to try to climb, but my sandal isn’t cooperating. He throws his head back laughing and then jumps down to help.

  “Seriously, girl? You can’t hop on the hood of a car?” He continues to laugh at me.

  “No, no, I can’t! Clearly, genius!” I snap.

  “Jeez, don’t bite my head off. I came down here to help.” He dusts off his pants before reaching out to me.

  “Yea well, I could have been up there by now if you were down here to help. Seems like you came down here to laugh at me.” I throw him an evil eye over my shoulder.

  “I’m laughing with you, not at you.” He realizes this isn’t going to work either and stops trying to shove me up.

  “I’m not laughing!” I turn around and give him a sarcastic look. He suddenly picks me up and throws me over his shoulder, smacking my butt before sitting me down. I let out a yelp and can’t help but laugh at his sudden playfulness. We grow quiet before I finally say, “I missed you. As much of a jerk as you were, and you definitely were, I missed this.” The air grows thick as we let it all sink in. I look around; you can see the city from here. I imagine it would be nicer at night, with all the lights.

  “Yea well, you were no walk in the park either. I missed you too, Rock. More than I care to admit.” He turns to look me in the eye.

  “So, what now?” I ask. “Where do we go from here?”

  “Well, for starters I think we need to figure out what got us here.” He motions between us.

  “Obviously people worked pretty hard to keep us apart.” I lean back a bit, thinking about it all. “I didn’t know that Shaun and Melanie knew each other.” I’m puzzled at the thought.

  “They don’t.” He says.

  “They don’t? So them lying was a coincidence?” My voice squeaks. I’m having a hard time believing that.

  “Hmm, I don’t think that’s the case either. I’m thinking Melinda had something to do with this. Mel and Melinda know each other. They went to jr. high together.” He explains. “They aren’t best friends or anything, but they do know each other.”

  “Oh.” I say, as I start connecting all the dots. “So Melinda was getting info from Shaun and you, and then feeding it all back to Melanie, in order to cause problems for you and I? All because she wanted you for herself,” I say the last part more as a statement then a question.

  “I guess. I don’t know, it’s all assumptions and I doubt they’ll admit to any of it. But I guess it’s a pretty safe bet that that’s what was going on.” He seems fine with his understanding of it all, as he picks at something I’m not seeing on his pant leg.

  “So I have questions.” I bump him with my shoulder. He hesitates before looking at me. I figure it’s now or never, “Why did Melanie have your phone? And where and why did you disappear all that time? Why didn’t you want me to know? How come you said you and Melanie were back together and happy? If that’s the case then why are we here now? And why were you kissing me? And what the heck got into you the night of the dance?”

  “Damn! You do have questions.” He rubs his hands together and then rests his weight back on his elbows, laughing.

  “You wouldn’t talk to me before. This stuff has been festering and eating at me.” I explain.

  “Fair enough. Okay, well, Mel and I share a phone plan and we got our phones mixed up the last time I was over there. I didn’t real
ize it till I was home and I wanted to talk to you, so I called you from her number. That’s why she had my phone. That’s why she got the texts and was able to call you. I told you that she and I were back together because I knew it would hurt you. I figured it was the only way you were going to leave me alone. You told me before how you felt about people’s boundaries and all that. I was tired of the games and you flaunting Shaun in my face. I needed you to back off. We’re here because we need to talk and I kissed you because I find you incredibly irresistible and whenever you’re close to me it’s pretty hard for me to concentrate on anything else. Pretty much the same reason I couldn’t leave you alone at the dance.” He smirks.

  The last part has my stomach in knots and I can’t help but smile. Although it’s a little chilly outside I suddenly feel very warm. “Okay, but Dante you still haven’t answered my other question.”

  “Really, are you sure? I did an awful lot of talking and you still haven’t answered any of mine.” He teases.

  “You’re starting to worry me. Is there something you don’t want me to know about?” I can’t get over the feeling he’s hiding something.

  “Can’t we get to the bottom of all this other stuff before we open up another can of worms? I missed you. Can’t that be enough for now?” He tangles a piece of my hair between his fingers.

  “What is it? What is so wrong that you keep avoiding it and hiding it from me?” I ask again.

  “It’s not important right now. I’m going to tell you Raquel, I promise. When the time is right, I will, okay? Trust me.” He pleads patting my hair back into place.

  I sit up and stare into his eyes. “Just promise it’s not going to tear us apart again; it’s not going to devastate me. Please Dante, promise me that.” I gather my hair all to one side to keep him from being distracted.

  “It doesn’t have to tear us apart. And please trust me when I say I have never wanted to devastate you Raquel.” He grabs my hand in his lifting it up, he slowly and gently kisses the tip of each finger. I’m mesmerized by him. The deep look in his eyes and the commanding nature yet gentle spirit he guards.

  “I trust you.” I whisper.

  “Thank you.” He places one hand behind my head and lays me back onto the hood. Our lips are immediately drawn to each other. The hunger between us is uncontainable. I grab onto his ears and attempt to pull him deeper into the kiss. He wraps his leg around me and rolls on top. I can’t help noticing the bulge against my abdomen that grinds into me as he begins to slowly rock above me. I’m lost. Completely engulfed in his capable kisses and roaming hands. He swiftly pulls apart from me, sliding himself off the car and grabs me by my ankles sliding me to him as he sits me upright.

  “Come on, let’s go. We can’t stay here too long.” He kisses my cheek and helps me off the car. I’m a little dizzy as we leave.

  “Where are we going?” I ask when I notice him text someone before driving off.

  “Aiden’s, we’ll meet Nat and him there.”

  “Oh, okay.” I say. Again, he avoids going home.

  CHAPTER 15

  Dante sits down on Aiden’s couch and lowers me onto his lap, sideways, wrapping his arms around me. “So, what do you want to talk about?” He flashes his gorgeous smile.

  “I need to tell you something about Shaun. Something I did.” I look him in the eye. His jaw clenches. He wears a hint of worry in his eyes.

  “It’s not what you’re thinking. Earlier, when I told you I needed to know why; when we were in the parking lot, remember? Well I had gotten into the car after and the more I thought about it the more upset I was getting. Actually, I had gotten pretty upset when we were walking to your car, that’s why I stopped—”

  “Rock, you’re killing me!” He interrupts me.

  “I texted Shaun.” I blurt out.

  “I knew that. So what? What did you say?”

  “I told him we needed to talk. I told him to meet me at my house tonight. I said if he ever cared about me at all he would do it.” I cringe waiting for Dante’s reaction.

  “So did he say he would?” He nearly hisses.

  “No, he never texted me back.”

  “What time do we need to be there?”

  “Five. I need to be there at five. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go.”

  “Maybe not, but you aren’t going to talk to him alone.” He says firmly.

  “Seriously Dante? I’m not a baby. It’s not like he is going to hurt me. If you’re there it’s only going to make things worse. I won’t be able to get him to talk. Please Dante, let me do this.” I nearly plead with him.

  “No.”

  “No? That’s it?” My voice squeaks as I start to move off of his lap.

  He holds me in place. “Rock, you can’t expect me to be okay with this. The guy has flat out lied and manipulated you this entire time and you’ve fallen for it. Now you want to go find out why and you think he’s going to be honest with you? Does it even matter? It won’t change anything. He lied, purposefully, to hurt you. He kept us apart!” His voice is rising and it’s only making me angrier. I push off of him and sit beside him.

  “He wasn’t the only one. I don’t expect you to be okay with me being lied to and manipulated, but I do expect you to trust me, Dante. The same way you want to be trusted. Look he owes me an explanation, but you know what, so do you.” I glare at him.

  “Me?” His eyes widen as he points to himself.

  “Yes. There are things you’re keeping from me. Things you promised to explain. I’m being patient. I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt. More importantly, I’m trusting you.” I try to soften my tone, but I’m angry.

  We’re both staring at each other, neither backing down. “That’s unfair, Raquel. Don’t compare me to him. I never meant to hurt you. I told you I would explain and I will. One thing at a time. I know you need to hear it from him. Personally, I don’t see what he could possibly say to fix this, or explain it away. But I get you needing to hear it. What I won’t accept is him getting you alone and manipulating you.” He narrows his dark eyes at me.

  “Fine. I’ll bring Nat.” I stand up placing my hands on my hips.

  His jaw tightens. “Fine.”

  I sit back down and we stay quiet for a while, neither of us looking at the other. He finally grabs my hand and slowly smiles at me. “You still mad?” He peers at me through the top of his eyes.

  “Nope.” I smile, and smack him in his arm lightly.

  “We got a little bit of time before we have to go. Come here.” He pulls me over to him.

  I climb back onto his lap and then it hits me that he said we. “Dante, I thought we agreed that Nat would go with me?”

  “She’ll be there while you confront him. Aiden and I’ll be inside.” He says matter-of-factly. I roll my eyes and he frowns, “Don’t do that. I’ll stay inside. I’ll let you hear what he has to say. But I won’t leave you alone with him. I can’t.”

  “You’ll let me?” My hands are on my hips again as I sit back a bit, to look him in the eye. He laughs and I get irritated that he finds me funny in this moment. “It’s not funny!” I smack his chest.

  “If you've seen yourself through my eyes, you would think it was. You’re pretty funny when you’re mad.” He laughs again.

  “Dante, you will stay inside.” I confirm.

  “I will. I said I would, I will. Can we stop talking about Shaun now?” He pulls my face down and kisses my lips. Our kiss gets deeper; our tongues finding each other. I quickly open my eyes and try to pull away, but he keeps me tight to him biting on my bottom lip.

  “Whersh Nat and Aiden?” I jumble up the words trying to talk with my lip in the grip of his teeth.

  He laughs lightly into my mouth as he points towards the stairs. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he continues nibbling and kissing my mouth, gradually making his way down. I wrap my arms around his neck as he slides me off his lap, gently lowering me onto the couch as he holds up his weight; his muscular
arms to each side of me. I stare into his hypnotizing eyes. He brings his mouth just out of my reach and then grazes near my ear, breathing deep, sending chills throughout my body. I arch upwards to feel the heat radiating off of him. He lowers his body the rest of the way rocking his hips into me. I feel how much he wants me, as he pushes into me. I let out a sigh and reach my arms around to pull him in tighter. He grinds harder into my body and it’s almost painful but I have such a need to feel him, I don’t care, so I push back.

  “Careful now, unless you want me to lose it right here.” He growls.

  “Oh.” I let go of his neck, embarrassed.

  He smiles his crooked smile, placing gentle kisses on my lips. “You want to go upstairs?”

  “Um, well, I—” I stammer as my stomach enters my throat.

  “You don’t have to, Rock. I’m just asking. It’s less out in the open up there. I don’t care, we can stay here.” He presses his hips into me again.

  “No, no. It’s, well, I— I need to tell you something.” Oh, my goodness, this is embarrassing. I was hoping to have this conversation in the midst of other conversations, not in the middle of a make-out session.

  “What’s wrong?” He sits up grabbing my hand and pulling me up with him. “Are you on your thing?”

  “My thing?” I’m thoroughly confused and then it registers and I’m mortified. “My thing? Oh, God, no! Not that, no. Oh my goodness—”

  “What’s wrong? You’re freaking me out here?” He interrupts, but seems genuinely worried now.

  “I’m still a, a, you know.” I look down and then slowly look up to meet his eyes.

  “A virgin?” He crooks his eyebrow.

  “Yea” I mumble.

  “Oh.” He sits back. “Damn, you scared me. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pressure you. I didn’t know. I mean, I could tell you weren’t a hoe or anything but I didn’t know you were still a virgin.” He confesses.