Dances with Monsters

by D. C. Ruins

  "Looks good, hon," her father said approvingly. "Looks very good."

  "Nonie's recipe," she said, referencing her father's mother. "It's never failed me."

  Although her dessert was delicious, Drew was so full she couldn't properly enjoy it. Heath, however, ate it as though he hadn't just eaten two enormous plates of food less than an hour before. The man had an empty leg, she decided.

  They sat around for another hour, chatting and laughing, drinking the wine Heath had brought, until the children began to doze from full bellies and early mornings at church.

  "That's our cue," Nik said, watching her son and daughter as they nodded off.

  "Ours, too," Toni said.

  "All right, all right," Mrs. Carnevale said. "Let me get the food packed up."

  It was another half an hour before that task was completed, Mrs. Carnevale divvying up the remaining mountain of food between each of her daughters and their families. It went without saying that Drew typically found herself with the smallest portion. She didn't have a husband or children to feed, so the majority of it went to the families and to Uncle Gino. For tonight's meal, knowing she was going to have a new guest and that that guest was an "athlete", Mrs. Carnevale had made enough food for a small army. Drew watched with amusement as her mother set to work on Heath's package, shoveling into several cartons an enormous portion, enough to last him at least half the week.

  She suddenly noticed that Heath was nowhere to be found, and neither were her sisters. She was immediately suspicious, and was contemplating going after them when they reappeared. She wasn't sure what happened, but when they returned, Nik and Toni were smiling innocently and Heath just looked amused. Drew narrowed her eyes but didn't say anything. Instead, she handed him a huge bag stuffed with the white take-out cartons that her parents bought in bulk for no other use than family dinners. His eyes widened.

  "It's all for you," she said with a smile. "Pasta, sauce, antipasti, caprese salad, deli meat, half a loaf of Italian bread. Enough food for a week."

  "Wow," he said, taking the bag. "Thanks."

  Drew gathered up her dishes and stood behind her sisters near the door. Each sister and each husband was holding one sleeping child, so Drew couldn't really say good-bye to them. She'd learned long ago that when the kids fell asleep, she should leave them that way, or face the wrath of Nik and/or Toni.

  "What was that all about?" she asked her sisters quietly.

  "Nothing you need to be worried about," Nik said, smiling at her.

  "We just had a little chat with your boyfriend," Toni added. "You know, just a friendly conversation."

  "He's not my boyfriend," Drew replied automatically. "What did you say to him?"

  "Drusilla, stop worrying, for Christ's sake," Nik said, leaning toward her baby sister to peck her forehead. "He's a good guy. We like him."

  "Really?" Drew asked, although she'd already known that. She glanced at Toni.

  "Yes, baby sister," Toni said, kissing Drew's cheek. "We like him. We're just lookin' out for you, kid. We love you, okay?"

  Drew hoped that Heath wasn't standing right behind her, listening to this conversation. She glanced over her shoulder and didn't see him in the immediate area, and turned, seeing him talking to her father in the dining room. She moved back toward the dining room, catching the tail-end of their conversation.

  "…good man. I like you. You're welcome in my house anytime."

  "Thank you, sir," Heath was saying, shaking her father's hand. Mr. Carnevale leaned in, keeping Heath's hand clasped in his.

  "But if you ever hurt my daughter, in any way, I got a rifle and a shovel. No one will miss you that much. We clear?"

  "Yes, sir," Heath replied immediately, unfazed. "Crystal clear, sir."

  "Good." He clapped Heath on the shoulder and spotted Drew just outside the door. "Ah, my sweet girl. I was just telling Heath here how much I like him and that he's welcome back anytime."

  "Every Sunday," her mother's voice called back from the kitchen.

  Drew laughed and reached out to hug and kiss her father. "That's good to know. Hopefully none of you scared him off. Hopefully we didn't scare him off," she amended.

  "Not in the least," Heath said, smiling at her. Her mother hustled in.

  "I've got to say good-bye to all my babies!" she exclaimed, hurrying into the living room as though she wouldn't be seeing them ever again as opposed to a few days, if that. In turn, she kissed each of the children, her daughters, and her sons-in-law as they filed out, calling good-byes over their shoulders.

  "Good-bye, Heath," Nik called over her shoulder. "Don't forget what we said!"

  "Never will," Heath called back. "Nice to see you again."

  "Take care," Toni said brightly. "We'll see you soon!"

  "The words are friendly, but it always sounds so threatening," Drew mused.

  "Good to meet you, man," Vince said, offering Heath his hand. "I'll take you up on the gym offer."

  "Absolutely, any time," Heath replied. He shook hands with Ryan and then offered his hand to Uncle Gino. "Nice meeting you, sir."

  "Yes," Uncle Gino said, shaking his hand in return. "You take care of my niece. Or it's your ass." He gripped onto Heath's hand for an extended beat, then let go with a nod.

  "Yes, sir," Heath answered.

  "Okay, bye, Uncle Gino," Drew said hurriedly before any more threats against Heath's life were made. "Bye, Daddy. Bye, Mom. Thanks for dinner. I'll see you tomorrow." She gave her uncle and her parents quick kisses goodbye and then turned to Heath. "Ready?" she asked.

  "If you are," he replied. He followed her out the door and across the courtyard. Drew heaved an enormous sigh of relief, glad that the first meeting was over. It would be much less tense and more easy-going next time. If there's a next time, she thought, thinking again of her behavior from the night before.

  "You did well," she said, and he smiled.

  "You have a great family," he said. "I like them all. Your mom reminds me a lot of my mom."

  "What did my sisters say to you?" she demanded, and he laughed again.

  "They shoved me into the bathroom and told me that if I ever hurt you, they'd cut my balls off." He smirked. "Your father threatened me with a rifle and shovel." He nudged her in the ribs. "You must be pretty special if your entire family is threatening to end my life."

  "That's just how they are," Drew said. "But they do mean it."

  "Oh, I know that," he said with a nod. "That was obvious."

  They walked along in silence for a bit until they reached the hallway leading to her apartment. She glanced at him. He really did seem to be perfectly at ease and she got the impression that he really had enjoyed meeting her family, death threats aside. When they reached her door she faced him.

  "Listen, about last night," she began awkwardly and waved him off when he started to protest. "I really want you to know how sorry I am for acting like that, and how much I appreciate—well," she paused. "A lot of guys in your position might not have been as—nice and…and…gentlemanly as you were. And although it doesn't seem like it, on account of the throwing of the alarm clock and everything, I thank you for that."

  Heath shrugged. "It just wouldn't have been right," he said simply.

  "I just don't want you to think that, like –" She sighed in frustration. "That I'm the type of girl that…"

  He leaned down to look directly into her eyes. "Drew, I know exactly what kind of girl you are," he said quietly. "So stop worrying about it. Shit happens." He smirked a little. "And, now I know. Never, ever let you drink hard alcohol." His eyes twinkled. "Well, maybe not never…"

  She groaned and shoved his shoulder. "Be careful with me," he warned. "I'm stuffed to the brim and I could explode all over you."

  "That would be disgusting," she said, smiling.

  He held her gaze for a beat. "Well," he said lightly. "I better get home. I need to digest this food before I go to sleep and I've got to get up early tomorrow."

  "Training?"<
br />
  "Of course. Then work." He hefted the sack with his leftovers. "Thank your mom for this again for me. And thank you for inviting me to dinner."

  "I didn't," she reminded him, grinning. "My sister did. And it wasn't so much an invite as it was a threat."

  "You're right about that, silly me," he said with a chuckle. Their eyes met again and he smiled. "Good night, Drew."

  "Good night," she replied. She slipped her arms around his waist to give him a light hug, feeling his free arm slip around her, his hand settling at the small of her back as he held her against him. Then, she automatically lifted her face to kiss his cheek. Sensing her face moving closer to his, he turned his head quickly toward hers to look at her, and her lips ended up lightly bumping against the corner of his lower lip. She pulled her head back slightly, color flaming in her cheeks.

  "Sorry," she mumbled. Shit, fuck, dammit.

  His head was still turned toward hers and he hadn't pulled away from her. Their eyes met for a long moment, his pewter-blue eyes narrowing slightly as they moved over her face. Drew swallowed hard, wondering if she'd just accidentally made an enormous mistake, and then Heath leaned in slightly, his eyes dropping to her mouth. She jumped when she felt his nose brush against the side of hers as he hovered his lips near hers, asking a silent question as his eyes met hers once again. Anxiety threatened to tear her to pieces in that moment, but she fought it back and tilted her head slightly, brushing her lips lightly against his. It wasn't a kiss, but it was her form of granting him permission.

  She heard him pull in a breath lightly before she felt the amazing warmth and sensation of his lips pressing lightly to hers. She wanted to freeze, but instead she tentatively returned his kiss, allowing her eyes to close. It was all the encouragement he needed, one hand sweeping up her arm to slide under her hair and gently squeeze the back of her neck.

  His lips were unbelievably soft, and their fullness added a completely different sensation to her mouth than anything she could ever have imagined. She stood very still and soaked in the sensations—the smooth satiny feeling of his lips, encompassing hers like two of the softest down pillows ever made, the feeling of his rough, calloused hand and thumb lightly stroking the smooth skin of the back of her neck and her cheek and jaw, alternating with gentle, comforting squeezes, the warmth of his breath flowing through his nose and tickling her cheek gently. How could she have ever felt the claws of panic at something so sweet?

  The lines of worry and uncertainty creased into her brow smoothed out as she relaxed completely into him, and she realized her arm was still around his waist and that she'd unconsciously begun to stroke his back. She parted her lips ever so slightly and followed the movement of his, feeling him out in a sweetly innocent curious way, letting his mouth do most of the work. It was her first kiss in over a year, and the first kiss she'd ever really wanted in a terribly long time, and she felt rusty, nervous…and eager.

  His lips moved over hers languidly, sweetly, as though he had all the time in the world. She liked that he didn't plunge in tongue-first; he was much more sensual than that. He seemed to be as into the sensations as she was as he was in constant motion between his mouth and his hand, wanting to taste and stroke her skin. He never deviated from his slow, easy pace, and she found herself starting to get swept away on a wave of emotion. At one point she found her lips beginning to return his kisses a little too quickly, too eagerly, as if they unconsciously wanted to keep time with her racing pulse, but he didn't let her, his lips keeping it slow and sweet and he pressed her back into the door, his thumb stroking her jaw gently.

  She was starting to get curious about his tongue, wondering if he was going to try to use it, and decided that if he did, she might be ok with it. She wondered what it tasted like, if it would be smooth or rough, and was thinking that maybe she might let hers slip forward, just the tip to brush over his lip and see if it encouraged him further, when he pulled away from her slowly with a gentle smack of his lips. His fingers slid to her chin and his thumb smoothed over it as his eyes moved over her face.

  "Good night," he repeated, a smile pulling up one corner of the luscious mouth that had just been against hers. She found she couldn't look away from them, not caring if her want was plain on her face. She felt fairly certain she could have stood here with him against her door for the rest of her life, relishing in the feeling of his lips moving softly over hers.

  A slow smile spread over her face, and his thumb moved to gently stroke over her dimple before he dropped his hand away. He reached into his pockets and drew out her keys and held them out to her. She took them and allowed her fingers to linger against his.

  "Good night," she echoed softly, then turned to open the door to her apartment. She was still smiling when she closed and latched the door, listening to his footsteps slowly retreat down the hall.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Bunz sighed dreamily, her face propped in her hand as she leaned on the counter the following morning and listened to Drew relay the events of the rest of the weekend, post-Cliff's. Drew had just finished describing her kiss with Heath, and now she felt a little embarrassed since it sounded so much cheesier when put into words, but she had hardly been able to think of anything else since then. It felt like she was regressing in terms of dealing with the opposite sex as opposed to progressing. She was certainly no virgin, having given that up when she was a senior in high school, but since the attack, she'd been so shut off from the opposite sex that it was almost like she was re-learning how men and women interacted with each other when they were interested in one another. She knew she was daydreaming over one kiss like a thirteen-year-old, but she couldn't help it. It had been wonderful.

  Even Bunz, who typically was disgusted by all things romance- and cheese-related, couldn't help but be drawn in by the scenario.

  "That sounds awesome," she said. "I think I'll have some of those lips, too."

  "Over my dead body," Drew replied with a smile.

  "Don't be so selfish," Bunz replied.

  "Oh, I am," Drew said. "Besides, you have Anthony. You have a boyfriend. You go mind your own business."

  "Fine," Bunz said exasperatedly. "So have you guys talked since then?"

  "We texted a little bit last night before bed," Drew said. "And he sent me a 'good morning' text today. Other than that, no, not really."

  "I still can't believe that you threw the pussy at him like that," Bunz said, shaking her head. "And that he didn't jump on it."

  "Please stop talking about that," Drew moaned, dropping her forehead into her hand. "Please. And like I said, it's partially your and my sisters' faults. You were the ones buying all those damn shots."

  "Well, I certainly wouldn't have if I would have known you were going to act like a drunken jezebel," Bunz answered.

  "I didn't know I was going to act like a drunken jezebel," Drew muttered. Bunz gave her shoulder a little shove.

  "Stop beating yourself up. I'm just kidding, kind of. Besides, it all worked out. Heath proved himself to be a gentleman, he still showed up for dinner, your family loves him, and you guys kissed. What is there to be sad about?"

  "Not much, when you put it that way," Drew replied. As Bunz went back to her latest concoction, Drew peered over her shoulder. "What exactly have you got there?"

  "Mini apple pies," Bunz replied, pressing pie crust into cupcake tins. She began spooning some fresh apple pie mixture into the tins and Drew inhaled appreciatively, taking in the wonderful aroma of cooked diced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and….

  "Is that bacon?" she demanded, pointing to the filling. It looked like crisp, cooked bacon had been diced and mixed into the filling.

  "Yes," Bunz admitted. "Taste it."

  Drew grabbed a clean spoon and dunked it into the filling, bringing it to her lips. Her eyes flew open at the flavor. The apple pie was thick, sweet and spicy, like she was used to, but the crunch of the diced pieces of bacon added a savory element that made her mouth water.

  "
That's delicious," she announced. "Bunz the Baking Genius strikes again."

  "Thanks!" she said. "There's also cheddar cheese in the crust."

  "Wow," Drew said, her mouth watering again. "I'll have a dozen."

  "You can have one," Bunz replied with a smile. "You give it to your new boyfriend."

  "What is it with you guys?" Drew demanded. "He's not my boyfriend, already."

  "Yet," Bunz replied, applying the tops of the pie crusts now. "You've already crossed over the 'friend' boundary."

  "That doesn't mean we're 'going out' now," Drew said wryly, referencing a term from her middle school days when she and her peer group wanted to play at adult relationships. "We're just, you know, friends or whatever."

  Bunz smirked. "Sure. Whatever you say, Drusilla."

  Drew growled in annoyance at her friend and shoved away from the counter. "All right. I'm going to remove myself from your abuse now. Hater."