Author: Alexa Land
Category: LGBT
Go to read content：https://onlinereadfreenovel.com/alexa-land/page,6,529414-all_in.html
“I’d like that. Text me with a time and place and I’ll be there. So,” I said, looking around the table, “what can I bring everyone to drink?” At least Tina and Gina would get to boss me around for an hour or so – that ought to be fun for them, I thought as I repressed a sigh.
Callie and her group lingered for a couple hours. Jamie and Dmitri pulled up chairs and joined them at some point, drinks and lunch and more drinks leaving all of them in a jovial mood. Their laughter and loud, happy conversation filled the dining room.
I’d known most of these people for years. Some of them even used to love me, either as a friend, or as much more than that. But now I felt like such an outsider as I waited on them.
Yes, I totally knew it was me that had damaged all these relationships. Me that had royally fucked up. But knowing that didn’t make it hurt any less.
I felt incredibly alone.
It was beginning to seem like this lunch shift was never going to end, that Callie and company were never going to leave, that Jamie and Dmitri were never going to go back to work. But I was granted a brief reprieve when Cole asked me if I wanted to take a break and offered to watch my tables.
I retreated to the most private place I could think of: the storage room. I sat against the wall and hugged my knees to my chest and sort of curled into myself, making myself as small as possible. I only had a few minutes for my break, and I really needed to get myself together, psych myself up, so I’d be able to go back out there and stick a smile on my face and endure waiting on my former friends.
I was in there for probably sixty seconds before the door to the storage room opened and closed, and someone sat down right beside me. I didn’t have to look up to see who it was. I recognized his cologne.
“Really?” I muttered, not raising my head from my knees.
“Why don’t you join us, Charlie?” Dmitri said. “I know you must feel left out. Jamie’s already asked you twice to pull up a chair. Why don’t you take him up on it?”
I sighed and sat up, resting my head against the wall behind me, and took a look at Jamie’s husband. Dmitri was a stunningly beautiful man. He had perfect, luminous skin, and perfect jet black hair, and perfect clothes, and like, two percent body fat. Instead of answering his questions, I said instead, “I want so much to hate you.”
He smiled at that, revealing perfect teeth and a perfect set of perfect dimples. “No doubt,” he said. “So, how’s that going?”
“I’m failing at it. And I don’t really know why. Sheer jealousy alone should have made it incredibly easy to hate you.”
“Yeah, same here. I’m jealous of the history you two share. And I want to hate you for the way you dumped Jamie, for hurting him the way you did. But hey, if you’d never done that, I wouldn’t have met the love of my life. So instead, I find myself kind of grateful to you.”
I grinned a little. “This is the first time you and I have ever had a one-on-one conversation,” I said. “And we’re talking about how much we wish we could hate each other. That’s kind of bizarre, I suppose.”
“Well, hey, at least we’re talking.” Dmitri was studying me closely, tilting his head to the side like a puppy. “Do you not want to join Jamie and Jess and the gang because I’m with them? If you want some time with your friends without me around making you feel uncomfortable, I can go find something to do.”
“They’re not my friends anymore.”
“Really? I guess someone forgot to tell them that,” Dmitri said.
“Tina and Gina want to use me as a human speed bump.”
“Ok, maybe. But everyone else at that table would love it if you joined us.”
“Apart from you.”
“No, including me. I want us to get to know each other, Charlie. Not only because we’re working together, but because you’re always going to be a part of Jamie’s life, so I really want you and me to be ok with one another.”
“I’m not a part of Jamie’s life. As much as I want to be friends with him, I know how badly I fucked up our friendship. I know it’s damaged beyond repair.”
“You’re wrong. He still cares about you. He always will.”
I said, “He feels sorry for me. That’s it. Jamie’s way too nice a guy to let me reach my full potential as a homeless, unemployed loser. And let’s face it, without his intervention, that’s exactly what I’d be right now.”
“No you wouldn’t. You would have landed on your feet.”
“You don’t know me very well. When I fail at things, I fail epically.”
“You know what this conversation needs?” Dmitri said. And then he and I both said in unison, “Alcohol.”
He got up and brushed off the seat of his dark jeans, then perused the shelves for a moment. “I’d suggest vodka, but I don’t like it warm,” he said. He grabbed another bottle off the shelf and held it up for me to see. “Tequila?”
“Why not?”
He popped the top and offered it to me first, and I took a long drink. And then I immediately erupted into a massive coughing fit. I happened to have one of Dante’s monogrammed handkerchiefs in my pocket, and I pulled it out and dabbed my tearing eyes as I handed the bottle to Dmitri.
He sat back down beside me and took the bottle from me as he said, “Oh my God, that’s hilarious.”
“What is?”
“The fact that you and I have so much in common.”
“Meaning you’re also about to embarrass yourself with an alcohol-induced coughing fit?”
“No. Well, probably. But I meant that when I was going out with Dante, I somehow always ended up with a hankie of his in my pocket. I still don’t know how so many of them found their way into my possession. To this day, I still find one occasionally among my things.”
“It’s probably because you never wanted to embarrass yourself by handing them back to him once you’d used them.”
“Probably.” Dmitri tipped back the bottle and took a long drink, and then a moment later had a coughing fit even more embarrassing than mine had been. I grinned and handed him Dante’s handkerchief.
“I’m so glad you just did that,” I told him with a big smile, once he’d stopped coughing and was blotting his eyes with the square of fabric.
He laughed at that. “Thanks.”
“It’s just such a pain in the ass, being around that much perfect,” I grinned, gesturing at Dmitri by drawing a circle in the air around him with both of my hands. “It’s nice to see you’re actually human.”
“Very human. And very far from perfect. Let’s see if I can do better this time,” he said, and took a cautious sip from the bottle. “It’s better if you don’t chug it.”
He held out the tequila, and I took it and tried a couple cautious sips as well. “You’re right. I was trying to look manly in front of you, so that’s why I went for the chug earlier. I should have known better than to try to pull off that kind of bullshit macho posturing.”
Dmitri chuckled and said, “You’re a very candid person, Charlie. I like that about you.”
“Speaking of candid, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Why didn’t it work out between you and Dante?”
He considered the question for a moment, leaning back against the wall behind him and adjusting the rolled back cuff of his dark blue button-down shirt. “I really like Dante, I always have. But mainly, we just didn’t click as lovers.”
“So, you and he…you slept together.” I didn’t know why that bothered me so much.
“Actually no. We fooled around a bit, but we never actually fucked. He only tops, and I wasn’t about to bottom with Dante. I knew better than to give up control with him.” Dmitri grinned at me and said, “That’s probably totally TMI. Sorry if I just over-shared.” He’d already been drinking a lot with lunch, and apparently the tequila was now working its magic on him as well.
“What do you mean about giving up control?”
“Well, you know. I knew it was a mistake, letting
him feel he was in charge. He’s the kind of man that will totally take over your life if you let him. And his control issues were something I wanted to steer clear of.”
“He has control issues?”
“Big time. Haven’t you noticed?”
“I don’t know. Maybe a bit. He definitely, um, takes the lead when we do anything physical. But I actually…I like that,” I admitted embarrassedly. I took another drink of tequila while considering Dmitri’s question, then said, “He did buy me a ton of furniture without asking me first. Is that a control thing?”
Dmitri grinned and said, “Probably.” I handed the bottle back to him and he drank some more before saying, “I hope you can look past the control issues, because I think you two could be really good together. I actually hope you end up with Dante long term. Jamie wholeheartedly disagrees, because he only sees the line of work Dante’s in. He doesn’t see the man behind it.”
“Is it bad? The stuff Dante’s involved in?” I kind of felt like a jerk for asking that, like I was going behind Dante’s back or something. But I really wanted Dmitri’s take on it.
He thought about that for a long moment, turning the tequila bottle around in his hands. And finally he said, “Jamie would say yes unequivocally. But…well, you know I was raised in the Russian mafia. So, my take on Dante’s line of work is going to be much different than the average person’s. I understand the position Dante’s in. He feels a sense of duty to his family. He does what he believes he has to. Yes, what he’s involved in is illegal. And most people think if you’re a criminal, you automatically must be a rotten person. But Dante’s really not. I honestly believe he’s an honorable man.”
“An honorable criminal.”
“Yeah.”
“Ok.” I said. “I can’t quite grasp that. But I already know there’s so much good in Dante. He’s so sweet, and kind, and fun—”
“Fun?”
“Yeah. He’s really fun.”
“Dante Dombruso,” Dmitri said incredulously. “Fun? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I really like Dante. He’s a good friend. But that has got to be the very last word I would ever apply to him.”
I smiled broadly. “You should have seen him last night. I took him along to break into my parents’ house to get some of my stuff out. It was pretty much a total fiasco, and he was so good-humored throughout all of it. He climbed over fences. He teased me about my Hello Kitty lock picking kit. He made comments about my parents’ zombie lap dog. He was fun.”
“Wow, you obviously bring out a side of him I’ve never seen, and I’ve known Dante for years. Wait, did you just say you have a Hello Kitty lock picking kit?” I nodded and he burst out laughing, and then I was laughing, too. A really unflattering snort burst from him, and we laughed even harder.
“Wow, I’m missing one hell of a good party.” We both looked up at Jamie, who was leaning against the doorframe to the store room with a huge smile on his face. “I was wondering what had happened to both of you,” he said. “My money was on fist fighting in the alley. But instead, I find you bonding over tequila. I’m so happy.”
I got up off the floor and held my hand out to Dmitri, and hauled him to his feet. “Hi Jamie. You’ve always had really good taste in men,” I told him with a big grin, which was totally the tequila talking. “You know, I wanted to hate Dmitri, but I just can’t. In fact, I really like him, especially after that totally unflattering snort he just committed. That was hilarious. FYI, I think I’m a little drunk. And Dmitri definitely is. It’s totally his fault, so don’t fire me.”
“Yup. Definitely missed one hell of a good party,” Jamie said with a smile as he followed us out of the store room.
“Do I even want to ask about the zombie lap dog?” Dmitri asked as we headed back to the dining room. He was still chuckling.
“You really don’t,” I told him.
I managed to sober up over the next hour. No more customers came in for lunch, and Cole continued to wait on Callie and company for me, so I didn’t have to keep feeling like a reject. I busied myself with side work in the back, because even after Dmitri’s and my bonding session, I still didn’t feel comfortable joining their group.
As her friends finally headed for the door, Callie came and found me back by the kitchen. “Here, Charlie,” she said, picking up my hand and turning it palm up. “I want to give this back.” She set a little black jeweler’s box in my hand and folded my fingers over it.
“No. No way,” I told her. “We talked about this. The ring is yours, I want you to have it.” I took her hand just like she had mine and put the box in her palm, then sandwiched it gently between both of mine.
“It’s not right for me to keep it, Charlie. You used all your savings on it. You should get your money back.”
I shook my head. “It’s yours. And, ok, I get why you wouldn’t want to wear it. So why don’t you sell it and put the money toward that Mini Cooper you had your eye on? Or, you know, take a vacation or something. Whatever you want.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Sure you can.”
“Just take the ring, Charlie.”
“Not happening.”
I let go of her hands, and she sighed and tapped the box against her palm, regarding me for a long moment. “You’re so stubborn, Charlie Connolly.”
I smiled at her fondly. “No more than you, Callie McLoughlin.”
She grinned and shook her head. “This discussion isn’t over. I’ll see you in a few days when we have lunch. And then I’m getting you to take this ring back.” She dropped the box into her purse.
I smiled and said, “Good luck with that,” and then I impulsively leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you soon, Callie.”
“Bye, Charlie.” She gave me a look that was just the tiniest bit wistful, and then turned and left without looking back.
I sure as hell wasn’t taking that engagement ring back, not now, not ever. That ring meant she’d left the relationship with something at least. I really wanted her to sell it and use the money for something that would bring her happiness. No, that wouldn’t absolve me of my guilt, it wouldn’t in any way, shape or form make what I did to her ok. I just wanted her to be happy. I owed her that.
I sighed and got back to work.
Chapter Five
Dante picked me up for our date at five sharp. He was dressed in a black t-shirt, black cashmere sweater, and dark indigo jeans. It actually seemed odd to see him in something other than a suit, and I pointed this out to him.
He grinned and said, “The suit makes me look older. Which is normally the whole point of wearing it. But around some people, it gives them the impression that I’m practically geriatric, on the verge of breaking a hip at any moment. So I thought it would behoove me to dress down a bit on occasion.”
“If you want to remind some people that you are, in fact, still in your twenties, you might also consider dropping words like behoove from your vocabulary. Just saying,” I teased as I locked up my apartment and he took my hand. Ok, more PDA. But I could handle it. I was slowly adjusting to being out.
We reached his black BMW, which was double-parked in the street, and as he held the door open for me I asked, “Hey, how’s your grandmother?”
“She’s doing a lot better, thank you for asking. I just came from seeing her, actually. The doctors want to keep her in the hospital for another week, just to be on the safe side, which they’ll regret. The entire nursing staff will probably flee the hospital and they’ll face grave staffing shortages. My grandmother is kind of a terror.” He smiled fondly at that.
“So where are we going?” I asked as he slid behind the wheel and put the key in the ignition.
“It’s a surprise.”
As soon as he pulled onto the southbound 101 freeway, I exclaimed, “We’re going to Candlestick Park!”
“Now how the hell did you guess that so quickly?”
“There’s no other reason to go this direction.”
“There are a million other reasons to go this direction!”
“Not if you’re me.” I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thank you so much, Dante!”
He smiled happily. “You’re welcome, angel.”
“Wait, how did you know I love football?”
“I asked Dmitri about you the day I met you. He mentioned you used to play the sport, so I figured you might like to watch a game.”
“Oh man, this is going to be so great! The Niners are playing Seattle tonight.” I actually bounced up and down in my seat a little. I knew I was acting like a three year old, but I couldn’t help myself.
“Yes. The Seattle Seahawks.”
I turned to look at his profile as he wove through traffic, and grinned. “Did you have to Google that?”
He grinned too and admitted, “Maybe.”
We had the best seats in the house. Literally. Dante had gotten us a private skybox, something I’d only ever dreamt of. “I’ve died and gone to heaven,” I murmured as I sunk into the plush seat and looked out over the field with a huge smile. “I feel like the king of football in here.”
Dante also had a big smile on his face. “I’ve never seen anyone so happy about anything.”
“This is just the absolute best,” I gushed. “You’re the absolute best.” I took his face between my hands and kissed him, then leapt up and explored the skybox. In addition to the comfy seating, there was a private bathroom and a stocked bar and a full buffet. “There’s no reason to ever leave,” I said happily as I picked up a little cube of cheese and popped it in my mouth.
“I agree,” Dante said, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist.
I leaned back against him and put a cheese cube in his mouth, and said, “Thank you so much for doing this for me. We didn’t have to be this fancy, though. I would have been perfectly delighted even with nosebleed seats.”
“This is far more private though,” he said as he slipped his hand up under my polo shirt and caressed my belly.
“That’s a good point.” I pivoted around in his arms and kissed him passionately.