Dante’s truth

The sound of the buzzer echoed throughout my tiny apartment. My heels clicked loudly as I scurried across the terrazzo floor toward the intercom. “Hello?” I said into the intercom, knowing darn well who was on the other end. “It’s Dante” he said in his velvety smooth voice. I buzzed him in and took a big gulp from my glass of Merlot. I had poured myself a glass earlier to help calm my nerves as I got ready for my first date with Dante. His arrival, his voice over the intercom frazzled my nerves all over again. I could believe I agreed to dinner with such a vial man. Smooth and devastatingly handsome sure but looks can be deceiving. Dante was the most self serving, conceited and deceitful man I had ever know. So why was a I nervous? Because rather than make my skin crawl the way the thought of him should he caused my skin to tingle. There were flutters in my stomach and a quickness in my heart whenever he was near. My body betrayed me! My mind knew to despise him somehow the rest of me didn’t agree. I heard a light tapping on the door. I opened it to find Dante on the other side. He was wearing a navy blue pinstripe suite. The color brought out his steel blue eyes and looked amazing against his mocha colored skin. Those eyes took me in slowly from head to toe. He made no attempt to hide his gaze. It was brazen. I rolled my eyes at him, annoyed to be looked at like a menu. He laughed and gently took my chin in tilted my face to meet his steely eyes. “You ready for me?” he asked with a smirk. I shook his hand off and backed away. The butterflies in my stomach having some sort of fit. “I’m ready for dinner if that’s what you mean” I snapped. He chuckled and picked up my purse with his index finger and gestured it towards me. I snatched it away and put it on my arm. He offered me his arm and I linked my free arm with his. A shiver ran though me as his arm grazed my hip. Whether my reaction was repulsion or lust I wasn’t sure. We left my modest little Mediterranean apartment and walked out to his Porsche. Moments later we were cruising through the Hollywood hills on our way to dinner. The sun was setting in the distance and the air was warm. If I didn’t despise Dante so much I would have been enjoying the moment.

When he didn’t stop in Beverly Hills but continued to Hollywood I was surprised. Beverly Hills was more more Dante’s type. He was vile but covertly. Hollywood was overtly seedy especially at night. When he pulled into Griffith Park observatory I was even more surprised. He looked over at me. “You up for a picnic?” He asked with a smirk. He knew I was taken aback but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of acting surprised. “Yeah, whatever,” I replied with an exaggerated roll of my eyes. In his defense he looked honestly crestfallen. “Good,” I thought. He pulled a picnic basket out of the trunk and tossed a blanket over his arm. “There’s a bit of a hike up ahead,” he said giving me the once over again. “No problem,” I replied and took off my shoes. I carried them in my hand and strode into the grass. We walked side by side in silence. I stole a glance and saw his face was set, nostrils flared. I wondered what he was thinking. I wasn’t going to ask but I wondered. Dante stopped as we created the hill. The view was stunning. City lights, Hollywood sign, hills and just a hint of orange as the sun settled behind the farthest hills. I looked over at Dante again. He was looking at me. Quickly I averted my eyes. He did not. “Why do you hate me?” He asked. “Asks the man who blackmailed me into a date?” I replied snarkily. “I didn’t know how else to get you to come,” he said softly. “And you always get what you want,” I spat. “No, no I don’t,” he sounded offended even defensive. “I admire you Nicole. I always have. You are stunning beautiful and such a free spirit. You are never impressed with any of the prentious blowhards like me. I’ve tried so hard to catch you eye that I’ve behaved badly. You fascinate me and I lose myself. I’m sorry for how I got you here but I’m not sorry you are here. Just give me a chance to show you me. “Well, I don’t have anything better to do tonight,” I said jokingly. I stole a glance and he looked hurt. I giggled and touched his arm. Then I spoke sincerely, “Let’s start fresh.” He took my hand in his and kissed in gently. “Hi, I’m Dante. My skin tingled where he touched me. Trembling slightly I laced my fingers with his and snuggled a little closer “I’m Nicole.”