Dante

by KJ Dahlen

  Wes came from the back and settled in to work on one of the hot rods. “I’ve noticed Brady Paulson’s been hanging around in the late afternoon. He doesn’t come near the shop but he’s outside just watching us.”

  Mountain turned to look at the older man. He’d been working for them for a while now and he knew more about hot rods then they would ever learn in a full lifetime. “How long has he been hanging round?”

  “Been coming round since Dante broke up with that whore Abby.” Wes shook his head. “Never thought much of that girl. Old Liam spoiled her rotten and I do mean rotten. He’d have been better off taking her out to the woodshed a few times. Hell, both his kids needed to go out there.” Shaking his head again he added, “He was so busy racing, he missed out on making sure his kids were good people. His Ellen would have been so disappointed in him and them.”

  Chance leaned back against the car Wes was working on and crossed his arms over his chest. “You seemed to know him so well. What did you think when you heard the news he died in that crash?”

  Wes stopped what he was doing and straightened his back. He looked at each and every one of the men standing there. He looked to Mountain last. “My first thought was that little bastard Jed really did it. He killed his own dad to take his number one spot on the circuit.” Wes shrugged his shoulders. “It was really a shame that kind of crash destroys the evidence the officials needed to determine what really happened.”

  Then men all shook their heads, as none of them wanted to believe any man would kill his own father, so he could take his place. It was just pure evil to think a man would do such a thing.

  After a moment of complete silence, Mountain asked, “Do you really believe that old man?”

  Wes nodded slowly. “I do, you see I wasn’t watching the crash that day, I was watching Jed. Working the pits like I do, I hear a lot of rumors and other crews talk about their drivers. More than one person was speculating about the crash that day. I looked into Jed’s eyes after he came in. I didn’t see shock or horror but I did see jubilation at his win. That never faded even after he found out about the crash. Not even when the medical examiner hauled his dad’s body off the field.”

  “And did you see Abby that day?” Dante asked.

  Wes nodded. “Yeah, she was right there beside her brother in the winner’s circle, the whole fucking time.”

  Dante looked at his brothers and shook his head. He had seriously dodged a bullet when he broke things off with her.

  It’s your playboy, don’t give a damn nature that led you to go out with that Abby in the first damn place,” Chance stared at Dante.

  “Hell, I agree boys.” Mountain nodded. “But we can’t keep telling him and expect him to just turn a new leaf. He has to do it himself.”

  “Well, what do you suggest I do?” Dante raised his arms up.

  “Maybe find yourself a decent woman and start slowing down,” Mountain told him. “All the drinking and the partying is starting to age you son, hell you look older than I am.”

  “Any suggestions as to who this wholesome creature might be?” Dante grumbled.

  “Well now, that you mention it, I know of one girl you might find interesting,” Chance said with a wicked smile.

  Dante swung his head around to glare at his younger brother. “And just who are you suggesting?”

  “Her name is Andi Reed. She has her own little candy shop over on Bassell street called Chocolate Mints To Go.”

  “Oh, I know her, she does the chocolate cart around town too, doesn’t she?” Byron grinned. “She’s out on the streets two days a week.”

  Dante sighed hard. It was aggravating that his brothers thought he needed a woman, a good woman in his life. They all had theirs, but he doubted this girl would just be all that. But okay, he would ask this woman, Andi out and then he would go back to his other women. He didn’t believe that he would just suddenly fall for a woman and then have this happily ever after his brothers all believed in. “Damn, don’t any of you know the world isn’t really like that?” he asked no one and everyone in particular. You’d think they were a bunch of women the way they were pushing this shit.

  “Like what?” Chance asked.

  “Like a white picket fence, 2 kids and a flower garden shit.” Dante shook his head. “All this happily ever after crap that only exists in movies and books.”

  “Hey, speak for your damn self,” Byron piped up. “I felt the same way, but if you find it? It is pure gold. No feeling like it in the world.”

  His brothers all mumbled their agreement as they nodded their heads.

  “Well, damn. I think all of you are brainwashed pussies or something,” Dante quipped.

  The Morgan men all stared at him.

  The garage went utterly silent.

  Oh shit, he’d gone and done it. Dante took a step back.

  “Chance, Byron,” Mountain said. “You get left.

  Dante’s eyes rounded. “No man. Hey! I didn’t mean it!”

  Mountain raised a brow at him as he continued, “Bowie, you and I get right.”

  “Oh, shit...” Wes muttered as he stepped all the way to the back.

  Dante raised his hands up. “Nah, man! Wait just a minute here.” He was a big man himself but so were all his brothers and Mountain topped them all.

  The four very large... very determined brothers rushed him.

  He knew better than to run, that just made you look like a pussy. So he didn’t. It would’ve just been more embarrassing than what they all planned to do anyways.

  They all grabbed him and hefted him upside down.

  He was staring at the concrete as all his change, keys and cell phone hit the pavement. “Oh damn, you’re gonna break my phone!”

  The men all snickered and turned him toward the barrel.

  “Aww hey!” he shouted. “No! I—”

  Dunking him head first into the water barrel, he spluttered as they raised him up.

  Mountain was laughing. “Hey little bro, you are all wet. You frickin’ pussy!”

  The rest of his brothers chuckled.

  “You fuckers!” Dante shouted. “Put me down!”

  They all laughed and dunked him again.

  Dammit, he shoulda kept his mouth shut. It done wrote a check that got his ass wet this time.

  The men all finally thought he had enough as they set him down, soaking wet.

  His long ass hair was stringy wet in his face and he could barely see them. But he didn’t have to as they were all laughing so hard they were howling.

  “Fuckers,” he muttered under his breath.

  “What was that little Dante?” Mountain asked through his chuckling.

  Bowie must have felt a little remorse as he tossed him a towel.

  Dante grabbed it and tried to dry his long hair. “If I do this, will you guys get off my back?” he asked in aggravation.

  “We aren’t really on your back.” Mountain pointed out as he grinned at him. “But we will be, unless you start getting your act together. You’ve come close to crashing out there and we don’t want to see that happen, because you’re hung over from partying. You need to pay more attention to your own safety and to the safety of those around you.”

  Dante glared at his older brother and spit out some more water. “Yes, daddy.”

  Mountain glared right back at him. “Dad would have rapped you upside your stupid head and straightened your dumb ass out, and you know it.”

  The thing was Dante did know it and that’s what made him do what he did next. He went back up to get dried and dressed then he intended to go and find this Andi Reed to ask her out for a dammed date.

  Chapter Two

  When they broke for lunch, Dante got on his bike and drove off to find Bassell Street. As he drove down the street he saw all the little shops and was almost surprised there were so many, hidden away here. He liked the racier side of town, so he rarely got down this way.

  The neighborhood was quiet and a little run down, bu
t clean. The buildings had faded paint but the streets were clean and there was no garbage anywhere. The shop windows were shiny and the sidewalks in front were swept and tidy.

  Dante was impressed. He never knew this area existed before today. He liked the clubs and the bars along the strip, not this little downtown type of community, so no wonder he’d never really seen all this. He rode his cycle slowly down the street and when he found the chocolate shop, he pulled over and stared at it for a moment. It was a small shop but she had done her best to update the older building. The windows in front were clean and the sign over the front door was a nice contrasting color and stood out as if to draw people to her shop. She had even had the doorframe painted with little chocolate candy like you get in the boxes with the little wrappers.

  Then Dante drew in a deep breath. He knew what would draw in her customers though... the heavenly scent of her product. The sheer smell of decadent chocolate. Getting off his bike the aroma of delicious sin drew him closer to the shop.

  He stood outside for a moment and looked in through her windows. He found himself looking at a chocolate smorgasbord presented in a showcase most people only dream about. Dante began to drool a bit as his gaze went from one tasty morsel to the next.

  He went over to the door and pushed it open. His first hint of the goodness inside the shop was enticing rather than overwhelming. The chocolate was mixed with assorted other scents that mixed together and invited you inside. Vanilla, strawberry, cherry and other delectable aromas hit you upside your craving factor as soon as you stepped inside.

  The bell above the door jungled and announced your arrival as Dante walked over to the first showcase and just stared at all the chocolates.

  A woman came out of the back tying an apron around her middle.

  She wasn’t a tall woman by any means but then most women were shorter than Dante. But what caught his breath was the long rope of red hair she had. The strands were caught in an elaborate braid at the back of her head but the braid hung all the way down her back to the base of her round bottom. And it was a very nice round bottom, Dante thought as he stared at it for a moment.

  The woman cleared her throat.

  Dante brought his eyes back to her face. Her skin looked smooth and creamy while her grey eyes were stormy at the moment. When he took in the rest of her body, he was shocked almost. She wasn’t the typical slender woman you see everywhere, no this girl had some meat on her bones and Dante found her as delicious as the chocolate she was selling.

  Her breasts were huge behind her white cotton top. A cotton top that was stretched tight to hold her goodies inside. He could see the flare of her hips and while her belly might not have been flat, it wasn’t that big. He bet it would be soft and enticing just like the rest of her.

  He looked to her left shoulder and saw her name stitched in red. So this beautiful woman was Andi Reed? He smiled and couldn’t believe his luck. Maybe his brothers were onto something here.

  “Can I help you?” she asked.

  Okay, Dante was in love. Her voice was little more than a husky whisper and he could only imagine what it would sound like when he was balls deep inside her. He couldn’t wait for this to happen. He had never felt such an instant attraction. Maybe it was all the dammed candy infiltrating his brain or something, but yet it was there. Nothing fake on this girl, she was all woman and all real. Damn.

  Shaking his very lurid thoughts away from his mind, he looked around. “Everything in here looks so good and smells even better,” he murmured. He kept sneaking greedy looks at her while pretending to look over the chocolates on display.

  She smiled. “Is this your first time to my shop?”

  He paused as he caught this smile. Well fuck... when had he gotten hard when a woman simply smiled? He was at a loss here really. He hadn’t even expected to find this woman. Decent and good like his brothers suggested? It couldn’t be true. But now he just stared at her in almost disbelief. If it were true, he might be in more trouble than before. All he could do was nod to whatever it was she just said. He didn’t really hear her words, he only heard her voice, and it may have cast some kind of spell on him. Again, it had to be the chocolate...he reminded himself.

  When Dante nodded, she moved over to one of the displays and took the small tongs to grab a small sample. Holding it out to him, she offered a small bit of information with the piece, “This is my signature chocolate. I love a smooth creamy milk chocolate with just a hint of mint flavor. The chocolate is the first thing you taste but after a moment you taste the mint, its not too overwhelming but seems to blend in with the chocolate to give you just the right balance.”

  Dante took the chocolate and when he put it in his mouth, he moaned at the flavor and the burst of pure heaven he was tasting. The piece literally melted in his mouth leaving nothing but pleasure behind in its wake. “Oh my god, that’s heavenly,” he murmured.

  Andi blushed. “Thank you,” then she reached for a new piece and held it out to him.

  Dante took it and when he put it in his mouth, he closed his eyes and groaned. “Damn girl, that’s good.” Twenty minutes later Dante was in a chocolate coma. He’d tasted many small samples but the endorphins in his brain could barely keep up with the litany of flavors. He felt almost de rink and high just off of damn chocolate!

  Everything she offered him was pure pleasure to his palette.

  “So,” he spoke then had to try again after he cleared all the sugar heaven from his throat. “Are you free for...” he was going to say more sampling, but he knew if he came on too strong and overused his Morgan charm, he might tank with this girl. “I’m Dante Morgan,” he introduced himself and stretched out his hand while wearing the best smile he could produce.

  She blinked at him, “ Andi Reed. Do I know you?”

  He shrugged. He would bet this woman had never set her beautiful foot into any of the dives he freqi uented.” No, but you may know some of my brothers.”

  She titled her head at him with a contemplative look.

  Damn, this girl was cute in so many ways.

  “Morgan...Oh! yes, I know Chance. Gosh, what a sweet guy. He comes in and buys candy for his lady love as he calls her.”

  Dante nodded. “Well, he never said that. He just said...” His voice faded away. NO, I can’t tell her he dared me into coming here to get a dammed date. “He just said how great the candy was.”

  When he left the shop, he was over two hundred dollars poorer, but he got what he set out to do, they had a date for the next night.

  He stored his candy in his saddlebags and smiled when he looked back at her through the shop windows.

  Swinging his leg over his bike, he flipped the ignition and drove back to the garage.

  When he got back, he unloaded his booty and his brothers all watched as he carried in the garage.

  Mountain growled, “You’re late again.”

  Dante smiled as he laid the candy on the table. “I may be late but wait until you taste this. Your taste buds are gonna thank me for it.” He opened the boxes up and offered the candy to his unsuspecting brothers.

  They all paused, as they were suspicious since the last time they saw him he was entirely pissed at them. He might pull something in revenge.

  Mountain peered at him. “This best be true candy Dante. Cuz if I get the runs...You are a dead man.”

  Dante blinked at him. “What? You think I’m fucking stupid? Feed all of you laxative candy? I would have to hide out for the rest of the damn year!”

  They all gave him one more hard look. Then they all took a small piece and put it in their mouths.

  “Holy shit.” Mountain groaned as he greedily took another piece.

  “Where did you find this?” Bowie wanted to know.

  Chance laughed as he grabbed his. “Sweetest damn chocolate on the face of the earth. Quinn is addicted.”

  “Oh, your Lady Love, correct?” Dante teased.

  Chance glared at him. “Careful brother, the barrel has b
een refilled.”

  Dante put up his hands in defense.

  Byron didn’t say anything at all, as he grabbed two more pieces. He had the best life going for himself and he didn’t care about lecturing his brother.

  Wes reached over and took a piece. As he savored the flavor, he smiled. “That girl can make some mighty fine chocolate that’s for sure.”

  Mountain snapped his head around to stare at the old man. “What girl?”

  Wes smiled. “Boys, that’s Andi Reed’s chocolates. Once you taste that, you never forget it. That’s the stuff dreams are made of.”

  Everyone turned to stare at Dante.

  Except Chance, he wasn’t surprised at all, as he chewed. “Mmm-hmm. No doubt about that, Wes.”

  Dante shrugged and said, “Well, you told me to meet a decent girl, so I checked her out. We have a date tomorrow night.”

  Mountain stood tall and stiff as he glared at his younger brother. “You better not pull anything on this girl. You hurt her and I’ll pound the piss out of you.”

  “I’ll help him.” Chance nodded. “I know her. She is a great girl. You aren’t going to treat her like trash. You will live to regret that, Dante.”

  “Damn right,” Bowie seconded his promise.

  Dante was shocked at their statements. “What the fuck?” he growled. “I ain’t gonna hurt her. I don’t even know her yet.”

  “Yeah well, you do go through a lot of women and once you’ve had them, you drop them plenty fast,” Chance pointed out.

  “Plus, she’s not your typical kind of woman either,” Bowie remarked. “She’s not exactly a fluffed up, plastic tipped, painted up hussy.”

  Dante stood there in shock. They really thought lowly of him. He never realized this. Well, he hadn’t cared really, as he’d been having too good a time for the last several years to give a shit. Now, it stung a little though.

  “Word of warning boy,” Wes interjected. “Her grandpa is Bass Reed and he won’t take kindly to anyone messing around with his granddaughter for their own fun. So if you’re just playing, you might want to think twice about this date. He may be older but he knows how to put a hurtin’ on a man.”