by Té Russ
Then she brushed past him, slamming the door open, spitting out angry words in Spanish as she stormed out of the classroom.
––––––––––––––––
"What do you think of these plates?"
"What?"
Dylan looked up at his sister who was glaring at him with her hand on her hip.
Somehow, she'd talked him into going with her to set up her registry for her wedding. They'd already been in the store for over an hour.
"Great," he mumbled and took the handheld scanner and absently waved it over the barcode.
"Dylan!" Diana huffed. "You didn't even look at the damn thing."
"Di," he groaned. "We've been here almost two hours. Why isn't your husband-to-be here doing this with you?"
"Because he said I could get whatever I wanted on the registry," Diana said with a huge grin on her face. "He said he trusts my judgement."
"Then why am I here?"
"Because I trust your judgement," she said.
When he looked at her with a raised eyebrow, she lifted her hands in defense. "And you live in walking distance of The Village. Who can beat that?"
The Village at Merrick Park was an upscale outdoor shopping mall in Coral Gables.
Diana hooked her arm through his. "Besides, this is the first time, besides a dinner here and there, that we've been able to spend together since you moved back."
"And you want to spend that time torturing me?"
"It hasn't been that bad," Diana insisted.
Dylan barked out a laugh, which caused Diana to elbow him in his side.
"Okay, would it please you if we took a break for lunch?"
"Immensely."
Soon they were sitting down at an outdoor table with huge slices of pizza and soda in front of them.
"So, what's had you distracted this whole time?" Diana asked before she took a bite of her pizza.
"What makes you think I've been distracted?"
Diana rolled her eyes. "Umm, because I know you better than anyone. I am your older sister."
"By twelve minutes."
"Still means I'm older," she argued. "Anyway, you're a million miles away. And I know it's not because you don't want to be here spending time with your amazing twin sister. Something is on your mind."
He sat there quiet for several moments before Diana added, "Or someone."
His reaction was so minimal that any other person wouldn't have caught it, but Diana did.
"Ah ha! Who is she?" his sister demanded.
Dylan sighed and took a sip of his soda before he answered. "I finally met Brent's sister."
"The one who used to live in Georgia when we were growing up?"
"Yep..." he said, before taking a bite of his pizza.
"She must be something else to have you all twisted up."
Dylan looked up at Diana. "What the hell are you talking about? I'm not all twisted up."
"Yeah...keep telling yourself that little brother."
Before he could deny her accusations again, Diana said, "So tell me about her."
Dylan began his story of how he first met her, unaware of who she was until he saw her again at Brent's club. He finished off with how he'd showed up at Dottie's studio.
"It wasn't exactly how imagined things would be when we saw each other again."
"You caught her off guard," Diana said matter-of-factly. "Quite frankly, she probably never expected to see you again. And then you show up on her turf and her people know you. It was probably just a lot for her to take in."
He did see Diana's point. He'd been watching her dance and she more than likely had no intentions of sharing that particular performance with anyone. She may have felt like he violated her privacy.
"I'm sure you'll see plenty of her with you helping Miss Dottie out. She'll warm up to you."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because you're an amazing guy."
"You are slightly biased, seeing that we shared the same womb for nine months."
"No..." Diana said with a smile. "That just makes me an expert on you."
They sat in silence for awhile, before Diana asked, "So how is Miss Dottie?"
"As feisty and bossy as ever," Dylan said with a chuckle.
"Ever since you told me you ran into Brent I've been thinking..."
"About?"
"Stopping by there and looking into taking some dance lessons for the wedding."
"You should definitely do that," Dylan encouraged. "Miss Dottie would be ecstatic."
"All right," Diana said growing excited. "I'll talk to James about it this weekend."
After they finished eating, they headed back to the department store to finish up the registry. By the time they were done, Dylan still had thoughts of Julie dancing around in his head. He hoped the next time they met, things wouldn't be so tense. Perhaps he could move things in a better direction by offering an apology.
Chapter 5
"Come on."
Julie turned the key in her ignition for the third time with no luck. Finally accepting the fact that her car had, once again, died on her, she fell forward and placed her head on the steering wheel. After wallowing for a few minutes, she grabbed her bag from out of the passenger seat, got out of the car and headed for the bus stop. The classes were over for the day and her grandmother had left. Dottie was on her way to teach a dance class at one of the senior living developments and Julie didn't want to be a bother.
After she took a seat on the bench, she wiped the sweat from her brow. Even though the sun was setting for the day, the heat was still quite stifling. She stuffed her earbuds into her ears, turned on her music, closed her eyes and tilted her head back, hoping the next bus would arrive sooner rather than later.
She'd barely finished listening to a full song, before a tall shadow blocked the sun out of her face and a sense of awareness pricked her body. She slowly raised her head and opened her eyes to find Dylan standing over her.
"Hello again."
She couldn't seem to get over how smooth his voice was and the things the sound of it did to her. She suddenly felt extremely self-conscious of the way she must look at the moment, sitting at the bus stop a hot sweaty mess from dancing for hours then sitting out in the heat.
Speaking of hot and sweaty...
Julie took in Dylan's appearance and realized he was in jogging shorts and he was covered in sweat as well as breathing heavily.
"Hi," she said quietly.
"Doing better today?"
She sighed and looked in the direction of her car. "I was."
He followed her line of vision then looked back at her. "Car trouble?"
She nodded then looked past him when she saw the bus was coming.
"I don't mean to rush off, but I've got to catch this," she said standing.
"I could take a look at your car if you'd like, maybe even give you a boost if you need one."
"Really? You would do that?"
"Of course, I would just have to run back to my place and pick up my car."
"On or off?"
They both turned and looked at the impatient bus driver, then Dylan turned back to Julie.
"Off," Julie heard herself say, before the bus driver closed the doors and drove away.
Dylan hooked his thumb over his shoulder. "I'll run and grab my car and meet you at yours?"
"Okay," she said, nodding. She watched as he turned and began to jog off. Julie stood there in the middle of the side walk that was becoming busy with people coming out for the evening in a trance as his muscles expanded and contracted. His shirt and shorts clung to his body and she found herself becoming envious of the fabric.
When he was no longer in sight, she turned and made her way back to her car in front of the studio. She got in and popped the hood.
Just as he promised, Dylan returned a few minutes later and they were lucky enough that a parking spot was open next to her own car. He pulled in, and popped both the hood and trunk of his
car. He grabbed the jumper cables out of his trunk and then hooked everything up. After starting his car, he shouted for her to start hers. Julie turned her key and sighed with relief when it started.
She got out of the car as Dylan was placing the jumper cables back in his trunk.
"Thank you so much for helping me out," she said.
"It was no trouble at all," he said, slamming the trunk.
They stood there staring at each other, in the same heated silence that always seemed to surround them.
"It seems like after the afternoon you've had, you could use a drink. I was going to find food at The Village after my run. Would you like to join me?"
Julie took a step back.
"I know you helped me with my car and everything, which I do appreciate. But I don't know if that's a good idea."
"It's just a meal Jules, not a marriage proposal," Dylan said with a smile.
There he went, calling her 'Jules', as if he'd known her forever.
"Besides it would be my way of apologizing to you," he added.
"Apologizing? For what?"
"For intruding on you the other night while you were dancing. That was obviously a very personal time for you. I didn't mean to ruin it."
She stood there contemplating his offer and his smile grew wider as he said, "I won't bite."
Julie had a sneaking suspicion that this man did, in fact, bite. And she had a feeling that she would love each and every sensation that his teeth across her skin would garner.
That thought alone should have had her running in the opposite direction of anywhere he was going. The last thing she wanted right now was any interaction with a man of any kind. She was still raw from the break up of her long term relationship. They'd been together for so long, that it only felt natural that marriage was going to be the next step for them; the natural progression. But when he'd ended things, she felt like her world had shattered. She didn't want to go through that again.
However, she couldn't deny the attraction between them. It had been there since the moment they first locked eyes in that dance club, and it hadn't left. That should have been another warning for her to turn down his offer, yet she couldn't seem to form the words to decline.
But Julie also thought that maybe she was putting too much thought into all of this. Even he'd said it was just a meal, an apology of sorts. She thought about the other night when she caught him watching her dance. She had been rude to him. And despite that fact, he'd still been kind enough to help her today when she'd ended up in a bind.
The least she could do was accept the olive branch he was extending, as well as offer an apology of her own for her behavior.
"Sure," she finally said, done warring with herself. "I could definitely eat something."
"Will it be a problem if we run by my place first? I'd like to freshen up."
"Why would that be a problem?"
"I'm sure you've figured out by now that I was out for a jog, when I came across you and your dilemma. I would have gotten cleaned up when I went to get my car earlier, but I didn't want you to think I left you stranded or something."
When she didn't immediately respond, Dylan added, "I don't want you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable so–"
"It's fine," she finally said. Then she grinned at him and said, "You don't have to be such a Boy Scout all of the time. I'm no prude."
As she walked past him, she heard him mumble under his breath, "That's for sure."
She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt his hand wrap around her arm. His touch sent frissons of heat spreading through her. She looked up into his face as he said, "I'd like to drive back to my place, so I can park my car. We can walk to a restaurant from there."
"Oh, okay. That's fine."
He led her over to his car, and opened the door for her. After she slid into the luxury vehicle, he went around to the driver's side and got in.
"Nice car," Julie commented, as they made the very short trip to Dylan's apartment. "Although I wouldn't expect anything less considering where you live."
"You think it's too pretentious?" Dylan asked, glancing over at her.
"For anyone else, maybe. But not so much with you for some reason."
He seemed to like her response, judging by the way his lip tilted up in an appreciative smile. After he pulled into his assigned parking space, he got out and quickly came back around to open the door for her.
Julie stayed close as she followed him into the lobby of the apartments then toward the elevators. She attempted to put some distance between them in the confined space. Being too close to him seemed to scramble her brain. When the bell chimed, and the doors slid open, Dylan gently placed his hand on the small of Julie's back to guide her out and in the direction of his apartment.
He pulled his key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. He stepped aside, allowing her to enter first. Just as she'd predicted, his place was very nice.
"I won't be long," Dylan said, closing the door.
"No rush," Julie murmured.
"Can I get you anything to drink?" he asked.
Always the gentleman, Julie thought to herself with a smirk. "Water, please. It was so hot out there."
"Yes," he said, making his way toward the kitchen, "it was."
"Perfect weather to go for a dip in a pool, if I were so lucky to have one."
Dylan returned to the living room, with a bottle of water in his hand.
"There's a rooftop pool here," Dylan mentioned. "Anytime you leave the studio and feel like going for a swim, just let me know."
He handed the bottle of water to her and Julie tried not to tremble when his fingers brushed against hers. When she looked up, she noticed his demeanor seemed to have shifted and she wondered if he was feeling whatever she felt too.
"That's awfully nice of you to offer to me, considering we just met. But I guess since you and Brent were like brothers growing up and Gram has obviously made you one of her honorary grandchildren, that means we're like family or something."
She was surprised when he let out a sensuous chuckle and said, "Not even close."
"What does that mean?" she asked, in a breathy tone.
"You want the truth?" he asked, moving dangerously close to her.
She nodded and watched as his gaze dropped down to her breast, which were moving in time with her now rapid breathing.
"Family members don't dance the way we danced together the night we met," he pointed out, as he lightly ran a finger down her bare arm.
She certainly couldn't argue with that statement.
"And the thoughts I have about you," he continued, "they aren't thoughts family members have about one another."
Against Julie's better judgement, she asked, "What kind of thoughts do you have?"
His lip tilted up slightly in a devilish grin as he said, "Let's just say, my thoughts involve us dancing...in much more interesting positions..."
He backed away and said, "I'm gonna go ahead and get cleaned up. I won't be long."
"Do you have a spare bathroom? I'd like to freshen up too."
He pointed behind her. "First door on your left."
She watched as he made his way to his bedroom and she got the sudden urge to know what it looked like in there.
"Por lo que no eres un Boy Scout," she whispered under her breath.
Dylan stopped, turned and gave her another heart stopping smile as he responded in very clear Spanish, "No, sweetheart, I'm definitely no Boy Scout."
At the shocked look on Julie's face when she realized he not only understood her, but also spoke it fluently Dylan informed her, "Your abuelita is a great teacher."
Once he walked into his room and shut the door, she twisted the cap off of the water and inhaled it in several gulps. She needed something to cool off after what he'd just told her about the thoughts he'd been having about her.
She took one last look at his bedroom door before she went to throw away her bottle.
Then she g
rabbed her bag and headed for the other bathroom.
Chapter 6
A little over half an hour later, Julie was entering a cantina restaurant with Dylan.
"You look very nice, Jules," Dylan said, once they were seated.
Julie had taken the time to freshen up, as well as change out of her sweaty clothes. She always kept an extra outfit with her in her bag. While she was in the bathroom looking in the mirror and fixing her hair one last time, she tried to convince herself that her change of clothes and light application of makeup, wasn't to impress Dylan, she was just making sure she looked presentable since they were going out for a meal.
"Thank you," she said to his compliment.
"How about that drink?" he suggested.
"Definitely," Julie agreed.
They both ordered a margarita and appetizers and Julie began to loosen up after a few long sips of her drink.
"This is a nice place," she said, looking around.
"Yeah, I've been here a few times since I've been back in town. The food is good."
The waitress came and took their orders and after they were alone again, Dylan spoke up. "So, will you accept my apology from earlier?"
Julie looked down and said, "Only if you accept mine as well."
"For what?" Dylan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I was rude to you that night–"
Dylan raised a hand. "You had every right to be, like I said, I shouldn't have intruded on your private time."
"Still..." Julie said. "You were right, I was upset that night, and it had nothing to do with you being there. I thought I'd danced away all of my frustrations, but I didn't and I took them out on you. For that I'm sorry. I said some really mean things as I was walking away."
"I heard."
"Oh! You understood everything I said didn't you?”Julie asked, burying her face in her hands, now mortified.
"Julie, it's fine." He reached across the table and pulled her hands away from her face, then pulled them to his lips. "How about we just call a truce?" he asked, kissing the backs of her hands.
"I...I think I can deal with that," she stammered, as heat began to spiral down her arms.
Soon their food came out, which was delicious, just as Dylan had promised. By the time they finished eating, Julie was on her third margarita and feeling very good.
