Chapter 12
Dante sat next to Madison on the couch. They touched from hip to thigh. It was like as if neither wanted to be far apart from the other. He held her hand in his lap and rested it on his thigh. He didn’t want her to feel how hard he was, although he guessed she could tell.
She kept side eyeing him. If he didn’t know better he would think she wanted to fool around instead of watch the game. But he knew she wasn’t looking to have penetrative sex while she was on her period, which was fine by him. He never wanted to do anything to make her uncomfortable.
He wasn’t watching the game, but instead processing what had happened over breakfast. He had opened up to her, and he had been comfortable talking to her, and he knew deep in his heart that she would never reveal what he said or throw it back in his face like Monica did when he told her he wanted to do something different.
But he also couldn’t believe that Madison didn’t believe in soulmates and didn’t want to get married. It wasn’t something he had expected at all. He didn’t know where that left them.
“Aw, come on. That was a bad call,” Madison said to the television screen.
Her voice brought him back, and he focused his eyes to catch the instant replay. She had been right. She knew her stuff when it came to basketball, and they spent the rest of the day enjoying the game.
They were quick to prepare an easy and light dinner for themselves, and Madison went to the bedroom to change and get her dance bag that he had set down inside of his bedroom.
She came out in her standard club uniform and looked at him, then down at the floor.
“What’s up?”
“What are we going to do about my arrival? I don’t feel comfortable with people knowing we’re together.”
That hit Dante like a punch in the gut. Was she ashamed of him? So much so that she didn’t want people she knew to know. He knew she didn’t have a problem going out with him in public where there was no one that they knew.
But if there was a high probability of a friend or co-worker seeing them, she didn’t want to chance it.
“I don’t want any more rumors to start at the club or for people to think this is proof I slept with you and am sleeping with you to get the headliner position.”
Dante relaxed. It was more her reputation but still again, did that mean she assumed he would ruin her reputation?
He got not wanting rumors. Because some people would take it to mean that she could be bought with money.
Which he wasn’t sure if she could. There was the fact that she had slept with him after learning he was the owner of il Signore.
And she had mentioned money and how expensive things were.
Madison was strong willed and loyal to a fault. He couldn’t believe she was still thinking of giving her brother a kidney when she was still in the running for the fashion competition and he knew she needed to spend all of her time there and not at his place with him.
She had still brought some sketch pads and pencils to work on at his place. He had gotten her a sewing machine so that they could spend more time together, but he had decided against giving it to her and had left it in the closet.
He didn’t want her to feel like he was trying to make her stay at his place when that wasn’t his intention. He wanted her to feel comfortable in his place and able to work on her designs when they were together, so she didn’t lose time on her project.
But would this be the first and last weekend she would spend with him at his place?
If she didn’t want to ride with him to the club or risk anyone seeing them that wouldn’t be good for him.
His place was much further away than hers from the club and he knew she didn’t have a car. Her trying to take public transportation would take her hours to get there when it wouldn’t if she was at her place or was comfortable going with him in the car.
“Maybe you can drop me off at the bus stop on the way in and then I can walk from there to the club?”
Dante didn’t want to say yes and that scared him. But he wanted to be able to show everyone that she was his. That Madison belonged with him and no one could tear them apart.
“Ok.” Dante shrugged his shoulders and whispered. He didn’t mean it or agree with it, but he understood it was her choice.
“Ok, great. I’m ready when you are.”
“Sure, let’s go.” He wanted to reach for her hand but worried she would reject him. He was feeling vulnerable in a way he didn’t like.
“Wait.” She grabbed his arm and turned him back around to face her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Aren’t we past lies? Tell me what’s wrong. Please.”
“Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?” He was like a gawky teenager as he asked the question, but when he voiced it, he knew he needed to know the answer. It would determine if they had a future together.
It wasn’t until now, that he realized how important it was to him to have some type of long-term future with Madison. He leaned towards wanting to marry her, but if she wasn’t interested in marriage, as long as they were exclusive, he would be happy.
“Oh Dante.” She turned into his body and she wrapped his arms around her. Then she cupped his face.
“I could never be embarrassed to be seen with you. You are an awesome guy. I love being with you. It’s just my own hang-ups I have with people talking behind my back, but most of all thinking I got something not because I earned it but that I gave up something, sex, to get it.
I’ll be judged. No one will say anything to you. It will all be directed at me.”
That made sense to him. He didn’t want people to talk or to think poor of her. Which was his own reason for telling his cousins that the knowledge that he and Madison had had sex stayed in the room. She was just trying to protect herself the same way.
“Ok. I get what you’re saying.”
She rose up on her toes and kissed him. It was a peck, but he wanted more. He kept her in place and deepened the kiss. His hands slid up her sides to her ribcage and then up to her breasts.
He found her nipples already hard, and he rubbed his thumbs over them.
“Dante.” She moaned. “We have to go or you’ll be late.
He knew she was right, but he couldn’t help himself. He gave her nipples a pinch and then released her.
“Dante.” She begged this time.
He knew what she wanted, and he would give it to her.
He picked her up and turned her around so her back was against the wall.
He used the wall and his body to help support her.
He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He could feel the heat that came from her mound, and he rubbed his suit-covered cock against it.
His mouth captured hers, and he used one hand to play with her nipple.
He slid his hand under her shirt and pulled the cup of her bra down to expose the hardened peak.
Dante kissed down her chin to the side of her neck and down her collarbone until he reached the tip, which he took his time with as he sucked into his mouth.
He flicked his tongue over the nipple and was gentle when he bit it as they rubbed their lower bodies together, he could tell Madison was close to coming and he moved one hand to her bottom to keep her from sliding down and then used his other hand to pinch the twin nipple and sent Madison out of control.
Her hips jerked against his, and her nails dug into his shoulders. He loved feeling the bite of her nails; it drove him wild. He slowed down as she came down. He hadn’t come, but he didn’t need to. Seeing Madison orgasm was pleasurable to him.
He let her down slow and allowed her to slide down his body.
“What about you?” And she dropped down to her knees, but he lifted her up.
“Seeing you come is enough for me. I don’t need to come every time we’re together. Come, let’s go.” He tugged on her arm. “We don’t want to be late.”
****
Madison walked in from the bus stop. She felt silly, as she looked around her to make sure no one had seen Dante drop her off at the bus stop. She was earlier than was normal for her usual start time because Dante needed to be in early.
She only had her dance duffle as her overnight bag was still at Dante’s. She was halfway between the bus stop and the club when she turned back around. It would be more suspicious for her to show up early than at her regular time. She would walk home, if she had time, maybe work on something.
No, she couldn’t do that. She would get lost in what she was doing and not show up for work. She would just walk back, maybe grab a glass of water if she had time and then head back either walking or catch the bus like her normal routine.
That was a better plan. She would walk home and catch the bus at her usual time. When she got to her place, Sabrina was there.
“Hey, what’s the matter?”
“Nothing. I was looking for you. I called and texted but you never responded.”
Madison looked at her phone. “Oh sorry, I was focused on something else and I didn’t check my phone after. Is something wrong?”
“No, I guess not.” Sabrina looked around at their surroundings.
“Do you want to come in and talk? We have time before we have to be at the club.” Madison looked around too, wondering what Sabrina was looking for.
“Sure that sounds good. I need to get something off my chest.”
“Oh, ok, sounds kind ominous,” Madison joked.
“It isn’t just some rumors going around.”
“Rumors?” Again? What else could they say? Or was Sabrina now ready to apologize for the rumor she created.
“Nothing bad I guess, it’s only started. I tried to tell them it wasn’t true, but you know how people get a hold of something and don’t want to let it go.”
Madison let them in and put her dance duffle near the door before she walked further into her place. Sabrina followed.
“So, what is the rumor?” Madison didn’t bother to offer Sabrina a seat.
“That you had been sleeping with Enzo, and then you dumped him for Dante, and that was how you got the headliner position.”