Chapter 13
Madison went back downstairs to help Zoe out.
“Hey.” Zoe’s face was drawn and her lips were pressed together into a thin line.
“What’s wrong?”
“I found out what the rumor is.”
“It’s that bad?”
“It has to do with you.”
Madison turned from the bar top to look at Zoe. “What?”
“That you’re sleeping with Dante.”
“Sabrina told me. Why would they think that?”
“Because you go into his office every day after you get here. I told them as the main act you have to discuss things, but there is no getting through to them.”
“Ah, yeah.” Madison drew the words out. That was a good reason for her to be going into his office.
She hadn’t believed they would draw attention, but now she knew better.
She would have to warn him before it got back to him, not that she believed he would or even could stop them from gossiping behind her back.
“That’s right and every one of the dancers goes up at night to collect their money, just like you do. You just do it at the end of the night after you finish helping clean up the bar.”
“Right.” Madison realized that she and Dante should have come up with a plan together before they had agreed to dating.
Well no, they weren’t dating. They were just sleeping together.
It was different. There was no real relationship between them.
Maybe a small friendship, but even then it was more like an acquaintance.
They were still getting to know each other. For what, she didn’t know. It had to be for something else to do since they had now made the everyday deal.
“Well, it’s whatever. People are going to think what they want to think. Besides, if we were sleeping together, why would we do it here where we would be easy to get caught?”
“I don’t know why they didn’t think that either because it makes total sense.”
“I’m just going to ignore it.”
Zoe took a deep breath.
“What?”
“There’s more.”
“Oh my what else?”
“That you had slept with Enzo to get out of the club rules.”
“Ok, this is getting ridiculous now. Why would I be shifting between the cousins? Do they think I’m going to be with Lucca and Gabe too?”
“I don’t know. That’s just what they are saying.”
“Well, I’m not going to let that bother me.” Even though all the gossip and rumors was getting to her.
Madison turned around to pick up a crate of beer, she was done with the conversation and wanted time alone to process it. She wouldn’t get time alone, until later while she waited for Dante to wrap up, if she decided to stay.
She might just go back to her place and wait for him to come get her if it would help the rumors to die down. Anyway, by the time they had broken up, or went their separate ways, the rumors should have ended.
Madison shook her head. She always got sad thinking of the end of their relationship.
But that was their whole arrangement. It wasn’t meant to last no matter how much she wanted it to, and she needed to remind herself of this.
It was not permanent. It was a temporary arrangement; they only had less than two months left.
Madison pushed through everything and did her sets and helped out behind the bar, but she couldn’t shake away the gloom that sat on her weighing her down like a ton of fabric.
By the time the night was over, she just wanted to go home alone and eat ice cream and hide under the covers and cry.
She trudged up the stairs to Dante’s office and found it looked smaller than normal. It was filled with Enzo, Lucca, Gabe and Dante. “I’ll just come back later for my money, or I can get it tomorrow night.”
“No need. They were just leaving.” Dante gave a pointed stare.
“Give her the money. We’ll wait. We need to finish this discussion.” Enzo spoke as he stared at Madison.
She didn’t know which was better, Enzo who ignored her or this nasty look. It would be him ignoring her. It was like he was undressing her while hating her at the same time. It made her skin crawl and she wanted to go and take a shower.
There was some kind of standoff here and it was as if she had walked into a hurricane of tension. It was swirling around ready to destroy anything in its path. And now she had been sucked up into it.
Now she couldn’t leave. There was a power play happening between Enzo and Dante, and she was stuck in the middle. She knew if she left, Enzo would win, and she didn’t want that to happen so she stood there rooted to the spot.
“Fine,” Dante said. “Madison, come here please.”
She walked over thinking he had decided to send her away and he was going to give her the money and ask her to leave. She took a wide path around Enzo, her legs heavy.
Dante opened the drawer and added a stack of bills to another stack and handed it to her. She put it in her pocket and went to leave when Dante pulled her down onto his lap. She gasped and forgot the extra roll of money that was added.
“Dante.”
“I’m bringing Madison. We’re together. This discussion is over for me.
Feel free to stay in the office and continue to talk, but I’m out.
” Dante set Madison down off his lap and stood up.
She tucked the money in her pants, and Dante reached for her hand.
She took it and they walked out hand in hand and walked to his car.
Madison had not expected that to happen at all. It made her feel good that Dante wanted his cousins to know she was his and that they were together. She couldn’t keep the little skip out of her steps as she walked out the door with Dante.
She was in a relationship. She had never dreamed this day would come. But instead of putting her off, she was happy. In truth, she was ecstatic. It was as if fireworks were going off in her chest, and she was part of a big parade. She couldn’t keep the smile off of her face.
She was glad she and Dante held hands. If not she might float away.
****
Dante had been pissed when Enzo had tried to pull rank on him. Who did he think he was? And to use the family to do it. Lucca had come to warn him, but it had been too late. He had sat at the desk and read the edict from the Don.
He wasn’t to fool around with Madison anymore. If he wasn’t serious enough to bring her to Lucca’s engagement party then he needed to let her go and give Enzo a shot. What the fuck had that been? Enzo going behind his back.
He played on the fact that the Don wanted to see all of them married. But what Enzo still forgot was that Madison didn’t want him. Even if Dante and her weren’t serious, it didn’t mean Enzo could replace him. It was Madison’s choice who she wanted to date.
A choice he realized he took away from her because he assumed she wanted to be with him. He sat in the car next to her in silence, his mind spun until he couldn’t take it anymore. He turned toward her.
“I can’t believe we’re together,” Madison said. “I never—Never wanted this. Never could picture being in an actual relationship. Never would have chosen to put my heart in danger like this.”
Dante couldn’t believe how he’d taken it for granted that she wanted him when it was obvious she didn’t.
“I’m sorry for saying that—”
Her face fell from the beautiful full-on grin she had. “Oh. I thought you meant it.”
“No, I meant it. Of course I meant it.”
“Then why are you apologizing?”
“I didn’t ask you if you wanted to date me and go to Lucca’s engagement party. I didn’t even tell you there would be a party. I never ran any of this by you.”
“That’s ok. I figured you mentioned the party and stuff in the moment. I could tell something was happening and whatever it was, you would say anything so that Enzo didn’t win. I didn’t want Enzo to get the upper hand either.”
Dante’s heart squeezed so hard it could have burst. She didn’t want to date him or go to the engagement party. He would have to tell them. Did she want to keep seeing him until the agreement was up, or was she done?
“I can tell them you don’t want to go.”
“Yeah.” She looked out the window. “I think I want to go home. I guess you can drop my stuff off tomorrow at the club. If it’s ok you can have Ed bring my money down.”
Wow, she didn’t want to see him anymore. Not even to get her money. “So I guess you want to get out of our agreement.”
“I guess. We can keep going if you want. I thought you were done with me.”
“Done with you. No.” The band around his heart loosened. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding. “I want to be with you. Like in a full-blown relationship.” He held his breath. He was putting it all on the line and she could reject him at any moment.
“Then why did you apologize for saying it?”
He reached across the console for her hand. “Because I didn’t give you the choice to say if you wanted to do it, to be with me or not. I always want to give you a choice, and I’m sorry I took it away from you.”
She turned to face him. “It’s ok.” She cupped his face with one hand. “It was too much to hope for. I want what we have together to be real too. Two consenting adults who enjoy being together and are exclusive.”
That was a weird way to put it. “Good. Then it’s official. We’re a couple. Let’s seal it with a kiss.”
Dante leaned over, and Madison met him halfway. He deepened the kiss and then pulled her across the console and onto his lap where he could have better access to her. He wouldn’t have stopped if it hadn’t of been for the knock on his window that broke into his fog.
He looked out the window to see Lucca and Gabe stood there.
“I guess this is for real.” Lucca leaned down.
“As a heartbeat.”
“Congratulations, man. Way to lock a good lady down.”
“Thanks, man. We’re going to head home. See you guys later.”
During the time he was talking to them, Madison crawled out of his lap and sat back in the passenger seat. He could feel the embarrassment flowing off of her in waves from being caught making out. It was cute and why he couldn’t get enough of her.
****
Madison was light as a bubble. She was afraid she would pop. Her and Dante were an official couple. She wanted to pinch herself, but instead she pinched him.