A Tattered Love (11 page)

I think Abby was more excited about this than I was! I wanted to look my best, and blow them out of this world since they think I’m so trailer park trash. I didn’t know if I were more nervous about tonight with Dustin or about Saturday with him and a million people. I shouldn’t have been nervous really, because he has always been able to ease the tension. He made me feel very comfortable around him. I mean, he had seen me naked, twice!

“I can’t go tonight but definitely tomorrow. Dustin is taking me out on our official first date tonight.” I looked at Abby and smiled.

“Ooo lala!” She nudged my playfully. “Tomorrow sounds excellent. I’m off actually, and I noticed you were on the schedule for Saturday, so I’ll cover your shift.”

I looked at her surprised since we had never done that for each other. “Really, you’ll cover me on Saturday?”

“Well, you do have one very important event to attend. I’ll cover it, no big deal. What are friends for?” Abby wrapped one of her arms around me and hugged me tight.

“Thanks, Abby, you’re the greatest.”

“I know!” She flaunted.

***

I must have torn my closet apart looking for an outfit to wear. I knew Dustin would be there any second, and I would just have to go with what I had on. I guess I couldn’t complain too much, as I thought I really looked pretty good for a first date. Wearing my daisy waist sundress, I decided it would be my best choice. I paired it with nude heels and let my unruly hair down, curling it, as well. I brushed on some make up, and glanced in the mirror at myself...
Good enough!
I thought. I grabbed my purse and threw it over my shoulder. I yelled for Cooper so I could take him outside since as I was sure I was going to be gone for a few hours. I walked him downstairs and let him run around for a bit, and then came back up. I had just leaned over and gave him a treat and told him to be a good boy when there was a knock at the door. I kissed his head before going to answer it.

Opening the door, I found a very sexy Dustin standing before me. He had on a slick pair of jeans, with a blue and white-striped cotton polo shirt tucked in nicely with a belt around his waist. He looked amazing with his hair tossed to the front in a scoop-like way. His tattoos on his arms leaked out from under his shirt. Couldn’t have been any sexier. The butterflies started to flutter, and my heart began to beat faster. Yes, I was nervous.

He flung his arm from around his back revealing a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

“Hey, beautiful.” He handed the flowers to me, and leaned down to kiss my cheek ever so sweetly. The touch of his lips sent shivers through my body.

I looked up at him and smiled. He was certainly easing the tension—somewhat, just as I knew he would. I took the flowers, rushing them to the kitchen to put them in a vase of water. I’d take care of them more thoroughly once I got home tonight.

“Thank you, that was sweet of you.” I smiled my shy smile.

“Come on, I have somewhere to take you.” He kissed my hand and pulled me out, as I shut the door behind us.

We walked down the stairs hand in hand, as he led me back to his Mustang. He opened the door like a gentleman and watched me sit down before he closed the door. He then climbed in as we peeled away showing off his car, and I yelled at the excitement that roared through my veins. The way Dustin made me feel—it was that tingly feeling that ran through my body when I was with him. Especially in this sexy car of his. I watched him as he shifted through the gears ever so smoothly.

We made our way to a beachside restaurant. At least I was happy it wasn’t Eddie’s Seaside Pub. It was gorgeously decorated with the beach feel, but yet romantically serene. He lent his hand to me as I stepped out of the car, adjusting my dress as I pulled it down. I took a huge deep breath before walking with him to the front door. The hostesses opened the door for us, and we stepped in taking in the amazing aroma of delectable foods. They sat us in a cozy booth in the back, and we were secluded from the rest of the restaurant. I wondered if he knew somebody. Believe me, I worked in a restaurant, and we didn’t seat people in secluded areas unless we were told.

I scooted into the booth, and instead of sitting opposite me, he scooted in next to me. I laughed at him, as it was very cute. He wrapped one arm around me, pulling me closer to him. I leaned in and planted a small kiss on his lips. The touch of him made my body tense since I knew where these touches have been sending us as of late. He moved his arm down to my leg and rubbed it.

“You ok?” He whispered.

“I’m fine.” I smiled back at him and opened my menu.

There were so many choices on the menu. I decided to go with the grilled shrimp and pasta. Dustin actually ordered one of the largest steaks on the menu. If there was one thing I loved, that would be food. We sat there making small talk for a while. Eventually, our meals came and we devoured everything. The food was fantastic. He couldn’t have chosen a better restaurant.

“So, tell me something, what cause are you donating to?”

“A cancer research foundation.” He took my hand in his.

“Any particular reason?” I begged for information. I really wanted him to open up to me. I knew I needed to for him, as well. Eventually.

“My best friend had cancer. Her name was Bethany. We were never anything more than friends but she was the greatest friend I ever had.” He continued in a soft voice that almost crackled. “Bethany had the opportunity for advanced treatment if her family could have afforded it. It could have saved her, made her live longer, live her childhood a bit more like everyone else. More importantly, she wanted nothing more but to go to prom before the cancer kicked her ass, and I wanted to take her. I told my dad I wanted him to help them with the money so they could get her the best treatment possible.” He looked down at the table contemplating his thoughts. “My dad wouldn’t do it. She died two months before prom. My dad is so financially able that it wouldn’t have even put a dent in his pocketbook, but he wouldn’t do it for me. He called it useless.” He slammed his fist down on the table. “She wasn’t useless to me. That’s when I decided I was done with my father. We mingled here and there on family functions, but nothing was the same after that. I wouldn’t let it be.”

I wanted to cry for him. He had endured a lot of pain. I wanted to tell him about Mark. I just don’t think it was the right time yet. I needed to let him vent. You could tell he really cared about his friend.

“I’m so sorry, Dustin.” I rubbed his leg and his eyes shot over at me.

“Don’t be sorry for me. I’ve bettered my life without them. I didn’t take their money, I didn’t join the family business, and I made a life for myself as a normal human being. I didn’t want their rich lifestyle. I maintain a close relationship with my sister Carla, and that’s it. Even she pisses me off as you have seen.”

I smiled at him. I let him go on and vent a little bit. I felt coy. I never imagined these things coming from him, but now I understood where his anger stemmed from. It didn’t look like his family was supportive of him. My lips pressed together in a thin line, and I had to glance away to reign in my emotions. They were missing out on a fantastic son. I glanced back at Dustin and felt my lips melt into a soft smile. I pegged him wrong the first time we met. He was so much deeper, and so much more caring. I offered his hand a gentle squeeze as the bill came.

We made our way out of the restaurant and paraded off to the car. I just wanted this night to be a happy one, and to forget about our troubles. I pushed Dustin up against the car, and swung my arms around him pressing my body to his and smiled. I could feel his muscles through his polo, and it automatically turned me on. I wanted to see his reaction and, just as I had imagined, it was priceless. I loved being in his arms. I started to fall deeply for him and it was only our first official date. I met his lips with mine and I kissed him gently. I slid my fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp. His arms came up around me, pulling me close to him. He kissed me passionately as I felt his tongue push inside my mouth escalating the moment. His strong muscular arms around me made me feel as if I were in heaven. They made me feel safe.

Dustin pulled back after we had a very satisfying moment. He handed me the keys to his Mustang. “Get in,” he smirked and squeezed the bottom of my ass making me jump.

“Dustin, I don’t know how to drive stick.” I looked at him wide eyed and my nerves hit the roof.

“That’s why I’m teaching you, now get in!” He laughed and got in the passenger side. I moseyed around to the drivers’ side, took off my heels, and got in the car.

“Seriously, babe, this is probably not a good idea. I don’t want to ruin your car.” I shook my head at him feeling the nerves boil into my stomach as I was on the verge of shaking.

“You’re not going to ruin the car, as long as you follow my instructions. Adjust the seat to your liking.” He grabbed my purse, and stuck it on the floor by his feet.

I was trying my hardest to get him to change his mind. I didn’t want to wreck his Mustang, and the last thing that I wanted to do was make him spend money on it to fix it after I screwed things up!

“Seriously, you want me to do this?” I asked hoping he’d change his mind.

“Yes, I want you to do this. Besides, I think it’s hot that a beautiful woman is behind the wheel of my beautiful machine.” He eyed me intently as he slid his hand over on my thigh making me even more nervous.

My hands were shaking violently now. I adjusted my seating and mirrors. Here goes nothing, I thought.

“Always make sure you’re gear is in neutral, which is in the middle. Take your left foot and press it as far as it will go down on the clutch, and put your right foot on the brake, and start the ignition.”

I did as he said with a nervous foot. “Relax, this is easy. You can do it.” The roar of the engine was powerful and sent shivers down between my legs. God, his car is sexy.

“Every time you change gears your foot presses the clutch in. Since there isn’t a car in front of us, we’re going to pull through the spot. Release the parking brake, come off the brake pedal, and slowly ease off the clutch as you give it some gas.” He gestured with his hands what my feet should be doing to give me a better idea.

That didn’t help my nerves, but it did help clarify my next move. I eased off the clutch and accelerated as the car moved forward with ease. I did it!

“That was the hardest part of all and you aced it! Great job, baby! Now, watch your RPMs, you typically want to keep them below three thousand and listen to the engine. It’ll tell you when to shift.” He put his hand over mine on the stick and showed me where all the gears were making sure I hit each one as we drove off onto the highway.

We pulled off the highway nearing my apartment, and he showed me how to down shift to slow the car down without using the brake as much. Once I came down to the end of the ramp, I stopped at the red light. I sat their nervously still feeling scared of driving this car even though I was doing a pretty good job. The light turned green, and the car lurched forward—and stalled.

“Shit!”

“Turn the car on like I taught you. It’s ok, baby. Push the clutch down, put the car in first gear and gently ease off the clutch, and then push the accelerator. You can do it.” He showed me his hands again imitating the pedals.

I stalled the car four times in a row until I started to cry from frustration. I was furious that I couldn’t get the car going. I did so well at the restaurant, and now I couldn’t do it for the life of me. He saw that I was crying, and took my hand in his and planted a warm kiss on it.

“Baby, you got this. Focus! You can do it—and you look sexy as hell trying!” He leaned his hand over and rubbed my leg again, only this time running it between my legs, teasing me.

I took a deep breath, grabbed the shifter, and slammed it into first gear, pressing hard on the accelerator, then letting off the clutch. The tires spun as the car took off forward. I went straight to high RPMs and slammed the car into second, and then third, and so on, as I sped off down the street, listening to the engine as it roared loudly. The wind blew in my hair as Dustin just stared at me, jaw dropped in pure shock that I just handled the car that way.

“I told you. Baby, you just turned me on!” He laughed and adjusted himself in the seat.

“I did it!” I started screaming at the top of my lungs, and then laughed at how excited I was that I now knew how to drive a stick.

I pulled into the parking lot and parked the Mustang as Dustin had shown me, putting it in neutral, and put the parking brake on, and then I turned the sexy machine off. He got out of the car and hurried over to my side to open my door. I reached for my heels and placed them on the ground as I got out, and stepped into them. He handed me my purse exchanging it for his keys.

The rest of the night was intense. Dustin came up to my apartment, and he cuddled on the couch with me watching a chick flick. It was the only thing on and I dreaded him leaving. I loved being in his arms and inhaling his wonderful smell of Armani. He smelled heavenly with his cologne. I wondered about the gala and what I was going to wear. That started to flash a bad vibe through my mind. Something was going to happen Saturday. I just didn’t know what. It was visibly obvious that Dustin didn’t have a worry in the world holding me in his arms and enjoying the night. I went for the hardest question of the night.